Le pays comme hôtel: transculturel et mobilites geo-symboliques dans les Ameriques

Abstract

In the 19th century, writers in Québec and Mexico equated  the United-States to a hôtel, that is to a place linked to change, instability and loss of identity. In Québec, in the 19th century, Adolphe-Basile Routhier, the author of the national anthem « O Canada » in its french version, valorized homogeneity and stability. These values are put in jeopardy by modernity and technology, a situation, which is seen as positive by the Canadian thinker T. C Keefer who published Philosophy of the Railroads in 1853. Nowadays, comparing a country like Canada to a hôtel is seen as very positive by thinkers such as Yann Martel and Pico Iyer. Both of them are keen suporters of transcultural encounters. Being a Canadian nowadays means valorizing change and hybridity.