History and identity are closely linked—a concept University of Ottawa doctoral student Raphaël Gani explores through research into whether Franco-Ontarian high school and university students can recount their own history. Gani, who works on the project through the Centre for Research on French Canadian Culture, is finding surprising results.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the students responding to his questionnaires are not historically illiterate. They can sketch a basic narrative about where they came from, beginning with New France, and those who identify strongly as Franco-Ontarians can pinpoint a specific historical event as central to their identity.
“Kids who identify strongly tell the history in a way that is close to the basic narrative that the Franco-Ontarian community tells itself,” says Gani.
It’s important to know what stories people tell, and how that contributes to their identity, because coherent narratives link people and forge communities, says Gani. By understanding what students know, how best they learn and what they don’t know, his research can also help change the way Franco-Ontarian history is taught.
