The notion that the failure of the 1980 referendum for Quebec independence had an impact on Quebec dramaturgy and literature is current and widespread. This defeat of the ballot box would have brought about a major paradigm shift. The themes of the works and their construction would have since been influenced by the victory of the ‘no’, causing a ‘rupture’ or at least a ‘turning point’ that would have taken theater from the social and political to the intimate and amen, at the same time clearing out the ‘ national question” (Lefebvre, 1994; Riendeau and Andrès, 1997; Féral, 2001; Leroux, 2009). However, in her recent doctoral dissertation, Céline Philippe challenges this idea erected into a “doxa” and instead suggests that Québec writers of the last forty years have never stopped writing about the nation, particularly in resolutely revamping their plays have put the side of the nation’s history. Even if certain marginalized voices make themselves heard and address intimate themes and their personal experiences in postmodern and cosmopolitan works, some authors locate the fable of their dramatic texts in a certain more or less recent past, thus reactivating certain “traces” of French Canada . Céline Philippe draws on the work of the sociologist Joseph Yvon Thériault, which suggests in particular that ” [c]are questions, these traces [du Canada français], mean nothing if we look at Québec as a rupture, a new society, a society open to all possibilities. The question of French Canada remains the question of Quebec. (2006: 265) Thus, following Thériault, Philippe proposes reading the Nation of Québec through works and works to show that theater and literature have never stopped contributing to the construction of the nation by occupying the field of memory . But which nation is it exactly? What is the relationship of current playwrights to Québec yesterday and today? What traces of French Canada or the very recent past are solicited in contemporary dramatic texts? How are current political and social events in Quebec and Canada affecting recent dramatic creation? How is politics unfolding on Quebec’s stages? Finally, do Quebec and Franco-Canadian theater really reflect their society, or should they be?

On these questions, we would like to invite researchers to submit a communication proposal for our session, which will take place at the annual joint conference of the Société québécoise d’études théâtrales (SQET) and the Center de recherche sur les francophonies. ( CRCCF), in Ottawa, June 2023. This will be an opportunity to reflect on contemporary creation, its relationship to social, political and theatrical history, and its contribution or not to the idea of ​​the nation. Contributions from emerging and experienced researchers from all disciplines are welcome.

Those interested in submitting a communication proposal are requested to email it to info.sqet@gmail.com and agaut106@uottawa.ca by February 1, 2023.

The communication proposal must contain the following elements:

1) title of the notification;
2) the contact details of the lecturer (last name, first name, status, institution, e-mail address);
3) an approximately 300-word summary of the presentation (including the general problem and main ideas);
4) a short biography (5 lines).

Thank you for your interest! I look forward to reading you!

Alexandre Gauthier (University of Ottawa)
Enzo Giacomazzi (UQAM)
Nicole Nolette (University of Waterloo)