Serge Bouchard

A graduate in Anthropology from McGill and Laval Universities, Serge Bouchard has a passion for Native American’s, Métis and French America’s history. In addition to a prolific career as a researcher, trainer and consultant, he is also a famous communicator. On radio, he hosted Radio-Canada’s Les Chemins de Travers andDe Remarquables Oubliés, and took part in numerous documentaries and television shows. As a writer, Serge Bouchard published many books, including L’Homme Descend de l’Ourse, Le moineau domestique, Les corneilles ne sont pas les épouses des corbeaux, Récits de Mathieu Mestokosho, chasseur innu et Confessions animales, BESTIAIRE I et II, C’était au Temps des Mammouths Laineux and Les Yeux Tristes de Mon Camion.

He wrote six volumes of the series Les Lieux Communsalong with anthropologist Bernard Arcand as well as, Elles ont fait l’Amérique, in collaboration with Marie-Christine Lévesque.

With his latest book, Le Peuple Rieur(November 2017), the anthropologist takes the reader on a journey to the beginnings of his career in the 1970s. Through little anecdotes, he brings the spotlight on a traditional society of nomadic hunters history.

As a great communicator, Serge Bouchard gives literary lectures and talks to a variety of audiences, both on the realities of Aboriginal peoples and on many of the philosophical and current issues that matter today.

Some of his conferences:

First Nations : History and realities.

Serge Bouchard explores the socio-political and cultural history of First Nations, inviting us to grasp the evolution of forgotten trajectories and to develop a more accurate perception of the challenges that these populations face. Given for more than thirty years to various audiences – officials, police officers, forestry workers, fishermen, indigenous communities, etc. – the conference is available in several versions, in terms of content and duration, according to the specific needs of the clients.

Franco-Americanity: a community of destinies

What is the nature of this  North American French-speaking community that withstands vigorously on the continent ? Serge Bouchard tells the history of the French presence in America, from the year 1600 until today, from Acadia to the Great Lakes, from Quebec to Missouri, from St. Louis to California From Colorado to the Yukon, from Oregon to Lake Athabasca … Explorations, mixing of cultures, family secrets and stories of collaboration with Native Americans: a great adventure!

Remarkable Yet Forgotten

Based on the series he has written and hosted on Radio-Canada for seven years, Serge Bouchard can captivate any audience by presenting any of  74 inspiring yet little known historical figures.

Aging, dying; to treat, to accompany

On these serious and human issues, Serge Bouchard has for several years been giving touching and meaningful lectures to specialized audiences of doctors, nurses, caregivers and all those who work in these fields. He introduces us to the anthropological dimensions of these different realities, just as he looks at the philosophical and practical nature of these subjects that never cease to challenge us.

Environment, territory and nordicity

At the dawn of a future northern plan (Plan Nord), the questions are pressing. Where have our natural resources gone for two hundred years? Who has been enriched by exploitation? Who has become poorer? These conferences can address the forest as well as the mines, the rivers, the river, the wild animals, the North or the occupation of the territory. Unique habitats, irreplaceable landscapes, it is our duty to undertake in a spirit of respect and conservation.

Management and recognition of trades

As a cultural anthropologist, Serge Bouchard has long been a management consultant. He did his doctoral thesis on truckers and their milieu and worked for large organizations, in France as well as in Quebec. In his conferences on management, he gives the essence of his experience and supports the importance of the human factor within a company. His approach is historical, cultural and deeply humanistic, with a good rooting in the field.

Culture, identity and diversity

What are the contemporary conditions of cultural diversity, in a context where identity is not about to disappear in favour of a universal culture? Reflection on the relationships between identities, language, history, self-vision as well as cultural and biological interbreeding. Public debate on these issues urgently needs to be enhanced by including basic anthropological notions of belonging and differences.

Memory, history, knowledge

With regard to memory, the world as we know it is changing. What’s the point of knowledge ? What knowledge should we share, and with whom? Today, we share an immeasurable lot of data regardless of the content, value and depth of these precious informations. Moreover, once taken by the digital language, weren’t the words “sharing” and “memory” been diverted from their original meaning? What do we really want to convey, what kind of world do we want to perpetuate?

Social perspectives … Which society ?

Mankind is essentially a project, say the philosophers. Quebec society is today more than ever challenged: what world do we intend to create? Which Quebec will we leave to the next generations? All dimensions are involved, from health to identity, from aesthetics to memory, from ethics to economics; and above all, education is the beating heart of the social and cultural development of our society. What is our collective educational project.

The History of fear

Serge Bouchard takes an anthropological look at the evolution of fear in human societies throughout history. He talks about defense systems, wars, civilian and military police; What about our contemporary conceptions of danger and security? Are we obsessed with personal security, insurance, surveillance technology? What if our anxieties created of an industry of fear?

In the footsteps of the woolly mammoth

Here are my landscapes, my roads, my memories, my buses and my trucks. I present to you also fragments of my pack, notes on those I loved and passed away. I had a lot, I lost a lot, and great happiness also attracts great torment. There is nothing we can do about it. Back in the Days of the Woolly Mammothsis a leaflet at the entrance of a museum. From my human passions to my mourning, everything is there, on the shelves, on the walls. Somewhere between Facebook and scrapbook, collage and display, an exhibition on the human condition. We will never be comforted, we will never be happy. Indignation is our condition, but this pathetic grunt is ultimately a testimony. We are many in the primitive herd of woolly mammoths.

The Paths of French America

From Remarkable Yet Forgotten (De Remarquables Oubliés) a radio series I hosted on Ici Radio-Canada Premièrefrom 2004 to 2011, I wrote in collaboration with Marie-Christine Lévesque two “soothing” books that give us back our historical monuments and myths.

They Made America (Elles ont fait l’Amérique): fifteen portraits of unimaginably strong spirited women, largely forgotten from our history books, whose, independence and courage overturn our old perceptions.

They ran America (Ils Ont Courru l’Amérique) : the wanderings of fourteen men accustomed to our forests, mountains, rivers, lakes and plains. These stories give us an in-depth understanding of the French-Canadian presence across the North American continent. Alone or with my coauthor, I take you on a journey, from Labrador to New Mexico, and from Newfoundland to Oregon.

Customized topics

In order to better fit your needs, Serge Bouchard in collaboration with ZINC can also create customized conferences on a wide range of topics.

To get a quote, please contact us via the form below