Ethnology in museum context. Exploratory study of the Augustinian Monastery collection

In his book Le Quebec pour terrain. Itineraire d un missionnaire du patrimoine religieux (2004), ethnologist Jean Simard noted the abundance of the intangible heritage of the Augustinian sisters of the Hotel-Dieu of Quebec in the context of a widespread abandonment of religious practice. Fifteen years later, Quebec s Augustinians offer a renewed research opportunity for ethnologists. As guardians of an immense cultural heritage, they chose to ensure its transmission through the creation of an innovative heritage complex that includes a hotel, an archive center and a museum. By tracing the growth of the collection of the Monastere des Augustines and the diverse types of objects preserved, this paper suggests to move away from the image of a "missionary ethnologist" and adopt an ethnological approach to the museum by focusing on contemporary museum practices and their various actors.