Using data collected in the Icelandic community of Manitoba in the summer of 1985, this thesis outlines an alternative approach to the understanding of ethnicity in North America through analysis of the Icelandic Festival held each summer in Gimli, Manitoba. The Festival provides an entree through which the dynamics of the production, reproduction and transformation of West Icelandic identity are revealed. It is argued that when ethnic identity is conceived as being resident in the possession of particular attributes or characteristics, change becomes a threat to the continued existence of the ethnic group. As defined in this thesis, ethnic identity is an ideological representation of social relations which is contextualized in a particular historic formation. It involves a constant negotiation of the symbolic representation of identity through social interaction, and is contingent upon the consequences of these actions. Change, therefore, is a normal process of ethnicity which does not necessarily end in assimilation. Though the content of identity changes according to changing circumstances, it must retain the appearance of an "authentic" representation of the past. The Festival is a location of the political negotiation of Icelandic identity, as seen in the debates which exist in the community regarding the relevance of its Icelandic cultural content. It is argued that, while the Festival continues to address a public image of how the organizers believe the community should be perceived by the larger society, it is also a time when a private celebration takes place. This latter aspect of the Festival is where the perpetuation of the meaningfulness of Icelandic identity occurs. It is contained within the family reunions which take place during the Festival and the return to a sense of the past which is linked to a shared West Icelandic history. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Ce travail décrit les processus de production des savoirs locaux sur le manioc et leurs modes d’apprentissage et circulation par les paysans centrafricains, lesquels se confrontent à l’exécution des politiques publiques agricoles et agroalimentaires du pays. Les savoirs locaux sur le manioc constituent un ensemble de techniques et de savoir-faire construits et acquis par les paysans à travers des apprentissages qui mettent en interaction des acteurs appartenant à des mondes sociaux différents. Mes recherches s’appuient sur des enquêtes de terrain multi-situées, à Pissa, à Yaloké et à Sibut, et sur une expérience d’observation participante aux travaux agricoles et à l’apprentissage du « savoir-cultiver » qui m’ont conduit à identifier des changements socio-économiques et des mutations de connaissances induits par l’émergence de ces savoirs paysans. Ceux-ci sont des connaissances hybrides construites selon les contextes sociaux, économiques et agro-écologiques en interactions avec les savoirs scientifiques diffusés en milieu paysan. Les transferts de savoirs technico-scientifiques portés par les projets de production du manioc conduisent les agriculteurs à des réinterprétations qui adaptent les informations reçues à leurs besoins. L’exemple des pratiques de bouturages précoces et tardives comme techniques adaptatives aux changements climatiques invite à repenser la question de la considération des savoirs paysans par les scientifiques en termes de savoirs sociaux répondant aux besoins des agriculteurs. / This work describes the production processes of local knowledge on cassava and their learning styles and circulation by Central African farmers, who are confronted with the implementation of agricultural policy and food of the country. Local knowledge on cassava are a set of techniques and know-how acquired and built by farmers through learning that highlight interaction of the actors belonging to different social worlds. My research is based on multi-located field surveys to Pissa at Yaloké and Sibut, and participant observation of experience in farm work and learning "know-grow" that led me to identify socio-economic changes and knowledge of mutations induced by the emergence of farming knowledge. These are hybrid knowledge built by the social, economic contexts and agro-ecological interactions in scientific knowledge broadcast on-farm. Transfers of technical-scientific knowledge carried by cassava production projects led farmers to reinterpretations which adapt the information received to their needs. The example of the practice early and late cuttings as adaptive techniques to climate change calls to rethink the question of consideration of the farmers' knowledge by scientists in terms of social knowledge to the needs of farmers.