Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sociology of postmodernity'

Que peut vouloir dire postmoderne ? Et surtout, quels sont les enjeux qui ont traversé les usages de ce terme ? Ce travail soutient que, par-delà le mauvais objet sémantique qu’il constitue, en tant que signifiant flottant et mot-valise, le postmoderne représente un bon objet d’étude pour cerner certains des enjeux théoriques de la fin du vingtième siècle. Il offre ainsi un prisme pertinent pour appréhender les recompositions du marxisme occidental anglophone, les déchirements de la gauche universitaire anglosaxonne et le renouvellement des diverses pensées critiques, au Royaume-Uni comme aux États-Unis. Dans une approche résolument transdisciplinaire, nous étudions l’émergence et les circulations de ce signifiant sur cet axe transatlantique, les interprétations majeures qui l’ont marqué, ainsi que les usages souvent clivants dont il a fait l’objet. Pour retranscrire l’histoire intellectuelle de cette époque, notre démarche historiciste rend compte des débats suscités par la querelle moderniste étatsunienne des années 1960 et 1970, par les interventions de Jean-François Lyotard et Jürgen Habermas, mais surtout par les contributions de Fredric Jameson, Zygmunt Bauman et Stuart Hall tout au long des années 1980 et 1990. A la croisée des champs de la théorie littéraire, de la sociologie politique et des cultural studies, notre étude prend en compte l’imbrication des dimensions théoriques, affectives et politiques afin de situer au mieux les stratégies idéologiques et institutionnelles de cette histoire sociale des idées. Sous la forme d’une sociologie historique d’un espace intellectuel transnational, cette recherche examine les divers circuits présidant à la construction de ce moment postmoderne, pour mieux comprendre de quoi cette effervescence intellectuelle est le nom
What does the term “postmodern” mean? And above all, what were the forces that changed the way we used it? This work argues that beyond being just an inadequate semantical object, an empty signifier, the term “postmodern” is worth studying as it helps us identify some of the theoretical forces which shaped the end of the 20th century. In that respect, it offers a fitting lens to analyse the reconfiguration of western Marxism in the English-speaking world, the conflicts within the Anglo-Saxon Left at the university level and the regeneration of various streams of critical theory in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States. Taking a transdisciplinary stance, this work studies the emergence and the dissemination of that signifier along a transatlantic axis, the major interpretations that were made about it as well as the often conflicting ways it was used. To chart the intellectual history of that era, our historicist approach will take us to the debates around the modernist controversy in the US in the 1960s and 1970s, the involvement of Jean-François Lyotard and Jürgen Habermas and especially the contributions of Fredric Jameson, Zygmunt Bauman and Stuart Hall in the course of the 1980s and 1990s. Borrowing from the fields of literary theory, political sociology and cultural studies, this work takes into account the combination of theoretical, affective and political dimensions in order to best identify the ideological and institutional strategies at play behind this chapter of the social history of ideas. Being essentially a historical sociology of a transnational, intellectual space, this study explores the various paths that led to the construction of this postmodern moment so that we understand better what was truly behind this intellectual effervescence

La tesi consta de tres grans capítols i unes prospeccions finals. El primer capítol esbrina el moment fundacional de la possibilitat de pensar que podem intervenir sobre l'ésser de l'home. El segon indaga les causes i conseqüències del fet que aquesta possibilitat es materialitzi en un programa polític. El tercer capítol reflexiona sobre les repercussions de la crisi de la modernitat sobre el fet educatiu. I les prospeccions finals reflexionen sobre els perills i les possibilitats que la biotecnologia substitueixi l'educació.
The thesis consists of three main chapters and some final prospectings. The first chapter enquires the foundational moment of the possibility to think that we are able to intervene among the being of the man. The second chapter looks into the causes and consequences of materializing this possibility in a political programme. The third chapter reflects on the repercussions of the modernity crisis among the educative fact. And the final prospectings reflects on the dangers and the possibilities of the biotechnology replacing the education.

Postmodern social philosophy of Z. Bauman is considered in this master’s thesis making emphasis on its main frames and aspects. The thinker analyses the phenomenon of globalization basing on dialectics of globalism and localism and states that globalization in fact is glocalization, that means some are becoming more and more global while others become more local and provincial. Globalization and localization are two sides of this process: some are globalizing because others are localizing, and there are no any without others. In Z. Bauman’s opinion, the phenomenon of globalization has become vital for the concept of the society itself. Release from the panoptical individuals’ levelling mechanisms and regimes of modernity marks the end of the traditional community as well as reign of individualistic communitarianism. In his philosophy, Z. Bauman emphasizes significance of growing urbanization and individualization as its result for decay of collective relations. This problem discloses transformations of postmodern ethics and morality. Z. Bauman defines postmodern morality as morality without ethics. Following E. Levinas’ asymmetry of I-Thou relation, the thinker analyses problems of individual’s identity, mass culture and Holocaust. Z. Bauman’s social research of postmodernity is essential for philosophic consideration of certain transformations of modernity phenomena in the era of postmodernity and for defining of modernity and postmodernity relation as well distinguishing... [to full text]

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Este trabalho busca demonstrar as rupturas e resistências encontradas pelas novas correntes epistemológicas, nomeadamente a pós-moderna e seus correlativos neologismos, no que se refere ao questionamento das correntes epistemológicas modernas. Neste sentido, o objetivo geral do trabalho é apresentar as ideias que criaram o panorama histórico-social e epistemológico responsável por um determinado tipo de pensamento social, utilizado para compreender a sociedade moderna e seus valores, para, em seguida, apontar as novas ideias que transformaram o panorama da modernidade “clássica” e exigem, atualmente, novos discursos explicativos. Para tanto, e metodologicamente, faz-se um levantamento bibliográfico acerca da história e das práticas epistemológicas que usualmente creditamos à construção social da modernidade e, desde o último século, a sua provável superação, a pós-modernidade. Com isso, este trabalho visa contribuir para a distinção e esclarecimento das mudanças socioculturais e epistemológicas responsáveis pelo juízo que o indivíduo moderno criou de si mesmo e da sociedade, comparativamente, com a perspectiva que o sujeito contemporâneo atribui a sua identidade e relações sociais. O valor desta pesquisa, portanto, reside na possibilidade de confrontação, através de uma minuciosa análise bibliográfica e comparação histórica, de quais ideias e práticas sociais se tornaram mais numerosas, quais perderam força e quais emergiram na contemporaneidade, desafiando os preceitos vigentes dentro das ciências sociais. Sobretudo para defender que o projeto moderno de emancipação e regulamentação da vida social ainda é valido e que o motivo de seu questionamento está na sobreposição do desenvolvimento capitalista e da razão instrumental e técnica sobre os paradigmas da ação política democrática e da cultura emancipatória propostas pelos primeiros modernos.
This work aims to demonstrate the ruptures and resistances encountered by the new epistemological currents, namely postmodernity and its correlative neologisms concerning the investigation of the modern epistemological currents. In this sense, the general objective of this thesis is to present the ideas that created the historical, social and epistemological theories responsible for a certain type of social thought used to understand modern society and its values. This thesis will then highlight the new ideas that have transformed the outlook of “classical” modernity which now demands original and explanatory discourses. For this reason, and methodologically, a bibliographical survey of the historic and epistemological practices, that we usually credit to the social construction of modernity and its probable overcoming, postmodernity, is conducted. Thus, this work also seeks to contribute to the explanation of the socio-cultural and epistemological distinctions and changes responsible for the judgement that the modern individual has of himself and society, compared with the perspective that the contemporary subject attributes to his identity and social relationships. Thus, through a systematic bibliographical analyze and historical comparison, the value of this research lies in the possibility of confrontation between social ideas and practices which have become more common, which have lost their influence or which have emerged in contemporaneity, defying the precepts prevailing within the social science´s policies. Above all, to defend that the modern project of emancipation and regulation of social life is still valid and that the reason for its questioning lies in the overlap of capitalist development and instrumental and technical reason over the paradigms of democratic political action and emancipatory culture proposed by the first moderns.

Studiens huvudsyfte är att förstå hur sex studenter i mellansverige som lever i ettsamhälle av postmodern karaktär upplever sina identiteter samt på vilket sättsamhällstillståndet påverkar dem. Studien syftar även till att avgöra huruvida det gåratt finna empiriska belägg för Zygmunt Baumans (2002) teori kring att individen i detpostmoderna bryter upp livet i episoder för att lättare hantera skeenden i sitt liv.Studien bygger på kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med totalt sexrespondenter. Samtliga är studenter vid en högskola eller ett universitet imellansverige. Respondenterna är mellan 20 och 25 år gamla. Studiens huvudsakligaslutsats är att identiteten i det postmoderna uppfattas som en social symbol somanvänds för att kommunicera individens Själv (Mead, 1977). Respondenterna istudien påverkas av samhällstillståndet, vilket kan komma att uppfattas som ennegativ konsekvens för dem om de inte klarar av att balansera sitt Själv medidentiteten gentemot samhällets krav på den enskilde individen.

L'étude des phénomènes sociaux actuels passe nécessairement par la reconnaissance du rôle de la technologie électronique dans l'ensemble des pratiques sociales. L'on parle, par exemple, d'une révolution culturelle pour montrer l'impact de la technologie numérique dans la vie quotidienne, mais quelles sont-elles vraiment les transformations qu'amène cette technologie à la socialité ? Les formes de vivre ensemble se sont transformées pour l'utilisation de la technologie numérique ? Voici les questions qu'on discute dans ce travail. Dans l'étude que nous présentons, l'on interprète ces transformations culturelles à partir d'un regard intime de l'expérience numérique. Dès notre filiation à la pensée maffesolienne, l'on fait une revendication du rapprochement esthétique pour l'étude sociologique, tout d'abord, car les motifs rationnels sont loin de montrer la richesse du lien social ; ensuite, parce que l'auteur a bien montré la puissance de l'interprétation autour au quotidien, à l'espace, aux formes sociétales. Enfin, puisque seulement dans la douceur de l'image était possible une compréhension de la socialité contemporaine. Pour conclure, on présente les tendances sociétales qui montrent cela que l'on appelle « l'e-rationalité postmoderne » qui n'est autre que l'articulation de l'être ensemble électronique attachée aux valeurs postmodernes
The study of the current social phenomena inevitably goes through the acknowledgement of the role of electronic technology in social practices as a whole. We speak, for example, about a cultural revolution to emphasize the impact of digital technology in everyday life, but which are the transformations that this technology brings to the sociality? The ways we live together are transformed by the use of the digital technology? These are the questions which we discuss in this work. In the study we present, these cultural transformations are interpreted from an intimate look to the digital experience. From our affiliation to the thoughts of Michel Maffesoli, we vindicate an aesthetic approach to sociological studies; first of all, because rational motives are far from showing the richness of the social link; and then, because Maffesoli ('the author' serías tú) has clearly showed its power of interpretation of daily life, the space and societal forms. Finally, because it is only in the sweetness of the image that is possible to comprehend contemporary sociality. To conclude, we present the societal trends which demonstrate what we call "the postmodern e-rationality" which is no other than the articulation of an electronic being together, attached to the postmodern values

Syftet med denna uppsats är att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur äldre människors relation till digitaliseringen avbildas inom forskning och media. Detta har gjorts genom att utföra en kvalitativ diskursanalytisk litteraturstudie över 13 st publicerade och referentgranskade forskningsartiklar samt 13 st publicerade artiklar i svenska dagstidningar. Resultaten från de olika diskurserna har sedan jämförts med varandra under ett avsnitt som täcker dess likheter och skillnader. Sammanfattningsvis så avbildas gruppen ”äldre” olika inom forskningsdiskursen och den mediala diskursen, där det finns märkbara skillnader över hur äldre avbildas som grupp i sig, samt vilka vägar som är bäst att gå när det kommer till äldres potentiella bemötande av digitaliseringsprocessen.
The purpose of this essay is to create a deeper understanding of how seniors' relationship with digitization are portrayed in research and media. We have done this by performing a qualitative discourse analytic literature study over 13 published and peer-reviewed research articles as well as 13 articles published in Swedish newspapers. The results from the different discourses have afterwards been compared with each other under a section that covers their similarities and differences. In summary, the group ”seniors” are portrayed differently within the research discourse and the media discourse, where there are noticeable differences over how seniors are portrayed, as well as a group within itself, also regarding which paths are best to take when it comes to the potential treatment of the process of digitization.

