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Ce mémoire soutient une conception incarnée et dynamique de la connaissance, et ce, dans un cadre féministe afin d’analyser l’impact des structures sociales sur l’épistémologie. Nous chercherons à savoir si les corps peuvent être initiateurs de nouveaux paradigmes épistémiques pour les agent.e.s, grâce à des expériences uniques auxquelles ces corps nous donnent accès. Dû à un fort rationalisme en philosophie, le corps est souvent écarté de l’épistémologie ou réduit à un objet passif de connaissance. La dichotomie conceptuelle entre le corps et l’esprit, par exemple, sous-entend une représentation mécaniste et inerte des corps qui entraîne les agent.e.s à exclure leurs corps du processus de formation des connaissances, puisque la « matière » de manière considérée comme étant inerte. Notre hypothèse est que cette exclusion des corps renforce les injustices épistémiques que subissent certain.e.s agent.e.s. Nous tenterons de mettre en exergue au sein de la phénoménologie, des approches favorables à la cognition incarnée et propices à une compréhension améliorative des corps comme nous le retrouvons en études féministes. En nous inspirant de la méthode de Sally Haslanger et de certaines études sur la pratique de la danse, nous analyserons le concept de « corps » selon son utilité à la fois politique et épistémique, dans le but de clarifier et subvertir des mécanismes tacites d’oppression. À cet effet, nous proposerons un schéma en « V » du corps afin d’illustrer que les corps sont à la fois un engagement sensible et relationnel envers soi et le monde. Un engagement à partir duquel une perception, une compréhension et une action unique s’expérimentent. Ainsi, dans ce travail, nous proposons une épistémologie incarnée et dynamique, mais aussi une agentivité, elle-même incarnée à la fois au niveau épistémique que politique. _____________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Corps, Épistémologie, Agentivité, Phénoménologie, Approches énactives, Études féministes, Injustice épistémique, Danse

Cette thèse présente une étude du concept et du phénomène d'imitation, tels qu'ils prennent corps dans la société contemporaine. Parmi les diverses significations comprises dans la notion d'imitation, celle-ci est envisagée ici suivant une définition restreinte, soit en termes de médiation par laquelle le sujet réfléchit l'autre. En ce sens, elle est abordée par le biais du rapport étroit qu'elle entretient avec la relation spéculaire, ou en d'autres mots, avec la dialectique de l'identité et de la différence. Au moyen de cette approche, l'accent est mis sur le caractère symbolique de l'imitation, c'est-à-dire sur sa fonction «médiatisante» et de surcroît, sur le fait qu'elle est engagée dans la réitération du sens plutôt que de la chose en soi. Cette manière de concevoir l'imitation permet de révéler son rôle fondamental dans la formation de soi, de même que dans la reproduction des normes, mœurs et coutumes. C'est à l'aune de cette perspective que la médiation imitative est étudiée en tant que modalité de façonnement individuel par laquelle l'horizon significatif d'une société est réfléchi au sein de la particularité, et objectivé dans un conformisme social. Or, étant donné que le contexte politique de démocratie de masse valorise l'affirmation d'une distinction individuelle au sein du modèle dominant, le conformisme se présente désormais davantage sous la forme d'un « conformisme de la différence ». C'est donc en regard de cette réalité que j'examine les manifestations phénoménales de l'imitation, en considérant la manière dont le conformisme de la différence s'incarne dans la société d'aujourd'hui. Ainsi, j'observe comment l'imitation, comme mode à la fois de reproduction et de différenciation sociales, se décline sur les plans politique, éthique, esthétique, psychologique et philosophique. Pour ce faire, je prends appui sur une méthode au carrefour de l'herméneutique et de la dialectique, et c'est au moyen de celle-ci que je situe historiquement mon interprétation en appréhendant la transformation continuelle du procès mimétique. Cette orientation repose en grande partie sur la démarche proposée par la philosophie hégélienne, bien qu'elle soit également approfondie par d'autres contributions majeures, dont celles de Catherine Malabou, George Herbert Mead, Axel Honneth et Pierre Legendre. Afin d'affirmer toute la pertinence d'une approche sociologique pour penser l'imitation, je montre en fait comment cette dernière est toujours à saisir dans le cours empirique de la vie sociale – significative. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Imitation ; ordre symbolique ; formation de soi ; conformisme social ; dialectique identité-altérité ; rapport spéculaire

