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Simone de Beauvoir – a writer, journalist, and philosopher, a pioneer of modern feminism, a collaborator and life partner of Jean-Paul Sartre, was also a tireless traveller, who embarked on numerous journeys described in her autobiographical accounts and correspondence. The author of The Second Sex invariably seeks new sensations and is attracted to other people. Memories of visits to foreign countries are characterized by detailed descriptions and exploration of the world. Each destination is presented from the viewpoint of aesthetics, avoiding interactions with the local population. Over time, under the influence of her trips, Beauvoir becomes aware of the complexity of "the Other" and the need to support people and reject own isolation. Her writing becomes involved, subjective, and empathetic, reflecting growing interest in the problems of other people and sensitivity to social injustice and ideological issues. The shrewd observer searches for the meaning of life and her own "self". The universal dimension of the human condition appears to be far more important than individual experiences of the previously egocentric woman.

Art history and cannibals, Laurence Bertrand Dorléac. A borderline discipline by nature, surrounded by better established scientific fields, art history carved for itself in the past a pure identity, without grasping the strength it could derive from its crossroads position. At a time in which nobody doubts any longer the importance of the study of works of art for an understanding of the world, its members are more and more divided on the behavior to adopt : a fearful withdrawal of the institution (an already long-tested tactic) or a permanent dialogue with the audiences, mediators and neighboring disciplines which make up many of its actors. Between internalists, advocates of an intransigent isolation and holders of an antiquarian tradition, and externalists, favorable to scientific opening up and debate, there is now a war, intensified by the renewal of the status of culture in France., Bertrand-Dorléac Laurence. L'histoire de l'art et les cannibales. In: Vingtième Siècle, revue d'histoire, n°45, janvier-mars 1995. pp. 99-108.

5.C. Béal, « Conversational strategies in French and in English : a matter of conventions or the reflexion of deep cultural divergences ? » The inspiration for this paper was found in A. Wierzbicka's Cross-cultural pragmatics (1991). The author describes contrastively some of the rules which underly conversation in French and in Australian English. The transcription of authentic recordings shows how each system works in isolation and what kind of conflicts emerge when both systems meet (in the case of native speakers or French using their own conversational strategies when expressing themselves in English). It is claimed that the observed differences reflect divergent cultural norms. underly conversation in French and in Australian English. The transcription of authentic recordings shows how each system works in isolation and what kind of conflicts emerge when both systems meet (in the case of native speakers or French using their own conversational strategies when expressing themselves in English). It is claimed that the observed differences reflect divergent cultural norms., Béal Christine. Les stratégies conversationnelles en français et en anglais : conventions ou reflet de divergences culturelles profondes?. In: Langue française, n°98, 1993. Les primitifs sémantiques, sous la direction de Bert Peeters. pp. 79-106.

The Arctic lends a special dimension to Canadian foreign and defence policies because it is the most harsh and the least populated part of Canada, it is where American security interests impinge most insistently and it is the ham in the superpower sandwich. Moreover, the Arctic is being drawn increasingly into the international System, with important policy implications: Canada cannot expect to develop effective policies to deal with its own Arctic in isolation from other countries; and Canada's ability to carry such policies out will depend on the extent to which it can exercise effective control over its vast territory. These implications are of particular importance to Canada's relations with the United States, with whom we must strike a balance between the advantages of cooperation and the need to protect Canadian interests. This task promises to become more complex as the forward air and sea defence of the United States pushes further north, while the move toward space-based warning and surveillance Systems reduces American reliance on Canadian territory and Canadian access to American information. Traditionally Canada has dealt bilaterally with the United States on such matters but the time has come to supplement the bilateral channels with multilateral approaches wherever possible, in order to emphasize the point that the defence of North America is an integral part of the defence of the North Atlantic Treaty area. In accordance with this concept, various measures should be considered to reinforce the strategic unity of NATO, to ensure that defence measures in the Arctic are consistent with strategic stability and with arms control policies, and to establish in the Arctic a regime of mutual security, bolstered by a concerted program of circumpolar cooperation.

