Thèses & Dissertations
Title
Thèses & Dissertations
Collection Items
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The Habitant Transplanted : A Study of the French-Canadian in New England
Early 20th-century doctoral dissertation on some scientific observations of French-Canadian immigrants to New England. Reflects certain attitudes toward stereotyped ethnic immigrants to the United States between 1830 and 1920. -
Aspects of Class Ideology in a New England Ethnic Minority : The Franco-Americans of Woonsocket, Rhode Island (1865-1929)
Dissertation on class development and distinction through North American industrialization, immigration, and urbanization in Rhode Island. The particularity of this history as shaped in the Franco American community's experience of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Emphasis on Catholicism. Anctil's work is cited in American social historian Gary Gerstle's famous text, "Working-Class Americanism."Tags Business and Economics, Central Falls RI, Danielson CT, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fall River MA, Holyoke MA, Labor History, Merrimack River Valley, Mills and Mill Work, Moosup CT, Natick RI, New Bedford MA, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Economic and Industrial, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, North Brookfield MA, North Easton CT, Pawtucket RI, Pawtuxet River Valley, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Plainfield CT, Providence RI, Quinebaug River Valley, Religion, Social History, Springfield MA, St. Lawrence River Valley, West Warwick RI, Woonsocket RI -
A Political History of Lewiston, Maine (1930-39)
Government and politics in the industrial city of Lewiston, Maine, in the midst of the Great Depression. -
Labor Study of the Franco-American Community of Waterville, Maine, from 1890 to 1940
Study in labor history of the Franco-Americans in Waterville, Maine up to 1940. Includes author-conducted interviews. From Bernier: "The purpose of this study is not to undermine the importance of [successful Franco-American businessmen and professionals], but it is an attempt to account for the notable achievements of the working class Franco-Americans who contributed their labor, their votes, and their efforts to improve working conditions through striking evevn in the face of discrimination and financial insecurity. This group has been ignored in almost all the written accounts of Waterville, and this error must be rectified. The Franco-Americans--laborers, businessmen, and professionals, all contributed to the character and to the prosperity of Waterville." -
A Comparison of Attitudes Among Maine Communities Toward Franco-American Civic Status and Native Language Vitality
From the introduction: "The extent to which cultural diversity in Maine schools is enhanced by appropriate educational programs for Franco-Americans is the focus of this research effort."..."A study of culture-related attitudes of citizens..."..."An investigative study of the distinction between the attitudes of Franco-Americans and non-Franco-Americans in those communities regarding native French language vitality and Franco-American civic status..." -
A Social History of the French Canadian Community of Suncook, New Hampshire (1870-1920)
Master's thesis on the French Canadian immigrants to the towns of Suncook, Pembroke, and Allentown, New Hampshire at the turn of the century. Emphasis on community and social life. -
Revolution : The Coming of F.A.R.O.G., 1970-1972
From the author: "In 1970 a group of Franco-Americans at the University of Maine, Orono, began meeting to discuss the creation of a new Franco-American ethnic identity. By the end of 1972, the succeeded in establishing a formal Franco-American program. They succeeded for several reasons. Like some Franco-Americans of their time, they felt acutely the loss of their ethnic group's former ties to a proud French-Canadian heritage. They learned from other movements of their own time how to go about redefining their group's identity, and the administration of the University of Maine, Orono, provided some of the material resources that the group needed in order to make it a formally established program."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Biddeford ME, Burlington VT, Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Danielson CT, Demography, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fall River MA, Farming and Agriculture, Farmington ME, Fitchburg MA, Forestry, Fort Kent ME, France, Gender and Sexuality, Gorham ME, Government and Politics, Haverhill MA, Holyoke MA, Labor History, Lowell MA, Manchester NH, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Education, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, North Brookfield MA, Orono ME, Presque Isle ME, Québec, Religion, Southbridge MA, Woonsocket RI, Worcester MA -
Aroostook Architect : The Life and Times of the Reverend Joseph S. Marcoux
Biographical history of a northern Maine Roman Catholic priest, Rev. Joseph S. Marcoux. Fr. Marcoux was the first pastor at St. Joseph's Parish in the town of Wallagrass, Maine, in Aroostook County. -
The Role of French National Societies in the Socio-Cultural Evolution of the Franco-Americans of New England from 1860 to the Present : An Analytical Macro-Sociological Case Study in Ethnic Integration Based on Current Social System Models
Dissertation on the histories of Franco American national societies and fraternal organizations in New England. Their significance to French Canadian and Franco American communities there from 1860 to 1960. How these organizations were involved in the socialization of francophone Canadian immigrants in the United States. An argument that these processes of socialization are better described as "integration" rather than "assimilation." Observations on "the socio-cultural evolution of the Franco-American ethnic group in New England" (1). A case study in macrosociology. Contains various observations of Franco American national societies and parishes throughout the Northeast.Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Albany NY, Anoka MN, Aurora IL, Biddeford ME, Business and Economics, Canada, Chicago IL, Community: Customs and Social Life, Concord NH, Connecticut, Detroit MI, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fall River MA, Fitchburg MA, Glens Falls NY, Government and Politics, Holyoke MA, Irish Americans, Lewiston ME, Lowell MA, Maine, Manchester NH, Massachusetts, Mendota MN, Millbury MA, Minneapolis MN, Nashua NH, New England, New Hampshire, New York NY, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Nonfiction -- Sociology, Polish Americans, Providence RI, Religion, Rhode Island, Salem MA, Southbridge MA, St. Paul MN, Troy NY, Vermont, Wayne County MI, Webster MA, Westborough MA, Willimantic CT, Woonsocket RI, Worcester MA -
The French-Canadian Ethnic Factor in Maine Politics
Study of links between French ethnicity and voting in Maine in the 20th century. Franco American voting patterns, and the recent history of the Franco American voting bloc in Maine state politics. -
The Pattern of Cultural Groups in Worcester
Local geographic landscapes and social conditions of various ethnic groups in Worcester, Massachusetts. Author's 1955 article in the journal Economic Geography, "Mapping Cultural Groups in an American Industrial City," is based on the research conducted for this dissertation.Tags Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Geography, Labor History, Massachusetts, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- History -- Local, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Religion, Social History, Worcester MA -
Continuity and Disruption : Working-Class Community in Lynn and Fall River, Massachusetts, 1880-1950
From a review of by Donald H. Stewart, SUNY Cortland, on the later text based on this dissertation's research: "Cumbler concentrates on two Massachusetts cities - Lynn, a late-nineteenth century shoe manufacturing center, and Fall River, a leading textile producer. Contradicting historians who argue that upward mobility and ethnic competition prevented American coherent class solidarity, he finds much of it in both municipalities."Tags Boston MA, Bowenville MA, Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fall River MA, Government and Politics, Labor History, Lynn MA, Massachusetts, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Quequechan River Valley, Social History -
Structure and Strategy : French-Canadians in Central New England, 1850-1900
Fitchburg and Worcester, Massachusetts, as cities atypical of Franco American communities in the 19th century. Focuses on the specific industries, demography, and institutional developments in these cities that serve to break the better-known pattern model of what is known as "the New England mill town." From the author: "[This study] uses an ecological approach to explore the occupational make-up, settlement patterns, institutional development, and demographic tendencies of the French-Canadians in these two industrially diversified cities as compared to 'Spindle Cities'....This is a departure from standard works on Franco-Americans....It examines a region and its social groups to see middle range social phenomena." -
An Exploration into the Health and Illness Beliefs of a Franco-American Community : The Description of a Clinical Reality
From the author: "The purpose of this thesis was to explore and describe the health and illness beliefs of a Franco-American community in Northern Maine. A major assumption of this study was that culture impacts all aspects of life and therefore determines how we define health and illness. The ethnographic inquiry provided an exhaustive description of health and illness experiences of selected members within the community and, through contextual analysis, allowed inductive identification of patterns within the group. Major themes emerged in the areas of health beliefs (functional and subjective health definitions), health behaviors (approach and avoidance behaviors), illness beliefs (susceptibilities and vulnerabilities), illness behaviors (home-care and cues to action) and clinical reality. The subsequent ethnographic record provided a rich description of the health and illness beliefs of a Franco-American community and allowed a glimpse into the clinical reality shared by its members."Tags Alcohol and Drugs, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Death and Disaster, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Folklore, Food, French Island ME, German Americans, Health and Wellness, Indian Island ME, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Science and Medicine, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Old Town ME, Pownal ME, Religion -
The Franco-Americans of New Hampshire : A Case Study of Ethnicity and Social Stratification
Exploration of the relationship between Franco-American ethnicity and socioeconomic status in the state of New Hampshire. Doane's research revolves around questions of class characteristics and ethnic group interests. -
French-Canadian Beginnings in an American Community : Lowell, Massachusetts, 1868-1886
Ph. D. thesis on nineteenth-century immigration and the early development of the French-Canadian community of Lowell, Massachusetts - a significant city in post-bellum, industrial northeastern America.Tags Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Labor History, Lowell MA, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Immigration, Québec, Religion, Social History, United States -
Growing Up a Franco-American : The Social and Academic Effects of Bilingual Education in Northern Vermont
From Edwards: "A French-English bilingual education programme in Northern Vermont was studied to investigate its effects upon the French-speaking children. Data was presented showing the decline in French usage in the area, and the gradual assimilation of the French families into the American mainstream. Against this background, the program was seen to have helped the French pupils in academic performance compared both with their English schoolmates and with pre-programme French children. It was also shown that the programme did not have much impact outside the schools upon language usage or maintenance nor, it was argued, would this have been a realistic aim. However, in the terms ot the Act under which the programme operated, the programme was successtul - a considerable achievement in view of the generally bleak record of intervention programmes."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Berlin NH, Demography, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Essex County VT, Fall River MA, Holland VT, Island Pond VT, Language and Linguistics, Lewiston ME, Manchester NH, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Education, Nonfiction -- Psychology, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Orleans County VT, Québec, Vermont, Youth -
Construction, Perpetuation and Unraveling of a Community : The Franco Americans of Manchester, New Hampshire, 1870 to the Present
Printed in 1987, Fahey's 1974 undergraduate thesis focuses on the history of Franco Americans in Manchester, New Hampshire, their development as a distinctly knit ethnic community, and the eventual softening of the heritage-centered communal bonds that were the trademark of early 20th-century Manchester. Arguments toward French Canadian assimilation in New England. -
The French Canadian Community of Waterville, Maine
From the text: "While there have been a number of books and articles on the French Canadians in New England, very little has been written about the French Canadians in Maine. This thesis presents a study of a typical Maine French Canadian community, that of Waterville. It covers their early settlement in the area, the part played by the church and the schools, and their role in the life of the city." This text also includes a 77-page index of names of members of the Waterville Franco-American community up to 1951 (baptisms, politicians, religious leaders, businesspersons, attorneys, military personnel, etc.) -
Neither Peasants Nor Frenchmen : Racialization, Immigration, and Industrialization in the Franco-American Community of Manchester, New Hampshire, 1880-1930
From the author: "In this thesis, I examine how the processes of racialization, immigration, and industrialization caused the emergence of two divergent definitions of ethnic identity in the FrenchCanadian community of Québec and the FrancoAmerican community of Manchester, New Hampshire between 1880 and 1930."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, France, Great Britain, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Manchang MA, Mills and Mill Work, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Economic and Industrial, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Immigration, Québec, Religion -