Uppsatsen behandlar det relativt nya begreppet dokusåpa, med inriktning på kanal 5:s program Big Brother. Bakgrunden till ämnesvalet är att media gärna framställer Big Brother som något dåligt, som ungdomar kan ta efter. Det huvudsakliga syftet med studien är att få en insikt i hur 15-åringar hanterar Big Brother i vardagen. För att angripa ämnet ur ett sociologiskt perspektiv har vi bland annat använt oss av kommunikations-, postmodern och feministisk teori. Uppsatsen bygger på sjutton intervjuer som ger oss en inblick i just de intervjuades relation till Big Brother. Ämnen som berörs är ungdomarnas inlevelse i programmet, könsroller, verklighetsförankring, identifikation och varför och om det är viktigt att titta på Big Brother. Resultat som framkommer rör Big Brother som postmodernt fenomen, könsroller, identifikation och fiktion eller verklighet.

L'objectif principal de la présente thèse est d'investiguer sur l'insertion sociale des personnes âgées dans les politiques publiques menées par l'État brésilien, dans les actions sociales réalisées par l'Église catholique, surtout dans les actions développées par les bénévoles de le Pastorale de la Personne Âgée à João Pessoa, capitale de l'Etat de Paraíba, située dans le nord-est du Brésil. Pour cela, nous avons opté pour une recherche empirique de nature qualitative. Nous avons utilisé comme instruments méthodologiques l'observation participante et l'entretien semi-directif. Deux catégories d'acteurs sociaux ont participé de la présente recherche : 20 personnes âgées qui participent à des activités du Centre de Productions Artistiques - Culturelles de la Personne Âgée, de João Pessoa; et 20 bénévoles de la Pastorale de la Personne Âgée de l'Archidiocèse de Paraíba. Les observations ont été réalisées entre les mois de septembre 2009 et février 2010. Les registres d'observations participantes ont été constitués à travers des réunions, des ateliers, des évènements culturels et loisirs dans le mentionné Centre de Production Artistique-Culturelle de la Personne Âgée et aussi aux moyens d'événements culturels et loisirs du Centre Social de Paroisse Notre Dame de la Conception à João Pessoa (Brésil). L'analyse menée dans le cadre de notre recherche se base sur des fondements théoriques dans le domaine de la sociologie, ainsi que dans les textes de lois brésiliennes et d'autres documents officiels concernant à l'insertion sociale des personnes âgées liées à l'Église catholique au Brésil. [etc.]

Qu'est ce que la culture japonaise? On remarque qu'il s'organise des manifestations de la culture traditionnelle japonaise un peu partout dans l'hexagone. En outre, le nombre des apprenants de la langue japonaise ne cesse d'augmenter et le rayon manga s'agrandit dans les librairies ou les grandes surfaces. Pourquoi cet engouement? Comment cette culture est-elle présentée et quelles sont ces origines? Quelle est l'attitude des organismes officiels et celle du gouvernement nippon vis-à-vis de ces phénomènes récents? Les deux principales questions qui s'imposent à notre esprit et que nous tenterons d'examiner dans cette thèse sont les suivantes : quels sont les moyens auxquels recourir pour comprendre une culture éloignée de la sienne et comment communiquer avec un peuple qui ne partage pas les mêmes référents culturels? À une époque de mondialisation telle que celle que nous connaissons aujourd'hui, quel est le rôle de l'apprentissage d'une langue étrangère, apprentissage qui semble, à ce jour, la meilleure solution pour connaître et pénétrer une autre culture? Quant est-il de la diffusion de la culture post-moderne nipponé dans le monde ?
What Japanese culture? One notices a little everywhere the demonstrations Japanese traditional culture in the hexagon. The number of learning of the Japanese language does not cease increasing. The Counter of manga to increase in the bookshops even in big supermarket. For what this appreciation? How this culture is represented? And which is even the position of the Japanese official organization or government? Especially from which this cultural inspiration comes? The two principal questions which are essential on our spirit and which we will try to examine in this thesis are as follows: which are the means to which to resort to include/understand a culture far away from his and how to communicate with people which do not share the same culture? At one time of globalization such as that that we do know today, which is the role of the training of a Japanese language which is, to date, the best solution to know and penetrate another culture? And do the Japanese, go or with their culture posts modern?

The purpose of this essay is to analyze how the ideas of the Swedish national romantic period have been expressed in the early years of Hälsinglands Spelmansförbund, how these may have changed over time, and whether national romantic ideas remain in today's Hälsinglands Spelmansförbund. The author uses qualitative analysis with content analysis to analyze statutes from 1958, the memorandum Folkmusiken i Hälsingland genom tiderna from 1967 and the 1995 statutes: The statutes of 1958 to indicate whether national romance has been expressed in any way in the Hälsinglands spelmansförbunds early years, Folkmusiken i Hälsingland genom tiderna from 1967 in relation to changes in the folk music field, to show changes in Hälsinglands spelmansförbund, and statutes from 1995 to highlight our time and if ideas from the national romance remain in Hälsinglands spelmansförbund. The main results are that national romantic ideas have existed and exists in Hälsingland Spelmansförbund. However, one can see a slight difference in our contemporary Hälsingland spelmansförbund, with more focus on our time than our past. The author concludes that this may be a result of the postmodern thoughts on the alienation of our history. Postmodernism is also a theory the author uses to prove change in the folk music field.

Sedan Max Weber har många forskare påvisat tendenser till ett samband mellan svaga regeringar och starka byråkratier. Man har i sammanhanget lyft fram två faktorer som gör att en byråkrati kan komma att dominera över sina politiska principaler: Å ena sidan har man menat att eftersom politikerna omöjligen kan ha egen expertis på alla områden och kunna sköta allt vardagligt behöver de delegera uppgifter till en förvaltning. Med tiden, och om principaler byts ut ofta, leder detta till att det till sist är förvaltningen som med sin expertis tenderar att bestämma över sina politiska huvudmän. Å andra sidan har man även påpekat att eftersom staten intervenerat i allt fler samhällsområden har detta gett förvaltningen möjligheter att där etablera olika allianser som i sin tur kan användas som källa till expertis och som en påtryckargrupp för att främja förvaltningens egna syften och planer. I denna studie försöker jag med hjälp av processer i den estniska statsförvaltningen under huvudsakligen 1990−talet visa att det inte med nödvändighet existerar ett kontinuum där man å ena sidan skulle hitta starka och aktiva regeringar med rationella, neutrala och lydiga kanslier till sitt förfogande och å andra sidan svaga regeringar som domineras av kansliet.

Eftersom staten snarare är en social relation än ett givet subjekt utgår jag ifrån att de politiska ledaraktörerna och förvaltningen likt en ekologisk enhet ingår i en levande kontext som också påverkar dess interna processer och flöden. Därmed kan mycket av förvaltningens interna liv förstås om man relaterar det till händelser och beroendeskap i en organisk kontext. Jag kommer således att betrakta staten som en social relation. En viktig aspekt i resonemanget i detta avsnitt blir alltså dragkampen på scenen och dess omgivning. Tanken är att denna dragkamp bestämmer statens kapacitet, aktörernas relationer på scenen och på vilket sätt dessa aktörer kan få fotfäste i det omgivande samhället. Därför väljer jag att till beskrivningen av statens position i sin omgivning även lägga massorganisationernas och folkrörelsernas roll, vilka med sin utbreddhet i samhället kan lägga en bred grund för att bära upp de aktörer som intar staten alternativt omöjliggöra för staten att i politikskapande manövrera förbi dem. I detta ligger också att staten med hjälp av sin uppburenhet eller samarbete med stora medborgerliga sammanslutningar blir djupt inbäddad i samhället. Dock har massorganisationerna och folkrörelserna under de senaste decennierna förlorat sin förmåga att samla och organisera människor.

I denna avhandling kommer jag att redogöra för de faktorer som medför att medborgarsammanslutningarnas förmåga att sammanfläta staten med medborgarna försvinner. Resultatet av denna process har blivit att de politiska organisationer som intog statsarenan saknar en bred och djup inbäddning bland befolkningen. När partierna därefter tvingas att garantera sin fortsatta delaktighet i utformandet av regeringsmaskineriet måste de vända sig till väljarkåren som de saknar all organisationell samhörighet med. Detta, menar jag, har fått vidare konsekvenser för politikskapandet och statens roll i samhället, samt i förlängningen även medfört konsekvenser för statsapparatens funktioner.

Il presente lavoro riflette in prospettiva sociologica,sulla riscoperta degli aspetti etici del consumo. I cosiddetti consumi critici, sostenibili e responsabili, che presuppongono un agire sociale dotato di senso, rappresentano una pratica di acquisto tesa al ben-vivere. Il consumo da vicario della produzione -qual’ è stato per un lungo periodo- è diventato uno dei principali, se non il principale, punto di snodo della società in cui ci muoviamo. I consum-attori postmoderni, tecnicamente più preparati e in grado di esprimere richieste al mondo della produzione e della distribuzione, sono consapevoli che l’atto di acquisto è diventato uno strumento per esprimere impegno e responsabilità nella sfera pubblica. Tale pratica contribuisce all’affermazione e alla determinazione di nuovi modi di essere e di agire dove confluiscono nuovi valori simbolici legati all’emergere di nuove abitudini di spesa. Partendo da tale ipotesi, la parte empirica del lavoro affronta un’analisi qualitativa prendendo in esame lo sviluppo del farmer’s market, il mercato degli agricoltori, forma ed espressione della filiera corta. Si osserva un caso di studio nella Regione Molise allo scopo di comprendere cosa si cela dietro l’atto di acquisto e perché si predilige un atteggiamento alternativo al sistema della grande distribuzione. Il farmer’s market è un luogo di convivialità dove è possibile fermarsi, parlare, consumare qualcosa in compagnia. E’ un’occasione in cui vengono accorciate le distanze fisiche, economiche e soprattutto sociali, in cui diventa sempre più lontana l’idea della spesa intesa come atto funzionale ed alienante tipico dell’homo consumericus. Concezioni, abitudini e atteggiamenti che propongono il passaggio da un modello di consumi in cui l’elemento fondante è rappresentato dal benessere soggettivo -componente primario della felicità personale anche dal punto di vista identitario ed espressivo - ad un modello in cui i consumi restano fondamentali, ma come ingredienti di una migliore qualità del vivere. La prima parte del lavoro a valenza introduttiva, ripercorre con un excursus sulla letteratura, le teorie dei classici e dei contemporanei del pensiero sociologico, tentando di fornire una definizione di consumatore postmoderno. A questa, seguono i temi della sostenibilità ambientale e responsabilità sociale che mirano ad opporsi alle logiche proprie dello spreco-consumo, radici della crisi ambientale, del degrado e del rischio globale. La questione ecologica diventa, economica e politica, e ancor più una questione sociale, frutto di una nuova logica organizzativa in materia di consumo. La seconda parte affronta la ricerca sul campo riportando tra gli altri, i dati sulle motivazioni alla base di tale pratica di consumo e successivamente esplorando il ruolo del produttore/venditore attraverso l’attribuzione di credibilità che gli viene conferita. Il concetto di comunità, ambito tutt’oggi aperto nel dibattito sociologico, conclude il percorso di ricerca ponendo attenzione alla riscoperta del localismo.
This thesis focuses on the rediscovery of the ethical aspects of consumption. Principal consumption that is both sustainable and responsible presupposes what Weber termed a rational social action and represents an aspiration to live well. Vicarious consumption - which has existed for a long time – has become one of the principal if not the principal turning point in the society in which we live. Post-modern consumers, technically more prepared and able to express their wishes to the world of production and distribution, are aware that shopping has become an instrument with which to express commitment and responsibility in the public domain. Shopping has contributed to the affirmation and the determination of new ways of being and behaving, which converge with the new symbolic values tied to the emergence of new shopping habits. Using this hypothesis as a starting point, the empirical part of this thesis engages with a qualitative analysis of the development of the farmers’ market, the embodiment of a short distribution chain. It examines a case study in the region of Molise, with the aim of understanding what is concealed behind the act of shopping and why there is now a preference for an alternative way of thinking that goes against the model of mass production. The farmers’ market is a place of conviviality, where it is possible to stop, talk and consume something in company. It is an occasion in which physical, economic and above all social distances are diminished, where the idea of food shopping as merely an essential and alienating act, typical of the homo consumericus, is remote. Conceptions, habits and attitudes now promote a move away from a model of consumption founded on the principle of subjective well-being – a primary component of personal happiness, even when seen from the point of view of identity and expression – to a model in which consumers remain fundamental, but are now the main players in the quest for a better quality of life. The first part of the thesis, as an introduction, reviews the literature and discusses both classic and contemporary sociological theory, with the aim of producing a definition of the post-modern consumer. This is followed by a discussion of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, two concepts that are set in opposition to the logics of wasteful consumption, something that can be seen at the heart of the global environmental crisis. The ecological debate has become not only economic and political but social; the fruit of a new organisational logic in the field of consumption. The second part of the thesis deals with the field work, presenting amongst other things, data concerning the motivation at the heart of this new model of consumption. This is followed by a detailed exploration of the role of the producer/seller by focusing on the attribution of credibility which has been conferred upon them. A discussion of the concept of community, a concept still wide open in sociological debate, with a particular emphasis on the rediscovery of localism, concludes this research.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1997.
"A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Humanities at the University of Western Sydney - Hawkesbury."--T.p. Bibliography: p.310-320.

