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In this time where the focus is on digital records and on the long-term preservation of born-digital archives, historical archivists have noted that there are very few industrial fonds in Quebec, regardless of material medium (paper, analogue, etc.). Some companies that contributed to the economic development of cities and regions from the late 19th century onward, have closed their doors for various reasons, and their archives have disappeared. There are, however, several enterprises that have remained active for over a century. Have they held onto their archives and, if yes, are they protected? Do these companies know how to prevent future loss of the industrial archival patrimony? This article is the fruit of research on this subject, done as part of a master's degree at Laval University. It culminated with an internship of 500 hours at Casavant Frères in Saint-Hyacinthe; founded in 1879, the company is the largest manufacturer of pipe organs still active in the world. The project permitted an evaluation, both quantitative and qualitative, of the importance of the mass of documents that has been archived beginning 140 years ago, and it yielded an understanding of their usefulness and their role in the conduct of business. However, questions remain unanswered regarding the adequate preservation of the documents and regarding the absence of human and financial resources to ensure the history of this rich industrial patrimony.

An experiment in recording sounds in an abandoned square in central Montreal led us to examine sounds in its material aspects and audible records of urban areas. Viger Square is a run-down and empty three-block park linking the Latin Quarter and Old Montreal. Constructed on top of a major underground East-West expressway in the 1980s, it was never totally completed. It is now badly managed and maintained, and has been taken over by different groups of homeless persons. The complex dynamics of public health and social suffering fuel the square's image as a symbol of urban failure. In September 2012, we conducted a cross section of the square, recording its soundscape (Schafer 2010 [1977]). We wanted to explore how different sensory textures associated with this space came together, and, as such, to deepen our understanding of the area as a three-dimensional and sensorially complex zone. Objectifying the audible revealed the coexistence of different soundscapes within the square and the ways in which they interacted with the immediate – but invisible – environment. The analysis of Viger Square's soundscapes by means of Lefebvre's rythmanalysis (1992) has shown differing material qualities. Our analysis suggests that the ethnography of sound has the potential to play a role in the course and orientation of future interventions aiming to enhance park design and use.

Keywords: Boucher, Fletcher, square Viger, paysage sonore, rythmanalyse, Lefebvre, ambiance, espace public, design, Boucher, Fletcher, Viger square, Soundscape, Rhythmanalysis, Lefebvre, Atmosphere, Public Space, Design, Boucher, Fletcher, square Viger, paisaje sonoro, ritmo-análisis, Lefebvre, ambiente, espacio público, diseño

In February 1941, Gabrielle Roy had not yet launched her career as a novelist. A reporter at the time, Roy published an article in Le Bulletin des agriculteurs entitled “Mort d'extrême vieillesse.“ In it, the future author proposed a journalistic reading of a then contemporary social phenomenon. At the beginning of the 1940s, seigneurial property was still not a thing of the past in the province of Québec. Roy's report was intended to be both historical and didactic and was based upon the testimony of certain “vieux habitants.“ The author adopted a critical stance with regard to a “venerable“ institution which contemporary historians still praised. She recalled that, close to a century after the abolition of the seigneurial regime (1854), “we are still experiencing the final effects of the colonial regime what he [Richelieu] imposed upon us more than 300 years ago.“ It was not until the 1970s, at a time when the issue of the seigneurial system was still to be resolved, that historians adopted a similar position. The present article will reveal a perceptive observer of an event that had not received significant attention but which was nonetheless crucial to the history of modern Québec: the final extinction of the system of relations “seigneur/tenant.“

The mobilization against the globalization of trade at the turn of the 21st century and, in Quebec in particular, at the 2001 Summit of the Americas, gave a boost to a form of political engagement that took shape outside the institutionalized paths of partisan and community-based action. Taking their inspiration from anarchist political thought, the seemingly fragmented activist initiatives that are part of this libertarian current now form an antiauthoritarian social movement in the province. The goal of this paper is to offer an empirical picture of this antiauthoritarian community by highlighting the political culture and organizational interface that tie together the community's various actors. Focused on a variety of different struggles, these antiauthoritarian activists are the standard-bearers of an alternative political project based on the promotion of collective autonomy. The community carries within it the seeds of an innovative way to reappropriate politics through the practice of prefiguration, thus contributing to the radicalization of the various forms of engagement available on the Quebec social and political landscape.