Tool of Acculturation, Outil de Survivance : Education of French Canadians in Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1880-1920
From Fliss: "Motivated to ensure 'la survivance,' the survival of their religion, language, and culture, French-Canadian immigrants established an extensive private Catholic education system ranging from parish elementary and high schools to boarding schools and colleges in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century New England. Of these education levels, parish schools reached the largest number of French-Canadian children. In Holyoke, Massachusetts, French-Canadian survivance efforts centered on the education of their children in French-Canadian parish schools however, the parish school performed a dual role for the French Canadians in the context of their cultural transition in New England. French-Canadian culture pervaded the school day with French as a language of instruction, sisters from French-Canadian orders as teachers, religion and Canadian history in the curriculum, and the observance of traditional cultural customs and celebrations. The French-Canadian immigrant community did not anticipate the schools' second role, that of aiding the acculturation of their children into American society. Although these roles seem to be at cross-purposes, they co-existed in New England until the second half of the twentieth century with the weakening of French-Canadian identity, the shortage of teaching sisters, and the closing of ethnic parish schools. The bilingual and bicultural character of the school day, influenced by both assimilation and survivance strategies, contributed to the development of a Franco-American population in Holyoke...." -
From French Canadian to Franco-American : Cultural Survival and Reinvention of Nationality in a Connecticut Yankee Town, 1855-1895
From Fluet: "This dissertation...focuses on the immigrant French Canadians who maintained their cultural identity and embraced American nationality in the Connecticut Yankee town of Putnam in the period of 1855-1895. Few community studies exist for Connecticut in this period of rapid change and industrialization. Northeastern Connecticut, which witnessed the disappearance of Yankee homogeneity, remains unexamined. Putnam, with its large immigrant population, is representative of the area, and of many other smaller mill towns in the northeastern United States, and permits a glimpse of the process whereby French Canadians became Franco-Americans....Three questions drive the inquiry. The first question involves overarching issues of change and inherent community tensions and problems: how did Putnam move from a Connecticut Yankee town to a diverse city? Second, how did the immigrant French Canadians maintain their mentality of la survivance while participating in debates critical to the development of the Putnam community? Third, how did the French Canadian presence in Putnam help to broaden the very meaning of what it meant to be American in the mind of the community?"Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Brooklyn CT, Community: Customs and Social Life, Connecticut, Criticism and Review, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Government and Politics, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Mills and Mill Work, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Putnam CT -
Linguistic and Cultural Heritage of the Acadians in Maine and New Brunswick
Historical observations of language usage in the St. John River Valley in Maine and New Brunswick, focusing on the social, cultural, and linguistic traits maintained by the area's Acadian population. From the author: "This thesis proposes to show how and why the Acadians, particularly those of the Upper St. John River Valley, speak French with distinctive variations. To do so it will be necessary to present first a geographical outlay of locations involved in the development of the French language as well as the locations involved in the historical events of the Acadian chronicles."Tags Acadians, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, France, Geography, Language and Linguistics, Madawaska ME, Native Americans, New Brunswick, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Local, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Nova Scotia, Québec, St. John River Valley -
L'influence de la frontieère canado-américaine sur la population de Grande-Rivieère Madawaska
De l'auteur: "Le territoire d'étude de ce mémoire est situé dans le comté du Madawaska, au nord-ouest du Nouveau-Brunswick et dans la partie nord du comte d'Aroostook Maine, c'est-à -dire dans la vallée supérieure de la riviière Saint-Jean. La présente recherche concerne partculiièrement l'ancien territoire de la communauté de Grande-Riviière devenu le territoire actuel des villes de Van Buren (ME) et de Saint-Léonard (N.B.) depuis l'établissement de la frontiière canado-américaine entre le Nouveau-Brunswick et l'Etat du Maine par le Traité Ashburton-Webster, le 9 août 1842. Apriès 1842, la population de Grande-Riviière établie sur la rive sud de la riviière Saint-Jean devient americaine et celle etablie sur la rive nord reste britannique et plus tard deviendra canadienne....La moitié de cette population acado-canadienne, culturellement homogiène, unie sur le plan politique, administratif ete économique et évoluant avant 1842, autour d'une meme paroisse civile et religieuse, celle de Saint-Bruno, est maintenant rattachée aux structures américaines. Elle a depuis évolué sur les plans administratif, juridique, éducationnel et ecclésiastique selon les stalismes américains. Les deux populations, de Van Burne et de Saint-Léonard, soit américaine ou soit canadienne, ont été intégrées dans des institutions aux idéologies statales quelque peu différentes. Par ce fait, les populations des deux villes doivent avoir aujourd'hui des habitudes de vie et des comportements différents, un sens des valeurs particulier et appartenir à un monde symbolique distinct."Tags Acadians, Business and Economics, Canada, Education, Exploration and Colonization, Fort Kent ME, France, Frenchville ME, Geography, Government and Politics, Houlton ME, Language and Linguistics, Madawaska ME, Maine, Native Americans, New Brunswick, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Geography, Nova Scotia, Religion, St. John River Valley, Van Buren ME -
Ethnic Survival in a New England Mill Town : The Franco-Americans of Biddeford, Maine
An exploration of the characteristics of cultural survival within the Franco American community in the town of Biddeford, Maine in the 20th century. From the introduction: "In this study I will 1) analyze the fundamental nature of the experiment in survival that the Franco-Americans themselves call 'la survivance' , 2) investigate the historical, cultural, and social origins of 'la survivance' in French-Canadian culture, 3) determine the extent to which the Franco-Americans in New England constitute a deviation from the norm in respect to assimilation into American culture, 4) determine the factors that caused deviation from the norm." -
"Swing la tabatiere au fond d'une boite à bois" : The Contemporary Franco-American Quadrille in Rhode Island
Ethnographic study of Franco American folk music and performance in Rhode Island.Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Blackstone River Valley, Central Falls RI, Community: Customs and Social Life, Cumberland RI, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Folklore, Music, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- Folklore, Nonfiction -- Music, Pawtucket RI, Pawtuxet River Valley, Québec, Religion, Rhode Island, Waltham MA, West Warwick RI, Willimantic CT, Woonsocket RI -
Tradition and Change in the Gilded Age : Political History of Massachusetts, 1879-1893
Massachusetts politics during fifteen years within the industrial and early immigration periods of the late 19th century. From Harmond: "As this study seeks to show, Massachusetts confronted a dual set of challenges in the post-Reconstruction era. In the first place, the Irish-Americans and workingmen, provoked by their marginal status, united in a political revolt to obtain greater recognition and benefits for themselves. From 1878 to 1883 this ethnic-labor insurrection, led by Benjamin F. Butler, was the focus of Massachusetts politics....Secondly, the accelerated tempo of industrial and technological change spawnwed a spirirt of on-rushing materialism which threatened the Commonwealth's traditional business and political mores. Investors in the newly-developed water gas process, and the electric trolley, for example, resorted to extensive lobbying to secure favors from the legislature. One result was a series of scandals in the middle and later 1880s endangering the state's relatively high level of public morality....On the whole, Massachusetts met these challenges well. Under the leadership of members of the Yankee establishment, a conservative, but realistic, attempt was made to accomodate the needs of a new day to the Bay State's intellectual and political heritage." -
The Heflingers and the Lamoures : A Microcosm of United States Social History from the 1850's through the 1950's
From Huggins: "This thesis traces the history of two immigrant families from the mid-1800's through the mid-1900's. The social and economic factors of Germany and French Québec are studied to determine reasons for the movement of people from these countries to the United States during the 1800's. Family histories are used to follow the author's ancestors from their arrival through the following one hundred years....The narrative style is used to record family stories and reactions to historical events. The major contribution of this thesis is its furthering of the understanding of the impact of these two immigrant groups on America. Also the assimilation of Germans and French Canadians into American society is demonstrated."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Community: Customs and Social Life, Family, Genealogy, Germany, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Immigration, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Nonfiction -- Sociology, North Dakota, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Québec -
Le milieu, l'appartenance et l'integration à la société américaine : la littérature comme outil de connaissance des Franco-Américains
Thièse de premier cycle qui explore les écrits de Jack Kerouac, Robert Perreault, Gérard Robichaud, et Rhea Côté Robbins. Une analyse de leurs littératures comme oeuvres franco-américaines, ou exemples de «littératures mineures» qui offrent un commentaire unique sur la géographie et l'idée d'un «sentiment d'appartenance». Undergraduate thesis that explores the writings of Jack Kerouac, Robert Perreault, Gerard Robichaud, and Rhea Cote Robbins. Examines their literature as Franco-American works, and as examples of "minor literatures" that offer a unique commentary on one's geography and "sense of place." -
Processes of Immigration : The Franco Americans of Manchester, New Hampshire, 1875-1925
From Kanzler: "The Black History movement of the 1960s, the White Ethnic awareness of the 1970s and current developments in the Hispanic and Asian communities throughout the United States emphasize the significance of ethnicity as a major factor in the analysis of American nationality. These circumstances along with an increasing appreciation of social history as a critical area of research have stimulated new quests into the complexity and ramifications of the social processes of becoming an American....This study focuses on the various processes implied in the migration and settlement of French Canadian immigrants in Manchester, New Hampshire 1875-1925....The second part of the work applies the historical research in an educational setting to test the effectiveness of case study methodology. Using the historical findings in fictionalized form, a French Canadian family is traced from its migration to Manchester through processes of acculturation and adjustment. Control and experimental groups in two secondary U.S. History classes are tested for cognitive achievement and positive attitudes toward cultural diversity."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Criticism and Review, Demography, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Labor History, Manchester NH, Mills and Mill Work, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Education, Québec, Religion, Social History -
Phonological Variables in a New England French Speech Community
From the author: "The first section of the present study consists of a historical survey of the Franco-American community, examining those factors, such as the existence of a network of bilingual parochial schools, which were significant for language maintenance efforts. It is observed that French/English bilingualism in New England has seriously declined in the last twenty years, and that organized attempts to provide for its survival are now limited primarily to the state of Maine. The second section of this study specifies the lexical, morphological and syntactic characteristics which distinguish New England French (NEF) from Standard French (SF), based on a corpus of written and oral documents of recent origin. The results obtained are compared with those reported in studies of Canadian French, and in earlier studies of NEF. It is shown that no structural innovations have emerged in NEF which are not also attested in Canadian and other popular varieties of French. The influence of English is primarily restricted to the borrowing of words, but the use of anglicisms is often subject to ridicule. Systematic change in NEF tends to be in the direction of convergence with SF. Synchronically, a continuum of speech style is observed, whose lower or informal levels are characterized by features shared with the French of rural Québec, and whose higher or more formal levels are characterized by corresponding features of SF....The third section consists of an analysis of the present state of the phonology of NEF, and is based on a corpus collected in interviews with six informants in Manchester, New Hampshire. Sixteen phonological rules are formulated, defining elements which distinguish NEF from SF. It is shown that some of these features are being lost as NEF incorporates standard elements. Many of these elements which are avoided in formal speech situations by speakers with more exposure to SF, however, tend to occur frequently or predominantly in less formal situations. The sixteen phonological processes are subjected to partial ordering in terms of an implicational scale, according to whether they are more or less resistant to change. It is shown that those processes which entail only superficial (phonetic) differences between NEF and SF are more likely to be retained, while those processes which entail underlying (morphophonemic) differences are more likely to be lost."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Brunswick ME, Caribou ME, Education, Fall River MA, Language and Linguistics, Lewiston ME, Louisiana, Lowell MA, Maine, Manchester NH, New Bedford MA, New England, New Hampshire, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Québec, Salem MA, St. John River Valley, Woonsocket RI, Worcester MA -
