Quebec: State and Society, 3rdEdition, 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.