by J. Kevin Cool

As a provincial referendum looms about whether Quebec will remain part of the Canadian federation, two Colby scholars who have spent years studying Quebec say they're disappointed that so little is known about the place.

Jane Moss, Robert E. Diamond professor of women's studies and French, and Jonathan Weiss, professor of French and director of academic affairs and off-campus study, both have been leaders in the effort to promote understanding and build awareness about Quebec. Moss is president of the American Council for Quebec Studies and Weiss is a member of the executive board of the American Association of Canadian Studies. They have brought to light the intellectual and artistic communities in Quebec that reflect a strong desire to maintain French culture and language in the province.

Moss is recognized as the world's definitive authority on women's theater in Quebec. She knows many of the playwrights personally and has gained extraordinary access in cultural circles of Quebec. Weiss is esteemed for his work on French-Canadian theater, a subject he has been writing and lecturing about since the late 1970s. Together, they are a formidible tag team in Francophone studies.

Moss and Weiss both say that part of the attraction to Quebec Studies was the proximity of a French-speaking culture to Colby. Said Weiss, "France is a long way away, Quebec is nearby." They share an affection for the French language and the desire to see French culture in Quebec sustained and strengthened.

Their scholarship reflects the political changes in Quebec, most notably the rise of the Parti Quebecois and the growing separatist movement. Moss has been studying the relationship between nationalism and literature since 1979, when she was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to research her thesis that writing in the province changed after the PQ came into legislative power in 1976. Writers who had been preoccupied with politics switched from themes of national identity and political independence to traditional literary topics, she says. Weiss actually developed the framework for a Canadian studies program at Colby in the late 1970s through a $50,000 NEH grant. He has continued to push for greater awareness about Quebec both on campus and off, primarily through his involvement with the American Association of Canadian Studies. He has written two books about French-Canadian literature and serves on the editorial boards of a number of scholarly publications.

Because of their long term involvement in Francophone studies, both Weiss and Moss enjoy the benefits of a well-connected network inside Quebec. As president of the of Quebec studies association, Moss regularly deals with embassy representatives and leading government officials in the province. Her interest in Quebec theater is particularly complex because of the symbiotic relationship between culture and government there. Almost all theater is subsidized by the government in Canada, where there is strong public support for the arts. So not only are artists working under the shadow of taxpayers' support, so are the scholars who study their work. The Quebec studies journal to which Moss has been a regular contributor and the publisher is funded in part by the Ministry of International Affairs of the Canadian government and by the Department of Foreign Affairs in the provincial government. "We're in a funny position," Moss said. "If Quebec separates, what happens to my funding? We're concerned about this."

Indeed, Moss and Weiss both are concerned about the future of Quebec not only as scholars but as persons who have come to love the province and its people. The separatist movement there, which has gained momentum in recent years, actually began in the late 1960s. A previous referendum on the subject of independence failed. Weiss is cautious about predicting the results of the upcoming referendum. "Quebec has never been happy as a member of the confederation, but if history repeats, they won't sepatate," he said.

Moss agreed. "The common wisdom is that they will vote for the Parti Quebecois because in their hearts they're all nationalists, but they will vote against the referendum because they know what the price of sovereignty would be." That "price" would include developing a national defense system and maintaining economic growth for its citizens.

The root of the separatist movement is a desire to have language and culture sustained, Weiss says. His scholarship is in part informed by that issue because, he says, "you can't have a literature in exile."

"In Quebec, language is a form of persecution. All they want to do is to live in their own language. The study of literature has tuned us in and made us more sympathetic to the importance of language in people's lives," Weiss said.

Because of Colby's location in central Maine, studies by Moss and Weiss also have contributed to a growing awareness among the college's French-Canadian students about their own identities. "I have seen so many students really rediscovering their roots (through the study of Quebec)," Moss said. "There have been some touching experiences."

Weiss has seen a similar phenomenon. "French-Canadians in Maine have been persecuted for a long time," he said. "Some of our students who are of French-Canadian descent are almost ashamed to admit it. I have seen lives changed after they studied and learned more about their cultural identities."