Acompanhando uma tendência mundial, as cidades brasileiras passaram por grandes mudanças nos últimos cinquenta anos, nos quais se observou um rápido deslocamento da população rural para os grandes centros urbanos. Muitos deles foram transformados em metrópoles, trazendo consigo suas virtudes e limitações, e com isso formaram um novo tecido social, que gradativamente também se foi inserindo no contexto mais amplo da pósmodernidade. Na cidade pós moderna, as relações tempo-espaço, distância-proximidade e sagrado-profano, vão sofrer alterações, fazendo surgir novas configurações no campo religioso, trazendo novos elementos para a sociologia da religião, com clara distinção entre religião e religiosidade e que transformará a vivência da fé em uma grande bricolagem, com maior valorização da individualização e da subjetividade. Ela também se apresenta como espaço de transição e de consumo, existindo, nesse caso, toda uma estratégia na qual se procura fazer a distinção entre as classes sociais, colocando-as em concorrência, e impedindo dessa maneira que se chegue a um grau de saturação ou satisfação das necessidades. É nesse contexto que se insere a Pastoral Urbana, definida como a ação evangelizadora da Igreja na cidade. No Brasil, tem-se uma Igreja centenária, com estrutura também centenária e que se propõe realizar essa tarefa. Nesta pesquisa, objetivou-se problematizar a pastoral urbana, a partir da compreensão do teólogo Joseph Comblin, situando-a no contexto da pósmodernidade, buscando fazer uma análise da receptividade de suas ideias pela Igreja Católica. Procurou-se também fazer reflexões mais apuradas de práticas vivenciadas dentro da pastoral, relacionadas com a teologia da cidade e analisadas sob o viés do seu pensamento. Utilizou-se a hermenêutica para apreciação da obra eclesiológica do teólogo em questão, bem como para ressaltar aspectos de sua vida colhidos a partir de entrevistas com o próprio autor. Comblin apresenta-se como um teólogo com um pensamento complexo, difuso e que se manifesta de maneira interdisciplinar. Diverge com facilidade das posições adotadas pela Igreja Católica oficial e, por não acreditar na atual estrutura, propôs então alternativa para que a Igreja viesse, a partir de um novo modelo de pastoral, se inserir mais na sociedade e participar das mudanças que inevitavelmente continuam acontecendo nas cidades. Palavras-chave: pós-modernidade, sociologia da religião, teologia da cidade, pastoral urbana
Following a worldly trend, the Brazilian towns have come across great changes in the last fifty years, in which one observe a quick displacement of the rural population toward big urban centers. A lot of them have been turned into real metropolises, bringing out with themselves their virtues and limitations and them they have built a new social tissue, that also has gradually been inserted in the larger post-modernity context. In post-modern cities, the relations distance-proximity and sacred-profane were submitted to changes, leading to new configurations within the religions field, bringing out a clear distinction between religion and religiosity and transforming the full living experience regarding to faith into a big tergiversation through individualization and valorization of subjectivity. The city also arises itself as an space for transition and consume, existing, in this case, a full strategy, in which one seeks to make the distinction among the social classes, placing them into a certain competition and so obstructing that one could arrive to a level of saturation and satisfaction of needs. It is in this context that urban pastoral is inserted, being defined as churchs evangelizing mission in the city. In Brazil, one has a centenarian church, with an also centenarian structure, that intends to accomplish that task. In this research, we aimed to problematize the urban pastoral, departing from the point of view of the theologian Joseph Comblin, situating him in post-modernity context, and seeking to accomplish an analysis regarding to the receptivity, by the Catholic Church, of his ideas. We also sought to make more careful reflections regarding to the practices fully lived within the pastoral, analyzed according to Comblins thought and viewpoint. We used hermeneutics for evaluating that theologians ecclesiological work, as well as in order to emphasize his life aspects, concerning his life according to interviews conducted with the author. Comblin presents himself as a theologian with a complex thought, and that manifests himself in a cross disciplinary way. He diverges, with certain facility, from the positions adopted by the Church and, since he does not believe in the actual structure, he proposes alternatives for it, so that Church could, departing from a new pastoral model, be more inserted into society and could partake in the changes that unavoidably go on happening in the cities

This dissertation investigates the apostate: those who have given up the beliefs of their birth religion; and apostasy: the process of foregoing said religion. Beyond empirically derived determinants of religious defection often provided by conventional investigations in the sociology of religion, this thesis treats apostasy as a potential signifier of societal change. It attempts to see apostasy as a window for examining the location, of not only apostasy, but of socialisation, religion, and religiosity as constructs of modernity. It provides an investigation beyond a traditional analysis of apostasy as an aberration or problematic rupture in religious socialisation. Rather, apostasy is explored as a potential signifier of resistance to modernistic constructions of socialisation, religion and religiosity. It asks whether, commensurate with an emerging postmodern condition, there has been a transformation in Foucauldian 'technologies of the self' (1988:18) that allows more agency in the negotiation of the self, religion and religiosity. Chapter One introduces and contextualises the argument. It lays the theoretical framework for the thesis and situates the work in the literature. Chapter Two presents the methodology, reviews preliminary statistical findings, and offers the apostasy typology. Chapters Three and Four examine religious socialisation and epistemological orientation of religious disaffiliation. Chapter Five discusses post apostatic re-formations of the self and Chapter Six concludes the thesis with a discussion of the potential need for post apostatic religiosity.

Notre problématique s'attache à comprendre quelles homologies surgissent entre les logiques de démocratisation et de numérisation lors de la reconnaissance de l'artiste au cours d'une période précise, à savoir de la fin des années soixante-dix à 1a fin des années deux mille. Selon les analyses effectuées, d'une part la démocratisation encourage une reconfiguration constante de l'artiste, permettant une reconnaissance variable de celui-ci sur plusieurs terrains cu1turels; d'autre part, l'activité artistique recouvre des gestes et des procédures qui s'apparentent aux logiques informatiques, permettant les interactions entre les conceptions hétéroclites de l'activité artistique. Nous observons en effet un tissage des logiques démocratiques et des logiques informatiques, qui subsiste grâce à une identité flexible de l'artiste. Selon ce raisonnement, la reconnaissance de l'artiste d'avant-garde se fonde désormais sur un lieu commun aux processus de démocratisation et de numérisation.

This dissertation investigates the apostate: those who have given up the beliefs of their birth religion; and apostasy: the process of foregoing said religion. Beyond empirically derived determinants of religious defection often provided by conventional investigations in the sociology of religion, this thesis treats apostasy as a potential signifier of societal change. It attempts to see apostasy as a window for examining the location, of not only apostasy, but of socialisation, religion, and religiosity as constructs of modernity. It provides an investigation beyond a traditional analysis of apostasy as an aberration or problematic rupture in religious socialisation. Rather, apostasy is explored as a potential signifier of resistance to modernistic constructions of socialisation, religion and religiosity. It asks whether, commensurate with an emerging postmodern condition, there has been a transformation in Foucauldian 'technologies of the self' (1988:18) that allows more agency in the negotiation of the self, religion and religiosity. Chapter One introduces and contextualises the argument. It lays the theoretical framework for the thesis and situates the work in the literature. Chapter Two presents the methodology, reviews preliminary statistical findings, and offers the apostasy typology. Chapters Three and Four examine religious socialisation and epistemological orientation of religious disaffiliation. Chapter Five discusses post apostatic re-formations of the self and Chapter Six concludes the thesis with a discussion of the potential need for post apostatic religiosity.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A sociologia da modernidade líquida de Zygmunt Bauman (1925 ) é, segundo o autor, um modo possível de articular o conhecimento científico sobre a sociedade com o conhecimento comum da vida cotidiana. Em virtude de sua natureza, seus textos têm despertado grande interesse em um público de leitores não habituados a esse campo disciplinar, a ponto de ser apresentado, por suas casas publicadoras, como um verdadeiro best-seller. Este estudo, situado no âmbito da sociologia da cultura, visa compreender, por meio da análise da sociologia de Bauman, o estado atual do campo sociológico em suas relações com a cultura de massa, tendo por pressuposto a lógica cultural contemporânea em que a distinção tradicional entre alta e baixa cultura ou entre ciência e senso comum parece perder legitimidade. Como resultado, a sociologia da modernidade líquida, a despeito de sua pretensão científica, aproximar-se-ia das práticas de vulgarização da ciência, fenômeno mais amplo e difuso nos diversos domínios disciplinares e que encontraria no esquema teórico de Bauman sua expressão no campo sociológico.
The liquid modernity sociology of Zygmunt Bauman (1925 -) is, according to the author, a possible way to linking scientific knowledge about society with common knowledge of everyday life. Due to their nature, his texts have aroused great interest in an audience of readers not familiar with this disciplinary field, about to be presented, by his publishers, like a true best-seller. This study, situated within the sociology of culture, aims to understand, through the analysis of the Baumans sociology, the current state of the sociological field in its relations to the mass culture, admitting a cultural logic contemporary that the traditional distinction between high and low culture - or between science and common sense - seems to lose legitimacy. As a result, the sociology of liquid modernity, despite its scientific pretensions, would bring the practices of scientific literacy, broader phenomenon and diffuse in different disciplinary domains and find that thetheoretical scheme of Bauman expression in sociological field.

La mode est un indice révélateur des changements des comportements dans une société donnée. Dans cette étude, nous proposons un nouveau cadre théorique pour regarder ces transformations afin de contribuer à la théorisation du phénomène. À partir des notions de “paradigme” et “matrice disciplinaire” du philosophe Thomas Kuhn ainsi que l’approche de la sociologie compréhensive et les théories de la postmodernité, nous entendons regarder les transformations de la mode comme des révolutions. Ces dernières, engendrées par les grands couturiers depuis la moitié du XIXe siècle puis par les créateurs dès les années 60, définissent la « matrice stylistique » de la mode aujourd’hui. Elle est composée par les paradigmes de la haute couture, du prêt-à-porter et du fast fashion. L’approche que nous proposons entend voir chaque paradigme de mode comme reflet de son époque. Autrement dit, la haute couture représente la modernité tandis que la mode prête à porter attire l’attention sur une époque de transition. Le dernier paradigme, imposant une nouvelle dynamique aux changements de mode, vient s’ajouter à la matrice formée pendant les années 60. Cette dernière est le reflet de la postmodernité
Fashion is a revealing indication of the behaviours changes in a given society. In this study, we offer a new theoretical context to these transformations in order to contribute to the theorization of the phenomenon. From Thomas Kuhn's notions of "paradigm" and "disciplinary matrix", from the comprehensive sociology approach and the postmodernity theories, our aim is to consider the fashion changes as revolutions. These ones, created by the fashion designers from the mid nineteenth century, then by the creators in the sixties, define the “stylistic matrix” of today’s fashion. It is composed of the haute couture, prêt-à-porter and fast fashion paradigms. The approach that we offer here sees each fashion paradigm as a reflection of its time. In other words, haute couture represents modernity while prêt-à-porter fashion draws our attention to a transition time. The last paradigm, imposing a new impulsion on the fashion changes, is tacked on to the matrix formed during the sixties. This one is the reflection of postmodernity

