Patrick Imbert – författare

As the centenary of the Great War approaches, citizens worldwide are reflecting on the history, trauma, and losses of a war-torn twentieth century. It is in remembering past wars that we are at once confronted with the profound horror and suffering of armed conflict and the increasing elusiveness of peace. The contributors to Bearing Witness do not presume to resolve these troubling questions, but provoke new kinds of reflection. They explore literature, the arts, history, language, and popular culture to move beyond the language of rhetoric and commemoration provided by politicians and the military. Adding nuance to discussions of war and peace, this collection probes the understanding and insight created in the works of musicians, dramatists, poets, painters, photographers, and novelists, to provide a complex view of the ways in which war is waged, witnessed, and remembered. A compelling and informative collection, Bearing Witness sheds new light on the impact of war and the power of suffering, heroism and memory, to expose the human roots of violence and compassion. Contributors include Heribert Adam (Simon Fraser University), Laura Brandon (Carleton University), Mireille Calle-Gruber (Université La Sorbonne Nouvelle), Janet Danielson (Simon Fraser University), Sandra Djwa (emeritus, Simon Fraser University), Alan Filewod (University of Guelph), Sherrill Grace (University of British Columbia), Patrick Imbert (University of Ottawa), Tiffany Johnstone (PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia), Martin Löschnigg (Graz University), Lauren Lydic (PhD, University of Toronto), Conny Steenman Marcusse (Netherlands), Jonathan Vance (University of Western Ontario), Aritha van Herk (University of Calgary), Peter C. van Wyck (Concordia University), Christl Verduyn (Mount Allison University), and Anne Wheeler (filmmaker).

As the centenary of the Great War approaches, citizens worldwide are reflecting on the history, trauma, and losses of a war-torn twentieth century. It is in remembering past wars that we are at once confronted with the profound horror and suffering of armed conflict and the increasing elusiveness of peace. The contributors to Bearing Witness do not presume to resolve these troubling questions, but provoke new kinds of reflection. They explore literature, the arts, history, language, and popular culture to move beyond the language of rhetoric and commemoration provided by politicians and the military. Adding nuance to discussions of war and peace, this collection probes the understanding and insight created in the works of musicians, dramatists, poets, painters, photographers, and novelists, to provide a complex view of the ways in which war is waged, witnessed, and remembered. A compelling and informative collection, Bearing Witness sheds new light on the impact of war and the power of suffering, heroism and memory, to expose the human roots of violence and compassion. Contributors include Heribert Adam (Simon Fraser University), Laura Brandon (Carleton University), Mireille Calle-Gruber (Université La Sorbonne Nouvelle), Janet Danielson (Simon Fraser University), Sandra Djwa (emeritus, Simon Fraser University), Alan Filewod (University of Guelph), Sherrill Grace (University of British Columbia), Patrick Imbert (University of Ottawa), Tiffany Johnstone (PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia), Martin Löschnigg (Graz University), Lauren Lydic (PhD, University of Toronto), Conny Steenman Marcusse (Netherlands), Jonathan Vance (University of Western Ontario), Aritha van Herk (University of Calgary), Peter C. van Wyck (Concordia University), Christl Verduyn (Mount Allison University), and Anne Wheeler (filmmaker).

Comparing Canada and the Americas: From Roots to Transcultural Networks covers the Americas in a comparative perspective spanning from the 19th century to the 21st century. It explores socio-cultural dynamics changing considerably in the Americas, which are progressively shedding their original fascination for Europe and slowly recognizing the importance of Indigenous, Afro-descendants, and immigrant cultures. The Americas have many dynamics in common, such as the presence of shared dualistic paradigms, like civilization/barbarism, which is a synonym for self/others. From the invention of the Nation States to globalization, the valorization of taking roots has transformed into the valorization of the legitimacy of geo-symbolic displacements. A comparative study of Canada, Quebec, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the USA reveals both the exclusions and the inclusions that, in literary, artistic, and media productions as well as political essays, are founded on the opposition between interior and exterior. The current era has seen the displacement of these oppositions within the context of the recognition of the others. This recognition is rooted in multicultural, intercultural, and transcultural perspectives. In the current networked and complex contemporary world, literary, artistic, political, and media texts go beyond dichotomous oppositions and historical master narratives legitimating exclusions. Instead, they valorize "chameleoning" and the surprise of encounters with different cultures, thus creating new perspectives linked to a techno-cultural and democratic future based on the desire to share and to belong to oneself.