The American Council for Québec Studies (ACQS) was founded in 1980 as the Northeast Council for Québec Studies by a group of professors primarily interested in Québec literature, history, and politics. Responding to the expanding geographical distribution of the membership, as well as to the growing diversity of scholarly interests, the organization changed its name to the American Council for Québec Studies in 1984. Today, the ACQS remains the largest and most prominent association for Québec Studies in the United States. Its primary mission is to promote the dissemination of knowledge and research on Québec, Francophone Canada, and more broadly, Francophone North America, by supporting and bringing together scholars, including graduate students, representing diverse fields of inquiry and research interests, whose work contributes to the study of these societies.
The ACQS encourages research, teaching, and community outreach, and supports collaborations among established and emerging scholars by developing programs (conferences, workshops, seminars, publications) and facilitating exchanges among its members. The biennial conference attracts scholars from the United States, Québec, Canada, and around the world, and often hosts authors, artists, and government officials. This multidisciplinary conference aims to promote exchanges and multiple perspectives on topics related to Québec Studies, including work focusing on Québec diasporas, Indigenous peoples of Québec, and Francophone presence in the Americas.
Since its beginnings, the ACQS has benefited from the support of the Government of Québec.
Many programs and activities of the ACQS have been enriched and supported through collaborations with the Association internationale des études québécoises (AIEQ) and the Centre de la francophonie des Amériques (CFA).
In 2005, the ACQS was honored by the Conseil supérieur de la langue française with the Prix du 3-juillet-1608 for its exceptional service to the French-language community of North America.
Former ACQS Presidents
Edwin Hamblet†, 1980-1982
André Senécal, 1983-1984
Jeanne Kissner†, 1985-1986
Robert Schwartzwald, 1987-1990
Robert Gill, 1990-1992
Jane Moss, 1992-1995
Richard Beach†, 1995-1997
Émile J. Talbot†, 1997-1999
Robert K. Whelan, 1999-2001
Roseanna L. Dufault, 2001-2003
Kevin J. Christiano, 2003-2005
Raymond J. Pelletier†, 2005-2007
Juliette Rogers, 2007-2009
David Massell, 2009-2011
Amy B. Reid, 2011-2013
Leslie Choquette, 2013-2015
Samuel Fisher, 2015-2017
Charles R. Batson, 2017-2019
Katharine N. Harrington, 2019-2023
Yulia Bosworth, 2024-2025