Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Williams, Raymond Criticism and interpretation'

This dissertation politically analyses the principles of literary evaluation (here called "axiology") argued and applied by the English critics Christopher Caudwell, Raymond Williams, and Terry Eagleton. The paradoxical fact that all three claim to be working within a Marxist framework while producing mutually divergent rationales for literary evaluation prompts a detailed examination of Marx and Engels. Moreover, since Caudwell and Eagleton acknowledge Leninism to be Marxism, and, further, since Eagleton and I both in our own ways argue that Trotskyism--as opposed to Stalinism--is the continuator of Leninism, the evaluative methods of Lenin and Trotsky also become relevant. Examined in light of that revolutionary tradition, however, and in view of the (English) critics' high political self-consciousness, the latter's principles of "literary" evaluation reveal definitive political differences between each other and with Marxism itself, centrally over the question of organised action. Thus, each of the chapters on the English critics begins with an examination of the chosen critic's purely political profile and its relationship to his general theory of literature. Next, I show how the contradictions of his "axiology" express those of his politics. Finally, with Hardy as a focus, I show the influence of each critic's political logic on his particular "literary" assessment of individual authors and texts. The heterogeneity of these critics' evaluations of Hardy, the close correspondence of each critic's general evaluative principles to his political beliefs, and the non-Marxist nature of those beliefs themselves all concretely suggest that none of the three English critics is strictly a Marxist. I do not know whether a genuinely Marxist axiology is inevitable; however, I do admit such a phenomenon as a logical possibility. In any case, I argue, this possibility will never be realised unless aspiring Marxist axiologists seek to match their usually extensive knowledge of literature with an active interest in making international proletarian revolution happen. And, since it can only happen if it is organised, the "Marxist" axiologist without such an orientation will be merely an axiologist without Marxism.
Arts, Faculty of
English, Department of
Graduate

Cultural materialism has become an influential discipline in recent years, particularly so in 'Renaissance' studies, but also more generally in 'English', as well as departments defined as practising 'cultural' or 'communications' studies. The phrase is usually linked with the name of Raymond Williams, but a cursory examination of Williams's own work quickly establishes that it is a phrase he rarely uses, and only schematically attempts to define. The thesis therefore takes the form of an investigation into the way cultural materialism has come to be understood, by examining in detail the trajectory of Raymond Williams's theoretical development, and how his own engagement with various theoretical positions has helped to set 'limits' on the meaning of cultural materialism. Chapters 1 and 2 deal with some of Williams's earliest work, particularly Reading and Criticism, as a way of investigating how reasonable it is to tag him as a 'Left-Leavisite', arguing that Leavis's undoubted influence is resisted (though not entirely rejected) from a very early stage. The first chapter considers in detail Leavis's work at Cambridge, the influence of Eliot, and the significance of the 'Organic Community'. Chapter 2, which is based around a comparative analysis of Williams's and Leavis's readings of Dickens, argues that Williams rejects the 'organic community' in favour of his 'knowable community'. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with specific 'theoretical' issues: the first, based around a reading of Terry Eagleton's critique of Williams's use of the Marxist metaphor of 'base and superstructure', shows some of the problems which arise from Williams's cultural model, as well as suggesting refinements; the second deals with the influence of Volosinov's theories on Williams. Chapter 6 comes out of Williams's readings of the 'Country-House' poems in The Country and the City, showing how his practice of literary criticism relies on an acceptance of 'ideology' apparently denied in his more 'theoretical' writings. This analysis is extended as a result of investigations into the 'De L'Isle' manuscripts relating to the Penshurst estate. Chapter 7 argues that it is possible to see the work of Fredric Jameson as developing Williams's cultural materialism into Jameson's debates on postmodernism. In the Introduction and Conclusion, I have taken the opportunity to look briefly at the activity of cultural materialism as it has developed since Raymond Williams's death in 1988. The Introduction emphasizes what I see to be important methodological differences between 'cultural materialism' and 'new historicism'; the Conclusion deals with the continuing debate over the value of a cultural materialist approach by considering the 'appropriation' of Shakespeare.