Catholics in Maine : A Social Geography
Dissertation on areal patterns and geographic trends espoused by Roman Catholics in the state of Maine, with a focus on population distribution and respective voting patterns.Tags Acadians, Augusta ME, Biddeford ME, Brunswick ME, Caribou ME, Demography, Dexter ME, Emigration and Immigration, Geography, Kennebec River Valley, La Beauce QC, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Lewiston ME, Millinocket ME, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Demography, Nonfiction -- Geography, Nonfiction -- History -- Religion, Old Town ME, Orono ME, Québec, Religion, Rumford ME, Sanford ME, Skowhegan ME, St. John River Valley, Waterville ME, Westbrook ME, Winn ME -
La migration des Canadiens français vers le Michigan, 1840-1914 : leur contribution au développement socioéconomique de la région
Ce texte a devenu le livre "Le Canadiens français du Michigan" (2000), ou "The French Canadians of Michigan" (2003). Du résumé: "Cette thièse a pour objet la migration des Canadiens français vers le Michigan de 1840 à 1914. Elle s'intéresse de maniére plus precise aux Canadiens français qui se sont dirigés vers deux régions caracteristiques du développement industriel de l'Etat, soit la vallée forestiière de la riviere Saginaw et la peninsule miniière de cuivre de Keweenaw. Au-dela d'établir un profil statistique du mouvement migratoire, cette these cherche a mettre en lumiere la contribution des Canadiens français au développement socioéconomique du Michigan, à connaitre de quelle facon les Canadiens français se sont adaptés à la realité industrielle changeante du Michigan et à identifier les strategies qui furent adoptées pour y parvenir....Nous posons d'abord comme cadre general d'analyse que la mobilite spatiale des Canadiens français sur le continent nord-americain a été sous-estimée et que cet aspect de la realité socioéconomique et culturelle des Canadiens français commence à peine à être révelé dans toute sa dimension. L'analyse de leur migration vers le Michigan éclaire de maniière encore plus évidente cet aspect et permet d'inscrire ce mouvement migratoire en parfaite continuité avec la culture de mouvement et de travail qu'ils ont acquisé au fil de leur expérience de vie et de travail sur le continent. Nous avons d'abord constaté que les Canadiens français ont contribué de façon marquée à toutes les étapes du développement socioéconomique et politique du Michigan. Nous avons découvert que l'adaptation des Canadiens français à la realité industrielle au Michigan s'est exprimée de maniière différente dans le marche du travail forestier et dans celui du travail minier. Dans le premier cas, la culture de mouvement, conjuguée à une longue expérience de travail dans ce domaine, a fait en sorte que les Canadiens français se sont sentis rapidement à l'aise dans ce milieu et que cette confiance a influencé leur comportement. Que ce soit dans leur communauté, face à leurs élites ou au sein du marche du travail, l'assurance qu'ont affichée les Canadiens français leur a permis de prendre une distance face aux préscriptions clericales visant la survivance et l'isolement, pour participer activement à la société globale, s'y impliquer, s'adapter et réagir aux changements majeurs qui sont survenus sur le marche du travail industriel....Dans le secteur minier, l'absence d'expérience de travail des premiers migrants ne leur a pas permis d'afficher une aussi belle assurance. Les Canadiens français sont démeurés en marge du travail minier alors qu'ils se sont concentrés dans les secteurs connexés du travail forestier pour lequel ils avaient une expérience de travail. Ils ont également cherché à s'isoler socialement se concentrant dans des villages comme celui de Lake Linden ù ils ont constitué longtemps plus de la moitié de la population totale et ù ils ont pu ainsi maintenir un certain controle sur leur réalité socioéconomique et politique....Mais dans les deux cas, les Canadiens français n'ont pas été passifs, ni victimes de la situation. Aux changements de toute nature qui se sont produits, ils ont constamment réagi en faisant appel à leur culture de vie et de travail et aus ressources familiales pour s'adapter afin de faciliter leur integration socioéconomique."Tags Business and Economics, Demography, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Farming and Agriculture, Forestry, Fur-trading, Geography, Government and Politics, Labor History, Michigan, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Economic and Industrial, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Social History -
Franco-American Folk Traditions and Popular Culture in a Former Milltown : Aspects of Ethnic Urban Folklore and the Dynamics of Folklore Change in Lowell, Massachusetts
From Lane: "Being Americans of French-Canadian descent, the Franco-Americans of New England possess a rich and original traditional culture which has been little documented up to now, especially in English....As a result, this dissertation, which is a study in ethnic folklore and popular culture, attempts to provide an overview of the folk-traditions of French expression still existing today among the Franco-American community of Lowell, Massachusetts....This work is basically divided into two parts. The first two chapters of Part I deal with the general historical and cultural background of the Franco-Americans of New England, in general, and Lowell, in particular, while the third chapter looks at previous research in the domain of ethnic folklore and, more specifically, Franco-American folklore. Aspects of folklore performance and context are considered from the historical point of view of the Lowell Franco-American community....Part II, on the other hand, deals mainly with the documentation of the various realms of Franco-American folk-traditions, here classified according to genre. Traditional narratives ("contes"), popular jokes ("histoires droles"), children's songs and rhymes, and elements of oral history as well as aspects of traditional singing, music and dance are consecutively considered with sample texts of each genre given and analyzed. Further supporting documents are also presented in the appendices....Because Franco-American culture (and therefore Franco-American folklore and popular culture) is the historical result of successive migrations (from France to what is known today as Canada and, from Canada to New England) this study also takes into account the phenomenon of cultural continuity as well as some aspects of the dynamics of culture change which are viewed here as a process resulting from the conflict having taken and still taking place between two opposing forces: cultural maintenance and assimilation....Most of all, however, this work is a first step into the field of Franco-American oral-traditional genres, popular culture and an homage to ethnic creativity."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Bedford NH, Burlington VT, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Emigration and Immigration, Folklore, France, Lowell MA, Manchester NH, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, New England, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Social History, Woonsocket RI -
The History of the Development of Catholic Education in the State of Maine from 1604-1933
Historical look at Catholic Education in Maine from the time of the first French explorers and missionaries in the Americas to the author's present - before World War II. Covers elementary though college educations, from the northern tip of the state to York County at the southern border. -
Border Spaces and La Survivance : The Evolution of the Franco-American Novel of New England (1875-2004)
From Lees: "This dissertation examines nine texts written by Franco-American novelists of New England. Themes of migrancy, exile, and cultural survival (la survivance) ground my study. I explore the negotiations of cultural, social, political, linguistic, and gendered spaces as experienced---and chronicled in these novels---by the 1.5 million French-Canadian laborers and their families who migrated to New England between roughly 1865 and 1930."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Criticism and Review, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fiction and Literature, Gender and Sexuality, Geography, Government and Politics, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Literary Works, Literary Works -- Criticism and History, Mills and Mill Work, New England, Québec, Religion -
L'heritage franco-américain dans le Maine
De l'introduction de cet étudiant de France: "Afin d'approcher le sujet, trois méthodes ont été employées. La lecture de documents écrits retracent l'immigration et l'installation de canadiens français dans le Maine. Afin de mieux percevoir ce qui peut définier un franco-américain, l'outil statistique constatera certains critières économiques comme familiaux en 1990. Enfin, différentes rencontres imageront l'environnement d'un franco-américain dans le Maine en cette fin de siiècle....Bien sur, à travers des traits historiques, on obervera la continuité de quelques formes communautaires encore marquées du seau du XIXième et du début du XXième siiècle. Le rappel historique d'une immigration canadienne francophone est le prélude du phénomiène franco-américain dans les états de Nouvelle-Angleterre. Les lieux d'émigration comme d'immigration sont connus et à chaque ville dite "française", on peut déterminer les lieux d'origine des nouveaux arrivants. Qu'il se soit fait à pied ou en train, le mouvement migratoire amenait ces canadiens francophones à se regrouper en certaines villes. Des structures communautaires furent crées pour faciliter les conditions de vie des canadiens français dans le Maine....La geographie des franco-américains dans le Maine sera ensuite abordée. On cherchera à savoir si le phénomiène est uniforme. Pour cela, des outils statistiques apporteront des renseignements sur des différences régionales tant d'un point de vue géographique que sociologique....Enfin, divers aspects de la réalité franco-américaine des années 1990 seront présentés. On essayera de comprendre sur quelles bases les communautés continuent a se maintenir, et si renouvellement il y a."Tags Androscoggin County ME, Auburn ME, Augusta ME, Biddeford ME, Brunswick ME, Caribou ME, Chisholm ME, Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Dexter ME, Eagle Lake ME, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fairfield ME, Fort Fairfield ME, Fort Kent ME, Frenchville ME, Geography, Kennebec River Valley, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Lewiston ME, Limerick ME, Limestone ME, Madawaska ME, Maine, Millinocket ME, Mills and Mill Work, New Auburn ME, New Brunswick, New Canada ME, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Old Town ME, Portland ME, Religion, Saco River Valley, Sand Hill ME, Sanford ME, Skowhegan ME, Social History, St. John River Valley, Van Buren ME, Waterville ME, Westbrook ME, Winn ME, Winslow ME -
British and Canadian Immigration to the United States since 1920
Dissertation on the "invisible immigrants" to the United States from Britain and Canada between the 1920s and 1960s. From the author: "Always among the most numerous groups of immigrants to the United States, until 1969, the British and Canadians seldom claimed the attention of historians, just as they caused little discussion among the American people generally. Sharing a common language and closeness of culture with the Americans, the British and Canadians remained unhyphenated--they were America's 'invisible immigrants.'...A number of important studies on the British immigrant, if not the Canadian, do exist, but they are concerned with the Britons' experiences and their contribution to the American mosaic during America's 'century of immigration,' the one hundred years from 1815 to 1914. The purpose of this study was to extend the record of British and Canadian immigration beyond the statistical reports of government departments since the hiatus of World War I and to present an interpretive commentary on the significance of these two streams of immigration--to the sending countries; to the receiving country; and to a sample of individual immigrants themselves." -
"These Lines of My Life" : Franco-American Women in Westbrook, Maine : The Intersection of Ethnicity and Gender, 1884-1984
Historical perspectives on Franco American women in Westbrook, Maine, and evolving perspectives on gender and ethnicity over one century. -
La diphtongaison dans le français de Waterville, Maine : une étude sociolinguistique des voyelles orales
De l'auteur: "Le but de la présente étude est de contribuer à l'étude du français franco-américain, et en particulier, de considérer l'influence de certaines variables sociales sur la diphtongaison des voyelles orales. Nous faisons un résumé de l'histoire de l'immigration des Canadiens français à la Nouvelle-Angleterre et à Waterville, et nous faisons aussi un résumé de la littérature sur le français franco-américain, ainsi que sur le phénomiène de la diphtongaison en français québécois..." -
Following the Evangeline Trail : Acadian Identity Performance Across Borders
From the author: "The poem 'Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published in 1847, has had an impact on people for generations. The success of the poem was felt not only by its readership but also by the Acadian culture that the poem, and its heroine, came to represent. Evangeline, as character and poem, has evolved in meaning and popularity over the centuries and still plays a role in the cultural performance of contemporary Acadians....This study of Acadian cultural identity utilizes a performance approach that looks at cultural identity as a performative accomplishment in daily life. The analysis first enacts a performance historiography of the Acadian Deportation in 1755, Longfellow's poetic representation of this historical event, and the contemporary context of performing Evangeline in the Acadian diaspora. Next it examines the storytelling performances of narrative interviews with five Acadians. Three of these Acadians still live in the land of Evangeline, in Grand-Pre, Nova Scotia, and the other two live in Maine. Retellings of the story of Evangeline and reflections on the poem and character by each of the participants were analyzed for meanings which form and inform contemporary performances of Acadian cultural identity. The performance methodology allows for meanings to emerge from the embodied Acadian storytelling and to contextualize them in cultural and political spheres...." -
