Biography of Guy Rocher, Québécois sociologist (1924–2025)
Guy Rocher, born on April 20, 1924, in Berthierville, was a Québécois sociologist renowned for his role in the Quiet Revolution. A professor at the University of Montreal, he contributed to the modernization of Quebec, particularly in education and the status of the French language. After completing his studies in sociology and earning a master’s degree, he began a doctorate at Harvard and then taught at Université Laval. In 1960, he joined the University of Montreal as director of the Department of Sociology, and from 1962 to 1967, he served as vice-dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. In 1961, the Minister of Youth, Paul Gérin-Lajoie, appointed him as a member of the Royal Commission on Education in the Province of Quebec, better known as the Parent Commission.
Author of Introduction à la sociologie générale, he influenced several generations of students. His intellectual and political engagement left a lasting impact on the social evolution of Quebec. He resided at the Maison des étudiants canadiens in 1957.
Education, long considered a privilege, must now be recognized as a right, everywhere and for everyone.
A poem-chair
“I adopted the chair, this familiar object, a few decades ago, at a time when I wanted to create art on a human scale in public spaces, while everywhere else people opted for the monumental: it is an object shaped like the body and serves the body. It is difficult to feel exclusive ownership of an object so universally shareable. It is mine when I occupy it, but if I leave it, someone else can claim it as their chair.” Michel Goulet, artist-sculptor
The project Prendre position
Prendre position is a sculpture-installation project of 47 chair-poems to mark the 100th anniversary of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris. They were installed in a flowered meadow created especially for the occasion by the campus estate service.
This artistic installation was conceived by the Quebecois artist-sculptor Michel Goulet, in collaboration with François Massut, founding director of the collective Poésie is not dead.
Each house on the campus is represented by a chair, thanks to a donation from the Maison des étudiants canadiens and the support of the Labrenne group. Each of the 47 chairs is a unique work.
History and architecture of the house
La Maison des étudiants canadiens a été fondée à l’initiative de Philippe Roy, haut-commissaire du gouvernement canadien au début des années 1920. Le bâtiment est signé de deux architectes, le français Emile Thomas et le canadien Georges Vanier.
