This dissertation explores the graphic, literary and cinematic representations of the Pieds-Noirs, the French citizens of various origins who lived in French Algeria before independence. Rather than focusing on the War for Independence (1954-1962), the extensive study of which has failed to faithfully render the heterogeneous soul of Pieds-Noirs, this work aims at showing the multi-faceted aspects of a community that has always been considered by mainland France to be borderline, Mediterranean rather than French, and, overall, estranged both physically and emotionally, not only from its African roots, but also from its theoretical allegiance to the motherland. By tracing back closely the motivations of these European settlers and by looking closely at the somewhat capricious etymology of the term pied-noir, I first bring to light some recurrent patterns of memory, exile and identity that have permeated all layers of the pied-noir psyche. Secondly, I tackle the schizophrenic narrative voice of pied-noir authors, from Albert Camus to Annelise Roux, both emblematic of a people torn and impaired by colonization and obsessed with guilt, lost paradise, the impossibility of return, and disillusionment. While a close study of the scarce cinematic representations of the Pieds-Noirs in films produced before and after Algerias independence further confirms the quintessential pied-noir quest for amnesia and acceptance, it tends to showcase that cultural and linguistic stereotypes have helped Pieds-Noirs build an identity, exorcize their fear of Otherness, as well as embrace their hybrid status as French citizens born in Algeria. The last chapter is devoted to current productions in video art, graphic novels and literature, exploring the pied-noir multiple identities along promising and pioneering lines. By not exclusively limiting the corpus to artists of pied-noir descent, my goal is to emphasize that being pied-noir no longer has to be seen as a static status imposed upon individuals by a governmental force. Piednoiritude can finally evolve into an empowering perspective fueled by a rhizomatic propensity for networking differences and relocating national History within personal trajectories.

In seventeenth-century France, social and political confusion abounded. Absolute monarchy, which was principally created by Richelieu and glorified by Louis XIV, began gradually replacing the medieval feudalism that remained popular among the nobles. Likewise, préciosité, a proto-feminist literary and cultural movement that was not in line with official political ideals, emerged in France during this century. The institution of marriage was an important element of the complicated sociopolitical tapestry of seventeenth-century France. Through the depiction of marriage in Pierre Corneilles Le Cid (1636), Jean-Baptiste Poquelin de Molières LÉcole des femmes (1662), and Jean Racines Andromaque (1667), three works of the most prominent form of fiction in seventeenth-century Francetheater, one can see how marriage was tightly bound to both politics and society.

French Polynesia and New Caledonia are facing an identity crisis in which the lack of recognition of otherness represents a serious risk to the sociopolitical cohesion of these fragile multiethnic and multicultural societies. In order to avoid self-destructive conflicts and to build harmony in the midst of ethnic diversity, an endogenous inclusive redefinition of cultural identities has become necessary. Within this context, this research had a double objective. First, it aimed to ascertain how this quest for recognition of the Other is represented in the emerging literature of French speaking Oceania. Secondly, its purpose was to understand the social and political functions played by the writers of our corpus. In Tahiti: Henri Hiro, Chantal Spitz, Louise Pelzer, Ariirau, Marie-Claude Teissier-Landgraf, Celestine Hitiura Vaite, Jimmy Ly, and B.D Gotz. In New Caledonia: Déwé Gorodé, Nicolas Kurtovitch, and José-Louis Barbançon. In Tahiti and in New Caledonia, the emergence of the self-represented Other, which breaks the mold of stereotypes produced by colonial works and pleads for recognition, constitutes one of the main themes of the literary production by the present generation of authors. These writers perform several key social functions. First, by validating their own culture, which until then had been misrepresented, denigrated, or even denied, they rebuild their self-esteem- the first step towards recognition. Secondly, by transmuting their sufferings into written language, they contribute to a collective healing process. Moreover, most of them challenge the construction of identity founded on the myth of ethno-cultural homogeneity. Indeed, through their work, these writers implicitly promote cultural cross-hybridization or métissage culturel and in so doing, become the architects of bridges between ethnic groups. Of equal importance, in the process of recognition of otherness, women, who comprise a large proportion of the authorship, especially in French Polynesia, have contributed a gender sensitive perspective. This dimension enriches the literature by giving voice, and therefore some recognition, to the other half of the population. In the imaginative function that they are fulfilling, francophone writers are formulating the project of an inclusive society in which the ideal of recognition of otherness transcends the borders of ethnicity and gender.