The Status of French Among Youth in a Bilingual American-Canadian Border Community : The Case of Madawaska, Maine
From Price: "This study examines the status of the French language among young residents of Madawaska, Maine, a US-Canadian border community with a long history of bilingualism and contact with French speakers. This study views language status as having two distinct yet interrelated components: (1) code role, or characteristics associated with the use of a given language or variety, such as attitudes of speakers toward the variety and its use, the proficiency level of speakers, language use patterns, and so forth, and (2) code nature, or the state of the variety in question in terms of syntax, phonology and lexicon. The data, collected by means of four interview tasks, targeted both code role and code nature and sought to determine the general status of French among the younger residents of this community. In addition to the younger subject population, a small adult baseline population was also included in order to compare data across generations, so as to identify not just possible differences in code role, but also in code nature, including the possibility of language loss....The data suggested several trends. First, in terms of code role, young subjects generally reported lower levels of language use, proficiency and exposure to French than did adults. Secondly, not only did high-proficiency young subjects generally report higher scores in these areas than did lower-proficiency subjects, but males tended to score higher than females in this regard. This would suggest that exposure to French, context, language proficiency and gender correlate with language use among this population. Conversely, attitudes do not generally appear to be a salient factor motivating French language use. With regard to code nature, the study found that even the most proficient young speakers demonstrated some important gaps in their grammatical competence, and that the young subject population as a whole exhibited features in their production consistent with language loss. The study concludes that although there are still many individuals with ability in French, the differences between younger and older speakers in terms of both code role and code nature suggest that local French will be lost unless further action is taken to reverse the progress of French language loss among young bilinguals in the community."Tags Acadians, Acculturation and Assimilation, Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Fort Kent ME, Frenchville ME, Gender and Sexuality, Geography, Language and Linguistics, Madawaska ME, New Brunswick, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Québec, St. John River Valley -
From Canadien to American : The Acculturation of French-Canadian Descendants in Lewiston, Maine, 1860 to the Present
Dissertation from the author of "Loyal but French: The Negotiation of Identity by French-Canadian Descendants in the United States." From the author: "Using Lewiston, Maine, as a community study, this dissertation examines how individuals of French-Canadian descent negotiated their entry into U.S. society from 1860 to 2001. Descriptive statistics compiled from federal manuscript censuses, city directories, and naturalization records provide portraits of the community at different points in time. The French language newspaper of Lewiston and materials from Catholic archives provide much of the literary evidence in this work....This study challenges our understanding of what we call "assimilation." It suggests that acculturation rather than "assimilation" better describes the process by which ethnic populations join the host society. Historians tend to oversimplify ethnic preservation and acculturation by depicting them as binary opposites. This study argues that, rather than struggling between ethnic retention and acculturation, French-Canadian migrants and their Franco-American descendants in Lewiston pursued them as intertwined goals from the 1870s to the 1950s. It also contends that their Americanization was anything but linear. Lewiston's francophones challenged, rejected, or redefined some of the norms of the host society, as they renegotiated their identity in the United States. Yet, modeling good citizenship was integral to their interconnected identity as ethnic Americans. The experiences of Lewiston's French-Canadian descendants challenge contemporary assumptions about the incompatibility of ethnic retention and Americanization."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Auburn ME, Community: Customs and Social Life, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Government and Politics, Journalism, Labor History, Lewiston ME, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Religion, Social History -
Exploration of Immigration, Industrialization, and Ethnicity in Waterville, Maine
From Rowe: "This paper traces how hegemonic forces create boundaries through the specific examples of the Lebanese and Franco-Americans in Waterville, Maine. These two immigrant groups entered into Waterville after an English-Scottish Protestant majority had already been established in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The Franco-American immigration from Quebec extended well over a century and the flow of people out of Canada can generally be studied into two distinct waves. People were constantly coming into Waterville from Quebec, and a small number would return to live in Canada after a time. It is also critical to understand that Franco-Americans were settling all over Maine during this same time span and that it is generally accepted that in the state of Maine today at least forty percent of the state has French-Canadian ancestry. In contrast the Lebanese who came to Waterville came during a very specific time period, from about 1890-1920. Their numbers were smaller and there were very few Lebanese who settled elsewhere in Maine."Tags Community: Customs and Social Life, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Kennebec River Valley, Labor History, Lebanese Americans, Maine, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Immigration, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Québec, Social History, Waterville ME -
Economic Factors in the Persistence of French-Canadian Identity in New England
From Schulz: "French-Canadian immigrants to New England, unlike other ethnic groups in the United States, did not show signs of assimilation into American society until the 1950's. This thesis examines the history of one French-Canadian community - Sand Hill, in Augusta, Maine. French Canadians came to Augusta in great numbers around the turn of the century to work in the cotton mill. To investigate the retention of French-Canadian identity, French-Canadian immigrants are considered as both an ethnic group and a social class. Evidence drawn from interviews with immigrants and from written accounts shows that economic conditions, such as poverty and lack of education, helped to reinforce French-Canadian isolation from "Yankees" in Augusta. Resistance to assimilation was also promoted by policies and informal practices of two strong local institutions: the French Catholic Church and the textile mill." Photographs taken by the thesis author of the Edwards textile mill in Augusta available here.Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Augusta ME, Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Labor History, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Religion, Sand Hill ME, Social History -
The Spindle City : Labor, Politics, and Religion in Fall River, Massachusetts, 1870-1905
The place of Fall River, Massachusetts, in the United States' 19th-century industrial boom, its ensuing period of immigration and cultural diversification, and the birth of the American middle class. A massive and in-depth dissertation that pays particular attention to ethnic and class distinctions as treated in the political atmosphere of the 35 year period around the turn of the century.Tags Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Emigration and Immigration, Fall River MA, Government and Politics, Labor History, Massachusetts, Mills and Mill Work, Native Americans, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Government and Politics, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- History -- Religion, Quequechan River Valley, Religion, Social History, Taunton River Valley -
The Sentinelle Affair (1924-1929) and Militant Survivance : The Franco-American Experience in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Definitive text on the background and maneuverings of the Sentinelle Affair in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. How the relationship between Catholic Church leaders and lay Franco Americans in Woonsocket was tempered by the empassioning pull of 'la survivance' and the public power of print media. -
Living Arrangements : Race, Ethnicity and Nationality in the Liberal State
From the author: "Liberals usually argue that cultural identity can flourish in the private sphere but should not matter in public. This argument is blind to the way liberal institutions affect cultural identity, the prejudices that members of some groups face, and the need for there to be only one or two public languages in most modern states. To fill this gap in liberal theory, I divide cultural groups into three: racial, ethnic and national groups. I explore this gap by looking at four groups: American Jews, the Amish, Black Americans and French Canadians....I argue that liberal citizenship transforms ethnic identity, making it difficult though not impossible to maintain strong ethnic ties in the liberal state. I defend these effects on ethnic identity, though I also argue that there is often too much pressure on ethnics to give up their particular practices. Liberal citizenship, though, has not transformed the identity of the Amish, who maintain their identity through a voluntary radical separation from the rest of society. The Amish treasure hierarchical and patriarchal illiberal values, but liberal toleration means that the liberal state should do little about this. Black Americans also have a distinctive culture, not from voluntary separation, but as a consequence of racism. For Blacks to gain equal citizenship, the liberal state must work to make Black citizenship visible and allow Blacks to bypass the effects of racism. This is contrary to the usual liberal argument of making issues of identity private matters. If Blacks gain liberal citizenship their identity would change considerably, just as liberal citizenship has transformed ethnic identity....Many people claim their cultural identity is tied to a particular language, yet most languages have a hard time surviving in industrialized, liberal states. I explain the conditions that languages need to survive. I contend, paradoxically, that because liberalism transforms ethnic identity, liberalism increases the importance of language to the identity of some. While liberalism and nationalism are usually antagonistic, I sketch out a compromise between language-based nationalism and liberalism. I end the dissertation by pointing out the implications my argument has for educational policy and for liberal theory." -
Morphosyntactic Variation and Language Shift in Two Franco-American Communities
From the author: "Although the originally French speaking Franco-American communities of Southbridge, Massachusetts, and Woonsocket, Rhode Island, have much in common historically, language shift toward English has advanced to differing degrees in the two locations. In this dissertation, I explore morphosyntactic variation and the advance of language shift in the two locations using historical documentation, U.S. census figures and sociolinguistic interviews conducted with sixty-nine informants....After comparing and contrasting the sociolinguistic profiles of the two communities, I describe some of the linguistic consequences of the shift from French to English in these traditional Franco-American centers through a quantitative variationist analysis of two morphosyntactic variables. These are auxiliary variation in the passé composé and variation between use of the synthetic and analytic futures. Findings from Southbridge and Woonsocket provide new insight for understanding linguistic change during situations of language decline..."Tags Acadians, Acculturation and Assimilation, Community: Customs and Social Life, Connecticut, Demography, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Language and Linguistics, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New England, New Hampshire, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Ontario, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Québec, Southbridge MA, Vermont, Woonsocket RI -
Migration, Family, and Gender : A Longitudinal Analysis of French-Canadian Immigrants in Lowell, Massachussetts, 1900-1920
