Jeanne Lapointe

Jeanne Lapointe (September 7, 1915, Chicoutimi - January 7, 2006, Quebec City) was a Canadian academic and intellectual.

In 1940, she was the first female professor of literature in the Faculty of Arts of the Laval University. Her essays and actions contributed to the advent of literary modernity in Québec, thanks to her intellectual debates published in the journal Cité Libre (1950) and its influence on major Quebec writers such as Marie-Claire Blais, Anne Hébert and Gabrielle Roy, for whom she played the role of mentor. Her actions as Commissioner on the Parent Commission and Bird Commission during the Quiet Revolution gave a political forum for progressive ideas about education in Quebec and the status of women in Canada. It was then that her words were defined ironically against the discourse of domination and sexual inequality, rhetoric she developed in psychoanalytic literary analysis (1970) and feminism (1980-1990). Correspondence filed with Library and Archives Canada, documents communication with many intellectuals as well as Quebec and European writers such as Jean Le Moyne, Louky Bersianik, Pierre Gélinas, Judith Jasmin, Félix-Antoine Savard, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Driss Chraïbi, Nathalie Sarraute, and others.

Commemoration Events

The exhibition "Jeanne Lapointe, pioneer of the Faculty of Arts of Laval University (1937-2007)" is presented in the fall of 2007 at the Jean-Charles-Bonenfant Library of Laval University, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Faculty of Arts (1937-2007). Commissioner: Chantal Théry. A memorial plaque Here lived Jeanne Lapointe is unveiled by the City of Quebec, May 28, 2018, in tribute to an exceptional woman who has marked the history of Quebec City: "Jeanne Lapointe : Première professeure de littérature à l'Université Laval, pionnière en études féministes au Québec et artisane de la Révolution Tranquille" (Jeanne Lapointe: First professor of literature at the University of Quebec Laval University, pioneer in feminist studies in Quebec and craftswoman of the Quiet Revolution). The launch of Jeanne Lapointe's first book, Rebelle et volontaire. Anthologie 1937-1995, takes place on October 16, 2019 at the feminist bookshop L'Euguélionne. All the women working together on the book are there: Marie-Andrée Beaudet, Mylène Bédard, Claudia Raby, Lori Saint-Martin and Juliette Bernatchez. In November 2019, the journal Études littéraires published an issue devoted to Jeanne Lapointe, under the direction of Marie-Andrée Beaudet and Mylène Bédard.

Creation of awards on behalf of Jeanne Lapointe Jeanne-Lapointe Fund The Jeanne-Lapointe Fund for Feminist Studiescomes from a donation made by Jeanne Lapointe to the R.A.F Foundation (Research and Action for Women). It is used to award bursaries for excellence as well as to support new research projects, feminist community services, and training and outreach activities for women's studies. The Claire-Bonenfant Chair - Women, Knowledge and Societies assumes the evaluation of submitted projects; the Fonds is under the responsibility of the Laval University Foundation.

Théry-Lapointe Scholarship The Théry-Lapointe Scholarship was created by Chantal Théry, retired professor at Laval University. It is awarded annually to encourage the dissemination of feminist research and creation by graduate students in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Laval University.

Acfas Jeanne-Lapointe Award The creation of the Acfas Jeanne-Lapointe Award was announced on November 15, 2019 by the French Association for the Advancement of Science (Acfas). It rewards the excellence and influence of the work and actions of a researcher in the field of educational sciences. The award is "named in honor of Jeanne Lapointe, member of the Royal Commission on Education in the Province of Quebec (Parent Commission), the only lay woman, lead author of the Parent report, and researcher in the humanities and social sciences. [It's a recognition of her] exceptional academic career. [She] was a pioneer in the francophone university world, where she worked for 47 years. "