NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Figures de la marginalité dans trois romans de femmes : Égypte/Maghreb

My project explores the concept of marginalization in three novels: Al-Riwâyah (Nawal El Saadawi), Les Intranquilles (Azza Filali) and Jeux de rubans (Emna Belhaj Yahia). The study of these novels shows that the marginalization of women (more so than the study of any other marginalized group) reveals society’s aspirations, the direction society is headed in and the dynamics that drives it. In essence, this marginalized group mirrors society (Barel). I concentrate on the way in which women are marginalized by societal norms, the very norms that ensure women are lesser beings and how they are viewed by society. Can the marginalized women in El Saadawi, Filali and Yahia’s novels succeed in rejecting the norms that place them on the outskirts of society? Do the existing norms allow for a process of empowerment? My contention is that taking ownership of societal norms is not enough. In each of the three novels in question, traditions that uphold certain norms and social practices are rejected by the women characters. It takes more than an “extension” (Butler) of social norms and analyses of notions that contribute to the exclusion of women and other minorities to create transformation. The individual must be capable of imagining his/her own place in society without having to remain bounded by inherited traditions. In these three novels, the marginalized women redefine their priorities and question convention, thus tearing down norms in order to visualize a role free from the constraints of the majority. I argue that norms are shown in these novels to be both necessary and restrictive (Butler). Societal norms define relationships and common activities. They add structure to the community. The marginalized individuals and groups must topple the norms all the while existing both inside and outside those norms. They adapt but do not conform. If the marginalized wishes to challenge and change existing norms, s/he must first admit that norms prevent him or her from enjoying freedom and free will. S/He must recognize that individual initiative is outlawed by societal norms. The boundaries between the margins and mainstream society can shift. Unexpected interactions between marginalized individuals and groups and what is known as the mainstream can occur. Minority groups and the majority can share the same concerns. If social changes have to take place, it will be due to the involvement of all of the social groups.

Keyphrases: Marginality, Women, Counterculture, Normality, Social integration, Minority, Exile, Exclusion, Transformation
La interlengua de los estudiantes francófonos de ELE : el caso de ser y estar

Abstract This research work, within the field of applied linguistics, focuses on the use and the selection of the verbs ser and estar by French-speaking students of Spanish as a Foreign Language in Quebec. As it has been previously demonstrated in numerous studies, the appropriate use of these verbs is a challenge for students whose language has an attributive verb system that differs from Spanish. Likewise, the ser/estar dicotomy represents a challenge to instructors who do not always know how to simplify the explanation of this grammatical phenomenon to make it easier to understand for their students. In fact, existing literature shows that it is necessary to have strategies to improve the teaching/learning process of this particular grammatical point, for which it has been difficult to establish concrete rules, due to several grammatical, lexical-semantic, and pragmatic factors, as well as to the changing character of language. In an effort to better understand the interlanguage of French-speaking students of Spanish with regard to the use of these verbs, and to propose a pedagogical approach to this issue, fieldwork research has been conducted in the city of Montreal (Quebec). Data were collected over three study sessions with 8 groups of students of levels A1 through B2 at the Language Centre of the University of Montreal. All participants are native speakers of French. The data obtained were subjected to Error Analysis. Results show the most common errors made in each level covered by the study, and allow to determine some of their causes. Most of the time, the mistakes made in the use of ser and estar are found in the linguistic system of the Spanish language, they are of the intralinguistic type. Moreover, it was confirmed that the French-speaking students surveyed used simplification as a learning strategy in their interlanguage, which means that they tended to use one verb or the other indifferently as they do not know the rules. This did not result in significant problems in their process of communication and interaction. The study also confirms the usefulness of Error Analysis as a line of research on teaching/learning Spanish as a Foreign Language. It shows that by observing the interlanguage of the learners, and by engaging their mistakes, it is possible to understand the phenomenon at hand and elaborate teaching tools adapted to their needs. In conclusion, both the viewpoint considered with regard to the grammatical phenomenon studied, and the brief teaching proposal offered at the end, aim at showing another approach to the analysis and understanding of the use of the verbs ser and estar by French-speaking learners of Spanish.