Esta dissertação tem como objetivo examinar a obra do crítico Raymond Williams a partir do ponto de vista da crítica da modernidade levada a cabo pelo autor em um período específico de sua trajetória: entre Cultura e sociedade (1958) e O campo e a cidade (1973). Para tanto, parte-se da reconstrução da forma assumida por essa crítica nos esquemas interpretativos daquelas que foram as duas grandes influências formativas do pensamento de Williams, e que figuraram como as duas grandes correntes teóricas no cenário intelectual inglês do século XX: a crítica literária e o marxismo. Pretende-se oferecer, com isso, uma leitura alternativa da obra do autor, repensando o peso de cada um de seus principais textos, as linhas de continuidade e as rupturas atravessando-a e, por fim, o próprio sentido do desenvolvimento teórico percorrido por Williams no período considerado, notadamente, destacando-se o impacto que o marxismo exerceu na conformação do seu projeto teórico.
This dissertation aims to analyze Raymond Williams work from the point of view of the critique of modernity undertaken by him in a specific period of his trajectory: from Culture and Society (1958) to The Country and the City (1973). Therefore, we begin by reconstructing the forms assumed by this critique in the interpretative schemes of the two greatest formative influences in Williams thought, and which became the two greatest theoretical currents in the English intellectual scenario in the 20th century: literary criticism and Marxism. Hence, we plan to offer an alternative interpretation of his oeuvre, reconsidering the importance of each of his main texts, the continuities and ruptures crossing it and, finally, the sense of the theoretical development covered by Williams in the period here considered, notably, focusing the impact that Marxism produced in the shaping of his theoretical project.

Esse estudo busca realizar reflexões sobre os significados, sentidos, tensões e contradições relacionados ao termo “independente” e sua contraparte, o termo “mainstream”, ligados ao processo de desenvolvimento das histórias em quadrinhos enquanto formação cultural. Essas reflexões são orientadas pelo conjunto de ideias de Raymond Williams, especialmente os conceitos de tecnologia, hegemonia e culturas alternativas, opositoras, residuais e emergentes. O trabalho está estruturado em cinco momentos. Primeiro as histórias em quadrinhos são abordadas como forma cultural e observamos as relações entre cultura e tecnologia no seu processo de formação. A seguir observamos particularidades desse processo dentro do contexto brasileiro. O terceiro momento apresenta os conceitos de Williams sobre culturas alternativas e antecipa a parte voltada para as intensas manifestações culturais da década de 1960 e seus desdobramentos. Finalmente, busca-se traçar uma visão geral do cenário de mudanças que se desenvolve a partir da década de 1980, enfatizando as histórias em quadrinhos publicadas no Brasil. A partir da observação do surgimento e consolidação de eventos como o Troféu HQ Mix e as feiras e bienais de quadrinhos, relacionados a novos processos de publicação e distribuição, buscamos analisar as obras e perfis de quatro autores contemporâneos de quadrinhos e compreender melhor os significados de termos como “independente”, “autoral”, “comercial”, “mainstream”, “alternativo” e outros, de uso comum nas diversas práticas das histórias em quadrinhos. Entre os resultados obtidos, notamos que: muitas das produções “independentes” contemporâneas apresentam características temáticas, estilísticas e materiais praticamente indistinguíveis das produções “mainstream”; algumas produções “mainstream” incorporam temas e propostas de culturas alternativas à hegemonia; o uso termo “independente” muitas vezes encobre as condições desfavoráveis de produção e sustento de diversos profissionais; considerando rigorosamente as culturas opositoras como um conjunto de ações de dimensão revolucionária, é difícil encontrar obras que efetivamente atendam a essa condição.
This study seeks to reflect on the meanings, senses, tensions and contradictions related to the term “independent” and its counterpart, the term “mainstream”, connected to the process of development of comics as a cultural formation. These reflections are guided by Raymond William’s set of ideas, especially the concepts of technology, hegemony and alternative, oppositional, residual, and emerging cultures. We structured the work in five moments. First, we approach comics as a cultural form and observe the relations between culture and technology in its process of formation. Next, we observe particularities of this process within the Brazilian context. In a third moment, we present Williams’ concepts on alternative cultures and anticipate the part devoted to the intense cultural manifestations of the 1960s and their unfolding. Finally, we attempt to give an overview of the scenario of changes that develops from the 1980s, emphasizing the comics published in Brazil. From the observation of the emergence and consolidation of events such as the HQ Mix Trophy and the comics fairs and biennials related to new publication and distribution processes, we sought to analyze the works and profiles of four contemporary comic authors and to better understand the meanings of terms such as "independent", "authorial", "commercial", "mainstream", "alternative" and others, commonly used in various comic book practices. Among the results obtained, we noticed that: many contemporary "independent" productions present thematic, stylistic and material characteristics practically indistinguishable from "mainstream" productions; some "mainstream" productions incorporate themes and proposals of cultures that are alternatives to hegemony; the use of the term “independent” often covers the unfavorable conditions of production and livelihood of several professionals; rigorously considering the opposing cultures as a set of actions of a revolutionary dimension, it is difficult to find works that effectively meet this condition.