This dissertation studies the cultural significance of Canadian-American singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright's (b. 1973) album All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu (Decca, 2010). Lulu was written, recorded, and toured in the years surrounding the illness and eventual death of his mother, beloved Quebecoise singer/songwriter Kate McGarrigle. The album, performed as a classical song cycle, stands out amongst Wainwright's musical catalogue as a hybrid composition that mixes classical and popular musical forms and styles. More than merely a collection of songs about death, loss, and personal suffering, Lulu is a vehicle that enabled him to grieve through music. I argue that Wainwright's performativity, as well as the music itself, can be understood as queer, or as that which transgresses traditional or expected boundaries. In this sense, Wainwright's artistic identity and musical trajectory resemble a rhizome, extending in multiple directions and continually expanding to create new paths and outcomes. Instances of queerness reveal themselves in the genre hybridity of the Lulu song cycle, the emotional vulnerability of Wainwright's vocal performance, the deconstruction of gender norms in live performance, and the circulation of affect within the performance space. In this study, I examine the song cycle form, Wainwright's musical score and vocal performance, live performance videos, and fan reactions to live performances in order to identify meaningful moments where Wainwright's musical and performative decisions queer audience expectations. While these musical moments contribute to the already rich and varied lineage of the gay male artist in both classical and popular music, I argue that Wainwright's queer performativity and nontraditional musical choices speak to larger issues important to American culture in the contemporary moment. These issues include the visibility of male public mourning and the healing power of artistic expression in the face of traumatic loss.

Cette thèse se veut une théorisation des processus par lesquels les activistes féministes Autochtones et femmes de couleur antiraciste-radicales identifient, conceptualisent et résistent aux formes interreliées de violence interpersonnelle, sexuelle et étatique carcérale au sein des sociétés de colons blancs du Canada et des États-Unis. J'argumente que l'état carcéral invasif a reconstitué et revivifié la production de la citoyenneté genrée et racisée et la suprématie blanche, en plus de pousser les femmes Autochtones et les femmes de couleur vers l'élimination légale et la mort sociale. Bien qu'elles soient en grande partie omises des cadres d'analyse de l'activisme féministe de masse anti-violence sexuelle, de l'abolitionnisme antiprison et des mouvements contre la brutalité policière, nous, femmes Autochtones et femmes de couleur, sommes à la fois les cibles de l'application de la loi et de la violence de l'état et les instigatrices de la résistance et des théoriciennes à part entière. L'objectif de cette thèse est double : d'abord, j'examine les nouvelles connaissances théoriques qui ont été amenées par des féministes Autochtones et femmes de couleur antiraciste-radicales sur la répression étatique et sur le rôle que jouent les tendances antiradicales, libérales et néolibérales (notamment celles perpétuées par le féminisme carcéral de masse, qui promeut des stratégies pro-criminalisation dirigées par l'État pour remédier à la violence sexiste et sexuelle) dans le maintien de l'état carcéral. Deuxièmement, j'argumente que l'érudition antiraciste-radicale, féministe activiste vient contrer la politique libérale de la reconnaissance et offre au lieu des modèles radicaux et oppositionnels de justice, de réparation et de riposte qui s'inscrivent dans une pratique féministe de justice transformatrice. La justice transformatrice tend à développer des stratégies pour aborder la violence intime, interpersonnelle, communautaire et structurelle du point de vue de l'organisation politique autonome dans le but de dépasser les systèmes imposés par l'état de criminalisation et de pénitence. Je situe ma recherche dans une lignée transnationale d'études féministes des prisons, de critical ethnic studies, d'études féministes Autochtones, de Black feminist studies, et de critical race feminism. Afin d'examiner l'érudition activiste des filles et des femmes qui sont aux premiers rangs d'un féminisme en développement, des mouvements antiviolence pour la justice médiatique, pour la justice transformatrice et pour l'abolition des prisons, j'emploie un éventail de méthodologies qui comporte l'auto-ethnographie, l'étude de cas et l'analyse du discours de textes issus des médias, de la loi et des mouvements sociaux. Je me base sur ces textes pour souligner que l'épistémologie des féministes Autochtones et femmes de couleur antiraciste-radicales jette les bases théoriques et activistes nécessaires au rejet de la politique libérale de la reconnaissance et nourrit un engagement sans compromis à l'abolition de l'état carcéral.