Keyphrases: Spanish as a Foreign Language (ELE), Error Analysis (EA), Interlanguage (IL), verbs ser and estar, French-speaking learners
Dessiner une écosophie transductive : matières résiduelles, milieux associés, arts technologiques

Multiple crises over the last several decades demonstrate the entanglement of materialities, humans, and technologies. Despite the 3RV-Es (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Valorisation and Elimination), waste increases. This media-based research-creation dissertation is an investigation of technological artistic experimentation with residual matter as aesthetic/political engagement. This dissertation is concerned with what wastewater treatment, engineered landfill sites, and atmospheric and electromagnetic pollution create. I analyze how these operations are at the very heart of artworks produced since 2006 by Ælab, an artistic research unit I cofounded with composer Stéphane Claude in 1996. Joselita Ciaravino, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Brian Massumi, Gilbert Simondon, and Isabelle Stengers are my primary philosophical allies. Ciaravino discusses disegno’s third order, a form of non-representational drawing practiced by da Vinci during the Renaissance. This type of drawing activates a transduction process as described by Simondon: a disruptive element participating in a milieu under tension triggers a potential energy discharge that overflows onto neighbouring elements, which can, in turn, generate new pivots of interrelation. These assemblages recall Guattari’s discussion of ecosophy, a dynamic, triple intertwining of subjectivation, collectivity, and the environment that provides fertile milieus to follow the transductions art brings about. A new force accompanies their drawing and a “paying attention” (Stengers) emerges, act of resistance and solidarity. Ethico-aesthetic experiments with waste are a way of questioning dualisms that may hamper the technological exploration of materialities in order to participate in the transductive reticulation of ecosophy. Working with waste creates an amplified relation; it amplifies a technological practice that, as it resingularizes, also extends to collectivities. This dissertation presents five chapters in which practice and theory meet. In each, two concepts are placed in dialogue: Drawing and Diagrammatic; Milieus and Intervals; Translation and Transduction; Ecosophy and Paying Attention; Postmedia and Commons. “Blocks of sensation” (Deleuze and Guattari) arise between theorization and an a-chronological telling of artistic practice, one “through” (au travers) the other (perScapere), one with the other. The works build a plan of composition (Deleuze and Guattari) I call the “perse_plan”. The phases of the perse_plan are split by the actions of fissure, interval, undulation, and cascade. These phases are the result of ontogenetic experimentation through five artworks and their related processes interconnected with digital drawing, video, audio, light, materialities, sensors, performances, and installations. Across thresholds and various resonances, their “associated milieus” (Simondon) are drawn out over time.

Keyphrases: perScapere, transduction, pollution, milieu, sensation, Drawing, Diagrammatic, Ecosophy, Technological arts, Waste, Ontogenesis
Design of carbon nanotube-based sensors for the detection of catalytic activity