Ce projet de recherche souhaite démontrer qu’une nouvelle ère s’instaure (la postmodernité) où l’imaginaire initiatique réinvente une nouvelle forme de socialisation. Il s’agit de questionner les pratiques sociales liées à l’imaginaire initiatique (cosplay, japan expo, jeux en ligne), ainsi que l’impact provoqué dans la vie quotidienne des individus. En fait, on se demandera si l’imaginaire initiatique entraîne des changements de comportements, crée des habitus. Ce qu’il est nécessaire de souligner, c’est que l’homme postmoderne accède au domaine du sacré, entreprend une démarche initiatique, à partir de ce qu’il vit dans les mondes fictionnels. Cette manière d’être est tout à fait légitime, et s’apparente sans aucun doute à une nouvelle façon de vivre l’initiation des sociétés archaïques, l’essentiel étant de retrouver un sens magique du monde. Nous serons ainsi amener à interroger la fonction fantastique de l’imaginaire initiatique, c’est-à-dire sa capacité à ordonner symboliquement un sens authentique à l’existence sociale et permettre à l’individu de dépasser l’aspect tragique de la réalité opaque
This research project would like to show that a new era is established (postmodernity) where initiatic imaginary reinvents a new form of socialization. It’s a matter of questioning social practices related to initiatic imaginary (cosplay, japan expo, plays on line), as well as the impact caused in the everyday life of individuals. In fact, we shall wonder whether the initiatic imaginary involves changes of behaviors, creates habitus. What it is necessary to underline, it is that the postmodern man reaches the field of sacred, takes an initiatic step, from what he lives in the fictional worlds. This way of being is completely legitimate, and is connected without any doubt with a new way of living archaic initiation, the main thing being to find a magic direction of the world. Thus we shall be brought to question fantastic function of initiatic imaginary, that is its capacity symbolically to order an authentic direction to social existence and to allow individual to overtake the tragic aspect of opaque reality

Les contínues reformes legislatives imposades han tingut l’objectiu d’adaptar l’ensenyament a un context social i cultural postmodern. Tanmateix, aquests canvis aparentment no han reeixit i la comunitat educativa té una impressió general negativa. Aquesta tesi doctoral ha reflexionat globalment entorn de la situació a l’àmbit educatiu, també m’he centrat en els diversos elements imbricats i especialment en la figura del docent. Als mitjans de comunicació apareixen constantment informacions explicant situacions conflictives i difícils que el docent ha de tractar dia a dia dins les aules. Públicament, s’interroga si el professor ha perdut l’autoritat que tenia anteriorment davant la societat, les famílies i els alumnes. Molts responen d’una forma contundent i radical afirmativament. Aquesta recerca doctoral pretén investigar el concepte d’autoritat en el professorat durant el Franquisme a Catalunya i contraposar-lo al context postmodern actual; també s’han fet aportacions d’altres contrades per tal d’ampliar la perspectiva. Per abordar la complexitat d’aquest objecte d’estudi s’han utilitzat eines de diverses disciplines, principalment la sociologia, també l’antropologia, la pedagogia, la filosofia i la psicologia. La metodologia utilitzada ha estat principalment qualitativa, mitjançant entrevistes en profunditat, grups triangulars..., i també s’han introduït dades quantitatives. L’anàlisi del concepte autoritat exigeix tenir en compte el marc social i cultural. Aquest determina els tipus de relacions socials en un espai concret entre els diversos actors socials. A més a més, s’ha de tenir en compte la definició del terme auctoritas i diferenciar-lo d’un altre que històricament ha portat equívocs, la potestas. Aquesta investigació ha situat la figura del docent en dos contextos socials i culturals específics. Primer el marc franquista, el qual tenia una estructura on dominaven unes interaccions socials caracteritzades per l’obediència, la disciplina, la jerarquia, les relacions unidireccionals i verticals. Aquestes poden definir-se a partir de la potestas. Aquest tipus de relacions socials no estaven reduïdes a l’espai educatiu, sinó que tota l’estructura social tenia aquestes característiques. Tanmateix, en un context social i cultural postmodern, hi ha més equilibri i equitat entre els diversos actors socials, també a l’àmbit educatiu. No existeix una estructura social sòlida que consolidi a priori unes determinades formes de fer i d’actuar, sinó que el docent, amb la seva habilitat, intel·ligència, esforç, empatia i implicació ha de guanyar-se l’auctoritas dia a dia. Aquest tipus d’interaccions socials no s’han de situar únicament a l’espai educatiu, sinó que van més enllà, són qüestions socials i culturals d’aquest període. Les conclusions d’aquesta recerca són les següents: s’ha relacionat el context social i cultural franquista amb l’escola d’aquell període. Aquest marc comportava unes determinades metodologies a l’interior dels centres i unes interaccions socials específiques entre docents i alumnes. Les relacions entre els agents socials a l’aula eren fonamentalment verticals, rígides, disciplinàries i sense dret a rèplica. Això comportava interaccions dominades fonamentalment per la potestas. A l’actualitat, s’ha relacionat el context social i cultural postmodern a l’escola. Aquest marc comporta unes determinades metodologies als centres i unes interaccions socials específiques entre docents i alumnes. Les relacions entre els actors socials a l’aula són més igualitàries, horitzontals, dialogants i democràtiques. Per tal que pugui aparèixer l’auctoritas hi ha d’haver lliure acceptació de l’educat. Això comporta que en aquest model pugui aparèixer l’autoritat del docent, per la seva vàlua i carisma, i que aquest sigui considerat especial.
Las continuas reformas legislativas impuestas han tenido el objetivo de adaptar la enseñanza a un contexto social y educativo posmoderno. Aparentemente, estos cambios no han tenido éxito y la comunidad educativa tiene una impresión general negativa de los mismos. Esta tesis doctoral ha abordado globalmente la situación de la educación, también se ha centrado en los diversos elementos implicados y especialmente en la figura del docente. En los medios de comunicación aparecen informaciones explicando situaciones conflictivas y difíciles que el profesor tiene que gestionar día a día en las aulas. Existe un debate público en el que se interroga si el docente ha perdido la autoridad que tenía en la sociedad, en las familias y en los alumnos. Muchos responden afirmativamente de forma contundente y radical. Esta tesis doctoral quiere investigar el concepto de autoridad del profesor durante el Franquismo en Cataluña y compararlo con el contexto posmoderno actual; también se han hecho aportaciones de otros lugares para ampliar la perspectiva. Para abordar la complejidad de este objeto de estudio se han utilizado recursos de diversas disciplinas, principalmente la sociología, también la antropología, la pedagogía, la filosofía y la psicología. La metodología utilizada ha sido principalmente cualitativa, a partir de entrevistas en profundidad, grupos triangulares…, y también con datos cuantitativos. El análisis del concepto autoridad exige tener en cuenta el marco social y cultural. Este determina el tipo de relaciones sociales en un espacio concreto entre los diversos actores sociales. También he tenido en cuenta la definición del concepto auctoritas y lo he diferenciado de otro que históricamente ha llevado a equívocos, la potestas. Esta investigación ha situado la figura del docente en dos contextos sociales y culturales específicos. Primero el marco franquista, el cual tenía una estructura social en la que dominaban unas interacciones sociales caracterizadas por la obediencia, la disciplina, la jerarquía, las relaciones unidireccionales y verticales. Estas pueden definirse a partir de la potestas. Este tipo de relaciones sociales no aparecían solamente en el ámbito educativo, sino que toda la estructura social estaba integrada por estas características. En un contexto social y cultural posmoderno hay más equilibro y equidad entre los diversos actores sociales, también en los centros escolares. No existe una estructura social sólida que consolide a priori unas determinadas formas de hacer y actuar; el docente, con su habilidad, inteligencia, esfuerzo, empatía e implicación tiene que ganarse la auctoritas día a día. Estas interacciones sociales no tienen que situarse únicamente en el ámbito educativo, van más allá, son cuestiones sociales y culturales de este período. Las conclusiones de esta investigación son las siguientes: se ha relacionado el contexto social y cultural franquista con la escuela de aquel tiempo. El marco determinaba metodologías específicas a los centros educativos y unas interacciones sociales concretas entre docentes y alumnos. Las relaciones entre los agentes sociales en las aulas eran principalmente verticales, rígidas, disciplinarias y sin posible réplica. Estas interacciones pueden definirse a partir de la potestas. En la actualidad, se ha relacionado el contexto social y cultural posmoderno en la escuela. Este marco conlleva unas determinadas metodologías en los centros y unas interacciones sociales específicas entre profesores y alumnos. Las relaciones entre los actores sociales en las aulas son más igualitarias, horizontales, dialogantes y democráticas. Para que aparezca la auctoritas tiene que haber libre aceptación del educado. En este modelo puede aparecer la autoridad del docente, por su valía y carisma, y que este sea considerado especial.
Ongoing legal reforms that have been introduced have sought to adapt the educational system to a postmodern social and cultural context. However, it appears that these changes have not been particularly successful and have generally been regarded as rather negative by the educational community. This doctoral thesis offers a global reflection on the present situation in the world of education and also focuses on several of the key elements involved in it and, in particular, on the figure of the teacher. The mass media constantly present reports on the difficult and conflictive situations that teaching staff must confront in the classroom on a day-to-day basis. It is publically asked whether the teacher has lost the authority that he/she used to have before society, families and students. Many people respond both forcefully and radically that this is indeed the case. This doctoral research seeks to investigate the concept of the teacher’s authority in Catalonia during the Francoist and to compare this with the current post-modern context; contributions relating to other areas have also been included in order to offer a rather wider perspective. Tools from various different disciplines have been used in order to address the complexity of the subject studied. These have mainly been borrowed from sociology, but also from anthropology, pedagogy, philosophy and psychology. The methodology used has mainly been qualitative and derived from in-depth interviews and triangular groups, though some quantitative data have also been included. An analysis of the concept of authority requires us to consider both the social and cultural context. This determines the types of social relations that take place within a specific area between the different social actors. It is also important to consider the definition of the term auctoritas and to distinguish it from another concept that has historically been responsible for numerous misunderstandings, potestas. This research has placed the figure of the teacher in two specific social and cultural contexts. First, within the Francoist framework, which had a structure dominated by social interactions which were characterized by obedience, discipline, hierarchy, and vertical, unidirectional relationships. These can be defined on the basis of potestas. This type of social relationships were not just limited to the educational area; the whole social structure had these characteristics. However, in a postmodern social and cultural context, there is also more balance and equity between the different social agents in the world of education. There is no solid social structure to consolidate a priori certain ways of being and acting; instead, the teacher, through his/her ability, intelligence, effort, empathy and involvement, must earn auctoritas on a day-to-day basis. This type of social interaction should not only be located in the world of educational, but goes much further, and involves the social and cultural issues of this period. The conclusions drawn from this research are the following: the Francoist social and cultural context has been associated with the school of the same period. This framework entailed the use of certain specific approaches within the educational centres and some of the specific social interactions between teachers and students. The relationships between social agents in the classroom were essentially vertical, rigid and disciplinary, with no right of reply. This resulted in interactions that were essentially dominated by the potestas. Nowadays, the postmodern cultural and social context is associated with the school. This framework entails certain specific methodologies in schools and a certain specific social interactions between teachers and students. The relationships between social actors in the classroom are more egalitarian, horizontal, dialogue-orientated and democratic. For the auctoritas to appear, it is necessary for the educated to be freely accepted. This means that in this model the authority of the teacher can appear based on his/her value, charisma and consideration as a special type of person.

Denna uppsats består av en jämförande studie av två ärkebiskopar – KG Hammar (Svenska kyrkan) och Rowan Williams (Church of England) - ur ett postmodernt teologiskt perspektiv. Syftet var att söka finna postmoderna influenser hos de båda ärkebiskoparna i såväl teori som praktik och undersöka konsekvenserna av ett postmodernt teologiskt agerande.  Undersökningen visade att båda ärkebiskoparna influerades av postmodern teologi i teorin. Hammar förde också som ärkebiskop fram sina personliga postmoderna insikter, medan Williams av olika anledningar generellt valde att endast föra fram kyrkans åsikt. Båda handlingsalternativen medförde såväl kritik som uppskattning. Båda ärkebiskoparna tog fasta på den postmoderna teologins framhållande av dialog som metod: Dialog kännetecknade allt deras handlande, såväl inomkyrkligt som mot andra religiösa och samhälleliga grupper. Trots dialogen kunde dock inte vissa splittringar undvikas. Samhällsengagemanget visade sig däremot till största delen framgångsrikt och visade en postmodern insikt om kyrkans roll i en sekulär värld. Trots att ett postmodernt förhållningssätt inte helt accepterades, medverkade ärkebiskoparnas agerande till att skapa intresse för framför allt religiös dialog bland många olika grupper.