Historians of Quebec have long been familiar with the central importance of the patriarchal family and women's role as mother within the home. What has received little attention has been the fate of those who defied the cultural norm and conceived out-qf- wedlock. According to contemporary Catholic mores, such individuals undermined the social order and, through their transgression, brought shame on themselves and their kin. Several solutions evolved to deal with this problem: privately managed maternity hospitals, exile to the geographically distant homes of friends or relatives, or submission to the care and control of religious orders. Roughly 20 percent of the illegitimate births in the province during the 1930s took place at the Hôpital de la Miséricorde in Montreal, whose extensive patient records provided the main source for this paper.Contemporaries understood the vocation of adult women in one of two ways, either as mothers-within-wedlock (real or potential), or as prostitutes. Single mothers had no place in this polarized view of women's role, and in consequence, they could rejoin "normal" society only by hiding their condition and its results. Within this perspective, the Hôpital provided a service both to the society, which sought to hide deviate behaviour, and the individual.Applicants for admission, the records show, were almost entirely French-Canadian Roman Catholics. Often orphans themselves, they tended to be young (60 percent were between the ages of ¡8 and 22), were either domestics (47percent) or lived at home (31 percent), and often suffered from health problems. Upon admission they took on new identities; the pseudonyms sometimes reflected the sense of shame the nuns sought to impose. Hospital policies reinforced this sense of isolation: visitors were discouraged, questions from outsiders were rebuffed, and, to a large extent, the patient was cut off from contact with the outside world. Most tellingly, the mother was not able to name her child after birth. Though social agencies encouraged mothers to keep their offspring, most of the illegitimate children were put up for adoption: only 14.6 percent left the Hôpital with their mothers. Once the baby was born, the mother was allowed two weeks to recover before commencing six months of service. During her entire time in residence, she was treated sometimes as a child, often as a criminal, and always as a sinner. In some cases the mother stayed with the nuns well beyond the normal term; in other cases, the records show, mothers endured their service against their will. A few atoned for their behaviour by joining religious groups.After birth, most of the children remained within institutional care; 37.7 percent of these children died before their first birthdays, mainly of preventable diseases. Their passing, which was reported to the mothers, was regarded by the nuns as fortuitous. For many of the patients, however, the Hôpital did little to relieve the trauma of their plight. For some, passive resistance or outright rebellion constituted their response; for others, self- induced abortion, marriage to the father, or simple endurance af the consequences of their actions were the chosen alternatives., Les historiens-nes du Québec ont dupuis longtemps reconnu l'importance de la famille patriarchate et du rôle de la femme comme mère au foyer. On a cependant accordé peu d'attention au sort de celles qui défiaient les normes culturelles et convoient en dehors les liens de mariage. Selon l'idéologie religieuse de l'époque, ces personnes minaient l'ordre social et, par leur transgression, jetaient la honte sur elle-même et sur leur famille. Certaines solutions furent adoptées pour faire face au problème des mères célibataires: le recours aux maternités privées, l'exil chez parents ou amis-es éloignés, parfois l'avorlement, ou les oeuvres de charité ou la soumission à leurs soins et à leur contrôle. Au Québec, pendant les années 1930, quelque 20 pour cent des naissances qu'on appelait illégitimes eurent lieu à l'Hôpital de la Miséricorde dont les dossiers détaillés sur les patientes constituent les sources privilégiées du présent article.Les contemporains percevaient la vocation de la femme laique soit comme mère à l'intérieur du mariage, soit comme prostituée. Les mères célibataires n'avaient pas de place dans cette vision polarisée du rôle des femmes. Elles ne pouvaient, par con- séquent, se réintégrer à la société qu'en cachant leur condition. Dans cette perspective, l'Hôpital offrait un service tant à la société, qui cherchait à dissimuler les écarts de comportement, qu aux femmes concernées.Les dossiers révèlent que les candidates à Vadmission étaient presqu'uniquement des Canadiennes-française catholiques. Souvent orphelines, elles étaient généralement jeunes (60 pour cent avaient entre 18 et 20 ans), étaient domestiques (47 pour cent) ou vivaient à la maison (31 pour cent) et souffraient souvent de problèmes de santé. A leur entrée, elles adoptaient une nouvelle identité, leurs pseudonymes reflétant parfois la honte qu'elles devaient subir. Les règlements de l'Hôpital accentuaient leur isolement: on ri encourageait pas les visites, le courrier était censuré, et les patientes étaient largement privées de contact avec le monde extérieur.Si les agences sociales encourageaient les mères célibataires à garder leur enfant, elles ne pouvaient choisir son nom et seulement 14.6 pour cent quittaient l'Hôpital avec leur enfant. Après l'accouchement, les paturiennes jouissaient de deux semaines de con- valescence après quoi, si elles ne pouvaient s'acquitter de leur compte envers l'institution - ce qui était le cas de la majorité de celles qui accouchaient à la Miséricorde - elles entreprenaient six mois de service à l'Hôpital. Pendant cette période de résidence, elles étaient traitées comme des mineures, parfois comme des criminelles, toujours comme des pécheresses repentantes. Certaines poursuivaient l'expiation de leur faute en devenant membre de la communauté religieuse, d'autres demeuraient dans l'institution au- delà de la période prévue.La majorité des enfants demeuraient à la charge des institutions et 37.7 pour cent mourraient avant leur premier anniversaire, le plus souvent de maladies contagieuses. Les religieuses et les mères accueillaient habituellement ces décès comme une bénédiction.Malgré V importance essentielle de trouver un assile pendant leur progresse, certaines patientes se soumettaient difficilement aux conditions qui leur étaient faites. Plusiers réaggissaient soit par une résistance passive soit par des actes de rébellion. Quelques unes épousaient le père de l'enfant mais la plupart devaient subir les conséquences de leur grossesse.