Due to their outstanding properties, carbon nanotubes are being considered as promising materials in various fields. Namely, their quasi-one-dimensionality and their high surface/volume ratio make them ideal candidates for sensing applications. To date, studies dealing with the use of carbon nanotubes in sensing mainly focus on gas, biological and chemical molecules detection. In this thesis, we aim to use carbon nanotubes as sensors for the real-time detection of a chemical transformation through a catalytic reaction. In order to do this, carbon nanotube supported catalysts are prepared thanks to appropriate functionalization methods. In practice, we develop in this work two distinct approaches for the preparation of carbon nanotube supported catalysts. On one hand, we develop a monovalent functionalization pathway for the deposition of metallic nanoparticles on carbon nanotube surface. For this purpose, carbon nanotubes are first functionalized by diazonium salts. This first step allows to bind a tethering point for a subsequent post-functionalization. Metallic clusters are then coordinated on these functionalized moieties. A thermal activation step ensures the formation of metallic nanoparticles from these nanoparticle molecular precursors. On the second hand, a homogeneous supported catalyst is prepared by anchoring Pd(0) complexes on carbon nanotube surface. In order to do this, carbon nanotubes are divalently functionalized by Bingel-Hirsch reaction to present dangling triple bonds at their surfaces. This divalent approach ensures a covalent anchoring of the active sites on the nanotube surface, while preserving their electrical conductivity.  Whichever the considered approach, the catalyst preparation is carefully analyzed by common characterization techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, the materials are also electrically characterized at each step of the catalyst preparation process. This electrical characterization allows to study the influence of the different steps of the functionalization strategy on the nanotube electrical properties.  These materials are then tested in catalysis, for the hydrolytic transformation of dimethylphenylsilane in dimethylphenylsilanol or for the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction, respectively for heterogeneous and homogeneous supported catalysts. The activity and recyclability of these catalysts is monitored by gas chromatography.  Finally, we demonstrate in this thesis the possibility of using carbon nanotubes as sensors for the in situ detection of catalytic activity. For this purpose, real-time electrical measurements are recorded during the catalytic reaction. The catalytic activity is revealed by fluctuations of the nanotube conductivity over time.

Keyphrases: Carbon nanotubes, Sensors, Catalysis, Functionalization, Electrical transport
Synthèse de macrocycles par réaction de métathèse et application en débit continu

The macrocyclic metathesis reaction is a key reaction in organic synthesis and possesses numerous challenges. Traditional methods typically involve high dilution conditions and the use of a syringe pump. In this doctoral thesis, a method that avoids the use of dilution technics has been developed. This method has been applied to the synthesis of macrocyclic cyclophanes. Furthermore, total synthesis of neomarchantin A, a bisbibenzyl macrocycle, has been done in 12 steps from commercially available reagents with an Ullmann coupling, a Wittig coupling and a macrocyclic metathesis reaction as key steps. Continuous flow chemistry, a method easily applicable in an industrial setting, has been explored. This technology was applied to the key macrocyclization step of the neomarchantin A and for the synthesis of a macrocyclic musk patented by International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF).

Keyphrases: haute concentration, Macrocyclization, high concentration, neomarchantin A, macrocyclic muscs, macrocyclic cyclophanes, flow chemistry
Réactions d’amination intramoléculaire catalysées par les dimères de rhodium : synthèse d’oxazolidin-2-ones et étude mécanistique

The direct functionalization of C-H bonds is a very promising synthetic approach since these bonds are ubiquitous in organic substances. Thus, considering the C-H bond as a functional group, a new era began in the field of organic synthesis with new interesting opportunities, which avoid the manipulation of functional groups and thus making it possible to develop new atom and steps economic synthetic routes. In this perspective, our research group has developed, several years ago, a new methodology of intramolecular C-H amination using the N-sulfonyloxycarbamates as novel nitrene precursors. The latter, in the presence of a base and a rhodium dimer (II) tetracarboxylate are able to achieve the effective insertion into an C(sp3)-H bond to form oxazolidin-2-ones as a 5-membered carbamate heterocycles.  The present work was, first, attached to the enlargement of the scope of the intramolecular C-H amination methodology, developed by Laura Laparra Mamani, a former member of our group starting from N-mésyloxycarbamates derived from primary alcohols. New reaction conditions have been developed for capricious substrates and highlighted a new soluble organic base, sodium ethylhexanoate. Subsequently, an intramolecular diastereoselective C-H amination reaction starting from secondary and tertiary N-mésyloxycarbamates have been developed. The 4,5-disbustituted oxazolidin-2-ones were obtained with yields ranging from good to excellent and variable selectivities. Furthermore, efforts have been made to the development of an enantioselective version of the reaction. Oriented optimization has led to good reactivity and selectivity.  Finally, the author of this thesis has attempted to determine the mechanisms involved in this catalytic process. She was able to show that the catalytically reactive specie was a metal nitrène and that the rate-determining step was the insertion step of rhodium nitrene into the C-H bond. In addition, a brief study of secondary parallel reactions to the C-H amination was also performed which allowed proposing mechanisms for the formation of byproducts and catalyst degradation.

