Jocelyne Mathieu

Professor Jocelyne Mathieu is a Quebec ethnologist affiliated with the Department of History. This position has enabled her to bring together complementary bodies of knowledge and to combine tradition with modernity. A specialist in material culture—particularly costume and textiles—she has devoted her career to promoting Francophone heritage in North America. 

Dedicated to student success

Professor Mathieu’s deep commitment to teaching, as well as to faculty and institutional governance, is exceptional. In addition to helping rethink and advance university pedagogy—through the creation of distance and blended learning courses and the development of digital tools such as the ethnology and heritage media library—she has provided exemplary supervision to some 40 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. In 2014, Université Laval presented her with the Award of Excellence in Teaching in recognition of her outstanding graduate supervision. 

In addition to serving as Vice-Dean of Academic Affairs in the Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, Professor Mathieu has participated actively on the work of several Université Laval committees, including the studies and research committee within the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and the awards and distinctions committee. Appointed Assistant to the Vice-Rector of Academic and Student Affairs and later Chair of the Academic Board, she also oversaw Université Laval’s ethnology collection. 

Not only has Professor Mathieu distinguished herself through her achievements at Université Laval, but she has also had a notable influence on higher education more broadly. Beyond her work on several committees and commissions of the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation, she helped establish the Réseau d’échanges sur la formation en francophonie nord-américaine, thereby fostering interuniversity cooperation.

A valued ally in promoting Quebec culture

A prolific researcher, Professor Mathieu has studied clothing and textiles, as well as fashion and consumption patterns, including their representations in mail-order catalogues and department stores. Some of her research has focused on women’s everyday lives, their presence in public and private spheres, domestic interiors, popular festivals, and organizations such as the Cercles de fermières. She has authored or edited no fewer than 60 contributions to collective works, 25 scholarly articles, 8 research reports, 47 conference papers, and 6 exhibitions, in addition to her many contributions to the dissemination of knowledge in the media. 

Her broad expertise in heritage studies has earned her appointments as a resource person for the Ministère des Affaires culturelles (now the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications) and the Musée de la civilisation. She has also served on the editorial boards of Canadian Folklore canadien, Ethnologies, and Cap-aux-Diamants, and has been regularly invited to teaching and knowledge-sharing events throughout the French-speaking world—from France to Louisiana, via Acadia.

Her reputation and the excellence of her work are such that, in 1999, she had the honour of being admitted to the Société des Dix, a prestigious learned society of French-speaking Canada. 

With her passion for teaching and culture, Professor Mathieu has distinguished herself through her remarkable commitment to university pedagogy and her role as a keeper and transmitter of memory—revealing the rich diversity of Francophone cultures in the Americas and fostering a deeper understanding of both past and present.