Abstract

In 1948, the Automatist artist group published the Refus Global manifesto, demanding liberation from Québec’s post-war conservatism. This thesis employs a critical cultural studies approach to trace the continuities and changes from 1948 to 1970 in the Refus Global’s portrayal as a site of affirmation and contestation of power by communities of interest, interpretation, and practice. The Refus Global is cast in an alternative media framework, and discourse analysis of archival research with frame analysis depicts its initial institutional repression. Next, this thesis contrasts these institutions’ adoption of the Refus Global in the wake of the Quiet Revolution with alternative media’s continued use of the manifesto as a tactic of resistance. An interview with journalist Françoise de Repentigny recounts her ties to the Automatist group and her firsthand experience of the era as a woman. This thesis concludes that the Refus Global’s portrayal as both a site of affirmation and contestation of power has ensured its longevity and legendary status in Québec today.