Le présent mémoire de maîtrise étudie la fortune critique de l'artiste états-unienne d'origine française Louise Bourgeois. Il suit le parcours de l'artiste vers une reconnaissance critique et publique plutôt tardive, et une consécration comme figure importante de l'art de la deuxième moitié du 20e siècle. Favorisant une approche historiographique qui porte attention au genre d’écrits comme les survols et les monographies, il procède à l'analyse d'ouvrages concernant la place de Bourgeois dans le cadre des histoires de la sculpture moderne et des textes de nature diverse (historiques, théoriques et critiques) émanant de la mouvance féministe en art, avant de considérer les études réservées exclusivement à la trajectoire de Bourgeois et au développement de son œuvre. Plus largement, cette étude propose d'examiner les subtilités de la construction d'un réseau d'interprétations qui puisse répondre de la complexité d'une production artistique s'étalant sur près de soixante-dix ans, faisant appel à une grande variété de matériaux non conventionnels, oscillant entre la fascination pour la figure totémique et l’installation, tout en résistant aux classifications conventionnelles de mouvements et d’écoles, de même qu’à celles de développements formels et stylistiques continus. / This master's thesis is a study of the French born American artist Louise Bourgeois' critical review. More precisely, it considers the artist’s progress from her beginnings as an American sculptor in the forties to her critical but albeit late public recognition as an important figure in the art of the second half of the twentieth century. From a historiographical perspective, and working with texts dealing with modern sculpture in the U.S.A., feminism in the visual arts and more specifically the career of Bourgeois, we want to examine the situation of this artist amidst the different interpretations of her artworks. This study proposes to look at the subtleties in the construction of a web of interpretations. This web, we will see, is as complex as the production of an artist who created for more than seventy years. The intent of the first chapter is to grasp the position occupied by Bourgeois in some of the major texts constituting the history of modern sculpture. This overview will lead us to the second chapter where we will analyze the manner Bourgeois' work is addressed by feminist literature and practice. In this context, and by the fact that Bourgeois revealed tragic aspects of her childhood at the turn of the eighties, we will seek to understand the changes in the way her work has been perceived. The third chapter focuses on the study of the artist’s national and international recognition in parallel to the monographs having her as their main subject. Those texts, which have been often tied to biographical writing, reassess in a certain way the old concept of the mythical artist. / Pour respecter les droits d’auteur, la version électronique de ce mémoire a été dépouillée de ses documents visuels et audio-visuels. La version intégrale du mémoire a été déposée au Service de la gestion des documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise intertextual do romance The Solid Mandala, do escritor australiano, ganhador do prêmio Nobel, Patrick White, publicado em 1966, como parte de um esforço para estimular estudos sobre sua obra no Brasil e para investigar por que sua fortuna crítica tem passado por uma fase negativa recentemente. Primeiro, mostramos brevemente sua biografia e as condições relacionadas à produção e publicação de The Solid Mandala. Em seguida, apresentamos o contexto histórico do romance. As relações de conflito e complementação envolvendo os irmãos gêmeos Waldo e Arthur Brown na narrativa são analisadas, com destaque para a relação deles com a literatura (um tema importante no romance), retratando o papel das personagens como leitores e escritores na história, apreendendo, assim, seus sentimentos, suas visões de mundo e filosofia de vida (Waldo aspira à uma carreira de escritor e Arthur de fato compõe um poema). Os estudos de Gérard Genette sobre Narratologia são utilizados para embasar a análise, particularmente na relação intertextual entre The Solid Mandala e The Brothers Karamazov, do escritor F. Dostoyevsky, que é o título que chama a atenção de Arthur. Na busca pelo todo de sua vida, Arthur incorpora vários elementos (centrados em um único ponto, suas mandalas) e consegue criar sua própria filosofia. No final vemos que Arthur transcende sua realidade ao usar a leitura do romance russo como um instrumento. Esse estudo destaca a pertinência de revisitar a obra de Patrick White (uma vez que ela prova estar em sintonia com as questões filosóficas sendo discutidas atualmente) e coloca The Solid Mandala no contexto da literatura mundial. / This work performs an intertextual analysis of the Nobel Prize winning Australian novelist Patrick White’s The Solid Mandala, published in 1966, as part of an effort to boost studies of his novels in Brazil and to investigate why his critical fortune has been undergoing a negative phase recently. First, we briefly present his biography and the conditions surrounding the writing and publication of The Solid Mandala. Later on, we present the historical context of the novel. The relations of conflict and complementation involving the twin brothers Waldo and Arthur Brown in the narrative are analysed, but we focus on their relation to literature (which is an important theme in the novel), depicting their roles as readers and writers in the story, thus, apprehending their feelings towards each other, worldviews and outlook on life (Waldo aspires to become a great writer, and Arthur actually produces a poem). Gérard Genette’s studies on Narratology are used to support our analysis, particularly in the intertextual relation between The Solid Mandala and F. Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, which is the title that calls Arthur’s attention. In his pursue to find the whole of his life, Arthur incorporates various elements (centred at just one point, his mandalas) and is able to create his own philosophy. At the end we see that Arthur transcends his reality by using the reading of the Russian novel as an instrument. This study enlightens the pertinence of revisiting Patrick White’s oeuvre (since it proves to be so well tuned in to the current philosophical issues being discussed), and places The Solid Mandala in the context of worldwide literature.

