Disclosing the Tacit Identity in Majority Cultures by Josée Bolduc A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2018, Josée Bolduc Abstract In this dissertation, I introduce the notion of tacit group identity as a central element in the identity construction of majority cultures, and as a source of influence in their conception of and interaction with otherness. Indeed, I argue that exploring the tacit identity of majority cultures reveals the presence of unreflective biases and assumptions that translate into normative statements where institutions and official discourse reflect a majority culture back onto itself. My approach is based on a phenomenological understanding of identity, which highlights the dialogical aspect of identity-construction between the self and its context, and from a societal application of Polanyi’s tacit knowledge, which emphasizes the unreflective and contextual elements that contribute to the shaping of one’s identity. In establishing the inescapability of a context and its multi-layered influence on individual perspective, I propose a re-conceptualization of agency in identity construction as affected by the tacit aspect of identity and by its context. I also articulate what a tacit element of group identity looks like through the examples of Québec’s attachment to Catholicism and the underlying racism present in the United States. I argue that in both cases, the majority culture’s relationship with otherness is influenced by a tacit identity which contradicts the explicit identity and the associated values it officially promotes. I claim that the tacit dimension of identity challenges the view of identity at the root of Western political theories by bringing to question the majority culture’s assumptions of universality from which these theories emerge. Thus, not only is this aspect of identity important to better understand tensions between minority and majority cultures, it is also central to evaluate the theories explaining those relationships. ii Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Farhang Rajaee, for helping me shape and focus my idea into a workable project, for his guidance, and for not giving up on me. I also wish to express my gratitude to Dr. Marc Hanvelt for his invaluable feedback and unwavering support, and for challenging me to be a better scholar. I am also sincerely grateful for Dr. Hans-Martin Jaeger’s helpful suggestions and for his encouraging words. Dr. Leah Bradshaw, Dr. Lee MacLean, and Dr. Ruth Abbey also gave me helpful comments and encouragements at various points during the writing of this project, and for their gracious help and feedback, I thank them. I must also thank the people who helped me through an unexpected illness and its aftermath, which slowed down the progression of my dissertation for the better part of two years. Those people took care of my body and enabled me to continue living "the life of the mind" relatively unscathed: my health care team (Dr. Meng, Dr. Song, Dr. Nessim, Dr. Zhang, and Dr. Northey), and the lovely people at the Maplesoft Centre and at Breast Cancer Action. During that trying time, my friends and family really came through and I am forever grateful for having them in my life: my sister Julie for the giggles on the edge of the cliff; my wonderful and caring family; my dear Suzanne who paid it forward, and; Connor whose supportive words have stayed with me and kept me strong. Lastly, I want to thank Derin for the space, the respect, the care, the support, and the love. You walked alongside me, cheering me on, and that meant more than you can ever know. Я люблю тебя. For my 'kittens': Charles and Fiona. iii Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iv Introduction—Bringing Forth the tacit .......................................................................... 6 Tacit influence and Tacit Agency ..................................................................................... 12 Embedded and Conditioned .............................................................................................. 23 Dialogical .......................................................................................................................... 27 Cultural ............................................................................................................................. 29 Methodology and Structure .............................................................................................. 33 1 Chapter: A Multilevel and Multirelational Identity .............................................. 40 Tracing Identity through its Characteristics ...................................................................... 44 A Multilevel Identity ........................................................................................................ 49 A Multirelational Identity ................................................................................................. 63 The Tacit in Identity ......................................................................................................... 68 2 Chapter: Approaching the Tacit ............................................................................. 71 What does the Tacit Entail? .............................................................................................. 72 The Inarticulate and the Inarticulable in the Tacit ............................................................ 83 Where is the Tacit in the Context of the Levels of Identity? ............................................ 94 Where the Tacit in Identity Resides ................................................................................ 103 What does the Presence of the Tacit Imply for Identity? ............................................... 105 3 Chapter: Language and Art—Communicating the Tacit ................................... 112 Open-ended Language .................................................................................................... 115 Play, Symbol, and Festivals ............................................................................................ 125 iv Broadening Subtler Languages ....................................................................................... 136 Limits and Possibilities of Subtler Languages ................................................................ 143 4 Chapter: The Tacit Exemplified ............................................................................ 146 Religion in Québec ......................................................................................................... 149 Race in the United States ................................................................................................ 160 Articulation of Tacit Identity .......................................................................................... 169 Québec ........................................................................................................................... 171 United States ................................................................................................................... 187 Conclusion: A Political Outlook for Tacit Identity .................................................... 203 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 222 v Introduction—Bringing Forth the Tacit In spring 2015, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled against the city of Saguenay and its Mayor Jean Tremblay, stating that the mayor’s insistence on beginning all city hall meetings with a prayer was in breach of state neutrality. According to the ruling, “If the state adheres to a form of religious expression under the guise of cultural or historical reality or heritage, it breaches its duty of neutrality” (Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay (City), 2015). Thus a state cannot use its powers “to promote or impose a religious belief” and the court considered the religious practice to have no place in a city hall. In light of this ruling, Françoise David, then spokesperson for the political party Québec Solidaire, saw the Supreme Court ruling as an example to follow and called on her colleague members of parliament to finally agree to remove the crucifix from the wall in the Blue Chamber of Quebec’s National Assembly. Ms. David’s appeal, however, has been ignored. This is not a new issue in Québec. Debates over the crucifix in the National Assembly became heated back in 2013 when the Parti Québecois proposed the establishment of what was dubbed the “Quebec Charter of Values1” which came as a direct response to France’s own initiative2 in the same year, and aimed to ban any and all conspicuous religious symbols for those working in governmental institutions, as well as in hospitals and schools. Inevitably, the opponents of the Charter were quick to point to the crucifix, arguing that applying different rules to Catholic symbols would reveal the Charter 1 Bill 60, “Charte affirmant les valeurs de laïcité et de neutralité