This research-creation dissertation focuses on the emergence of electroclash as a dominant form of electronic dance music in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Electroclash combines the extended pulsing sections of techno, house and other dance musics with the trashier energy of rock and new wave. The genre signals an attempt to reinvigorate dance music with a sense of sexuality, personality and irony. Electroclash also emphasizes, rather than hides, the European, trashy elements of electronic dance music. This project addresses the following questions: what is distinct about the genre and its related practices, both in and out of the studio? Why do rock and electro come together at this point and in this way? Why is electroclash affectively powerful for musicians, audiences and listeners? And, what does the genre portend in terms of our understandings of the politics of electronic music? The coming together of rock and electro is examined vis-à-vis the ongoing changing sociality of music production/distribution and the changing role of the producer. Numerous women, whether as solo producers or in the context of collaborative groups, significantly contributed to shaping the aesthetics and production practices of electroclash, an anomaly in the history of popular music and electronic music where the role of the producer has typically been associated with men. These changes are discussed in relation to the way key electroclash producers often used a hybrid approach to production involving the integration of new(er) technologies, such as laptops containing various audio production software with older, inexpensive keyboards, microphones, samplers and drum machines to achieve the ironic backbeat laden hybrid electro-rock sound.

The life story of Mrs. Daisy Sweeney, an African Canadian native of Montreal, Quebec, helps fill a void in the historical documentation of Montreal Blacks (especially female elders). Of particular significance is her prominence as a music educator and othermother during her life. The current literature on African Canadian othermothering experiences is not synonymous with both White or African American females and inclusion of their voices in academic, as well as mainstream spaces, is virtually non-existent. This dissertation asks: What did it mean to be a first generation 'Negro' working class bilingual female in a largely hostile White francophone Quebec metropolis in the early 20th Century? How can her narratives help shape and inform life history and African Canadian othermothering research? My sojourn with Mrs. Daisy Sweeney referenced African centered epistemology in my conceptual understanding of herself and community mothering. Capturing her conversations meant engaging with multiple methodologies articulated through African oral traditions, life history, archival canons and interdisciplinary inquiries. It is striking to note that there were not only certain tensions associated with memory loss and physical limitations (prompted by the aging process) that destabilized and enriched our 'interactive' communication, but also revealed a rupture and reversal of the participant/researcher dynamic. In spite of blatant racial discrimination that plagued Montreal's Black communities during that time, Daisy Sweeney fulfilled a life-long dream and taught hundreds of children the canon of classical piano for over 50 years. She lived her voice through her music, finding ways to validate her own identity and empowering others in the process. She used the musical stage as her platform to draw invaluable connections between race, gender, language and social class. Daisy Sweeney's generation of othermothers is dying out and, as the carriers of culture, the urgency to tell their stories must be emphasized. The account respects, reclaims and reflects those voices. It is time to write in African Canadian female elders and diversify the exclusionary genre of life history and archival research.

From popular culture to academia, there is national panic about the dismal life trajectories of Black males. This "Black male crisis" has contributed to emergent all-Black, all-male schools. Racial identity is commonly used to explain underperformance among Blacks, yet within-group gender disparity signifies the importance of gender relative to race. Minimal research exists on Black males' gender identities, and less on the intersections of gender and race. This longitudinal dissertation used quantitative and qualitative data to examine the development and intersections of racial and gender identity among Black adolescent males transitioning from co-educational grammar schools and entering the ninth grade at an all-Black, all-male high school. Findings are presented in two empirical papers. Paper 1 examined survey data collected from Black males (N = 183) to explain how boys' racial and gender identities were interrelated, changed over time, and influenced their psychological and academic adjustment. Results from the growth curve analysis revealed that boys' racial and gender identities were interrelated with each other and that higher levels of identity attachment were associated with better psychological and academic adjustment. Moreover, the strength of the relationship between gender identity and psychological adjustment increased over time, indicating that gender identity became increasingly important for boys' wellbeing. Paper 2 analyzed interview data with a subsample of Black males (n = 21) to examine how they resisted and accommodated racial and gender stereotypes. Results from the qualitative analysis revealed that boys were aware of the ways that racial and gender stereotypes overlap, but they responded to these stereotypes in different ways. Although some boys accommodated to both racial and gender stereotypes and others resisted these stereotypes, the majority of the boys responded by accommodating to gender stereotypes and resisting racial stereotypes. That is, they tended to perpetuate cultural stereotypes that require males to be the leader, emotionally stoic, and not to be feminine (i.e., gay) while challenging beliefs about the intellectual inferiority and incompetence of Black people. Findings are interpreted within the macro-context of cultural stereotypes and the micro-context of an all-Black male school. Implications for the study of identity, Black males, and single-sex education are discussed.