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise intertextual do romance The Solid Mandala, do escritor australiano, ganhador do prêmio Nobel, Patrick White, publicado em 1966, como parte de um esforço para estimular estudos sobre sua obra no Brasil e para investigar por que sua fortuna crítica tem passado por uma fase negativa recentemente. Primeiro, mostramos brevemente sua biografia e as condições relacionadas à produção e publicação de The Solid Mandala. Em seguida, apresentamos o contexto histórico do romance. As relações de conflito e complementação envolvendo os irmãos gêmeos Waldo e Arthur Brown na narrativa são analisadas, com destaque para a relação deles com a literatura (um tema importante no romance), retratando o papel das personagens como leitores e escritores na história, apreendendo, assim, seus sentimentos, suas visões de mundo e filosofia de vida (Waldo aspira à uma carreira de escritor e Arthur de fato compõe um poema). Os estudos de Gérard Genette sobre Narratologia são utilizados para embasar a análise, particularmente na relação intertextual entre The Solid Mandala e The Brothers Karamazov, do escritor F. Dostoyevsky, que é o título que chama a atenção de Arthur. Na busca pelo todo de sua vida, Arthur incorpora vários elementos (centrados em um único ponto, suas mandalas) e consegue criar sua própria filosofia. No final vemos que Arthur transcende sua realidade ao usar a leitura do romance russo como um instrumento. Esse estudo destaca a pertinência de revisitar a obra de Patrick White (uma vez que ela prova estar em sintonia com as questões filosóficas sendo discutidas atualmente) e coloca The Solid Mandala no contexto da literatura mundial. / This work performs an intertextual analysis of the Nobel Prize winning Australian novelist Patrick White’s The Solid Mandala, published in 1966, as part of an effort to boost studies of his novels in Brazil and to investigate why his critical fortune has been undergoing a negative phase recently. First, we briefly present his biography and the conditions surrounding the writing and publication of The Solid Mandala. Later on, we present the historical context of the novel. The relations of conflict and complementation involving the twin brothers Waldo and Arthur Brown in the narrative are analysed, but we focus on their relation to literature (which is an important theme in the novel), depicting their roles as readers and writers in the story, thus, apprehending their feelings towards each other, worldviews and outlook on life (Waldo aspires to become a great writer, and Arthur actually produces a poem). Gérard Genette’s studies on Narratology are used to support our analysis, particularly in the intertextual relation between The Solid Mandala and F. Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, which is the title that calls Arthur’s attention. In his pursue to find the whole of his life, Arthur incorporates various elements (centred at just one point, his mandalas) and is able to create his own philosophy. At the end we see that Arthur transcends his reality by using the reading of the Russian novel as an instrument. This study enlightens the pertinence of revisiting Patrick White’s oeuvre (since it proves to be so well tuned in to the current philosophical issues being discussed), and places The Solid Mandala in the context of worldwide literature.

