Caught in the Middle: the Construction, Expression, and Transformation of Identity Among Haitian Youth in Montreal
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 2001 Caught in the Middle: the Construction, Expression, and Transformation of Identity Among Haitian Youth in Montreal. Earl Floyd scooter Pegram Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Pegram, Earl Floyd scooter, "Caught in the Middle: the Construction, Expression, and Transformation of Identity Among Haitian Youth in Montreal." (2001). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 429. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/429 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: THE CONSTRUCTION, EXPRESSION, AND TRANSFORMATION OF IDENTITY AMONG HAITIAN YOUTH IN MONTREAL A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of French Studies by Earl Floyd Scooter Pegram Certificate, Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi, 1992 B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1995 M.A., University of Vermont, 1998 December 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3042645 __ ___ __ ® UMI UMI Microform 3042645 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedication Je dedie cette these a mes soeurs Robin et Jodi. Je pense a vous tous les jours. Vous resterez toujours dans mes pensees et dans mon coeur. C’est difficile de vivre sans vous. Ma vie ne sera plus jamais la meme. Vous me manquez tellement. (This dissertation is dedicated to the memory o f my sisters Jodi and Robin. You may be gone from this Earth physically, but in my heart you will live forever. I miss you both.) De plus, j ’aimerais dedier cette these a tous les Ha'itiens et toutes les Hai'tiennes qui sont arrive(e)s a Montreal depuis la fin des annees 60. Ce sont des gens qui travaillent fort pour survivre, loin de chez eux. A mes ami(e)s hai'tiennes et hai'tiens, meme si le gouvemement provincial ne vous le dit pas tous les jours, vous etes vous aussi Quebecois(es) comme les autres, comme tout le monde. Au Quebec, vous etes chez vous! Que votre beau pays d’origine soit toujours la Perle des Antilles. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “Qa te fait chier mais je suis a moitie integre dans la societe. Statut d ’inferiorite cree la ferocite.. Des la naissance, presence suspectc amenant la mefiance. T'as qu 'a nous observer, tu verras les grave consequences. 360 degres, une realite qui me suit partout, comme un tatou et me rend marabout. J ’essaye souvent de comprendre pourquoi les choses sont comme elles sont. Aucune reponse. Aucune raison, pis tellement de questions... (....) j ’aimerais bien voir quelle sera la conclusion. ” Lyrics from “Jugement dernier" by the Quebec hip-hop group Sans Pression “If emigration could have helped the working class to emancipate itself, it would have never existed.” Marco Micone iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements As any doctoral student will report, writing a dissertation is not a facile task. For this reason, I will be forever grateful to Dr. Beatrice Dupuy for her patience, guidance, and intelligence. Dr. Dupuy has not only been a source for my intellectual development, she has also been a friend. May her continued work in the field of second language acquisition and development be a source of inspiration for those around her. I must also thank Dr. Sylvie Dubois. Her often-rigourous expectations help all of her students be their very best, and not just settle for being merely “average.” I would also like to thank the other members of my doctoral committee, Dr. Robert Lafayette, Dr. Benjamin Martin, and especially Dr. Frank Anselmo for his meticulous attention to style and prose. There are others that merit my gratitude as well. My past friends and colleagues from Wisconsin and Vermont deserve attention, as do my friends and peers in Louisiana, (who are far too numerous to mention here, you all know who you are, mais quand-meme, merci a Nathalie et Nini pour Vamitie). Furthermore, I should not forget all of my French 1050 and 1002 students over the past years (thanks for making my days brighter). A special thank you is in order for both Tianna and Connie who work labourously on behalf of students and professors of the Department of French Studies at Louisiana State University; your assistance has not gone unnoticed. To those whose names do not appear here (myDive bouteille friends): your kindness remains forever etched in my thoughts. The lack of space does not permit me to personally thank each of you, but what is more important is the fact that you forever shall remain in my memory. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Lastly, I must thank those from outside the classroom and academic realm who have been there throughout my quest for the doctoral degree. First and foremost is Sarah, who I owe more than these words can demonstrate. I cannot thank her enough for her patience and support during this long and tenuous process. Also, I must thank the following people: my family and friends in Quebec: the Duchesne’s in Chicoutimi for the occasional escape and language advice; my Haitian friends in Montreal: Karine, Jessica, Yolaine, Jean-Rochelle, Patrice, Lude, Melissa; France et la gang a Bourget ; and also thanks to everyone in the Alps of Barcelonnette, France where I was able to seek some much needed respite from my academic work. To all of my other Haitian friends across the world whose names are missing here: Vous n 'etes pas oublie(e)s. Thanks are also in order for the staff at the Consulat General d’Hai'ti a Montreal for their sound advice and literature. I am also grateful for the use of the libraries of the Ville de Montreal, the University de Montreal, McGill University, Concordia University, and the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. Lastly, I owe my biggest thanks to the hundred or so young Haitians who took a few minutes (and quite often much more than that) of their time throughout the summer of 2000 (at all hours of the day and night in various locations around the city) to help me with this research and discuss their feelings concerning the city that they love very much (and are very much a part of). Without them, none of this would have been possible and for that I owe them the sincerest amount of gratitude. Finally, it is my sincere hope that the readers of this manuscript will leam something about the other vibrant cultures and peoples living among them, wherever they are across this beautifully multicultural world of ours. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Preface This research is not a topic of any sort of pre-determined fate or selection process. Haiti, and the Haitian people have long been a topic of my fascination. I have researched and studied Haiti and the Haitian culture prior to, and during my undergraduate studies, continuing to do so through my doctoral studies. At home in Montreal, I have had the opportunity to labour as a volunteer for several neighbourhood organizations, which not only work within the Haitian community, but with the Montreal Allophone community as well. It is this experience that first sparked my interest in researching questions relating to identity within the Montreal and Quebec context. Quebec, being a distinct society within the larger North American context, and multicultural Montreal, being a distinct society within the province of Quebec, provide the researcher with endless opportunities concerning topics of identity and connections to the outer social environment.