FOOL'S PARADISE
The film version of Professor of English Richard Russo's novel Nobody's Fool, starring Paul Newman, the late Jessica Tandy and Melanie Griffith, is being released nationally this month following premiere screenings in New York City, Los Angeles and Waterville.

Noboby's Fool (reviewed by E. Annie Proulx '57 in the August 1993 Colby) is Russo's third critically acclaimed novel and the first to be turned into a film. Russo assisted director Robert Benton-best known for Kramer vs. Kramer-with revisions to the screenplay and talked at length with Newman, who wanted to probe deeper into his character, a colorful roustabout named Sully.

"I think it's a good movie," Russo said, acknowledging that he feels too close to the project to be a good judge. As for important details, he said, "I like the treatment of setting-they get the idea of place very well. And most importantly they get Sully-his complexity, his inner fire, his anger and frustration and his wonderful, bouyant optimism are all there on the screen."

The Waterville showing occurred only after a special effort by Russo when the original venue, Railroad Square Cinema, burned down in early October (see page 5). Russo negotiated special permission from Paramount Pictures to move the screening to the 900-seat Waterville Opera House and transformed the screening into a benefit for Railroad Square, a small independent theater.

"The studio has been very generous in allowing us to do something they don't normally do," Russo said, adding that people from the publicity office right up to the head of Paramount pitched in.

Russo has been careful to put the film into perspective for the aspiring writers he teaches. "A movie being made of a novel is not the end-all and be-all of a writer's design," he said. "It's the word that we're after."

HEALTHY DEBATE
Before the November election shifted Congressional power from Democrats to Republicans, Senate leaders George Mitchell (D-Maine) and Robert Dole (R-Kansas) were engaged in a battle over health care reform. William R. Kenan Professor of Government L. Sandy Maisel, quoted in USA Today, said both Mitchell and Dole had a big stake in the outcome of the health care debate.

Maisel said Mitchell, who retired after 14 years in the Senate, was hoping a victory in health care reform would be his "crowning achievement." "It's got to be very disappointing to him."

Maisel attributed Mitchell's failure to political obstacles, including a Republican filibuster. "The Senate is a very tough place to lead," Maisel said. "You've got a hundred millionaires and egomaniacs, a bunch of them running for reelection . . . and you've got rules which are stacked against you."

As for Dole, Maisel said, the failure to pass some type of health reform could ultimately be politically damaging. "I think he's going to be viewed as 'Dr. No,'" he said. "It always looked like he was preventing a solution."

OFFICE CONTRIBUTION
Campaign finance specialist Anthony Corrado, associate professor of government, told the Dallas Morning News that out-of-state candidates solicit money from Texas contributors because the state does not limit the amount an individual may contribute to a candidate for a state office.

"To paraphrase Willie Sutton, who referred to robbing banks, when you raise money in politics, you have to go to where the money is," Corrado said.

Critics of out-of-state contributors want them limited by law, a measure Corrado said was "seen as a way to reduce the influence of political action committees." "But it also is a way to reduce the influence of Hollywood money, New York money and a lot of Texas and California money," he said.

Corrado also provided insight for news organizations on election night. He commented on results of Maine elections for Robert Siegal & Co. on National Public Radio and for Bangor television station WLBZ.

IN THE STRIKE ZONE
As major league baseball players and owners scuffled over a proposed salary cap, debate about baseball's unique antitrust exemption intensified.

Herbert E. Wadsworth Professor of Economics James Meehan told the Orange County Register that a repeal of the antitrust exemption would not destroy the game as owners have suggested.

Why, Meehan asked, should teams not be able to relocate when there are more lucrative offers from other cities? "I think the courts would have some sympathy to allow the teams to have competitive balance," said Meehan, who has worked at the Federal Trade Commission and the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice. "The question is, how much protection do you need?"

He acknowledged that competitive balance would be an issue because of the investment major league teams make in minor league ballplayers. "If you recruit minor league ballplayers and you invest a lot of your resources, obviously it reduces your incentive to invest in that talent if another team can sign that player away," he said.

SYLLABI
Off-campus Jan Plans this year include trips to Rome, London, Bermuda, Ecuador, Poland, Russia, Germany, and the Mojave Desert. An additional 68 on-campus Plans were offered on topics ranging from Athenian architecture to Utopian literature.