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise intertextual do romance The Solid Mandala, do escritor australiano, ganhador do prêmio Nobel, Patrick White, publicado em 1966, como parte de um esforço para estimular estudos sobre sua obra no Brasil e para investigar por que sua fortuna crítica tem passado por uma fase negativa recentemente. Primeiro, mostramos brevemente sua biografia e as condições relacionadas à produção e publicação de The Solid Mandala. Em seguida, apresentamos o contexto histórico do romance. As relações de conflito e complementação envolvendo os irmãos gêmeos Waldo e Arthur Brown na narrativa são analisadas, com destaque para a relação deles com a literatura (um tema importante no romance), retratando o papel das personagens como leitores e escritores na história, apreendendo, assim, seus sentimentos, suas visões de mundo e filosofia de vida (Waldo aspira à uma carreira de escritor e Arthur de fato compõe um poema). Os estudos de Gérard Genette sobre Narratologia são utilizados para embasar a análise, particularmente na relação intertextual entre The Solid Mandala e The Brothers Karamazov, do escritor F. Dostoyevsky, que é o título que chama a atenção de Arthur. Na busca pelo todo de sua vida, Arthur incorpora vários elementos (centrados em um único ponto, suas mandalas) e consegue criar sua própria filosofia. No final vemos que Arthur transcende sua realidade ao usar a leitura do romance russo como um instrumento. Esse estudo destaca a pertinência de revisitar a obra de Patrick White (uma vez que ela prova estar em sintonia com as questões filosóficas sendo discutidas atualmente) e coloca The Solid Mandala no contexto da literatura mundial. / This work performs an intertextual analysis of the Nobel Prize winning Australian novelist Patrick White’s The Solid Mandala, published in 1966, as part of an effort to boost studies of his novels in Brazil and to investigate why his critical fortune has been undergoing a negative phase recently. First, we briefly present his biography and the conditions surrounding the writing and publication of The Solid Mandala. Later on, we present the historical context of the novel. The relations of conflict and complementation involving the twin brothers Waldo and Arthur Brown in the narrative are analysed, but we focus on their relation to literature (which is an important theme in the novel), depicting their roles as readers and writers in the story, thus, apprehending their feelings towards each other, worldviews and outlook on life (Waldo aspires to become a great writer, and Arthur actually produces a poem). Gérard Genette’s studies on Narratology are used to support our analysis, particularly in the intertextual relation between The Solid Mandala and F. Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, which is the title that calls Arthur’s attention. In his pursue to find the whole of his life, Arthur incorporates various elements (centred at just one point, his mandalas) and is able to create his own philosophy. At the end we see that Arthur transcends his reality by using the reading of the Russian novel as an instrument. This study enlightens the pertinence of revisiting Patrick White’s oeuvre (since it proves to be so well tuned in to the current philosophical issues being discussed), and places The Solid Mandala in the context of worldwide literature.

In previous editions of the magical papyri, PGM 50 has been considered as a lot oracle. In this article we propose a reinterpretation of the text as a source for astrology rather than for lot oracles. This reinterpretation is based on PGM 50’s astrological vocabulary. We provide a new translation based on this evidence. We further discover parallels to the second-century C.E. astrologer Vettius Valens in the verso of the text, which emend the original text as given by Wessely and Preisendanz. / In früheren Editionen der magischen Papyri wurde PGM 50 als Losorakel angesehen. In diesem Artikel argumentieren wir jedoch, den Text eher als einen Vertreter der Astrologie denn als ein Losorakel aufzufassen. Diese Neuinterpretation beruht auf dem astrologischen Fachvokabular, das in PGM 50 Anwendung fi ndet. Neben einer Neuübersetzung, basierend auf diesen Erkenntnissen, war es möglich, auf dem Verso des Pergaments Parallelen zum Werk von Vettius Valens (2. Jh. n. Chr.) zu identifi zieren. Dadurch kann die Erstedition von Wessely und die Textausgabe bei Preisendanz emendiert werden.