This essay is a comparative study of two archbishops - KG Hammar (Church of Sweden) and Rowan Williams (Church of England) - from a postmodern theological perspective. The aim was to discover postmodern influences for the archbishops in theory and practice, and to investigate the consequences of acting from a postmodern theological perspective. The study revealed postmodern influences in both archbishops' theory. Hammar chose to act according to his personal postmodern convictions also as archbishop whereas, for various reasons, Williams generally chose to speak only for the whole church. Both strategies were criticized as well as appreciated. Both archbishops were committed to dialogue as described by postmodern theology. This influenced all their actions, within the church as well as with other religious denominations and various groups in society. However, even with dialogue certain schisms proved to be unavoidable. The engagement in society proved more successful and showed a postmodern understanding of the church in a secular world. Even though a postmodern course of action was not totally accepted, the archbishops managed to promote a wide interest especially for religious dialogue.

Les jeux vidéos, les comics américains, les séminaires ludiques de créativité, leszombie walks, ou encore les phénomènes d'effervescences prennent de plus en plus deplace dans les sociétés contemporaines. Ce travail de recherche s'interroge sur cettedimension ludique de l'existence qui façonne de nouvelles manières d'être-ensemble.Si ce travail s'apparente à la sociologie du jeu, il n'envisage pas le jeu comme undomaine spécifique, comme une sphère particulière de la vie sociale. Notre réflexions'attache à replacer le jeu comme forme de socialisation. Un peu à la manière deHuizinga qui voyait le jeu comme ce qui fait culture, nous envisageons ici le ludiquecomme ce qui fait société.Trois expressions de cette forme ludique de socialisation sont abordées dans cetravail de recherche : 1. Le bovarysme, tout d'abord, qui interpelle les modalités deconstruction de l'identité, ainsi que les rapports entre réalité et irréalité. Le bovarysme,expression contemporaine de l'enromancement médiéval, suggère que l'être-ensemblerepose sur un certain type de fiction. 2. Les itinéraires mnémoniques, ensuite, quidécoulent des fictions bovaryques et qui manifestent la mutation de notre rapport àl'espace et au territoire communautaire. Les lieux communs, territoires de la mémoirecollective, ne s'expriment plus simplement dans un rapport au souvenir, mais aussi dansun cheminement, un voyage, des itinéraires. L'être-ensemble se territorialise dansl'usage de la métaphore que se proposent de faire les sociétés contemporaines. 3.L'esprit d'aventure, enfin, expression de l'amour du risque qui lutte contre l'ennui. Si lafiction identitaire et les itinéraires mnémoniques nous proposent de nouveaux voyagescommunautaires, l'esprit d'aventure et d'exploration se trouve certainement à leurorigine. L'ennui provoqué par un certain désenchantement du monde trouve icil'expression de sa vivante part maudite.Au travers de l'étude de ces trois dimensions des comportements ludiquescontemporains, le jeu apparaît comme expression ambivalente des anomiescontemporaines. Anomie destructrice de la société moderne, d'un côté, anomie créatricedes sociétés en gestation, de l'autre.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico
No presente trabalho temos como intuito a compreensÃo acerca de uma intimidade pÃblica, paradoxal e tecnomidiÃtica, que emerge sob o signo da pÃs-modernidade, por meio de prÃticas intensivas e extensivas de escrita de si na cibercultura, as quais vÃm provocando o deslizamento e a ruptura das fronteiras que separavam o pÃblico e o privado na modernidade â a que convencionamos chamar de ciberintimidade. Nesse sentido, pretendemos mapear quais possÃveis motivaÃÃes levam esses sujeitos pÃs-modernos a se constituÃrem por meio de uma escrita intimista, auto-referente e confessional, que pÃe em curso uma nova mentalidade acerca dos nÃveis desejÃveis de exposiÃÃo de si. Como metodologia de trabalho, valemo-nos de: (i) pesquisa bibliogrÃfica concernente Ãs Ãreas de interesse; (ii) anÃlise histÃrico-comparativa entre os diferentes modos de subjetivaÃÃo por meio da escrita de si, bem como dos distintos modos de pensamento acerca das relaÃÃes entre o pÃblico e o privado; (iii) anÃlise do discurso de diÃrios virtuais vertidos em blogs; (iv) realizaÃÃo de entrevistas semi-estruturadas junto a escritores de blogs com feiÃÃo de diÃrios virtuais; (v) aplicaÃÃo de questionÃrio junto a estudantes e professores universitÃrios, a fim de mapear algumas prÃ-compreensÃes acerca do imaginÃrio cibercultural. Ao final, concluÃmos que a ciberintimidade nÃo implica a ausÃncia de filtro em relaÃÃo à exposiÃÃo da intimidade, mas tÃo somente a instauraÃÃo de uma nova mentalidade acerca dos nÃveis desejÃveis quanto aos limites desse filtro, tendo em vista os ganhos secundÃrios que decorrem dessa âperdaâ de privacidade. Entre os quais se destacam: o fortalecimento de vÃnculos de sociabilidade, que resultam numa maior possibilidade de troca nas interaÃÃes entre escritores de blog e seu pÃblico leitor; a possibilidade de compor novos modos de subjetivaÃÃo, por meio de arranjos singulares decorrentes de uma escrita catÃrtica, que à tambÃm uma escuta de si; e, por fim, a possibilidade de erguer guardas de flanco contra as ruÃnas do esquecimento, resguardando para si e para a posteridade um relicÃrio de lembranÃas de vida pessoal no âguarda-memÃriaâ do blog.
This work deals with the attempt to understand a public intimacy that is at the same time paradoxical, mediatic and technological, emerging under the sign of postmodernity, through intensive and extensive practice of writing itself in cyberspace, which have caused the disruption of boundaries between public and private in modernity - called by us cyberintimidade. Accordingly, we intend to map out what are the possible reasons why the post-moderns subjects constitute themselves by means of a self-referencial written, that launches new terms of levels of exposure to each other. The methodology of work was: (i) study of texts concerning the areas of interest, (ii) historical and comparative analysis between the different forms of subjectivity that are composed by means of the self-referential writting and the various ways of thinking about relations between the public and private sectors, (iii) discourse analysis of virtual diaries found on blogs, (iv) qualitative research through interviews semi-structured interviews with the writers of blogs (v) quantitative research, using sample that are probabilistic and not intentional, with students and professors in order to map some pre-understandings about the imaginary cibercultural. We conclude that cyberintimidade not imply a lack of filter in relation to the exposure of intimacy, but only the introduction of a new mindset about the desired levels of the limits of this filter, in view of the secondary gains stemming from this privacy loss. Among which are: the strengthening of ties of sociability, resulting in greater possibility of interactions between blog writers and their readers, the possibility of drawing up new forms of subjectivity, through arrangements arising from a naturaly writing cathartic, who is also a way to listen itself, and, finally, the possibility of lift guards flank against the ruins of oblivion, guarding for themselves and for posterity a reliquary of memories of life in the memory guard of the blog.

Este trabajo está dedicado al tratamiento de la plataforma teórico-práctica de Boaventura de Sousa Santos como alternativa crítica contemporánea; explora y analiza su producción científico social concentrada en la denominación cosmopolitismo subalterno y distribuida en tres grandes ámbitos de estudio: la epistemología y hermenéutica crítica, la evaluación de las teorías críticas postmodernas y la propuesta sociopolítica de un Estado-movimiento social. En el contexto de la crítica a la modernidad, la investigación da cuenta de algunas de las manifestaciones prácticas más conocidas enmarcadas en la plataforma y ensaya una evaluación a la luz de un caso contemporáneo: la sublevación e implementación de un gobierno autónomo tradicional en la comunidad indígena de Cherán, un pueblo purépecha del occidente de México. La cuestión que orienta la investigación es la pregunta por la persistencia de la sociedad a pesar de las profundas diferencias entre los individuos y las vías que la filosofía y las ciencias sociales podían dilucidar para fortalecerla y reducir la injusticia política. El núcleo teórico se divide en tres ámbitos principales: la evaluación de las teorías críticas posmodernas, la ecología de saberes y las epistemologías del Sur y el proyecto de un Estado como movimiento social. El ámbito central, capital tanto en la forma como en el fondo, se divide para distinguir la raíz posmoderna de la vertiente poscolonial. De esta manera las esferas originales se traducirán en los cuatro capítulos que constituyen la parte medular del argumento. Antes se hace una división para enmarcar el origen de la plataforma teórico-práctica en la crítica de la racionalidad moderna de Santos y que componen –entre otros– el enfoque de la modernidad/capitalismo y la idea de la transición a una racionalidad cosmopolita, prudente en lo epistemológico y decente en lo social. Una tercera parte nos ha permitido exponer algunas de las experiencias prácticas que surgen o se estudian en la estela del cosmopolitismo subalterno: la Universidad Popular de los Movimientos Sociales, el pluralismo jurídico, la interlegalidad y la hibridación en lugares concretos de exclusión sociopolítica o cultural y algunos ejercicios arquetípicos de radicalización de la democracia como son el caso del presupuesto participativo de Porto Alegre, el Foro Social Mundial o el nuevo constitucionalismo transformador en América del Sur. Como colofón, hacemos la lectura del levantamiento de la comunidad de Cherán (Michoacán, México) en términos de cosmopolitismo subalterno, evaluando la plataforma de Boaventura de Sousa Santos a la luz de los acontecimientos –epistémicos y políticos– y ensayando una crítica en la que identificamos la progresión intelectual de nuestro autor y la enorme oportunidad de la refundación purépecha articulada por la idea de Buen gobierno comunitario. En conclusión, el trabajo aborda los indicios de una racionalidad diversa (emotiva, corporal, musical), animada por una poética cosmopolita y subalterna, sobre todo, en el análisis del caso de la comunidad de Cherán. En este sentido, la pertinencia de la relación entre el cosmopolitismo subalterno y el caso práctico, está condicionada por la posición desde la que se propone. En esto radica la diferencia entre crear conocimiento como regulación o producir solidaridad mientras se conoce. Esta toma de posición no es, tan sólo, un asunto de perspectiva sino de lugar desde donde se piensa. En este sentido, el reconocimiento de Santos de un Sur global, como stand point del paradigma, es ya un locus de enunciación. Además, la investigación avisa que la emergencia de un orden prudente y decente pasa más por el reconocimiento de formas diversas de vida y conocimiento que por la materialización de un ideal hermético o de privilegio. El cosmopolitismo subalterno, pues, se nos presenta como una postura abierta a tornarse opción, y a empujar –desde abajo– la transformación, con movimiento y experimentación social; con imaginación democrática, con resistencia y con renovada capacidad de contemplación y asombro.
This work studies the critical platform developed by the Portuguese sociologist and philosopher of the law Boaventura de Sousa Santos. It explores and analyses three big spheres in which it divides his socio-academic production: epistemology, the criticism of postmodern critical theories and the socio-political proposal of a State as a social movement. Framing the research in the context of the modern critique, gives account of his best known practical demonstrations and tests an evaluation in the light of a contemporary case. The dissertation is focused on subaltern cosmopolitanism, a critic platform presented as contemporary alternative, where an alternative stands for an option, this is, an alternative in which people can get involved and trust. Starting from the problem of how to build a different State, I began to delve into Santos literature and locate three different spheres his work could be classified: Epistemic, Critical Theory and Politic or sociopolitical application of theoretical platform. These three spheres or fields that can label Santos’s literature could encompass all Santos’s work. For instance, the reinvention of the State, or the critics to conventional democracy, both are issues we can set on Political sphere. On the other hand, one of the best contributions of Santos’s, the epistemologies of the South, is clearly, a subject addressed by his Epistemological work. Finally, his critics to contemporary Critical Theory and the construction of an oppositional postmodernism, are surely the main topics of the Critical Theory field. In the first part, my plan was not to give a complete frame, but only outline the problem, and particularly, to stress the modern rationality. In the same way, trying to analyze the counter hegemonic practices to contrast the theory, I practically stumbled with the case of Cheran, an experience that actually changed the meaning and implications of the complete thesis. Especially, the case allowed me to think critically about my object and give a synthesis as conclusion. Also, incorporating the case of Cheran, I could confront my approach, having the opportunity to move my own standpoint to the South, the metaphoric South but also the Global, suffering South.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The subject of this paper is the long monastic tradition as viewed by São Bento, known to us through the Benedictines. In this big family of Benedictines, we chose the Mosteiro da Ressurreição where they are trying to live, day by day for about thirty years, under the Rule written by São Bento in the sixth Century. Firstly, in a panoramic way, we aim to approach the monastic question until we get to the main core of the problem, that is, we want to grasp the sense of this option for a monastic hodiernal life at the Mosteiro da Ressurreição, in the context of postmodernity. In this sense, is monastic life an option to obtain fulfillment and happiness, besides bringing a contribution to society or is it only an existential escapade of the human being? We worked under the assumption that the Mosteiro has incorporated the Benedictine monastic ideal, executing it with their own peculiarities, according to the traditional monastic lines of the monastery, where the founding monks were formed and informed. Besides the bibliographical revision, this paper includes the research of primary sources, semi-oriented interviews as also participative interviews, as the work involved our participation as well as our interaction with the field of study. In accordance to this paper, it is possible to affirm that the monastic ideal is the total donation of oneself to God, through continuous prayer and work. This ideal is invested in the Mosteiro da Ressurreição, pointing to a new channel of happiness, presenting a new alternative to the hedonistic and consumerism of post-modernism. The Mosteiro da Ressurreição is the irradiating center of this new ideal. So, we could say that there is sense in opting for a monastic hodiernal life, even immersed in so many distractions as post-modern society presents to monks. Also, it is possible to say that the monks are happy people living a simple life focused on spiritual values
O tema deste trabalho é a longa Tradição monástica, sob a ótica de São Bento, conhecida através dos Beneditinos. Dentro desta grande família beneditina, detemo-nos no Mosteiro da Ressurreição, que há trinta anos procura viver dia a dia a Regra que São Bento escreveu no século VI, adaptando-a aos nossos dias. Inicialmente, abordamos, de maneira panorâmica, a questão monástica até chegarmos ao núcleo central do problema, isto é, saber qual o sentido da opção por uma vida monástica hodierna no Mosteiro da Ressurreição no contexto da pósmodernidade. Neste sentido, a opção pela vida monástica é uma busca de realização e de felicidade, além de uma contribuição à sociedade ou apenas uma fuga existencial do ser humano? Trabalhamos com a hipótese de que o Mosteiro da Ressurreição incorpora fielmente o ideal monástico beneditino, mas o realiza com peculiaridades próprias, segundo a tradição da linha monástica do mosteiro, que formou e informou os jovens monges fundadores. Além da revisão bibliográfica, este trabalho contou com coleta de fontes primárias, entrevistas semi-dirigidas, além de pesquisa participante, pois o trabalho envolveu nossa participação e interação com o campo pesquisado. É possível afirmar com este trabalho que o ideal monástico é a doação total de si a Deus, na oração contínua e no trabalho. Esse ideal está encarnado no Mosteiro da Ressurreição, que aponta para uma nova via de felicidade, apresentando uma alternativa à felicidade hedonista e consumista da pósmodernidade. O Mosteiro da Ressurreição constitui-se em foco de irradiação deste novo ideal. Portanto, podemos dizer que há sentido em optar pela vida monástica hodierna, mesmo em meio a tantas atrações que a sociedade pós-moderna apresenta aos monges. Assim, é possível dizer que os monges são pessoas felizes em viver uma vida simples voltada para os valores espirituais