From Takai: "'Migration, Family, and Gender: A Longitudinal Study of French-Canadian Immigrants in Lowell , Massachusetts , 1900-1920,' explores migration from French Canada to a New England urban centre of the textile industry, Lowell, Massachusetts. During the period under study, both Québec and New England underwent significant socioeconomic transformation. This work analyses the impact of these changes on the process of migration and settlement. It also sheds light on the diverse ways in which French-Canadian men, women, and children responded to new realities in an urban industrial society. In order to investigate these issues, it is necessary to consider this migration as a phenomenon which consisted of a series of processes and not as a linear progression towards inevitable assimilation or Americanization. It is also crucial to emphasize the importance of introducing a gendered perspective in order to recognize the diversity of strategies devised by immigrant men and women as well as the cooperation and tensions they experienced in the process of migration and settlement....This thesis joins recent scholarship in criticizing a perspective that has described all immigrant behaviour as necessarily reflecting one set of culturally predetermined norms and customs. Contrary to the stereotyped image of French Canadians as immobile and fatalistic habitants, evidence from this study shows that they were a highly mobile people for whom migration was a pondered response to the structural changes that were radically reshaping Québec and New England societies. It is argued that the behaviour of Lowell's French-Canadian immigrants in the early twentieth century did not merely reflect the cultural transplantation of habitant values, but also the attempts of working-class immigrant families to survive and cope with significant socioeconomic transformation occurring to both Québec and New England. The diversity in the recorded patterns of movements on the part of French Canadians is indicative of their strategic autonomy and flexibility in adjusting to new socioeconomic realities....This study also seeks to redress a major gender imbalance in the historical studies of immigrants by devoting considerable attention to women. Not only did women's lives differ from those of their male counterparts; there was also great variation in the extent to which women assumed financial and domestic tasks. Such diversity, I assert, in the patterns of women's paid work was defined not only by age or marital status, but also by a combination of factors such as household organization, living arrangements, and the availability of child care. Immigrant families harboured complex interpersonal dynamics where different and, at times, conflicting interests had to be negotiated in not necessarily equal terms, but in accordance to each member's power and authority within the family and the larger society."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Death and Disaster, Demography, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Gender and Sexuality, Geography, Illness, Labor History, Lowell MA, Massachusetts, Mills and Mill Work, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Immigration, Québec, Social History, St. Lawrence River Valley -
The Franco-Americans in a New England Community : An Experiment in Survival
A dissertation in sociology on the Franco Americans of Nashua, New Hampshire, previous to 1950, their community culture, and the implications of American assimilation on their social, linguistic, and religious norms. -
La littérature française de Nouvelle-Angleterre
Un oeuvre qui explore le phénomiène de la littérature langue française écrit et lit dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre, jusqu'à 1945. Réédité en 1946 par Fides, les Publications de l'Université Laval (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5198661).Tags Acadians, Boston MA, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Criticism and Review, Fall River MA, Fiction and Literature, Fitchburg MA, Government and Politics, Holyoke MA, Journalism, Language and Linguistics, Lewiston ME, Literary Works, Literary Works -- Criticism and History, Lowell MA, Manchester NH, Montréal QC, New England, New York, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Poetry, Religion, United States, Vermont, Woonsocket RI, Worcester MA -
Le concept de communauté en géographie vu à travers le petit Québec de la Floride
Le résumé de Tremblay: "Dans cette these de doctorat, nous explorons le concept de communauté, lequel appartient à la sociologie mais qui est d'un grand intéret pour les géographes par sa dimension spatiale plutot méconnue. Ce que nous cherchons à mieux connaitre c'est le role des lieux dans la vie quotidienne des membres d'une communauté en banlieue....Dans un premier temps, nous montrons la pertinence d'utliser l'approche sociogéographique pour étudier la communauté. Ensuite, nous traitons de concept de communauté et des multiples mutations qu'il a connues depuis une centaine d'années. Cette partie de la these permet également à constater que, comme le propose le géographe R.J. Johnston (1993), il y a un rapprochement entre le concept d'espace social de la geographe Anne Buttimer et celui de communauté....Dans la seconde moitié de notre these, nous appliquons notre réflexion à une étude de cas, c'est- à -dire l'espace canadien-francais en ballieue de Miami, que nous appelons ici "Floribec". A partir d'observations de terrain, réunies dans un chapitre qui offre une vision de l'extérieur de la géographie de Floribec, nous nous posons les questions suivantes. Quels sont les institutions et les lieux structurants floribécois et quel role jouent-ils dans leur vie quotidienne de cette communauté? Aussi, comment Floribec est-elle organisée spatialement? Par la suite nous devoilons une vision de l'intérieur de la géographie de Floribec et ce, à partir des résultats d'une enquete réalisée aupres de commercants floribécois....Cette étude de cas permet non seulement de révéler l'organisation spatiale de Floribec, mais aussi de suggérer qu'une communauté se structure à partir d'un ensemble de lieux structurants dont certains éloignées, qui lui donnent sa cohérence, et d'ou la communauté tire son identité." -
Images of French Language and Culture Outside of France : A Survey of a Franco-American Population in New England
From the author: "In the first part of the dissertation, we analyze the institutions which traditionally favored bilingualism: the family, the parochial school, the Catholic parish, the social environment, the media and other organisms such as mutual benefit societies and social clubs. The second part deals with images of French language and culture. These chapters treat of the non-linguistic make-up of Franco-American culture, the way Franco-Americans perceive their ethnic tongue and their attitudes towards it, and the written and oral French mastery of our population. In the final part of the analysis, we examine how Franco-American ethnic identity is defined by the individuals questioned and their views on the future of French language and culture in New England."Tags Community: Customs and Social Life, Connecticut, Demography, Education, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Journalism, Language and Linguistics, Maine, Massachusetts, New England, New Hampshire, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- French in North America, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Religion, Rhode Island, Vermont -
Immigration of French Canadians to New England, 1840-1900 : A Geographical Analysis
Study of French-Canadian emigration into the United States during the nineteenth century. Pivotal research in French Canadian emigration. Includes maps that show migration patterns from specific Canadian regions to specific areas in New England. From the author: "The purpose of this study is to examine geographically the French-Canadian population in New England in terms of the spatial interaction between New England and Québec. It is hoped that the conclusions relating to their experience will have relevance to the general study of immigration."Tags Biddeford ME, Burlington VT, Chicopee MA, Concord NH, Demography, Dover NH, Emigration and Immigration, Farming and Agriculture, Forestry, Geography, Holyoke MA, Illinois, Journalism, Kennebec River Valley, Labor History, Lawrence MA, Lowell MA, Madawaska ME, Manchester NH, Michigan, Mills and Mill Work, Milton VT, Minnesota, Nashua NH, New England, New York, Newport VT, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Geography, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Pawtucket RI, Quinebaug River Valley, Saco ME, Shetucket River Valley, St. Albans VT, St. John River Valley, St. Lawrence River Valley, Waterville ME, Willimantic River Valley, Winooski VT, Wisconsin, Worcester MA -
Gender and the Québécois Migration to New England, 1870-1930 : A Comparative Case Study
A study of gender in the context of Quebecois immigration to the United States over a sixty-year period (1870-1930). Observations on gender evidenced in the labor statistics of this time period. The foundation and development of a Franco American "transnational identity," and the impact of gender concepts on immigrant identity building (iv). From the author: "This study...seeks to understand both how gender shaped the process of relocation for the migrants, and how the migrants' understandings of gender changed throughout the migration process. Using a comparative case study, it focuses primarily on the French Canadian migrant communities of Lewiston, Maine and Worcester, Massachusetts" (iv). -
Postcolonialism in North America : Imaginative Colonization in Henry Thoreau's "A Yankee in Canada" and Jacques Poulin's "Volkswagen Blues"
Also featured, in abridged form, in the Massachusetts Review (see 'Journal Articles'). From the author: "This thesis introduces the concept of imaginative colonization in postcolonial literary and cultural studies, which has a particular relevance to the literatures of North America. It argues that the postcolonial experiences of the former colonies of England and France in the Americas, particularly the United States and French Canada, have been primarily conditioned by their relations to each other and not by their relations to the former colonizing power. Imaginative colonization occurs when one former colony, using the means of the cross-border narrative and/or the postmodern recuperation of history, reimagines another not as an autonomous cultural entity, but as a feature of its own history, language, ideology, and even cartography. Focusing especially on Henry Thoreau's travelogue, 'A Yankee in Canada' (1866) and Jacques Poulin's postmodern novel, 'Volkswagen Blues' (1984), but taking into account the entire history of French Canadian-American relations, this thesis establishes that the practice of imaginative colonization in North American literatures is parallel but nonsynchronous: both American and French Canadian literature go through the same developmental stages of decolonization and postcolonial imaginative colonization, even though they do so in different centuries. The examples presented also indicate that imaginative colonization blurs the established dividing lines between works of fact and fiction and that it occurs in both French and English." -
Le F.A.R.O.G. Forum : autopsie d'un journal d'éveil et de combat
Mémoire de récherche qui explore le journal du Centre Franco-Américan de l'Université du Maine - Le F.A.R.O.G. Forum - de 1972 aux années 1980. Situé dans le contexte de journalisme franco-américain, et comme publication francophone aux États-Unis pendant le mouvement québécois pour la souveraineté du Canada. -
"Accidents of terrain" : The native and foreign worlds of David Plante
From the author: "David Plante, an American writer born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1940, examines the inextricable connection between space and time, place and identity in his most important work, a series of semi-autobiographical novels and short stories about the Francoeur family. This study follows Daniel Francoeur, Plante's principal recurring character and fictional counterpart, on a journey of self-discovery in five novels that are representative of the three decades of Plante's career and illustrative of experiences located in both the native and foreign environments of his fictional world. In these five novels: The Family, The Woods, The Country, The Foreigner, and The Accident, Plante maps a terrain that extends in time and space from the insular French Canadian, Catholic parish in Providence where Daniel Francoeur grows up to the cities of Europe where he spends his late adolescence." -
The Role of Fr. Jean-Baptiste Proulx in the Danielson Affair and in the Manitoba School Question
From the author: "The thesis is an examination of the role of Fr. Jean-Baptiste Proulx as an intermediary for the French-Canadian laity at St. James' Church in Danielson, Connecticut in the parish discord known as the Danielson Affair, and as a secret ambassador of Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier for negotiations with Pope Leo XIII in order to settle the Manitoba School Question in 1896. The thesis re-examines the histories that have been written about Fr. Proulx's role in both historical events, and the histories that are examined are the book and dissertation by Sr. Dolores Liptak, European Immigrants and the Catholic Church in Connecticut, 1870-1920, and Robert Rumilly's Histoire des Franco-Américains and volumes eight and nine of his series, Histoire de la Province du Québec. ... The sources that are used to re-examine the histories are sources that Robert Rumilly used, such as the Papers of Fr. Proulx that are held by the National Archives of Quebec at Montreal, as well as Fr. Proulx's own account as an intermediary in the Danielson Affair, entitled: "Journal of My Steps and Walks in the Diocese of Hartford on the Subject of Danielson by the Reverend J.B. Proulx, Parish Priest of St. Lin." Also used are several contemporary newspapers in Connecticut, as well as three French-language newspapers that were published in Montreal and in Southern New England. In the analysis of the Danielson Affair and the Manitoba School Question, the thesis examines the development of several documents in light of either historical event. ... Also, the thesis analyzes two speeches from the Eleventh Convention of the Canadiens-Américains du Connecticut that was held in September 1896, and how they became two documents about the Danielson Affair that were forwarded to Fr. Proulx while he was in Rome. Other documents that are examined are the decision of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors on the contested election of lay trustees at St. James' Church in Danielson, known as 'State ex rel. George Barry vs. Eli Getty and James Reynolds,' and the response by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hartford to the said decision that changed the state laws for the incorporation of Catholic parishes, 'An Act concerning the Organization of Roman Catholic Churches' in 1903." -
French Canadian Influence in Manchester, N.H. before 1891
Master's thesis on the impact of French-Canadian immigration, labor, religion, and community-building in the industrial city of Manchester, New Hampshire, in the nineteenth century. Approaches this community before its more recent periods of growth at the beginning of the twentieth century. -
The Need for Bilingual Education in the Schools of Vermont