Locution issue du langage courant, le « train de vie » a été importée dans la sphère juridique dès la fin des années 1930 pour lutter contre la fraude fiscale. Depuis les années 1960 et surtout 2000 elle est utilisée dans toutes les branches du droit privé. Elle n’a pourtant reçu aucune définition. Partant de ce constat, la première partie de cette thèse s’intéresse au contenu juridique de la notion de train de vie. Elle y est définie comme la jouissance, à titre habituel d’une certaine quantité de biens et de services, caractérisant à la fois un niveau de vie et une habitude de vie. Il ressort de cette définition que tant les biens que les services peuvent être le support du train de vie, que cette notion s’apprécie en jouissance et non en propriété et qu’une condition de durée doit être remplie. La seconde partie de cette thèse s’intéresse aux effets qui sont attachés au train de vie. Il est toujours utilisé en tant que point de référence mais n’est pas toujours invoqué par la même personne. Ainsi, le train de vie peut être soit opposé à son bénéficiaire par un tiers, soit opposé par son bénéficiaire à un tiers. Dans le premier cas, il est un point de référence permettant d’identifier une disproportion, à laquelle sont attachées des conséquences juridiques néfastes pour le bénéficiaire du train de vie. Dans le second cas, il sert de point de référence pour apprécier et traiter une situation de rupture patrimoniale. Caractérisant une situation économique habituelle, le train de vie est doté d’une certaine inertie,qui nécessite qu’il ne soit pas arrêté brutalement. Il est alors de nature à conférer des droits à son bénéficiaire. / An expression usually found in everyday language, the « train de vie », or standard of living, wasbrought into the legal sphere as early as the late 1930’s in a bid to fight fiscal fraud. Since the 1960’s, and evenmore so since the 2000’s, it is found in all branches of private law. It has, however, never been defined.Therefore, the first part of this thesis looks into the legal content of the idea of « train de vie ». It is definedhere as the enjoyment of a certain quantity of goods and services that has come to be the habitual, markingboth a standard of living and a life habit. This definition of the expression leads to the conclusion that as goodsand services can support of the « train de vie », this is a notion that is to be assessed in enjoyment and not inpropriety, and that a condition of length of time is to be fulfilled. The second part of this thesis focuses on theeffects attached to the « train de vie ». It is still used as a reference point but not always invoked by the sameperson. Therefore, the “train de vie” can either be set against it’s beneficiary by a third party, or by it’sbeneficiary against a third party. In the first case, it becomes a point of reference allowing to identify a lack ofproportion, unto which are attached legal consequences unfavorable to the beneficiary of the « train de vie ».In the second case, it serves as a point of reference to asses and deal with a situation of a patrimonial break.Charaterizing a habitual economic situation, le “train de vie” is endowed with a measure of inertia, whichrequires that it not by stopped suddenly. It is thusfore of a nature to create rights for it’s beneficiary.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Mzansi rekening, as Eerste Orde Nasionale rekening, is gesamentlik deur die “Groot 4” banke geloods, spesifiek met die oog daarop om toegang tot groter finansiële dienste te bewerkstellig in lyn met die Finansiële Dienste Handves. Hierdie navorsingsverslag ondersoek die sukses van die Mzansi rekening in terme van die verbetering van toegang tot finansiële dienste en die verwesinliking van Prahalad se visie van die Fortuin aan die onderkant van die piramide of die sogenaamde Base of the Pyramid (BoP). Die studie is gedoen deur onderhoude te voer met industrie-kenners wat nou betrokke was met die loods van die Mzansi rekening, asook deur ’n oorsig te doen van ’n verslag van die onlangse kommisie van ondersoek oor kompetisie in die bankwese in Suid Afrika. Die Mzansi rekening is inderdaad suksesvol daarin om toegang tot finansiële dienste vir alle Suid Afrikaners beskikbaar te maak, maar dit is steeds nie winsgewend vir die banke nie. Die Mzansi rekening is dus nie in lyn met Prahalad se visie van die BoP nie. Die winsgewendheid van die rekening in die toekoms hang af van die graad van aanvaarding van armes van meer doeltreffende elektroniese transaksies. Tot op datum wil dit voorkom asof Prahalad se gevoel dat die armes gevorderde tegnologie maklik aanvaar nie in die bank sektor in Suid Afrika geld nie. ’n Toenemende fokus op gebruik eerder as toegang en ’n beter belyning met Prahalad se twaalf beginsels van innovasie by die BoP mag egter wel beter wins vir die banke inhou. Selfs al sou winste nie materialiseer nie, is dit steeds voordelig vir banke wat bereid is om te eksperimenteer en te leer van die Mzansi ervaring. Die Mzansi rekening mag dalk die katalis wees vir nuwe en verbeterde produkte wat suksesvol sal wees in die BOP mark. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Mzansi account, as a First Order National Bank Account, was jointly launched by the Big 4 Banks (ABSA, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank) specifically to increase access to financial services in line with the requirements of the Financial Sector Charter (FSC). This study explores the success of the Mzansi account with regard to improving access to financial services and achieving Prahalad’s vision of a Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). The study was conducted by interviewing industry experts who were intimately involved in the launch of the Mzansi account and reviewing the transcripts of the recent commission of enquiry into the competition of banking in South Africa. The Mzansi account has been successful in increasing financial access for all South Africans but has not proved to be profitable for the banks. The Mzansi bank account therefore does not support Prahalad’s vision that there is a fortune at the base of the pyramid. The future profitability of the account is dependent on the acceptance of the poor of more efficient electronic transacting. To date it would seem that Prahalad’s notion that the poor accept advanced technology readily does not apply within the banking sector of South Africa. An increased focus on usage as apposed to access and a better alignment to Prahalad’s twelve principles of innovation at the BoP may well bring increased profits for the banks. Even if profits don’t materialise, for those banks willing to experiment and learn from the Mzansi experience. The Mzansi account may well be a catalyst for new and/or improved products that will be successful in the BoP market.

