This post is part of the Meet the ETCL Team series, which introduces the wonderful people who work in the lab and who have worked with us in the past.
Julien Vallières serves as the Associate Director of the Montreal-based Centre de recherche sur l’atelier de L’Arche et son époque (1900-1925) (CRALA). Currently, as a visiting scholar in the lab, he is collaborating with Dr. Hélène Cazes on a data rescue project. Introduced to the lab by Dr. Cazes, Julien actively participated in DHSI in 2021 and 2022 as both an attendee and a liaison for francophone communications.
In the lab, Julien is involved in migrating a database on literature—specifically, narrative motifs in fiction—into a modern, data-mining-ready format. The updated data is being archived on Borealis, a public research infrastructure, ensuring its accessibility to researchers. Julien is also engaged in two major projects:
1. Creating a historical database on francophone scientific research and its contributors in Canada. This involves “opening up” the archive—freeing it from the constraints of its original publishing format—and preparing it for computer-assisted text analysis. The project’s significance is twofold, offering both historiographical insights and methodological innovations.
2. Establishing a research and mediation infrastructure to highlight the history of Montreal’s Latin Quarter, the city’s first university district. This work delves into the imaginary foundations of the area, providing compelling avenues for research into Montreal’s student life and artistic sociability.
In his work, Julien relies heavily on OpenRefine, an open-source tool for data cleaning and structuring, whose supportive developer community he greatly appreciates. He also uses Open Interpreter, a program that leverages language models in Terminal (MacOS’s command-line interface), which he finds both useful and intellectually stimulating.
Through his research efforts, Julien endeavours to preserve the cultural heritage of French Canada, which he feels is gradually fading. An unrepentant independentist advocating for the abolition of the federal government, he channels this passion into his projects.
Outside of his professional and research endeavors, Julien indulges in his love for reading. He is an avid fan of Quebec writer Jacques Ferron and owns a complete collection of works by Quebecois graphic novelist Jimmie Beaulieu, including rare, ephemeral publications. Although he does not watch television, Julien enjoys listening to podcasts and laments the brief lifespan of one of his favorites, La Bête à deux dos. Julien is also passionate about producing zines and handcrafted publications with limited circulation. His most regular creation is Patarafes, a series of small, hand-made publications that he produces for his own enjoyment. Beyond these hobbies, he treasures spending time with his family.