Construire la guerre totale par l'image au Canada (1914-1918) : acceptation différenciée d'un discours de guerre « totalisé »
Ranging from contemporaries to observers of the XX and XIX centuries, the First World War is a part of human history difficult to portray that many have described as a “total war”. This concept, which is often employed as a synonym for a war of extreme intensity, is generally perceived from a material angle. In other words, it involves an all-out mobilisation of human, financial, and material resources. As part of this research, I focus on the intention to completely destroy the enemy at the risk of destroying oneself in the process. After all, why would actors think it logical to risk self-destruction in the war? Above all, this struggle needs to be perceived as logical, which would make it necessary for their own survival; it could even be perceived as desirable because it presages a better future.  For this reason, the study of the Canadian case is quite instructive because this British dominion, without objectively being threatened with destruction, has participated in a war effort in a way comparable to Western European states. Hence, understanding the concept of Canadian “total war” of 1914-1918 can enable us to better understand total war efforts of other countries and other conflicts. In this dissertation, I propose a twofold discursive analysis based on images of war—drawings, caricatures, and posters. In the first part, a new “vocabulary” of total war common to the Allies and comprised of myths, images and key words geared to the articulation of a common war language is created in the in the international arena. In the second part, Canada adopts this language, albeit in a differentiated form, for political, ethno-linguistic cultural, and many other reasons. The dynamic of identity creation is borrowed from abroad (“Us”, the Allies against “Them”, the enemies of civilisation) and is transposed to the national level, culminating during the elections of December 1917.  By observing how Canada reacted to the resulting stress of the total war effort of the Allies, it is possible to develop an alternative observation of political and social struggles of the Dominion at war that runs counter to traditional historiographies. I propose a portrait of Canadian society where identity, ideas, gender, and a sense of belonging to the Canadian community do not depend on one’s ethnicity, but rather on whether or not one supports the objectives of the total war put forth by the Allies. In brief, the sense of belonging to an international community of ideas at war—the Allies—, according to this analysis, is the guiding principle for nationalist Canadian actors.
Canada Propagande Total war War posters First World War Great War French Canada English Canada Identity Propaganda Canadian imperialism