Cette thèse étudie dans une perspective comparée les modalités du travail de représentation en matière d’impôt sur la fortune, au Bundestag et à l’Assemblée nationale. S’appuyant sur des approches empiriques complémentaires (entretiens semi-directs, observation non-participante, bases de données prosopographiques, travail d’archive codé), cette enquête entend expliquer la variété des pratiques constatées. La recherche montre que les débats en matière d’impôt sur la fortune se caractérisent par la place centrale prise par les mondes de l’entreprise, faisant émerger le constat d’une forme d’inégalité d’accès à la parole parlementaire pour les groupes sociaux cités au sein des deux Assemblées. L’enquête souligne également que les députés développent des pratiques différenciées entre groupes en utilisant plusieurs registres de représentation visant à justifier et légitimer les différents modes d’investissement observables dans les deux pays. Face à ce constat, cette étude entend proposer un examen des causes des phénomènes observés. Plus d’une trentaine de facteurs explicatifs sont ainsi pris en compte, à des niveaux micro, méso et macrosociologiques (histoire politique, dispositions individuelles, processus de socialisation politique, économique et professionnelle, influence des entourages, effets de positions et de contextes, etc.). La thèse montre alors que les pratiques de représentation sont le résultat de l’articulation d’un système de facteurs qui interdisent de penser ces pratiques de façon réifiée. En cherchant à comprendre la complexité et l’intrication de nombreux éléments intervenant dans les prises de position des élus, la thèse cherche à démêler les fils explicatifs de l’écheveau des pratiques de représentation. / This thesis aims at analysing the methods of representing during wealth tax debates in the French Assemblée nationale and in the German Bundestag. Based on empirical researches (semi-direct interviews, non-participating observations, prosopographic data, coded archival work), this research aspires to explain the variety of identified practices. The research shows on one hand that debates around wealth tax are characterized by the central position of concerns and businesses, highlighting the following acknowledgment: the inequity in accessing speaking time for social groups mentioned in both Parliaments. The thesis also underlines that members of parliament develop differentiated practices between groups by using multiple register of representation, which aim at justifying and legitimating all the different ways of commitment observed in both countries.Facing this observation, the thesis strive to provide a review of the causes of the observed phenomena. More than thirty explanatory factors are taken into consideration on micro, meso and macro sociological levels (political history, individual provisions, political/economical/professional socialisation processes, influence of close circle, effects of positions and environment). The thesis therefore demonstrates that the practices of representation are the result of a very high number of diversifying factors, which prevent from thinking those practices on a reified way. While trying to understand the complexity of new elements intervening in elected representatives’ position statements, the thesis aspires to untangle the explanatory threads of political representation. / Diese Doktorarbeit vergleicht die Modalitäten der politischen Repräsentation in Bezug auf die Vermögensteuer im Bundestag und in der Assemblée nationale. Die Recherche will Erklärungen geben für die Vielfalt der hierbei beobachteten Praktiken. Dafür stützt sie sich auf komplementäre empirische Materialien (Gespräche, Beobachtungen, prosoprographische Daten, codierte Archivarbeit). Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt, dass die Debatten um die Vermögensteuer durch die zentrale Stellung der Unternehmen geprägt sind. Es existiert eine Form von ungleichem Zugang zur parlamentarischen Rede für die sozialen Gruppen innerhalb der beiden Versammlungen. Oft werden bestimmte soziale Gruppen einfach ignoriert. Die Studie verweist auch darauf, dass die Abgeordneten Praktiken von differenzierter Repräsentation zwischen Gruppen entwickeln, indem sie mehrere Register der Repräsentation benutzen, die darauf aus sind, verschiedene Modi der Investitionen zu rechtfertigen und zu legitimieren- in beiden Ländern. Vor diesem Hintergrund bietet diese Arbeit eine Analyse der Gründe der beobachteten Phänomene an. Dazu werden mehr als dreißig explikative Faktoren unter micro-, meso- und makrosoziologischen Gesichtspunkten untersucht (politische Geschichte, individuelle Dispositionen, Prozesse politischer, ökonomischer und professioneller Sozialisierung, Einflüsse des Umfelds, Einflüsse von institutionellen Positionen und Kontexten usw.). Diese Doktorarbeit will nachweisen, dass die Praktiken der Repräsentation das Ergebnis eines sehr hohen Anteils verschiedener Faktoren sind, die es untersagen diese Praktiken gedanklich zu verfestigen. Indem wir versuchen, die Komplexität und die Verstrickung der zahlreichen Elemente zu verstehen, die in den Stellungnahmen der Abgeordneten zum Ausdruck kommen, will diese Doktorarbeit die erklärenden Fäden des Knäuels der Repräsentationspraktiken entwirren.

