Empire, Colonialism, and Place-Attachment in Young Minds: Quebec Students' Imaginative Travels in the Age of the New Imperialism

Abstract:We know that the settler societies known as Quebec and Canada were imperialist during the "new imperialism" era, but do we really know the process through which they became imperialist? During this period, schools provided the geographic knowledge and emotional place-attachment necessary for the consolidation of settler-colonialism. At the same time, youth imagined their future life in an interconnected world geography that they believed belonged to them. My article aims to understand how geographical knowledge—imperial, missionary, and literary—was transmitted to young people through the school system and how they integrated and appropriated this geographical imagination.