Starting from the premise that ones identity is first and foremost construed in language, this dissertation argues that language is the fundamental site of resistance for writers who define themselves through linguistic difference. Recognizing also that language and literary production frequently fall under the control of complex authorities, this thesis examines literature as a site where confrontation is played out aesthetically. Literary writing, in other words, is exposed as a point of intersection between writers whose language draws its sources from a peripheral location and the centers of authority that regulate and dictate what is accepted as artistically and culturally valuable. Read as such, at the core of literary writing, we find nothing less than the Self and the Other engaged in a competing struggle for affirmation. The two authors considered in this study are Michel de Montaigne and Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. By going as far back in history as the French Renaissance and then shifting focus to the Swiss francophone, this project explores historical processes and literary creation from the viewpoint of relationships of hegemony and resistance that call to mind the conceptual definitions of postcolonial theory. Reading Michel de Montaigne and Charles Ferdinand Ramuz through a postcolonial theoretical lens, this dissertation reveals that power dynamics, imbalanced power relations, and struggles over cultural control can be discerned in other settings than those most frequently associated with postcolonial theory.

Interactions are understood through the filter of language and culture. Because of this when people of different cultures interact, miscommunications often result. As both verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication are culturally specific, this paper examines trends in the nonverbal communication patterns of generations of Pointe Coupee Creoles undergoing language shift from Creole French in the older generation to English in the younger. The data demonstrate that nonverbal patterns are decoupled from verbal language to some extent in the degree to which they are maintained down the observable generations of Pointe Coupee Creole participants. This study analyzes videos of naturally occurring conversations in Creole and English filmed in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, as well as an English-speaking control group filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana. These dialogues provide data on the frequency with which participants in various groups gesture, the duration of gesture phrases, as well as the personal sphere with its inverse relationship to the gestural sphere, and the usage of physical contact to regulate turn-at-talk. After establishing nonverbal communicative characteristics of the Creole speakers, I discuss the extent to which these features are maintained through successive generations. I find that while touching as a conversational regulator to hold speaker turn appears to have been dropped by the younger generation, other nonverbal communicative features such as the frequency of gesturing and wider gestural spheres (smaller personal spheres) observed in the older, Creole-dominant generation are maintained by the younger generation of English-dominant Pointe Coupee Creoles. Thus, aspects of the nonverbal patterns survive longer than the verbal system in this speech community.

This dissertation examines nineteenth-century Louisianan author Alfred Merciers novels and their roles as emblems of Francophone Creole cultural identity. During the nineteenth century following the Louisiana Purchase and subsequent anglophone influx, the French-speaking Creole population faced a cultural upheaval. Unable to completely identify as either French or American, Creoles occupied an uncertain space. This study demonstrates that Alfred Merciers works articulate a hybrid identity that is neither French nor American but rather a multicultural construct. The first chapter examines the nineteenth-century Creole communitys problematic positioning between French and American cultures. Chapters two, three, and four center on two of Merciers texts and concentrate on his depictions of race, gender, and language, respectively, while incorporating a historical perspective and establishing a literary context using works by more well-known French and francophone authors. This analysis shows that Merciers representations take into account the multiplicity of cultures established in Creole society, contesting the perception that Creole identity can be defined singularly.

Published during Québecs Révolution Tranquille, but set during the final phase of World War II, Roch Carriers novel La guerre, yes sir! (1968) chronicles how one community copes with the sober homecoming of its first son of the village to die in the war. The novel centers on the fallen Corriveaus repatriation to what was then considered French Canada. The bodys passage from one realm, in Europe, associated with French Canadas multi-layered, quasi-colonial control, to another, in soon-to-be Quebec, associated with the provinces self-definition and burgeoning sense of sovereignty, offers an allegorical commentary on the Québécois peoples passage from a colonized to a decolonized people. The introduction, Body in Transit, Body in Transition, explores the importance of the novels setting and its period of publication as two critical moments for the Québécois. The second chapter, Colonizing the Body: Hurting, outlines how Carrier depicts the Québécois body as colonized, drawing on the imagery of colonial wounding evoked by writers such as Albert Memmi, Frantz Fanon, and Jean Bouthillette. It also examines the significance of Carriers depiction of the wounded Québécois body as zombified and cannibalized, employing imagery historically associated with colonial control. Finally, the finite, linear vision of time that characterizes the initial scenes constitutes another form of wounding or temporal trauma. The third chapter, Decolonizing the Body: Healing, investigates how the familys reception of the repatriated body begins the healing process. Thus, the abject state of Corriveaus corpse functions not only as a source of horror, as Julia Kristeva suggests, but also epitomizes Mikhail Bakhtins grotesque body, with all the creative potential to outgrow itself. Likewise, Corriveaus symbolic cannibalization by his community becomes a form of reappropriation, reversing the initial depiction of violent consumption. Consuming Corriveau becomes both a source of comfort and a symbolic Eucharist that transforms Corriveau from a living-dead or zombie figure, made to labor in the service of another, to a supernatural Christ figure, capable of transcending death. The final chapter, Corps and Clocks: Ticking Toward a New Time, elaborates on the meaning of Corriveau as a body clock that measures the end of one era and marks the beginning of another.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--York University, 1997. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-121). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL:http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ27374.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in Social Anthropology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-148). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ39199.

Inaug.-diss.--Jena. / Lebenslauf. "Literatur": p. vii-xix.