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Adventist colleges in boarding schools were created in Brazil, similar to the US model, in order to prepare "missionaries" to fulfill the "mission" of the Adventist Church Day, depriving students of the living "world "and offering them education and religious training associated with work in the field. A century has passed after the creation of the first Adventist boarding school in Brazil (1915-2015). The world and society have changed and the concept of education has also changed. But the regime of Adventist boarding schools and educational philosophy remained unchanged. This thesis presents a vast literature which provides a rich and detailed look at the history of the foundation of the pioneers boarding schools in Brazil, and on their educational philosophy and practice. In view of the growth in Adventist boarding schools in Brazil and identified actions, we realize that the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brazil is convinced that the maintenance of boarding schools is essential to meet the basic requirements of their educational philosophy, and is not willing to give up certain principles that judges are fundamental to fulfilling its educational mission. However, due to the demands imposed by social and educational changes in the postmodern condition, that same leadership realize that we live in a completely different world from where the foundations of Adventist Educational Philosophy were established, and therefore begins to allow and even promote some upgrades in the form of conducting the Brazilian Adventist boarding schools, approaching so with the reality that surrounds it
Os colégios adventistas em regime de internato foram criados no Brasil, à semelhança do modelo norte-americano, com o objetivo de preparar missionários para o cumprimento da missão da Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia, privando os alunos do convívio do mundo e oferecendo-lhes educação e preparo religioso associado ao trabalho no campo. Um século se passou após a criação do primeiro internato adventista no Brasil (1915-2015). O mundo e a sociedade mudaram e a concepção de educação também mudou. Mas o regime dos internatos adventistas e a filosofia educacional permaneceram inalterados. Esta dissertação apresenta uma vasta literatura que proporciona um olhar rico e minucioso sobre a história da fundação dos internatos pioneiros no Brasil, e sobre a sua filosofia e prática educacional. Em face do crescimento no número de colégios internos adventistas no Brasil e das ações apontadas, percebemos que a liderança da Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia no Brasil tem a convicção de que a manutenção dos internatos é fundamental para cumprir os requisitos fundamentais de sua Filosofia Educacional, e não está disposta a abrir mão de certos princípios que julga serem fundamentais para o cumprimento de sua missão educacional. Porém, devido às exigências impostas pelas mudanças sociais e educacionais na condição pós-moderna, essa mesma liderança percebe que vivemos num mundo completamente diferente daquele onde foram estabelecidos os fundamentos da Filosofia Educacional Adventista, e por isso, começa a permitir e até promover alguns atualizações na forma de se conduzir os internatos adventista brasileiros, aproximando-se assim com a realidade que o cerca

Orientador: Fátima Cabral
Banca: Célia Aparecida Ferreira Tolentino
Banca: Alexandre Fernandez Vaz
Resumo: Presenciamos diariamente no contexto das sociedades ocidentais industrializadas a frenética e obsessiva importância dada ao corpo e à moda, ambos se entrelaçam aos padrões de beleza disseminados pela indústria cultural, o que propicia uma crescente corrida ao consumo de novidades estéticas. Diante disso, objetiva-se compreender, por meio de uma análise histórico-social, o desenvolvimento do fenômeno do culto ao corpo e à aparência, tendo em vista as práticas cotidianas da cultura do consumo aprofundadas no capitalismo avançado. Considerando que há uma correspondência entre a produção cultural e as experiências e modos de subjetividade nas sociedades capitalistas contemporâneas e à luz de uma perspectiva materialista - embora dialogando com autores de diferentes abordagens epistemológicas - procuramos identificar como a lógica da mercadoria e da racionalidade instrumental se manifestam tanto na moda quanto na busca de um corpo ideal.
Abstract: We witness every day, in the context of the industrialized western societies, the frenzied and obsessive importance given to body and fashion both intertwined with the beauty patterns disseminated by the cultural industry, what propitiates a growing run to the consumption of aesthetic innovations. In that sense, the goal is to understand, using a historical-social analysis, the development of the phenomenon of the cult of physical fitness and appearance, considering the daily practices of the culture of consumption deepened involved with the advanced capitalism. Considering that there is an equivalence between cultural production and experiences and subjectivity manners in the contemporary capitalist societies and through a materialistic perspective - although dialoguing with authors from different epistemology approaches - we tried to identify how the logic of merchandise and instrumental rationality appear as much in fashion as in the search of an ideal body.
Mestre

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
This dissertation has as objective describing the acting of the Universal Church of God's Kingdom (IURD) of Recife as representant of the brazilian neopentecostalism in the postmodern society. It is described how the church stands out through the merchandising strategies contained in their theologic speech, having this as the main element of differentiation from the others religious groups. This work seeks to identify, through what was observed in the religious ceremonies and sermons preached by the ecclesiastic leadership, the main theological practices of how the religious speech relates, in this specific case, with the postmodernity, so much in the daily basis as well as in the marketing strategies used in the religious dispute.
Esta dissertação objetiva descrever a atuação em relação a Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD) no Recife como representante do neopentecostalismo brasileiro na sociedade dita pós-moderna. Descreve-se, para isso, como a igreja vem se destacando através das estratégias mercadológicas contidas no seu discurso teológico, tendo nisso seu principal elemento de diferenciação dos demais grupos religiosos. O trabalho procura identificar através do que foi observado nas cerimônias religiosas e nos sermões proferidos pela liderança eclesiástica, as principais práticas teológicas e a forma que o discurso religioso se relaciona, nesse caso específico, com a pós-modernidade, tanto no seu dia-a-dia, como também nas estratégias de mercado utilizadas na disputa religiosa.

Doctor of Philosophy
Following decades of sweeping social change, a 'new' Thai middle class emerged to become the main agents of the mass demonstrations which have rocked Bangkok for the better part of the past four years. Yet, the academic literature reveals a marked paucity of data on the urban middle class, and on Bangkok's systems of stratification. This dissertation addresses this lacuna with research based on eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Bangkok. My investigations suggest that an indigenous spatial-symbolic matrix, encapsulated in centralising and hierarchising mandalic principles, continues to inform both cultural understandings of stratification and the socio-spatial structure of Bangkok. However, traditional status distinctions are now pervaded by the idiom of material wealth introduced by the forces of global markets. Today, life in Bangkok is framed by a hierarchy of affluence which echoes the numerical precision of the premodern sakdina system of status differentiation. Accordingly, I argue that the notion of the 'urban-rural divide' popularly used to describe the conflict obscures a more complex reality in which city and countryside are linked by reciprocal relations within both urban and national systems of status and class. This is clearly discernable in the nature of everyday interclass relations in Bangkok which have been exacerbated by contemporary diminishment and marginalisation of upcountry Thais by the urban middle classes. It is an incendiary dynamic that has been exploited to tremendous effect in the current political power struggle. I demonstrate that the middle class is significantly stratified internally, and explore how middle class culture and identity are drawn in large part from their understandings of status practices of elites. Much of this takes place in the public spaces of the city's scores of shopping malls, which articulate a local vernacular of prestige where hierarchical power relations are inscribed in urban space. Structural constraints and the societal privileging of wealth and connections are constant challenges to middle class aspirations for upward mobility, and the Bangkokian middle class harbours no illusions of Thai society as a meritocracy. This disenchantment has been channelled into a churning politics of resentment with demonstrably explosive potential. Ultimately, however, I argue that middle class discontent will contribute little to reform while the majority of individuals feel their only avenue for social mobility is to negotiate a pre-existing system of stratification which many perceive as unjust.

The thesis deals with significant moments in the relationship between methodology of economics and implications of the financial crisis culminating in 2008 and 2009. Its key insight rests upon the claim that some theoretical concepts developed within mainstream economics do not tackle the reality adequately and contributed in a significant way to the sequence of events leading to the financial crisis. Most of those concepts were introduced in the second half of the 20th century, during a "high tide" of positivistic ideas in the domain of methodology of mainstream economics. Though the same ideas had been already discredited to a large extent by the philosophy of science at the time, mainstream economists did not reflect it satisfactorily. Aside from a historical expose the thesis consists also of an outline of a possible future development of the prevailing form of economic theory; four scenarios of future potential development are presented. In the final parts of the thesis, which are focused more specifically, the author appraises negatively options of the Austrian School as well as post-Keynesianism to influence in a more significant manner the mainstream economics during the post-crisis era.

