Contrary to what the myth of individualism may lead us to believe, this work is certainly not the result of my efforts alone. There are many people I wish to thank here, and there are many others for which I won’t be able to recognize the contributions. The content of this thesis is just as much the result of their thoughts and experiences as it is of mine. It is a co-creation, but a co-creation for which I am the one who holds the power of the pen. Hence, I am aware that in interpreting events and experiences and in writing about them, I am choosing to mention some things and not others. In doing so, I also give a fixed and clear form to what is ambiguous and in perpetual transformation. Keeping this in mind, I still hope that my efforts to understand my world and our world will contribute to building a better world, at least one that is more comfortable for all of us to live in, no matter what social categories we fall into.
I dedicate this thesis to those who trusted me, invited me to share their reality, and confided in me. First and foremost, this work is for the people who make Transcultural Seminars. Although for reasons of confidentiality I cannot name them here, this work is for the practitioners who took part in seminar meetings between 2013 and 2018, and who accepted my presence among them. Some of them even pushed their generosity to the point of sharing their intimate thoughts, feelings and wishes with me. I thank them very much. It goes without saying that I am also infinitely grateful to the facilitators and organisers of Transcultural Seminars, amazing people that I had the pleasure of spending time with during my fieldwork. Cécile Rousseau and Garine Papazian-Zohrabian, of course, for whom this thesis can be seen as a tribute to their work as clinicians and educators. My gratitude also goes to Marie-Hélène Rivest, Anousheh Mashouf, Zaïa Ayoub, Karine Hamel, Anne-Marie Richard, Marie-Pier Desage, Christian Savard, Astou Niane, Nathalie Otis, Hayette Boubnan, Olivier Lacroix, Julie Mercure, Colette Boulanger, Karine Hippolyte, Mélanie Issid, Marie-Claude Cyr, Sophie Hamann, Amélie Mercier, Danielle Roy, and all the others that I may forget to name but who made the ritualistic magic of Transcultural Seminars possible during that period of time. This work is also dedicated to Ana Gomez-Carrillo, Yann Zoldan, and all the future Seminar facilitators who bring me hope about the unknown of what tomorrow holds for us.
I would also like to use this occasion to warmly thank the members of my advisory committee who guided me during this doctoral journey. First, I wish to express my gratitude to Cécile Rousseau, my PhD supervisor, who taught me so much since I became familiar with her work more than two decades ago, and who inspired me even more so since I had the chance of crossing paths with her about a decade ago. It goes without saying that all the writings in this thesis would not be of the same quality without her wise advices. Her very own way of zooming out to look at the big picture and identify a guiding thread in the midst of my swarming and chaotic thoughts was of tremendous help. Cécile also acted as a mentor since we began working together as she gradually and gently challenged me over the years to help me get to where I am today. I thank her more than she knows for using her magic and making my first name now rhyme more with ludique than with panique. My thanks also go to Lucie Nadeau, for whom I will always be grateful for introducing me to the infinite beauty of Nunavik. Not only did she offer me a way to make a living by inviting me to collaborate on her inspiring projects with youth mental health workers and Nunavimmiut artists, but she also offered me the opportunity to “learn on the job” the delicate craft of doing research. The improvement in the quality of the two manuscripts for which she is co-author is also to be acknowledged. Her great ethical rigor will always serve me as a compass for the projects I will undertake in the future. I would also like to thank Lisa Stevenson whose work inspires me and obviously influences mine. My participation in her doctoral seminars played a central role in my development as an anthropologist and led me to notice how much pleasure there can be in thinking and creating together. It is Lisa who introduced me to the works of Walter Benjamin, Kaja Silverman and other great thinkers of the image, thereby awakening the artist in me. I will always be grateful to her for getting me to write more, with flow and without shame, and to rely on the power of writing to clarify – or even transform – what I think and what I feel. I would also like to acknowledge Laurence J. Kirmayer’s influence on the development of my thinking. I am deeply indebted to all his work on which mine has been able to borrow and build on. To be able to describe complexity with such clarity is something I can only aspire to. My thanks also go to Mélanie Vachon. My participation in her qualitative research workshop helped me clarify my epistemological posture and inspired me to continuously improve my scientific rigor as a qualitative researcher. I simply could not have had a better thesis advisory committee.
Several colleagues and collaborators have made possible the writing of the manuscripts contained in this thesis. First, I am thinking here of colleagues and friends at Sherpa University Institute. Zoé Richard-Fortier, Diana Miconi, Prudence Caldairou-Bessette and Annie Pontbriand conducted interviews that were used in the first manuscript. I am indebted to them for that. The same goes for my accomplices from the Sherpa publications seminar who made a detailed reading of the second manuscript and whose comments greatly improved its quality. I am thinking here of Annie Jaimes, Christina Klassen, Gil Labescat, and Vanessa Lecompte. Lucie Nadeau also provided judicious comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. I also want to thank members of the ANTH611 ethnographic writing group at McGill University who gave my fourth manuscript a generous reading, and especially Lisa Stevenson who was the organiser of the seminar, and whose comments on the first drafts of the manuscript guided me to transform it from a ball of clay to an elegant raku bowl. My gratitude goes to Alonso Gamarra Montesinos, Malcolm Sanger, Ferran Pons Raga, Naim Jeanbart, Jonathan Wald, Vincent Laliberté, and Adam Fleischmann, who were all so supportive when I decided to “kill some of my darlings” and who assisted me when I needed to clarify and refine my ideas. I am also indebted to the meticulous work done by Christina Klassen in her revision of the English language for the second and third manuscripts, and to Michaela Field for editing the other parts of this thesis. Not only did their work enhance the quality of the thesis, but it also improved my knowledge of written English, which will serve me greatly in the future. The list would not be complete without mentioning the phenomenal work done by Chantal Lemire, who painstakingly translated into written text the words she heard on the audio recordings of numerous hours of interviews and Seminar meetings. A comment she made about the pleasure she finds in listening to the Transcultural Seminar meetings because of the suspense they contain also added to my reflections. It is thanks to a student grant given by Sherpa University Institute that I was able to obtain her assistance for this tedious task. Funds for carrying out this project were also provided by Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC 198690), by McGill University (Grad Excellence Award-00259 and GREAT Award-00259-MD), and by Cécile Rousseau’s operating research funds. This work could not have been possible without this financial support.
Finally, the journey of writing this thesis would not have been the same without the company of my family and friends who helped me keep my balance in the rocking boat of Academia. My mother and stepfather, Jeanne d’Arc Johnson and Roland Bourneuf. My brother and nephew, René-Pier Johnson-Lafleur and Alix Lafleur. My uncles, aunts, and cousins who are so numerous that I cannot all name here. You and stays in Gaspésie will always be my existential anchors. My long-time partners in crime, Émilie Santerre-Ayotte, Annie Cloutier, Marie-Claude Béland, and Élaine Bourque. I want to thank you for existing and thus for preserving my faith in humanity. The chats and Friday apéros on Zoom calls with you during the pandemic made it possible to continue living and writing without going crazy. All the other friends I do not name here. I hope you recognize yourself and know how precious your presence in my life is. At last, more than anything else, I want to thank my two loves, Arnaud and Frédéric, for what matters most, for everything that really counts. My work is also yours. I could not have done it without you.