Quebec: State and Society, 3rd Edition

Extract

Quebec: State and Society, 3^rdEdition, Alain-G. Gagnon, ed., Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2004, pp. 500.

Alain-G. Gagnon's compilation Quebec: State and Society has been a very popular staple of political science course syllabi over the past two decades. Now in its third edition, Gagnon has compiled a selection of twenty-two original articles by leading scholars in the social sciences to examine the diverse facets of modern Quebec society and politics. English-speaking students will benefit greatly from the fact that fifteen of the essays have been translated from the original French, which will broaden their exposure to top-level francophone scholarship (although in some cases the translation is imprecise and contains a number of Gallicisms). This collection includes some extremely strong contributions, and a diverse array of perspectives on modern Quebec. Yet in other respects, particularly in terms of the overall structure of the book, it suffers from some serious weaknesses that might make it of questionable suitability for teaching purposes.