Keyphrases: N-mésyloxycarbamates, Oxazolidin-2-ones, N-Mesyloxycarbamates, C-H Amination, Oxazolidin-2-ones, Rhodium (II) dimers, degradation
Synthèse de précurseurs et assemblages supramoléculaires : études de leurs propriétés de transport transmembranaire

The development of compounds able to transport molecules through cellular membranes is an emerging area of chemistry and biochemistry. Several diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, are the result of a dysfunction of chloride and bicarbonate transport across cellular membranes. In the last few years, new families of synthetic transmembrane transporters were developed in order to restore chloride transport. However, the synthesis of supramolecular systems for the transport of large molecules from one side to the other one of the lipid bilayer remains a challenge. Herein we present two different systems: one for chloride transport and a second one that combines the transport of ions and biologically active macrocycles through cellular membranes. We first present the anionophoric potential of benzimidazole derivatives. Mechanistic studies were conducted on 2,4,7-triphenylbenzimidazole to determine its self-assembly in a phospholipid membrane and its capacity to transport anions. Two analogues possessing metal coordination sites were also developed and studied for their anion transport properties, as well for the formation of metal-organic assemblies. These complexes were studied in bacterial membranes for their ability to inhibit bacterial growth and to reduce the tolerance of a resistant strain to antibiotics. In the second part of this thesis, we present the use of umbrella compounds that are able to change their conformation depending on the polarity of the environment. The synthesis and characterization of a new umbrella thread and its dimer are reported in this section. Their ability to transport anions through liposomal membranes or their insertion into more complex bacterial membranes are studied. The first attempts to assemble rotaxanes with the umbrella compounds and an active macrocycle are presented.

Keyphrases: Benzimidazole, Rotaxane, Transport transmembranaire, Macrocycle, Nonactine, Benzimidazole, Self-assembly, Metal complex, Molecular umbrella, Cholic acid, Transmembrane transport, Bacteria, Cyclic drug, Nonactin
Réactions d’amination de liens C-H : synthèse d’amines propargyliques à partir de N-mésyloxycarbamates et études mécanistiques

The nitrogen containing compounds represent a large portion of the active substances in medicinal chemistry. The work reported in this manuscript describe the efforts devoted to the development of a new method of amination of propargylic C-H bonds. Our research group has developed recently a new metal nitrene precursor, N-mesyloxycarbamates, to perform amination reactions on various C-H bonds. During the development of our methodology, the synthesis of N-mesyloxycarbamate has undergone many improvements, including improved global scale synthesis and effectiveness. Similarly, efforts were devoted to reduce the number of steps required for the synthesis of the reagent by developing the synthesis of an intermediate enantioselectively. Finally, the synthesis of this reagent was also considered using continuous flow chemistry. During development of the method of synthesis of propargylic amines, we have found that acetic acid plays a key role in the conservation of good selectivity and reactivity of the reaction. These observations allowed to develop an efficient diastereoselective process in order to obtain propargylic amines with moderate to good yields and with excellent diastereoselectivities. Following the study of the scope of our process, we tried to determine the reaction mechanisms governing the reactivity and selectivity. We have shown that the reactive species of the catalyst system was indeed a metal nitrene, and that the rate-determining step was the insertion. Experiments made by oxidizing the rhodium catalytic species suggested that several oxidation states of this species may be present and active in the catalytic system.