The text of this work is primarily based on the works of Wolfgang Brezinka, focusing on the philosophy of education and on many sociological works by Zygmunt Bauman, which are cited for better orientation in the philosophical-educational context of the chapter focusing on the philosophy of education used in the antiquity The aim was to present the reader with at least a brief awareness of the individual aspects of the philosophy of education as presented by Brezinka and to supplement it with the possible aspects that can be taken from Bauman, who primarily focuses on exploring the socio-cultural phenomena of the modern society. Gradually, the essential characteristics, features, and characteristics that accompanied the upbringing in antiquity are presented, just as the educational aims and beliefs in relation to the upbringing that is presented by Brezinka. Furthermore, there are discussed and examined the pitfalls of modernism and postmodernism in relation to personality, culture, society and philosophical-educational possibilities as pointed out by Bauman. The amount of works on the philosophy of education is insufficient and even here, of course, it has not been possible to cover all the philosophical aspects of education which are available to the authors dealing with the philosophy of education, yet...

La recherche a pour objet la structuration du champ lexical des mots « chance », « fortune », « hasard » et « risque » du XVIIIe au XXIe siècle. Témoin de mutations qu’a connues la civilisation occidentale durant cette période, ce champ, qui se rattache à la notion de fortune / hasard, présente une relative homogénéité sémantique.Les mots (et leurs dérivés) sont étudiés à travers le déploiement, la régulation et la répartition des normes d’usages, non seulement en français hexagonal, mais aussi en français québécois. L’étude se fonde sur l’exploitation de deux types de corpus. D’une part, un corpus d’articles extraits d’une cinquantaine de dictionnaires sert à mettre en évidence la productivité morphosémantique et sémantique de ces unités dans une perspective historique large. D’autre part, un grand ensemble d’énoncés diversifiés permet, par la mise au jour de types de contextes, d’effectuer un suivi diachronique des usages. L’approche continuiste des différences d’usages s’appuie sur une représentation fréquentielle des changements sémantiques.La thèse apporte une contribution à la question de la variation des usages et du changement sémantique, qui ouvre sur plusieurs perspectives. Elle se veut d’abord une réflexion sur la théorie et la méthodologie descriptives, appréhendées à la lumière de l’analyse de la nature et du rôle des corpus. Elle met ensuite en évidence l’importance de la dimension intersubjective dans l’activité de signification, en particulier le rôle déterminant des structures syntagmatiques dans l’établissement de nouveaux usages sémantiques. Enfin, elle permet de mettre en relation le changement sémantique avec les conditions sociohistoriques et les représentations collectives. / The present study deals with the way in which the lexical field regrouping the words “chance”, “fortune”, “hazard” and “risqué” has been structured in the French language from the eighteenth century till the present day. Revealing major changes in western societies during this period of time, the field, which corresponds to the linguistic representation of the notion of fortune / hasard, presents a certain coherence.We have examined these words and their derived forms through the display, regulation, and distribution of norms of use, not only in Hexagonal French, but also in Quebec French. Two types of corpora have been analysed. On the one hand, a corpus of articles from around 50 dictionaries has been used to emphasize the lexical and semantic productivity of the different units on a large historical scale. On the other hand, in revealing context types, a set of texts reflecting French language varieties has allowed for carrying out a diachronic analysis of lexical uses. The continuist approach to semantic differences rests upon a frequential representation of semantic changes.The thesis brings a significant contribution to the question of usage variations and semantic change, providing new perspectives. It first deals with theory and methodology of lexical description, considered through the analysis of the nature and the role of corpora. It then evidences the central role of syntagmatic structures in the setting of new semantic uses. The study has finally put into relation semantic changes with their historical background and the collective representations of the time.