L'evolution des groupes ethniques a montreal, 1871-1981
Institution:
Paris, EHESSDisciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
This thesis deals with the case study of montreal, from the point of view of its ethnic composition. A city traditionnally economically dominated by its anglocanadian minority, despite the presence of a numerous french-canadian majority, montreal appears as a case of a bipolarized city which receives and does not manage to integrate the mainly european newcormers. The lack of a credible assimilationist discourse, amongst the french majority has lead to the constitution of two distinct urban societies according to these two groups, and has allowed the constitution, and the reproduction of ethnic neighborhoods. These persist in spite of the economic achievement of their members. The groups that came at the beginning of the twentieth century, when the so called new immigration really hit canada, presented many cultural and socio-economic similitudes, essentially beared by the values of their religious systems. The thesis carefully examines these values as well as the achievement alternatives that these groups developped in order to counter the fact that their chances to succeed in a white-anglo-saxon protestant elite society were very low. After a discussion about the differences, especially the socio-politic ones, between the american, the anglo-canadian and the quebecker cases, which constitutes the first part of the study, the second part shows from four variables, the groups' spatial movements in the island of montreal, from 1871 to 1981. The detailed cartography demonstrates that the concentration tendancies observed consist as well of an inner group movement as it is a segregation coming from the outside towards one group. The fact that ethnic subeconomies exist, in which as many as 70% of the household heads work, as in the case of the jewish groups, is part of the explanation of that concentration. The thesis concludes at the necessity of reconsidering the use of as currently used sociological or geographical concepts as residential segregation and socio-economic integretion. Finally, in a city where the linguistic duality is omnipresent, cultural location factors have determined the first location choices of the groups.
Abstract FR:
L'etude du cas de montreal montre combien, dans une ville bi-polarisee comme montreal, entre une minorite d'origine canadienne-anglaise qui a traditionnellement domine la presque totalite des secteurs de l'activite economique, et une majorite numerique francaise traditionnellement dominee, l'absence d'un discours assimilateur credible de la part de l'un et l'autre groupe et les conditions particulieres de segmentation de la ville en deux societes urbaines distinctes ont en quelque sorte autorise la mise en place, puis le maintien, des quartiers ethniques qui subsistent en depit du succes economique de leurs membres. Les similitudes culturelles des groupes de la new immigration, transmises via les systemes de valeurs des religions auxquelles ils appartiennent font l'objet d'une attention particuliere. On y explore egament les voies alternatives d'integration retenues par ceux des classes les plus pauvres, notamment l'acquisition de la residence familiale afin de parer aux effets de leur exclusion des chances de succes a l' interieur des filieres officielles de reussite. La seconde partie demonte les mouvements spatiaux des groupes, indigenes comme allogenes, depuis la fin du xixe siecle et montre combien la tendance a l'agregation des membres des groupes entre eux repond autant a un mouvement intrinseque du groupe qu'a l'exercice d' une segregation residentielle a leur endroit. L'existence de sous-economies ethniques a l'interieur de la ville, ou peuvent travailler jusqu'a pres de 70% des chefs de menage, comme c'est le cas du groupe juif dont le succes economique est par ailleurs reconnu par tous, explique en partie la persistance de la segregation. Elle oblige cependant a reviser a la fois l'utilisation des termes de segregation residentielle tout autant que d'integration economique. Dans une ville ou la conscience linguistique est omnipresente, des facteurs de localisation d'ordre culturel ont influence le choix de depart des groupes.