Argument toward implementing a bilingual education program in the public schools of the state of Vermont. Written in the context of the 1968 United States congressional discussions about funding bilingual education in general, and the scope of languages to which congress would propose attention. Uses Vermont as a case study in language demographics. Presents the author's collection of data concerning Vermont language usage, geographic distribution of children with limited English-speaking ability, and other factors pertinent to the federal legislation in question. While the dissertation engages bilingual education as a national phenomenon involving many languages other than English, the specific case of Vermont orientates the author toward the language realities of that state, the bulk of non-English speakers being represented in populations of French-speaking Franco Americans there. Contains an overview of scholarship on bilingualism.Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Albany VT, Alburg VT, Bakersfield VT, Barnet VT, Barre VT, Barton VT, Bennington VT, Berkshire VT, Brandon VT, Brattleboro VT, Brighton VT, Brownington VT, Burlington VT, Canaan VT, Charleston VT, Charlotte VT, Clarendon VT, Colchester VT, Coventry VT, Demography, Derby VT, Eden VT, Education, Enosburg Falls VT, Essex VT, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fair Haven VT, Fairfax VT, Ferrisburgh VT, Franklin VT, Georgia VT, Government and Politics, Hanover NH, Hardwick VT, Highgate VT, Holland VT, Hyde Park VT, Irasburg VT, Jay VT, Jericho VT, Language and Linguistics, Lowell VT, Lyndon VT, Manchester VT, Middlebury VT, Middlesex VT, Milton VT, Montgomery VT, Montpelier VT, Morristown VT, New Haven VT, Newbury VT, Newport VT, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Education, Nonfiction -- Government and Politics, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Norton VT, Orange VT, Orleans County VT, Pownal VT, Proctor VT, Putney VT, Richford VT, Richmond VT, Rockingham VT, Rutland VT, Shelburne VT, Sheldon VT, South Burlington VT, Springfield VT, St. Albans VT, St. Johnsbury VT, Stowe VT, Sutton VT, Swanton VT, Troy VT, Vergennes VT, Vermont, Walden VT, West Rutland VT, Westfield VT, Westford VT, Westminster VT, Whiting VT, Williamstown VT, Wilmington VT, Windsor VT, Wolcott VT -
The Measured Effects on Language Development of Bilinguals and Monolinguals with Varied Pre-First Grade Programs
Analysis of early education programs and their varying effects on monolingual and French/English bilingual students in the state of Maine. How the effectiveness of educational programs can be measured with regard to anglophone, francophone, and bilingual American students. -
Pronunciation of the French Spoken at Brunswick, Maine
Observations and analyses of the linguistic characteristics of vernacular French in the French Canadian and Franco American community of Brunswick, Maine, in the early twentieth century. Special emphasis on word pronunciation and its relationship to the pronunciation of words in Parisian French, as measured by the contemporary linguist. Republished in book form. -
Becoming Holy in Early Canada : Performance and the Making of Holy Persons in Society and Culture
From the author: "In this dissertation, I analyze how local religious figures became holy and the social functions they played, in order to better understand the connections between religion and colonialism and the shaping of faith communities over time. The study covers a broad time period from the early days of French settlement in Canada to the late nineteenth century. The focus falls on New France and the holy persons associated with the early years of settlement when religion and colonization were intimately connected. It was only towards the end of the nineteenth century that these figures were put forward for official recognition by the church in canonization causes, and consequently I conclude the study with an examination of the processes and resulting documents that contributed to the transformation of local holy persons into saints. Throughout the study, I concentrate on the place holy persons occupied in local society both during life and after death as intercessors for the faithful, the meanings they held and presented to their audiences, and the ways they performed the traditions of sanctity. Rituals of holiness were a form of communication. Holy persons and audiences interacted with and influenced one another to create a saint that was efficacious and effective. While faith communities developed around local, family and community networks, hagiographic texts described the lives, deaths and intercessions of select individuals and spread cults of belief. Between performances of holiness and the inscription of holy lives into texts, local saints were made who responded to the needs of their faith communities and became important parts of local religious, social, and cultural life." -
Ethnic Working Class Protest : The Textile Strike of 1922 in Rhode Island
Dissertation on ethnicity and working-class life in early-twentieth-century Rhode Island. Particular emphasis on the causes and effects of a violent 1922 strike at B.B. and R. Knight Mills on the banks of the Pawtuxet River in Natick, Rhode Island. The strike involved an extended mass protest, the intervention of the state militia, and the eventually successful pleading of a local Catholic priest.Tags Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Government and Politics, Italian Americans, Labor History, Mills and Mill Work, Natick RI, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Ethnic Studies, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Pawtuxet River Valley, Religion, Rhode Island, Violence -
A Study of the Survival of Certain Neologisms and 17th Century French Words and Expressions Among Pupils of French-Canadian Descent in the Woonsocket High School, Rhode Island, with a View to Determining Whether or Not This Survival Warrants Remedial Teaching
Thesis that argues a recognition of the persistence of French language from 17th-century France and New France into 20th-century southern New England. As a research piece in the field of education, this study examined the 1930s state of colloquial French among Woonsocket, Rhode Island high school students in order to determine what measures, if any, should be taken in a course of language normalization, and to explore the possibilities and ramifications of a language educator's various approaches to local French vernacular. -
French Ethnic Literature and Culture in an American City : Holyoke, Massachusetts
From the author: "This study examines the French literary and cultural life of French Canadians in New England with emphasis on Holyoke, Massachusetts, between 1869 and 1940. At the turn of the century French Canadians became known as Franco-Americans; they tried to maintain their native language and traditions as American citizens in a New England urban industrial setting....Holyoke's history and its unique character are considered in terms of their effects on the French Canadian settlers....We will attempt to examine Holyoke's French cultural and literary life in the framework of French Canadian life in New England through a general consideration of the French Canadian immigration, the role of the parish, the schools, the family, and societies."Tags Community: Customs and Social Life, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Family, Fiction and Literature, Holyoke MA, Journalism, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Literary Works, Literary Works -- Criticism and History, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Performing Arts, Poetry, Québec, Religion -
A Generative Phonological Description of Selected Idiolects of Canadian French in Lewiston, Maine
Certain linguistic descriptions of the French language characteristics heard among Franco Americans in the industrialized New England town of Lewiston, Maine, in the twentieth century. -
A Geography of the Imaginary : Mapping Francophone Identities and Curriculum Perspectives in the Postcolonial Present
From the author: "In the province of Alberta, the recent phenomenon of French-speaking newcomers, who are multicultural, multiracial, multiethnic and multifaith, is putting into question the concept of a collective Francophone identity in Canada. On the one hand, the notion of a collective Francophone identity has been evolving for several decades. On the other, changing demographics are challenging the already elusive concept of Francophone identity across Canada, thus making the notion increasingly difficult to define. The question therefore remains: who is Francophone in Canada?...As a Francophone teacher-researcher in a minority setting, I am particularly drawn to explore how Grade 7 students perceive and construct the francophonie and their Francophone identity as lived in Alberta. Specifically, I consider how stories of history, memory, language and geography explore the lived experience of Francophones in Alberta, especially during an era of increasing pluralism..." -
Bonsoir le maiêtre et la maiêtresse: le roêle de la Guiannée dans le maintien des communautés franco-américaines de Sainte-Genevieève et de la Prairie du Rocher
From the author: "This dissertation explores the cultural identity of two Franco-American communities in the Mid-West [United States] to identify traits that continue to persist despite language loss due to prejudice and persecution. In this dissertation, I argue that cultural identity does continue in spite of language loss and that when language loss does occur, other identity traits, such as festivals and traditional celebrations take on a more profound and visible role in order to maintain this cultural identity.
"In 2006 and 2007, I observed the Guiannée (La Guiannée) of Sainte Genevieve, Missouri, and of Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, to understand how these two communities continue to express the culture of their French heritage. The Guiannée became the center of my research into understanding the maintenance of the Franco-American identity. This celebration continues each year on New Year's Eve and it is sung in French by members of the community who do not speak, read, or write in French, except in some cases for identifying places, people, or other celebrations."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Folklore, France, Language and Linguistics, Missouri, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- History -- Local, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Prairie du Rocher IL, St. Genevieve MO, United States, US Midwest -
Southern Seduction : Canadian and American Snowbirds in Florida Since 1945
From the author: "This thesis explains and analyzes the phenomenon of seasonal, long-term winter travel to Florida, travelers that South Floridians have called 'snowbirds.' It demonstrates what pushed and pulled [Canadian and American] snowbirds to Florida, analyzes their journey south, their settlement patterns and housing choices, their tendency to congregate together, the forms of their sociability. It mostly defines snowbirds as migrants who, down South, build communities of kindred spirits. In the fragmented built landscape of 20th-century Florida, the congregation of snowbirds produced unique forms of socialization and, we argue, of community. These unique settlements have uniquely influenced Floridians' debates about their own community-building issue, while playing a part in Northerners' views about Florida, the South, the North, the United States and Canada."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Business and Economics, Canada, Chicago IL, Community: Customs and Social Life, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Florida, Geography, Government and Politics, Hollywood FL, Miami FL, Montréal QC, New York, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Travel and Tourism, Québec, Social History, Sports and Leisure, St. Petersburg FL, Travel and Movement, United States -
Phonological Correspondences Between Modern French and the Lewiston-Auburn Dialect of French, and Between the English Spoken in Lewiston-Auburn and the Lewiston-Auburn Dialect of French
Comparison of phonological traits in the English and the French languages spoken in the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn, Maine. Observations of idiosyncratic French language characteristics in Lewiston. An introductory history of Franco Americans in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine - their European and Canadian backgrounds, and their Maine community establishments. Charts that measure specific linguistic properties of Lewiston-Auburn French speakers. From the introduction: "My goal, in writing this essay, was to make a phonetic transcription of the sounds which bilingual Franco-Americans of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine employ when they speak what they call 'French,' and then to show how these sounds correspond to the sounds of Modern French; and what happens to the sounds of English words when they are borrowed by these people when they are speaking the LA dialect. The analysis is strictly descriptive, and phonetic, and it was carried out only on the word level." (1) -
Family, Kinship and Community Formation on the Canadian-American Border : Madawaska, 1785-1842
From the author: "The Madawaska settlement, on the Upper St. John Valley in Northern Maine and North West New Brunswick was started in 1785 by a group of Acadian and French-Canadian families for New Brunswick, and a group of French Canadians from the St. Lawrence Valley. They were subsequently joined by other migrants from French Canada. The settlers lived off subsistence farming till 1824, when lumbercamps opened in the region. They were isolated as no road connected the Upper St. John Valley with other settled region until the 1830s. The only means of communication between Madawaska and the outside world was through the St. John and Madawaska Rivers and through portages to the St. Lawrence. This study examines the interaction between family, kinship networks and the process of community formation over the first sixty years of this settlement. It is based primarily on quantitative sources: parish registers, censuses, land records, but also uses existing traditional evidence. Consequently, it extensively uses quantitative and demographic techniques."Tags Acadians, Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Farming and Agriculture, Geography, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Madawaska ME, Native Americans, New Brunswick, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- French in North America, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Religion, Social History, St. John River Valley -
Une certaine Amérique aè lire : la beat generation et la littérature québécoise