This dissertation examines African and African Diaspora concert dance in Montreal in relation to Canadian multicultural policies and Québec nationalism. The multiple layers of colonization and various waves of immigration to Québec have made the province a unique nation with its own complex history of racial construction, quite unlike the racial histories of the U.S. or the rest of Canada (though still greatly informed by these racial paradigms). In the debates that arise in Québec over multiculturalism, language is often seen as the main cultural component in need of preservation. However, this focus on language often masks other elements at play in these cultural debates, in particular, how "race" informs notions of cultural belonging in Québec. A focus on African Diaspora dance in Montreal (Québec's largest and most demographically varied city) helps bring racial construction to the fore for two reasons. First, language differences do not distinguish Québec's Black community from the white French-Canadian majority as Québec's Black population is comprised mainly of French-speakers, and accordingly, studying Montreal's African Diaspora reduces the significance of linguistic difference. Second, concentrating on dance practices helps identify how the Montreal public interprets bodies and their cultural meanings. By analyzing the public support and critical reception of African Diaspora dance practices in Montreal, this dissertation examines how racial difference is constructed through multicultural rhetoric, policies, and debates about dance; it also suggests that dance practitioners have the ability to change and inform these constructed identities and the social landscape that frames them. To conduct this research, I use archival material along with personal interviews and participant-observer ethnography to examine: the early visits of Les Ballets Africains to North America (with a particular focus on Montreal); the Montreal-based company Les Ballets Jazz; the 1999 Montreal festival Afrique: Aller/Retour; and the work of Contemporary African dance choreographer Zab Maboungou. With these subjects, my projects contributes a partial history of African Diaspora dance in Montreal and analyzes the effectiveness and the shortcomings of Canadian Multiculturalism on this community.

Adolescence is a time to explore and develop romantic relationships. Glamorized sexual messages and images bombard youth as they struggle to develop their sexual identity. The darker side of romance that includes teen pregnancy, STDs, and emotional pain is rarely portrayed. Because adolescent females shoulder the burden of unwanted sexual outcomes, an exploration of their experiences, both positive and negative, is the focus of this study. Current literature contains demographic information about who is at risk for unwanted pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), but little is known from the adolescent females’ perspective, about their sexual experiences and even less about normal romantic ideation which drives sexual behavior. This qualitative study utilized ethnographic interviews to explore the experiences of 28 females ages 19-29 from four cultural backgrounds including Euro-American, African-American, American Indian, and Latina. The influence of families, peers, school, and sex education programs was explored for positive and negative experiences. Advice about romantic development to younger adolescent females was sought to gain insight into their development and how to better assist adolescent females in developing healthy romantic relationships. A multi-staged data analysis of the interviews was used to find similarities and differences among the subjects and cross culturally. Discussion of romantic behavior occurred in less than half of the nuclear families. Extended family such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents were named as significant role models by most participants and were frequently described as sources for support and occasionally available for discussion of romantic relationships. Peers were perceived to be sexually active and most behaved in a similar manner. Euro- and African-Americans placed more importance on peer groups. Reproduction was most frequently learned in the school system, rather than from family and peers. The programs were reported as woefully lacking in comprehensiveness. This study calls for policymakers to fund sex education programs for adolescents with potential participation from parents, extended family, and peers. The curriculum should address age-appropriate strategies for discussing romantic and sexual behavior. Additionally, guidelines for monitoring activities and use of new technologies that pose higher risks in early adolescence are most important. Health educators and healthcare providers can utilize these strategies when working with adolescents, families, and peers to improve their romantic relationships and decrease teen pregnancies and STDs.

Girls in male-dominated youth subcultures confront ideologies of gender which remain largely invisible and often tacitly accepted in many women's everyday lives. Punk girls choose to construct their femininity within a highly male-dominated, "masculinist," context; girls are present in such youth subcultures, but the masculine definition of their norms problematizes their participation. Thus, punk girls struggle to accommodate female gender norms within subcultural identities which are deliberately coded as "masculine." Although young women in America encounter the norms of the female gender role on a daily basis, punk girls' negotiations between the norms of femininity and those of punk open these prescriptions to critical examination which they might not otherwise be accorded. In this dissertation, I explore accounts of punk girls' engagements with both mainstream and subcultural gender norms. In constructing this account of girls' lived experiences in the punk subculture, I rely primarily upon the phenomenology, or experiential narrative, of punk girls' everyday lives. I elicited these accounts within the context of conducting participant observation in the punk scenes of four North American cities (Atlanta, Montreal, New Orleans, and San Francisco) from 1993 to 1995, conducting ethnographic interviews with forty punk girls. In the following, I explore various facets of punk girls' engagements with gender norms, including punk girls' narratives of engagement with the subculture; the construction of punk as a discourse of masculinity; punk girls' stylistic, behavioral, and discursive reconstructions of femininity; punk girls' experiences of public harassment and sexual harassment, and their strategic responses to these. I argue that these girls use the punk subculture in order to carry out resistances to varied forms of gender oppression, thereby developing stronger self-concepts in the face of adversity.