Franco-American Cultures in a New World Perspective

Authors

Jonathan Gosnell, Smith CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2012

Publication Title

French Politics, Culture & Society

Abstract

This article explores cultural traditions from a little-known corner of the francophone world, what specialists call Franco-America. It represents a fertile site for reexamination of francophone postcolonial cultures. Beginning in the nineteenth century, French Canadians traveled to New England mill towns in search of work, established ethnic communities, and progressively became Franco-Americans. Today, endogamous Franco enclaves have all but disappeared, but French cultural expressions persist. Jack Kerouac is the most well known representative of this obscure French life. Franco-American written cultures, the focus of this essay, shed light on a distinct immigrant experience in the United States.

Keywords

Franco-American, Francophone, French Culture, Littérature-Monde, Post colonialism

Volume

30

Issue

3

First Page

96

Last Page

118

DOI

10.3167/fpcs.2012.300306

Rights

© Jonathan Gosnell

Comments

Peer reviewed accepted manuscript.

Recommended Citation

Gosnell, Jonathan, "Franco-American Cultures in a New World Perspective" (2012). French Studies: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/frn_facpubs/10