The recipient of the Lionel-Groulx Prize, awarded by the Institut d’histoire de l’Amérique française (IHAF), the oldest institution of professional historians in French Canada, suggests that the name of this prize be abandoned. Catherine Larochelle, professor in the history department of the University of Montreal, considers that “it is just time” to move on, in the name of greater openness to history.
The jury rewarded this year his book, The school of racism. The construction of otherness in Quebec schools (1830-1915). The book is published by the Presses de l’Université de Montréal (PUM).
At the award ceremony last weekend, in her acceptance speech, the historian explained that “the construction of the identity of French Canadians and English Canadians in Quebec was done at school through the learning a racist way of thinking”. This school of racism, as she calls it, is indeed the one frequented and nourished by the cassocked historian Lionel Groulx (1878-1967).
This historian, who lends his name to the prize that honors work worthy of high mention in the community of historians, finds himself in the landscape while he contributed “to ensuring the sustainability of this racist thought in the school system of the Quebec,” believes historian Larochelle.
“This historian would not have been particularly pleased that I was […] rewarded for my intellectual and professional work, rather than at home with my children. In 1949, he reminded graduates of the baccalaureate that the French Canadian had a duty, that of reproducing the nation by giving birth, since this nation could not count on immigration to remain alive. »
” Move on “
For Catherine Larochelle, it is time for the Institute which is rewarding her work this year to show how dynamic, modern and lively historical work is by considering changing the name of its prize. “It seems to me that it is time for the prize which underlines this dynamism and this excellence to change its name. As practitioners of history, we know that we must be wary of commemorations and it is time for us to leave the canon in peace. »
Joined by The dutythe historian recalls that in English Canada the John A. Macdonald Prize awarded by the Canadian Historical Society agreed to change its name in 2018. The name of the former prime minister, much criticized, no longer tops the grand prize awarded to a deserving historian.
“My message was for greater openness in our discipline. The subject of my book naturally leads me to talk about Lionel Groulx. I couldn’t say nothing about him. There would be a lot to say. On the natives for example, we would be unable to recover it in any way. »
This speech was not a thesis, she insists. “I believe that in our discipline, we have to go against our ideological foundations. It’s not a very diverse discipline. And it risks being even less so as it receives less financial support, as is unfortunately the case at present. There is a democratic risk at play in our relationship to history. On the contrary, more and more people need to feel concerned by history. It is in this sense that I made this speech. »
In his view, the IHAF has nothing to be ashamed of. “It is only time to move on. My speech was well received at the Institute’s congress. I received more congratulations for my speech than for the award itself! »
An “original” approach
In her book, the historian Catherine Larochelle is interested in the conceptions of the Other, in the ideologies which support them, in the way in which they are transmitted by the school until the time of the First World War. In addition to being attached to the History Department of the University of Montreal, the historian is a member of the editorial board of the journal EngagedHistory.ca and the Center for the History of Social Regulations.
In its eulogy of the winner, the jury indicated that they had “greatly appreciated the challenging nature” of the work. “By knowingly avoiding revisiting the usual opposition of the “two solitudes”, Larochelle offers a reading of the original Quebec history. »
The historian’s attention to student homework was also highlighted by the jury. This is a “particularly innovative approach, the analysis of which reveals how racist ideas take root in the minds of school-aged children”. Catherine Larochelle, further affirmed the jury, “shows us that racism in Quebec during the long 19e century is not an individual fault in poorly educated people, but rather the result of a school system whose mission is in part to teach it. In doing so, this book opens up to us fields neglected by the history of French America, fields which we hope to see soon taken over by others. »