Du texte: "Cette thièse porte sur l'inscription de la Beat Generation dans la littérature québécoise. J'y analyse non pas la réception de ce mouvement au Québec lors de son émergence dans les années 1950, mais bien sa réappropriation postérieure. II faut pour lire ce corpus québécois contemporain une connaissance sans faille de celui de la Beat Generation et des travaux sur le mouvement et ses écrivains. Dans cette optique, je trace d'entrée de jeu les grandes lignes de l'histoire personnelle et de l'approche littéraire des principaux auteurs de la Beat Generation, qui n'ont jamais rédige de manifeste. Par la suite, je prociède a une analyse du corpus québécois a partir de thièmes privilégies du mouvement, d'inscriptions textuelles, de citations et de références explicites ou masquées dans des noms de personnages ou de lieux. J'établis aussi les filiations entre les personnages d'un corpus et de l'autre. Il s'agit donc, toujours en restant prés des textes, d'analyser la présence « Beat» au sein du corpus québécois." -
Madawaska : A Chapter in Maine-New Brunswick Relations
History of the Madawaska border region of the Upper Saint John River Valley as a meeting point of New Brunswick and the state of Maine. Madawaska as an area of political negotiation, a borderland infused with geographic and political meaning in the middle of the twentieth century. From a review in George Findlen's "Genealogist's Handbook for Upper Saint John Valley Research" : "Although much of her work deals with the big picture of the frontier and of the relationship between Maine and New Brunswick, she still gives a lot of space to the mostly Acadian population caught in between." Republished by the Madawaska Historical Society in 1975.Tags Acadians, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Emigration and Immigration, Exploration and Colonization, France, Geography, Government and Politics, Madawaska ME, Maine, Native Americans, New Brunswick, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- French in North America, Nonfiction -- Government and Politics, Nonfiction -- History -- Local, Religion, St. John River Valley, United States -
Shantytowns in the United States, 1820-1890
From the author: "This dissertation adds a missing piece to the history of the American working class by documenting an overlooked category of low-income housing and the ways in which these self-reliant communities were assigned cultural meanings at odds with their physical form. Using sources that range from photographs and oil paintings to novels and sheet music, the dissertation traces the shanty house type from frontier homesteads to urban shantytowns in turn-of-the-century New York and Brooklyn. It also examines their evolving cultural construction. Presented as domestic by their working-poor builders, shantytowns were nonetheless perceived as degraded by middle-class observers. This had public policy consequences, as shantytowns were razed and outlawed during the last decades of the nineteenth century." -
Le mouvement Sentinelliste : réflexions sur un probleème de survivance
Une theèse maitrise sur le mouvement Sentinelliste: une grande réaction journalistique aux droits linguistiques et réligieuses d'une dioceèse catholique dans le Rhode Island, et dans les églises du sud de la Nouvelle-Angleterre au début du 20e siiècle. La rélation entre l'église catholique américaine, l'église catholique québécoise, et le pont de Rome. Certains défis réligieuses à la cause de la survivance franco-américaine. -
Le Canada français et le roman américain (1826-1948)
Les rélations culturelles entre le Québec, les canadiens français, et la littérature américaine tel qu'ils apparaissent dans le roman américain. Les impressions américaines populaires de ces romans sur des perceptions du Canada français. L'histoire de cet impact entre 1826 et 1948 - vers la période de la grande migration des canadiens français aux États-Unis.Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Boston MA, Canada, Detroit MI, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fiction and Literature, Language and Linguistics, Literary Works, Literary Works -- Criticism and History, Montréal QC, Native Americans, New York NY, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Québec, Religion, United States -
The First Forty Years of Franco-American Foundations in the Lewiston Area
Historical origins of Franco American community in the city of Lewiston, Maine. Cultural heritage as related to the establishment of textile mills and shoe shops, the influence of church parishes and schools, and the concerns of local Roman Catholic leadership. Covers the period from 1860 to 1900. Based largely on primary data collected in archives and personal interviews. Includes population figures, financial data from industrial centers, and information on parochial schooling. From the author: "The problem of this study is to investigate and to systematically document the foundations of Franco-American heritage in Lewiston, Maine."Tags Art and Architecture, Auburn ME, Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, East Rutland VT, Education, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fall River MA, Family, Lewiston ME, Maine, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- History -- Local, Religion, Social History -
Identity Discourse in Three Franco-American Life Histories from the U.S. Federal Writers' Project
Critical reading of three Franco American oral history interviews from the Federal Writers' Project of the late 1930s. An exploration of how the participants in each interview constructed identities of self and community through the stories they chose to tell and the manners in which the stories were communicated. Begins with explanation of this author's specific concerns with methods of "critical discourse analysis," and is contextualized historically with an introduction to the history of New England's Franco American communities in general. Concludes with questions of the shape and substance of a 21st-century Franco American identity, illustrated in the author's own self-examination . From the author: "This project explores the social construction of ethnic identity among Franco-Americans, the descendants of French-Canadian immigrants to the northeastern United States....The project concludes with reflections on how the life narratives might inform a postmodern Franco-American ethnic identity."Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Criticism and Review, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Labor History, Language and Linguistics, Manchester NH, Mills and Mill Work, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Old Town ME, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Religion, Social History, United States -
Women's Role Orientation in Three Types of French Canadian Educational Institutions
Qualitative analysis of self-concepts of college women and their varying attitudes toward gender roles. Based on data collected through questionnaires to women in different types of French Canadian schools - "classical colleges," "normal schools," and "family institutions" - in separate regions in Québec. Analysis of survey results explores the effects of how different schools have prepared women for adulthood and citizenship. Presents in numerical data the orientation of these schools and their female students toward prescriptive gender roles. Measures personal traits and family as influences on gender role assumptions within the observed French Canadian populations. Contains an overview of other pertinent sociological research. Written in the context of a period of change in the education system of the Quebec province. From the author: "The problem that this research attempted to solve was how to explain diversity and specificity in role orientation among college women." -
Folkways of Pre-Expulsion Acadians in Selected French, British, and American Writers : A Comparative Analysis of Similarities and Differences in Expressed Thought
Historiography of Acadia up to 1755. Analysis of writings on the Acadian people as they were thought to have lived in Atlantic Canada before their 18th-century expulsion. Presentation of pre-expulsion Acadian customs, behaviors, and social life as described by French, British, and American writers. Comparisons of these descriptions, and arguments on the religious and political biases evident in them. An attempt at relating the historical origins of these biases and descriptive trends in order to clarify a presentation of the pre-expulsion Acadian population.Tags Acadians, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Death and Disaster, Education, England, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Exploration and Colonization, Farming and Agriculture, Fiction and Literature, Folklore, France, Government and Politics, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- Folklore, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, North America, Nova Scotia, Religion, Violence -
Guidelines for the Teaching of French to Franco-Americans
Dissertation exploring the resources and methods available for teaching the French language to the Franco American native French speaker. Suggestions for materials, activity, and practice in the Franco American's bilingual education setting, including tools for fostering "historical perspective" and an appreciation of "cross-culturalism." Particular attention to the Franco American student, namely one's language behaviors and pronunciations, historical background, and cultural heritage. Provides an overview of the history of New England Franco Americans. Includes a selective bibliography for research on bilingualism. From the author: "A general premise of this dissertation is that the language and cultural assets of the Franco-American student can be organized for meaningful language learning experiences....The result of this dissertation should be guidelines to writing and organizing language teaching materials for Franco-Americans" (1,2).Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Auburn ME, Berlin NH, Biddeford ME, Boston MA, Bridgeport CT, Brunswick ME, Burlington VT, Cambridge MA, Central Falls RI, Education, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fall River MA, Hartford CT, Holyoke MA, Language and Linguistics, Lawrence MA, Lewiston ME, Lowell MA, Maine, Manchester NH, Nashua NH, New Bedford MA, New England, New Haven CT, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Education, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Pawtucket RI, Portsmouth NH, Providence RI, Springfield MA, St. John River Valley, Waterville ME, West Warwick RI, Woonsocket RI, Worcester MA -
Ethnic and Social Class Differences in Role Strain and Mechanisms of Adjustment
Dissertation comparing the ways in which working- and lower-class Franco American and Italian American women deal with social and psychological stresses. Comparisons of the interpersonal behaviors of "housewives" within each social group, measured in data collected through survey and personal interview. The effects on individuals of changes in social environment. Brief historical background of the two Rhode Island cities from which data was collected, as well as of the two immigrant, ethnic communities in question. Pays close attention to how differing social status, economic class distinction, educational achievement, family size, religious affiliation, etc., factor into personal behaviors. Contains a brief overview of literature on the sociology of mental health and the influences of class and culture on one's orientation toward communicating stress or mental illness. From the author: "This study is concerned with the mental health of selected subgroups, namely ethnic and social class....This study is specifically interested in the amount and kinds of role strain reportedly felt by the members of these two subgroups..." (3).Tags Community: Customs and Social Life, Education, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Gender and Sexuality, Health and Wellness, Italian Americans, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Psychology, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Nonfiction -- Sociology, Providence RI, Religion, Rhode Island, Woonsocket RI -
Religion, Education, and Language as Factors in French Canadian Cultural Survival
Dissertation on the cultural life of French Canada, from the 16th century until the middle 20th, and the specific roles that religion, education, and language have played in its minority preservation in and outside of Quebec. Historical background of the French in Canada. The importance of the Catholic Church, the educational system, family, literature, and government as structures for supporting the three factors observed. According to the author, written to fill a gap in English language scholarship on the history of French Canada.Tags Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Education, England, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Exploration and Colonization, Family, Fiction and Literature, France, Government and Politics, Language and Linguistics, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Education, Nonfiction -- History -- Religion, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Québec, Religion, War -
A Comparative Study of French Canadian Loggers and Their Families
Dissertation presenting anthropological research on French Canadian loggers at work in northern New Hampshire in the middle twentieth century. The impact of work situations on the families of loggers, and the influence of family life on structures and patterns of work in the woods. Observations on the differences between New Hampshire loggers who have immediate families living in Québec with those who have families in the United States. Takes into account work mobility, kinship and household norms, father-absence, and conceptions of logging and family life as interrelated factors distinguishable between workers of different living situations. Presented in historical contexts of French Canadian labor and migration, as well as with a background in the cultural norms of the French Canadian family.Tags Alton NH, Bald Brook NH, Bartlett NH, Bear Brook NH, Beecher Falls NH, Berlin NH, Bloomfield VT, Canaan VT, Colebrook NH, Dixville NH, Easton NH, Emigration and Immigration, Errol NH, Family, Forestry, Gender and Sexuality, Glencliff NH, Groveton NH, Island Pond VT, Jackson NH, Kennebago ME, Labor History, Long Lake ME, Maidstone VT, Moultonborough NH, Nash Stream NH, Nashua NH, New Hampshire, Newcomb NY, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Anthropology, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, North Concord VT, Parmacheenee ME, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Pittsburg NH, Pontook Reservoir NH, Québec, Religion, Rumford ME, Rumney NH, Social History, Speculator Lake NY, Stratford NH, Travel and Movement, Tupper Lake NY, Twin Mountain NH, Warren NH, West Milan NH, Whitney Park NY -
French and English Canadians in "Milltown" : A Pilot Study of the Organizational and Interactional Aspects of a Bicultural and Bilingual Town
