Uniting Research and Education Against Antisemitism

As the world witnesses a rise of antisemitism and hate, the Montreal Holocaust Museum is working to build a bridge between academic research and pedagogical practices.

Funded in part by the Government of Canada, this five-year research project brings together an interdisciplinary team of five researchers specializing in history, education, sociology, and literature from several Quebec universities.

The project responds to some troubling trends: gaps in school curricula, limited knowledge of local antisemitism, and the lack of a francophone space to reflect on teaching sensitive topics such as the Holocaust, antisemitism, and hate speech.

This project aims to develop innovative and inclusive solutions while strengthening ties between research communities, museums, and educators.

Key Objectives:

  • Develop new approaches (anti-racist, post-colonial, etc.) to teaching and commemorating the Holocaust and forms of contemporary antisemitism.
  • Create a space for reflection at the heart of the Canadian Francophonie to develop knowledge and publications on teaching and learning about difficult topics.
  • Create an educational kit tailored to the needs of teachers in Quebec and throughout Canadian Francophonie
  • Promote a better understanding of traumatic events such as the Holocaust, genocides, slavery, and colonization, as well as their memorialization and resulting community tensions.
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Event of October 8, 2024, genealogy of a virtuous hatred by Ashley Mayer-Thibault.

Research Areas:

  1. Contemporary antisemitism

    • Contextualization of antisemitism in Quebec
    • Studies of the historical links between Jews and Muslims in Quebec, with a focus on community tensions and competing memories in North Africa exacerbated by current events.
    • Analysis of public discourse and antisemitic prejudice.
    • Study of the impact of right-wing and left-wing populism on antisemitism.
    • Develop educational workshops and awareness campaigns.

  1. Transmission of memory, commemoration of the Holocaust, and reflection on the use of literature

  • Analysis of narrative texts (e.g., testimonies, children’s literature, historical fiction) to understand their specific characteristics and evaluate their contribution to collective memory and the fight against antisemitism.
  • Critical and interdisciplinary exploration of literature, history, and ethics to support Holocaust education practices through reading.

  1. Comparative studies of methods and recommendations for an anti-racist approach to teaching about the Holocaust

  • Critical analysis of current educational approaches in Canada/Quebec and the role of museums as places of education.
  • Critical analysis of current educational approaches in certain European countries and the United States.
  • Comparative analysis with Canada/Quebec. • Creation of educational guides and implementation of training programs tailored to the needs of teachers at different levels of education: upper elementary school, high school, and college.

The researchers

Université Laval

Audrey Bélanger

Literature education specialist; she analyzes Holocaust narratives, especially for youth, to support reading practices and Holocaust memory transmission.
Université du Québec à Montréal

Yolande Cohen

Historian specializing in Jewish diaspora in Montreal and North Africa; her work highlights Jewish–Muslim ties and links Holocaust history to colonial and post-colonial contexts.
Université du Québec à Montréal

Frédérick Guillaume Dufour

Expert in populism and hate speech; he studies how contemporary hate speech shapes education, understandings of antisemitism, and related social dynamics in Canada.
Université Laval

Sivane Hirsch

Researcher in anti-racist pedagogy; she designs interdisciplinary teaching strategies to address antisemitism and racism within educational environments.
Université de Sherbrooke

Sabrina Moisan

Specialist in history education and democratic citizenship; she evaluates how the Holocaust is taught in Quebec schools and integrated into the curriculum.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Université de Sherbrooke

Emilie Malenfant

Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Université de Sherbrooke and Postdoctoral Researcher in Education Sciences at the Faculty of Education of the Université de Sherbrooke. As part of this project, her research focuses on teaching practices related to Holocaust history, from elementary school to university, with the aim of combating antisemitism.

PhD Students

Université de Montréal

Valentina Gaddi

PhD candidate in Sociology at the Université de Montréal, with a thesis on the construction of the feminine gender within Montreal's Hasidic Jewish communities. She is also a lecturer at the University of Ottawa, French content editor for the Revue d'Études Juives Canadiennes (Journal of Canadian Jewish Studies), and co-coordinator of the Collectif Judéités (Judeities Collective).
Université du Québec à Montréal

Sara Klein

PhD candidate in sociology at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Her research focuses on the effects of the resurgence of antisemitism since October 7, 2023, on the relationship to politics within Jewish communities, using a comparative approach between Quebec and France. She is also a member of the GLRS – CNRS, Contemporary Judaism axis: religion, culture, migration: a comparative approach.

Our partners

  • Funded in part by the Government of Canada
  • Université du Québec à Montréal
  • Université de Sherbrooke
  • Université Laval

Publications

In the medias