Aquesta tesi doctoral és una recerca sobre els orígens i el desenvolupament de l'ecosocialisme, corrent de pensament que fusiona elements de la doctrina marxista, del socialisme utòpic, de l'anarquisme i de l'ecologisme. Les arrels d'aquesta hibridació ideològica es troben en el segle XIX tot i que caldrà esperar a la dècada dels anys 1970 perquè a partir de l'impuls del nou ecologisme polític emergeixi un cos doctrinari i la mateixa expressió, ecosocialisme, que començarà a ser d'ús habitual en la dècada següent especialment a partir de la transformació de partits comunistes -en alguns casos, pocs anys abans de la caiguda del Mur de Berlín- en esquerra verda o ecosocialista. Un d'aquests partits ecosocialistes és el cas d'Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds, partit hereu del PSUC, fundat el 23 de febrer del 1987 i que abraçarà oficialment l'ecosocialisme el 22 de novembre del 1996. En aquell període d'anys Iniciativa va anar buscant una identitat ideològica que fusionés les idees d'esquerra radical amb els nous moviments socials (pacifisme, feminisme i ecologisme). L'ascens de l'ecosocialisme es dóna en paral·lel als canvis socials, econòmics, polítics i comunicatius que defineixen un nou estadi de la Modernitat o bé una etapa diferent que coneixem com a Postmodernitat des que el filòsof Jean-François Lyotard va publicar el 1979 La Condition postmoderne. La tesi analitza l'ecosocialisme com a corrent que respon a alguns dels trets característics de la Postmodernitat, i ho fem en el context dels canvis socials, polítics i comunicatius que defineixen aquesta Postmodernitat i, concretament ,a Catalunya, que considerem una de les regions més postmodernes a Europa i al món. L'anàlisi de la trajectòria d'Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds des del 1987 es prolonga fins a les eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya del 27 de setembre del 2015 període en què aquesta formació ha estat un dels pocs exemples al món de partit autodefinit com a ecosocialista que ha tingut representació parlamentària i, fins i tot, ha arribat a formar part d'un govern. Així mateix, la tesi analitza el paper d'ICV durant el debat sobiranista a Catalunya en el període 2003-2015. En aquest sentit, hem elegit per al nostre estudi de cas la consulta no vinculant per la independència de Catalunya que es va celebrar el 9 de novembre del 2014 i els efectes que aquest debat ha tingut en les opinions i actituds dels militants respecte al sentiment de pertinença identitari i al model d'Estat, entre altres trets del perfil d'aquesta militància. A través d'una enquesta entre 410 militants d'ICV hem fet una radiografia de la militància, la més àmplia que fins ara s'ha elaborat d'aquest partit. L'enquesta també ha tingut com a objectiu validar una de les teories més importants de la comunicació, l'Espiral del Silenci, formulada el 1972 per la periodista, politòloga i sociòloga alemanya Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Com a investigadora, Noelle-Neumann va observar que en període electoral (i en altres tipus de debats públics) alguns punts de vista semblaven obtenir més atenció que uns altres. De vegades, les persones prefereixen mantenir el silenci i, fins i tot, evitar parlar-ne. La sociòloga alemanya va anomenar aquest fenomen '"espiral del silenci" que ocorre quan -contràriament quan els individus perceben les seves pròpies opinions com a populars no tenen cap problema a expressar-les i defensar-les- les persones percebem que les nostres opinions no són populars i preferim mantenir el silenci. Aquest procés s'esdevé en forma d'espiral, i així una de les parts acaba aconseguint més publicitat que altres. Per a Noelle-Neumann l'opinió pública són actituds i comportaments que s'han de poder expressar en públic sense perill de caure en l'aïllament. En un context de controvèrsia i canvi, les opinions públiques són aquelles actituds que es poden expressar sense haver de patir el perill d'aïllament. Hi ha, no obstant, excepcions a aquest fenomen d'espiral del silenci. Són aquells grups i individus que no tenen por a l'aïllament i que no tenen cap problema a expressar les seves opinions malgrat que això comporti conseqüències. Aquesta és una característica dels innovadors, agents de canvi, avantguardes i el "hard-core" (nucli dur) dels partits polítics. El cas pràctic d'aquesta tesi s'ha centrat a analitzar els canvis en les actituds i opinions de la militància (hard-core) d'un partit polític, ICV, en el context del debat sobre la independència de Catalunya. És una de les primeres recerques que s'ha fet a Catalunya i a Espanya en què s'ha aplica aquesta teoria en un àmbit de la realitat social i política, en aquest cas en el terreny de la comunicació política. Al capdavall, hem volgut investigar si aquest fenomen d'espiral de silenci té vigència en la "societat xarxa" actual.
Esta tesis doctoral es una investigación sobre los orígenes y el desarrollo del ecosocialismo, corriente de pensamiento que fusiona elementos de la doctrina marxista, del socialismo utópico, del anarquismo y del ecologismo. Las raíces de esta hibridación ideológica se encuentran en el siglo XIX aunque habrá que esperar a la década de 1970 para que, a partir del impulso del nuevo ecologismo político, emerja un cuerpo doctrinario y la misma expresión, ecosocialismo, que comenzará a ser de uso habitual en la década siguiente, especialmente a partir de la transformación de partidos comunistas -en algunos casos, pocos años antes de la caída del Muro de Berlín- en izquierda verde o ecosocialista. Uno de estos partidos ecosocialistas es el caso de Iniciativa por Cataluña Verdes, partido heredero del PSUC, fundado el 23 de febrero de 1987 y que oficialmente abrazará el ecosocialismo el 22 de noviembre de 1996. En ese período Iniciativa irá buscando una identidad ideológica que fusionara las ideas de la izquierda radical con los nuevos movimientos sociales (pacifismo, feminismo y ecologismo). El ascenso del ecosocialismo se da en paralelo a los cambios sociales, económicos, políticos y comunicativos que definen un nuevo estadio de la Modernidad o bien una etapa diferente que conocemos como Postmodernidad desde que el filósofo Jean-François Lyotard publicó 1979 La Condition postmoderne. La tesis analiza el ecosocialismo como corriente que responde a algunos de los rasgos característicos de la Postmodernidad, y lo hacemos en el contexto de los cambios sociales, políticos y comunicativos que definen esta Posmodernidad y, concretamente, en Cataluña, que consideramos una de las regiones más postmodernas en Europa y en el mundo. El análisis de la trayectoria de Iniciativa por Cataluña Verdes desde 1987 se prolonga hasta las elecciones al Parlamento de Cataluña, el 27 de septiembre de 2015, período en el que esta formación ha sido uno de los pocos ejemplos en el mundo de partido político que se haya autodefinido como ecosocialista , que haya tenido representación parlamentaria e, incluso, que haya llegado a formar parte de un gobierno. Asimismo, la tesis analiza el papel de ICV durante el debate soberanista en Cataluña en el periodo 2003-2015. En este sentido, hemos elegido para nuestro estudio de caso la consulta no vinculante sobre la independencia de Cataluña que se celebró el 9 de noviembre de 2014 y los efectos que este debate ha tenido en las opiniones y actitudes de los militantes respecto al sentimiento de pertenencia identitario y al modelo de Estado, entre otros rasgos del perfil de esta militancia. A través de una encuesta entre 410 militantes de ICV hemos hecho una radiografía de la militancia, la más amplia que hasta ahora se haya elaborado de este partido. La encuesta también ha tenido como objetivo validar una de las teorías más importantes de la comunicación, la Espiral del Silencio, formulada en 1972 por la periodista, politóloga y socióloga alemana Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Como investigadora, Noelle-Neumann observó que en periodo electoral (y en otros tipos de debates públicos) algunos puntos de vista parecían obtener más atención que otros. A veces, las personas prefieren mantener el silencio e, incluso, evitar hablar. La socióloga alemana llamó a este fenómeno "espiral del silencio" que ocurre cuando -contrariamente cuando los individuos perciben sus propias opiniones como populares no tienen ningún problema en expresarlas y defenderlas- las personas percibimos que nuestras opiniones no son populares y preferimos mantener el silencio. Este proceso ocurre en forma de espiral, y así una de las partes termina consiguiendo más publicidad que otras. Para Noelle-Neumann, la opinión pública son actitudes y comportamientos que deben poder expresarse en público sin peligro de caer en el aislamiento. En un contexto de controversia y cambio, las opiniones públicas son aquellas actitudes que se pueden expresar sin tener que sufrir el peligro de aislamiento. Hay, sin embargo, excepciones a este fenómeno de espiral del silencio. Son aquellos grupos e individuos que no tienen miedo al aislamiento y que no tienen ningún problema en expresar sus opiniones sin que ello conlleve consecuencias. Esta es una característica de los innovadores, agentes de cambio, vanguardias y el "hard-core" (núcleo duro) de los partidos políticos. El caso práctico de esta tesis se ha centrado en analizar los cambios en las actitudes y opiniones de la militancia (hard-core) de un partido político, ICV, en el contexto del debate sobre la independencia de Cataluña. Es una de las primeras investigaciones que se ha hecho en Cataluña y en España en que se ha aplica esta teoría en un ámbito de la realidad social y política, en este caso en el terreno de la comunicación política. Con este estudio también hemos querido investigar si el fenómeno de espiral de silencio tiene vigencia en la "sociedad red" actual.
This doctoral thesis investigates the origins and development of eco-socialism, a fusion of thought with elements of marxist doctrine, of utopian socialism, of anarchism and environmentalism. The roots of this ideological hybridisation can be found in the 19 century, however one has to wait until the 1970's for the emergence of this doctrine and the term eco-socialism. The impulse for the theory of eco-socialism emerged from a body of doctrine of the same name, eco-socialism. This term became to be used more generally in the following decade particularly with the transformation of the communist parties (in some cases a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall) into green left or eco-socialism. One of these eco-socialist parties is the case of Iniciativa per Catalunya Verds (ICV) that was founded on the 23 February 1987 and embraced officially eco-socialism on the 22nd of November 1996. In this period ICV was looking for an ideological identity which was able to fuse the ideas of the radical left with the ideas from the new social movements (pacifism, feminism and environmentalism). The emergence of eco-socialism happens in parallel with social, political, economic and communication changes and these changes came to define a new stage in Modernity or a new stage which we know as Post-modernity from the philosopher Jean-François Lyotard and his publication of La Condition postmoderne in 1979. This thesis analyses eco-socialism as a current of thought which has responded to some of the characteristics of Post-modernity and in particular in the context of Catalonia, which we consider to be one of regions of Europe and in the world which is more postmodern. Our analysis of the trajectory of ICV is from 1987 until the elections on the 27 September 2015. In this period this political party has been one of the few examples in the world of a political party which defined itself as eco-socialist and which had a parliamentary representation and even formed part of a government. Also this thesis analyses the role of ICV during the debate about sovereignty in Catalonia in the period 2003-2015. In relation with his period we chose for this study the case of the non binding consultation for the independence of Catalonia which took place on November 9 of 2014 and the effects of this debate on the opinions and attitudes of the membership (hard-core) in relation with their roots of identity and the model of the state. Through a questionnaire completed by 410 members of ICV we have constructed a profile of this membership. This profile is the largest ever to be made about membership of ICV. Also the purpose of this questionnaire was to validate one of the most important communication theories, the Spiral of Silence. As a political researcher Noelle-Neumann observed that in elections (and other kind of public debates) certain views seem to get more play than others. Sometimes people prefer to remain silent about their opinions rather than talk about them. Sociologist Noelle-Neumann calls this the spiral of silence that occurs when individuals who perceive that their opinion is popular express and defend it, whereas those who do not think their opinion is popular remain quiet. This process occurs in a spiral, so that one side of an issue ends up with much publicity and the other side with little. For Noelle-Neumann public opinion includes attitudes or behaviors one is able to express in public without the danger of isolating oneself; in areas of controversy or change, public opinions are those attitudes one can express without running the danger of isolating oneself. There are exceptions to the spiral of silence. There are groups and individuals who do not fear isolation and who will express their opinions no matter what the consequences, a characteristic of innovators, change agents, the avant-garde and the hard-core of political parties. This is one of the first pieces of research focused on this theory related to the Catalan social or political reality and in this case in relation to the field of study of political communication. Finally, we want to investigate if the Spiral of Silence phenomena could be manifested in the current "network society".