Keyphrases: azote, amine, alcyne, amination, nitrogen, alkyne, propargylic amine, Rh(II) catalyst, amination reaction, N-mesyloxycarbamate, C-H bond, metal nitrene species, continuous flow chemistry
La transposition numérique de l'édition critique : éléments pour une édition de l'Isopet 1- Avionnet

At the crossroads of philology and information sciences, this thesis aims at analyzing the most recent developments in critical edition. In view of the transformations currently taking place in editorial culture, the solidly established method of traditional critical edition is today confronted to new epistemological questions. Editors must now integrate into their work–and work methods–changes brought about by computer technology. This is precisely the question of the digital transposition of critical edition investigated here. We wish to ponder on the notion, which seems central to us, of the continuity between the domains of traditional edition and of digital edition. The first part of the thesis, dedicated to traditional critical edition, begins with a historical and methodological overview that allows us to position critical edition in its specific cultural context. We then analyze the information processing modes of critical edition and the editorial methods of philologists. Critical edition is generally not reducible to a single and simple practice, but is rather underpinned by a complex conceptual structure. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to digital critical edition. We first look at how philological concepts evolve in the passage from traditional to digital edition. Then we assess the new technical possibilities opened up in the domain by computer technology. These questions, pertaining as much to the method of critical edition as to the reception of the edited work, are at the heart of our research. We accompany our theoretical investigations with a practical part, presented in the third part of the thesis, consisting in the critical edition of a sample of fables taken from Isopet 1-Avionnet. Finally, the conclusion of our work includes the elements to be considered in the development of a theoretical model of digital critical edition.

Keyphrases: Critical Edition, Critical Edition History, Digital Philology, Digital Edition, Digital Humanities, Fables
Frontières et identités : étude des décors céramiques dans la région des monts Mandara et de ses plaines (Nord-Cameroun/Nord-Nigéria) à l'Âge du Fer

For the last 500 years at least, in the southern area of Lake Tchad, the Mandara Mountains region represents the geographical and cultural meeting point of two contrasting ways of thinking: the egalitarian and non-Muslim populations of the mountains; and the populations of the surrounding plains—dominated by the hierarchical authority of Islamic states, including Bornou and Wandala states. This thesis is the continuation of a long tradition of archaeological and ethnological research completed during the last 40 years in this region. Its aim is to document the ambiguous relationship that exists between these two socio-political systems, in the past and the present. Between 1993 and 2012, teams of archaeologists working on both the Projet Maya Wandala (PMW) and the Projet DGB (Diy-gyd-bay) established one of the largest ceramic databases in the region. Following a holistic, diachronic and regional approach regarding the issue of cultural contacts in the border area, the present thesis focuses on the analysis on ceramic decoration from this dataset. These potsherds (n=150,000), originating from eight key archaeological sites located in Northern Cameroon and Northern Nigeria, tell the story of the region spanning more than 3000 years, dating from the Neolithic to the end of the Late Iron Age (LIA). Methods of statistical analysis, such as cluster analysis by dynamic clustering (K-Means) and Ward aggregation, have been used in order to explore both similarities and differences present in these collections, through time and space. After a comparison of my results with the archaeological, ethnological and historical data of the study area, a chronology of these sites is proposed based on the ceramic data. On the DGB- 1/-2 site, the most important evidence of prehistoric occupation of the mountains, the domestic spaces, such as the cooking area, are differentiated from those used for redeposited materials, despite the similarity of ceramic decorations found there. The identification of four groups of distinct ceramic decorations underlines the differences that arise between the lowland populations and those from the mountains, as well as between the lowland populations associated with the Wandala elite, and other groups.  In the context of the emergence of the first centralised states in this region, we can see how this important historical phenomenon had consequences, not only on occupation and the use of the landscape, but also on ceramic identity.

Keyphrases: African Archaeology, Mandara Mountains region-Northern Cameroon/Northern Nigeria, Iron Age, Border landscape, Identity, Ceramic decoration, Statistical cluster analysis