Dissertation analyzing the social dynamics of an Ontario "pulp and paper town" with significant French- and English-heritage populations. A comparative sociological study in how ethnicity impacts community structures and interrelations in Canada. How the phenomena of dual social organizations divided along ethnic lines relate to industry, town economics, and politics. Comments on observable forms of inter-communal relations and the status of inter-ethnic interaction in the studied town. Presents a local case in a national, Canadian context, with reference to notions of acculturation and histories of group conflict. From the author: "The argument is that interethnic relations can be considered from the perspective of social organization and/or interorganizational relations because the characteristics of organized ethnic collectivities are crucial to the understanding of intergroup relations" (iii).Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Business and Economics, Canada, Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Government and Politics, Language and Linguistics, Mills and Mill Work, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Ethnic Studies, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Nonfiction -- Sociology, Ontario -
Habitants in Holyoke : The Development of the French-Canadian Community in a Massachusetts City, 1865-1910
Descriptions of turn-of-the-century transitions among the Franco Americans in Holyoke, Massachusetts, from a lower-class immigrant enclave to a more largely socially integrated, participatory American community with greater public influence. Argues a breakdown of "French Canadian cultural isolation" (xi) gradually taking place between the American Civil War and World War I. A case study in American acculturation, weighing social and cultural factors, industry, economics, and politics, as they concern the Franco American community in a medium-sized New England city. Contains in the introduction an overview and analysis of research on Franco Americans and French Canadian immigration.Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Business and Economics, Community: Customs and Social Life, Demography, Emigration and Immigration, Family, Government and Politics, Holyoke MA, Irish Americans, Labor History, Massachusetts, Mills and Mill Work, New England, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Québec, Religion, Travel and Movement, Youth -
The Women of Survivance : A Case Study of Ethnic Persistence Among the Members of Franco-American Women's Groups in New England, 1950-Present
Thesis in sociology highlighting Franco American women in the preservation of ethnic heritage and language. Based on a variety of case studies conducted by the author in 1980s New England. From the author: "The primary purpose of this dissertation was to explore questions related to the processes of ethnic persistence and, secondarily, to understand the role of women in these processes. The procedure for this investigation was to conduct a case study of an ethnic women's organization, La Federation Feminine Franco-Americaine (Fede). This case study of the Fede utilized field work techniques, in-depth interviews and the analysis of archival materials. The objectives of this case study were in brief: (1) to delineate the maintenance activities involved in ethnic persistence; (2) to determine the importance of ethnicity to ethnic group members actively involved in its maintenance; (3) to assess the role of ethnic women in these processes, in order to develop a grounded theory of ethnic persistence." -
Les causes du déclin de la presse franco-américaine
Un thièse de maîtrise sur des gens et des lieux américaines qui ont affectés la croissance et la prospérité des presses franco-américaines au XIXe siiècle, aussi que les circonstances de leur disparition au XXe. Un accent particulier sur les publications périodiques de la Nouvelle-Angleterre et du Midwest américain. Profils de certains agents dans le journalisme franco-américain. Enfin, en considération de la variété des contenus et des perspectives journalistiques dans des différentes publications, quelques réflexions sur le déclin de ce forme culturelle et journalistique. Commentaires sur l'assimilation et l'angilicization. Table des matieres: Introduction Naissance et développement de la presse franco-américaine dans le Midwest américain Naissance et développement de la presse franco-américaine en Nouvelle-Angleterre Causes générales du déclin L'âme franco-américaine Conclusion BibliographieTags Acculturation and Assimilation, Amesbury MA, Biddeford ME, Burlington VT, Chicago IL, Cohoes NY, Community: Customs and Social Life, Concord NH, Connecticut, Detroit MI, Emigration and Immigration, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Fall River MA, France, Glens Falls NY, Holyoke MA, Illinois, Journalism, Kankakee IL, Lowell MA, Maine, Manchester NH, Massachusetts, Merrimack River Valley, Michigan, Minneapolis MN, Minnesota, Nashua NH, New England, New Hampshire, New York, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History -- General, Nonfiction -- Journalism, Notre Dame IN, Québec, Rhode Island, St. Albans VT, St. Louis MO, St. Paul MN, Troy NY, US Midwest, Vermont, Wisconsin, Worcester MA -
Genetic Demography of Deme Formation in a Franco-American Population : 1830-1903
Study in biological anthropology on the immigration and settlement of French Canadians in New England, and the eventual community, then deme - or reproductive/"breeding" group - formation of Franco Americans in Old Town, Maine, through the 19th century. Study incorporates census and population analysis with community formation, utilizing five specific criteria to identify "community" : distinctiveness, smallness, homogeneity, self-sufficiency, and stability, the final of which being measured and proven by membership in St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Parish of Old Town. The anthropology of a certain Franco American deme. How "deme" as a genetic, biological category differs from "community," with the Franco Americans of Old Town as case study. -
From Colony to Class : The Changing Consciousness of Franco-American Textile Workers in Waterville, Maine, 1934-1954
Thesis examining the textile workers of Waterville, Maine during the New Deal Era. Descriptions of an observable transition in the Franco American community from an ethnicity-based cohesion to a consciousness and way of life organized by class. An attempt to situate the origins of assimilation and social disintegration of the Franco American communities in the early 20th century. A labor history of the Waterville, Maine area in the early 20th century. The changes in Waterville's workers' attitudes toward organized labor, especially following the 1934 general strike along the American East Coast. The development of class identity as seen in Waterville worker demonstrations in the later 1930s. -
Some Social Factors Affecting the French Spoken in Lewiston, Maine
Dissertation on the relationship between the French language and Franco American culture in Lewiston, Maine in the twentieth century. Historical background of Maine French speakers. Theories and methods in the study of French in New England as introduction and comparison to the author's own survey research in Lewiston. Contents and results of a linguistic questionnaire given various French speakers in Lewiston. From the author: "Using a broadly based survey of the French spoken in Lewiston, Maine this thesis treats the question of the levels of Franco-American speech. The relationship of language features to social factors is studied by means of a computer-aided analysis of a representative sample of the French-speaking population" (iii, Abstract). -
The Design of a Franco-American Restaurant as a Community Education Device
Master's thesis proposing a restaurant whose design and theme aim toward public education about Franco American culture. How this project is situated in a larger, national discussion about "the value of ethnic identity" (1). A demographic background on Franco Americans, and how cultural information about them might be used in a public history program. Sketches of the restaurant's physical structure. How the building's layout and contents relate to experiential learning: about traditional French Canadian architectures and histories, Franco American foodways, and modern Franco American life. -
L'identité des Acadiens de la vallée du Saint-Jean
Étude sur l'identité ethnique et sa transformation dans les Acadiens de la vallée de la riviière Saint-Jean au nord de l'état du Maine dans les années 1990; analyse basée sur des recherches historiques et des données locales et multi-générationnelles acquises par un questionnaire distribué à Fort Kent, Madawaska, Ste. Agathe, et Van Buren; information sur la langue, la famille, la géographie, et la conscience ethnique; introduction historique aux Acadiens de l'Amerique du Nord; une copie du questionnaire en annexeTags Acadians, Acculturation and Assimilation, Ethnicity and Collective Identity, Family, Fort Kent ME, France, Great Britain, Language and Linguistics, Madawaska ME, Maine, Native Americans, New Brunswick, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- Language and Linguistics, Nova Scotia, Religion, St. Agatha ME, St. John River Valley, Travel and Movement, Van Buren ME, Violence -
A Preliminary Historical Inquiry into the Maine Catholic School System
Education research into the Roman Catholic diocesan school system in Maine - from the Church's early teaching there, to the system's official establishment in 1853, to its middle-twentieth-century form. One of the earlist writings on the Maine Catholic School System. Historical and geographic context for the system's development; specific impacts of bishops and Church leadership; the school system's "decentralization" and instances of local linguistic and cultural variety (viii). Cites lack of historical and demographic data. From the author: "Despite a relative lack of source material, the investigation has attempted to establish how, though a process of internal growth and external influences, Catholic education in Maine has developed into a distinctive diocesan school system" (vi). Table of Contents: Introduction The Field of Catholic Education in Maine Administrative Policies of the Bishops of Portland Organizational Characteristics of the Teaching Congregations Summary and Conclusions Bibliography Appendix -
A Study of Item Bias in the Maine Educational Assessment Test
Education study of the cultural validity of standardized testing in Maine. Based on test performances in 1988 and 1989 from samplings of students in St. Agatha, Madawaska, Lewiston, Fort Kent, Van Buren, and Caribou. Analyzes scoring in the areas of reading and math for French bilingual and English-speaking students in these regions. From the author: "Given the consistently lower mean test performance among State of Maine bilingual/English fluent pupils, compared to monolingual English pupils, the results of the Maine Educational Assessment in reading and mathematics were analyzed to determine where there was bias in item structure and format" (1). -
Le roman franco-américain en Nouvelle-Angleterre, 1878-1943
Une dissertation sur la littérature - le roman - franco-américaine : ses grands thièmes, ses auteurs dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre, et les historiques américaines et québécoises qui forment son contexte. Met l'accent sur les textes suivants:"Jeanne la fileuse," d'Honoré Beaugrand; "Un Revenant," de Rémi Tremblay; "Bélanger ou l'histoire d'un crime," de George Crépeau; "Mirbah," de Emma Dumas; "La jeune Franco-Américaine," d'Alberte Gastonguay; "Canuck," Camille Lessard-Bissonnette; "L'innocente victime," d'Adélard Lambert; "Sanatorium," de Paul Dufault; "Les Enfances de Fanny," de Louis Dantin. Une présentation des profils de chaque auteur. Table des matiières Avant-propos Introduction générale I. L'Exode: Expérience collective 1. La défense: Honoré Beaugrand et Anna Duval-Thibault 2. L'histoire régionale: George Crépeau et Emma Dumas 3. La vie franco-américaine: Alberte Gastonguay, Camille Lessard, Adélard Lambert II. L'Exode: Expérience intime 1. Le Canadien errant: Rémi Tremblay 2. L'Isolement: Paul Dufault et Louis Dantin ConclusionBibliographieTags Burlington VT, Central Falls RI, Criticism and Review, Danielson CT, Fall River MA, Fiction and Literature, Holyoke MA, Lewiston ME, Literary Works, Literary Works -- Criticism and History, Lowell MA, Manchester ME, Manchester NH, Nashua NH, New England, North Grosvenordale CT, Québec, Religion, Rochester NH, Waterville ME, Winooski VT, Woonsocket RI, Worcester MA -
The People of Survivance : Franco-Americans in New England
Thesis on late twentieth-century New England Franco American literature and some of its creators - John Dufresne, Dorianne Laux, Steven Riel, Denis Ledoux, Susann Pelletier, Bill Tremblay, David Rivard - couched in a culture-specific analysis of historical identity and psychological debt. How these literary figures and their work at once inform and are informed by regional and familial experiences of ethnicity, language, religion. Close-readings of their work informed by writings of psychoanalysts Jacques Lacan and Julia Kristeva. -
From Mills to Millennium : Documenting Social Change Through Oral Histories Among Three Generations of Franco-Americans in Manchester
Dissertation describing the historical development of a Franco American cultural identity through oral history interviews conducted by the author with sixteen Franco American people in the Manchester, New Hampshire region. Includes two parts: video recording of interviews and thesis text with historical background, select transcription, and contextualized analysis of interviews. Interviewees vary in age between 19 to 90. Includes personal historical introduction, historical background on the Franco American community in Manchester, and discussion of broad themes relevant to interview topics as identified by the author: memory, place, and identity as well as "family, education, religion, and discrimination"(iv). Discussion of "assimilation theory" in a Franco American context.Tags Acculturation and Assimilation, Community: Customs and Social Life, German Americans, Greek Americans, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, Manchester NH, Merrimack River Valley, Mills and Mill Work, New Hampshire, Nonfiction, Nonfiction -- History, Nonfiction -- History -- Economic and Industrial, Nonfiction -- History -- Labor and Social, Nonfiction -- Social Science: Anthropology and Sociology, Nonfiction -- Social Sciences, Nonfiction -- Sociology, Personal History: Biography and Oral History, Polish Americans, Religion, Violence