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Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)
Presenciamos diariamente no contexto das sociedades ocidentais industrializadas a frenética e obsessiva importância dada ao corpo e à moda, ambos se entrelaçam aos padrões de beleza disseminados pela indústria cultural, o que propicia uma crescente corrida ao consumo de novidades estéticas. Diante disso, objetiva-se compreender, por meio de uma análise histórico-social, o desenvolvimento do fenômeno do culto ao corpo e à aparência, tendo em vista as práticas cotidianas da cultura do consumo aprofundadas no capitalismo avançado. Considerando que há uma correspondência entre a produção cultural e as experiências e modos de subjetividade nas sociedades capitalistas contemporâneas e à luz de uma perspectiva materialista - embora dialogando com autores de diferentes abordagens epistemológicas - procuramos identificar como a lógica da mercadoria e da racionalidade instrumental se manifestam tanto na moda quanto na busca de um corpo ideal.
We witness every day, in the context of the industrialized western societies, the frenzied and obsessive importance given to body and fashion both intertwined with the beauty patterns disseminated by the cultural industry, what propitiates a growing run to the consumption of aesthetic innovations. In that sense, the goal is to understand, using a historical-social analysis, the development of the phenomenon of the cult of physical fitness and appearance, considering the daily practices of the culture of consumption deepened involved with the advanced capitalism. Considering that there is an equivalence between cultural production and experiences and subjectivity manners in the contemporary capitalist societies and through a materialistic perspective - although dialoguing with authors from different epistemology approaches - we tried to identify how the logic of merchandise and instrumental rationality appear as much in fashion as in the search of an ideal body.

Aquesta Tesi Doctoral té com a objectiu axial estudiar els monòlegs de Joan Capri a partir de diferents dimensions i perspectives (pragmàtica, sociològica, semiòtica, discursiva, etc.). Amb aquesta aproximació multidisciplinar es defineix, en primer lloc, el monòleg com a gènere i com a discurs. En segon lloc, s'identifiquen quins són els precedents dels monòlegs de Capri i l’empelt en la tradició costumista al costat d’una visió personal, que s'explica pel camí cap a la personalització que comporta la tardomodernitat. D'altra banda, s'hi descobreix com hi conviuen un seguit de tipificacions amb motius marcadament tardomoderns, com la psicologització del cos o l'aposta humorística caracteritzada per l'espectacularitat dramatitzada realista, l’(auto)paròdia, la naturalitat i la pretensió de sinceritat. Altrament, s'hi analitza com l'estructura còmica dels monòlegs es conforma a partir de mecanismes basats en la contraposició de patrons o com la dissociació posa al descobert aquells aspectes de la societat tardomoderna sobre els quals l'humorista vol expressar el refús. Finalment, s'estudia com els monòlegs de Capri han arribat fins als nostres dies a través de la televisió o de la versió teatral.
Esta Tesis Doctoral tiene como objetivo axial estudiar los monólogos de Joan Capri a partir de dimensiones y perspectivas diferentes (pragmática, sociológica, semiótica, discursiva, etc.) Con esta aproximación multidisciplinar se define, en primer lugar, el monólogo como género y como discurso. En segundo lugar, se identifican cuáles son los precedentes de los monólogos de Capri y su filiación en la tradición costumbrista al lado de una visión personal, que se explica por el camino hacia la personalización extrema que significa la tardomodernidad. Por otro lado, se descubre cómo conviven una serie de tipificaciones con motivos marcadamente tardomodernos con la psicologización del cuerpo o la apuesta humorística caracterizada por la espectacularidad dramatizada realista, la (auto)parodia, la naturalidad y la pretensión de sinceridad. Además, se analiza cómo la estructura cómica de los monólogos se conforma a partir de mecanismos basados en la contraposición de scripts o cómo la disociación pone al descubierto aquellos aspectos de la sociedad tardomoderna sobre los que el humorista quiere expresar su rechazo. Finamente, se estudia cómo los monólogos de Capri han llegado hasta nuestros días a través de la televisión o la versión teatral.
The main aim in this Doctoral Thesis is the study of Joan Capri’s monologues from different dimensions and perspectives (pragmatic, sociological, semiotic, discursive, etc.). With such a multidisciplinary approach, the monologue can be defined, firstly, as a genre and also, as a discourse. Secondly, the precedents of Capri’s monologues are identified and the place they take in the tradition of the Literature of local customs and manners is settled down. On the other hand, in this Thesis we can discover how different typifications coexist in the monologues with clear postmodern elements, such as the psycologization of the body, the humorous commitment that is shown in a dramatized realism of spectacular nature, the (auto) parody, the naturalness, and the ambition of sincerity. Moreover, it is also analyzed how the comical structure of the monologues is built up with mechanisms based on the script opposition, or how the dissociation shows the aspects of the postmodern society that the humorist wants to reject. Finally, there is a research on the ways in which Capri’s monologues have reached us nowadays on both television programs and theatre versions.

Aquest treball de tesi doctoral analitza la cinematografia del realitzador nord-americà Jim Jarmusch des de la perspectiva de les teories postmodernes. A través de diferents paràmetres que examinen la presència d'elements tant estètics com ideològics propis de la postmodernitat en la seva filmografia, aquest treball planteja la postmodernitat més com un marc de producció i recepció que com un corrent cultural lliurement assumit. La relació del creador amb les obres alienes i la dels seus personatges davant d'un entorn desproveït de discurs integrador són els eixos de l'estudi que ofereixo de les pel·lícules de Jim Jarmusch.
Este trabajo de tesis doctoral analiza la cinematografía del realizador estadounidense Jim Jarmusch desde la perspectiva de las teorías posmodernas. A través de diferentes parámetros que examinan la presencia de elementos tanto estéticos como ideológicos propios de la posmodernidad en su filmografía, este trabajo plantea la posmodernidad más como un marco de producción y recepción que como una corriente cultural libremente asumida. La relación del creador con las obras ajenas y la de sus personajes frente a un entorno desprovisto de discurso integrador son los ejes del estudio que ofrezco de las películas de Jim Jarmusch.
This doctoral thesis analyzes the oeuvre of US film director Jim Jarmusch from the perspective of postmodern theories. By applying a series of parameters that explore the presence of typical postmodern aesthetic and ideological elements in his films, postmodernity is not viewed as a cultural current one is free to engage in, but rather as an environment one is unwillingly immersed in. The main foci of my analysis are the relationship between Jim Jarmusch's work and the work of other film directors and the lack of connection between his characters as well as a dissociative, fragmented environment which fails to integrate the various elements of Jarmusch's movies.

Dans ce travail, nous avons deux termes principaux : l’histoire et le style, mais le but que nous voulons atteindre est la légitimation de l’art ou la légitimation de la création de notre époque appelée, «l’art contemporain». Si l’on présente autrement la question de la légitimation, c’est pour chercher un chemin dans cette situation confuse de l’art contemporain. Ce travail commence à partir de deux termes que mentionne le titre de la thèse. Et de même que l’on tricote un tissu, ces deux termes «le style» et «l’histoire» disposés horizontalement se croisent avec le problème de l’image disposé verticalement. Cela signifie que la recherche sur«l’histoire» et «le style» couvre les aspects philosophique et sociologique. Nous allons donc à la fois évoquer la discussion sur les problèmes du sens de style et de l’histoire à l’aide de la théorie de Danto et chercher le lien avec l’art plastique. Ce dernier sera réalisé à travers la recherche sur «l’image» de Hans Belting. Nous trouverons une similarité dans les étapes historiques analysées par A. Danto et le point de vue de H. Belting
In this study, we have two principal terms : history and style, but the goal which wewant to reach is the legitimation of art or the legitimation of the creation of ourtime called, “the contemporary art”. If the question of legitimation is differently presented, it is to look for a way in this confused situation of the contemporary art. This work starts from two terms which the title of the thesis mentions. And just asone knits a fabric, these two terms “the style” and “the history” horizontally laidout cross with the problem of the image laid out vertically. It means that the research on “the history” and “the style” covers the philosophical and sociologicalaspects. We thus at the same time will evoke the discussion on the problems of the direction of style and the history using the theory of Danto and will seek the link with the visual art. This last will be carried out through the research on “the image” of Hans Belting. We will find a similarity in the historical steps analyzed by A. Danto and the point of view of H. Belting

L’œuvre de la nouvelliste canadienne Alice Munro, striée de lignes, est parcourue de multiples tensions. Dans cette thèse, je propose de traduire trois de ses recueils (Lives of Girls and Women [1971], Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You [1974] et Who Do You Think You Are? [1978]) et d’étudier ce passage vers le français au prisme de la ligne, qui s’inscrit ici dans une troisième voie possible, entre traductions sourcière et cibliste. Il s’agit de retranscrire ces textes tout en suggestions et non-dits, sans dénaturer l’univers de l’autrice par un trop-plein d’explicitations, et de trouver un équilibre entre la facilité à comprendre pour le lecteur d’une part et la fidélité à l’esprit de l’œuvre, d’autre part. La traduction requérant un regard au plus près du texte, ce travail s’accompagne d’une analyse littéraire de ces ouvrages. Cette étude s’articule autour de quatre axes : les lignes prennent tour à tour les formes de frontières délimitant l’espace diégétique, d’une séparation entre hommes et femmes issue d’un modèle patriarcal, de divisions sociétales plus larges, et d’une limite floue entre fiction et réalité. Cette thèse vise ainsi à interroger ce qui se trouve de part et d’autre de ces lignes, mais surtout à ce qui se développe dans cet entre-deux
The work of Canadian short-story writer Alice Munro is filled with lines and tensions. For this thesis, I translated three of her collections of short stories (Lives of Girls and Women [1971], Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You [1974] et Who Do You Think You Are? [1978]) and studied these translations through the lens of the line, trying to find a third path between source-oriented and target-oriented translations. I attempt to transcribe these texts which largely rely on the implicit and the non-said, without altering Munro’s created worlds by over-explaining, and to find a balance between facilitating the reader’s understanding and remaining faithful to the spirit of Munro’s stories. Since translation requires a close scrutiny of the text, this work goes hand in hand with a literary analysis of the collections. This study follows four lines, embodying in turn the borders demarcating the diegetic space, the patriarchal separation between men and women, larger societal divisions, and finally the blurred boundaries between fiction and reality. This thesis thus aims to consider what lies on each side of those lines, but especially what develops in between

This thesis examines the roles of the New Zealand university in a knowledge society. Gaps in the literature of the New Zealand university in a contemporary context mean that the enquiry is informed by European and North American discussions of the educational requirements of a knowledge society. As the notions of the knowledge society and a liberal university education are both problematic and central to this enquiry, they are interrogated, in the second chapter, in some depth. A second review examines the work, recommendations and subsequent legislative outcomes of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission (TEAC) policy process of 1999 to 2003. The principles of critical theory and critical policy scholarship inform these interpretative textual analyses. The two review chapters, which follow the introductory chapter, comprise the first part of the thesis. A description of the methodological framework employed throughout the project and a report of the findings of a survey of stakeholders follow. The discussion chapter comprises the third and final part of the thesis. The thesis seeks to distinguish the notion of the knowledge society from that of the neo-liberal approach to social and economic management. I argue that the notion of the knowledge society is viable in a range of socio-economic conditions. I suggest that the educational requirements of a knowledge society are better addressed when the scope of a university education is framed by holistic individual, social, and economic determinants, rather than rigid ideological imperatives such as those characteristic of neo-liberalism. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies is employed. Primary data are gathered by way of a postal questionnaire. The perceptions of three cohorts of stakeholders of the New Zealand university are analysed using both statistical and interpretative tools. Data gathered through a review of the literature of the university in relation to the notion of the knowledge society in New Zealand, North America, and various European contexts are analysed using a combination of critical and interpretive approaches. The major finding to emerge from the enquiry is that stakeholders of the New Zealand university associate an effective university education with breadth of learning. The notion of a liberal university education, with its attendant beyond-vocation curriculum assumptions, is not considered anachronistic by the majority of stakeholders surveyed during this project. Public and private sector employers and university students strongly associate a liberal university education with effective preparation for participation in a knowledge-intensive environment. Year 13 secondary students are less certain. A secondary finding is that most stakeholders consider that the research activities of the university academic should continue to inform university teaching, but that the teaching role is of growing importance, and therefore worthy of greater emphasis, in the context of a knowledge society. The project is intended to provoke further discussion around the relationship between the New Zealand university and the knowledge society. To date there has been little academic consideration of this relationship. The contribution of this thesis, relative to this gap, is therefore significant.