Imbert, Patrick, Editor. Consensual Disagreement: Canada and the Americas

Beginning of article

IMBERT, PATRICK, editor. Consensual Disagreement: Canada and the Americas. Ottawa: U Ottawa P, 2005. Pp. 102. ISBN 0-88927-277-8.

Patrick Imbert has provided a short monograph advancing the argument that Canada is grounded, and advantageously so, in an alterity-respecting "consensual disagreement" between its linguistic and cultural components. Further, Canada is better served than other countries by its national myths and identity politics. Gerard Bouchard discusses how Canada and Quebec relate to the Americas, while Daniel Castillo Durante considers the recognition of alterity in Canada's migrant writing.

Imbert's "Introduction" presents the key argument: Canada's French and English-speaking populations can handle the contradictions inherent in the …