The drole de roman gathers works by Marcel Ayme, Albert Cohen and Raymond Queneau, French novelists who belong to the same generation, share common readers and inspiration and, most of all, a specific vision: the nonserious. Their novels draw from the most obvious manifestations of the comical tradition (farce, burlesque) to its most subtle (irony, parody). In their works, laughter does not occupy a secondary position nor does it simply provide some reading impressions. In fact, laughter is often expressed by the characters and narrators themselves, whose sense of mischeviousness demonstrates the Rabelaisian joy of body and soul.
Besides, the drole is not restricted to its usual comical characteristics. In the prospect of literary history, it also refers to what stands apart from the realistic conventions inherited from Balzac and Zola. In other words, the drole is made of antirealism, merveilleux and fantasy. Thus, Ayme, Cohen and Queneau put forward their own response to the mimetic function of the 19th century realistic novel. Instead of renouncing the power of fiction, as Gide and Valery will often suggest, instead of denouncing its falseness, the three novelists give fiction even greater powers.
Based on the conclusions of the history of the novel and on studies concerning various aspects of its construction (the relation between reality and fiction, the conception of character and of its place in the community, the forms of the plot), this thesis wishes to shed light on the role and value of laughter through the study of three major themes: comedy, community and enchantment.

The writings of Raymond Queneau span a period of more than forty years and reflect the multiplicity of his approaches: essays, songs, poems, scenarios for the cinema, translations (from English to French), journal, and novels. My study focuses mainly on five novels: Le Chiendent (The Bark Tree), Les Fleurs bleues (Between Blue and Blue), Le Dimanche de la vie (The Sunday of Life), Pierrot mon ami (Pierrot) and Zazie dans le métro (Zazie in the Metro), the one that made him known to a wide reading audience. Queneau contributed to the very rich philosophical and literary scene in France sandwiched between twentieth century surrealism and existentialism, drawing much of his inspiration from the popular characters of the everyday Parisian life. My thesis mainly focuses on Queneau's dichotomy between "what is" and "what appears to be". Because of Queneau's extreme versatility, I do not attempt to analyze every aspect of his writing but limit it to examining his concept of appearance and reality, an approach which cuts across various aspects of his writing. The first chapter outlines the interplay between the sciences, literature and the concept of humor interpreted in the light of a notion of a participatory rather than a passive reading. The second chapter, entitled "Le Défi du Langage" (The Challenge of Language), elaborates upon Queneau's "fantasy" world with a concentration on the linguistic elements and play-on-words. The third chapter, entitled "La Valeur Structurelle" (The Structural Value), deals with the way in which Queneau structures his novels and the different forms taken by his fiction: examination of the symbolic aspect of numbers and forms; echos and symmetry; dream and reality; repetitions and play on the "I/ eye". The fourth chapter, entitled "L'Etre et le Paraître" (Being and Appearing), answers the main question of appearance and reality while dealing with the philosophy of "being or not being" as well as the resulting corollary of realizing anguish and death. Queneau's characters answer to these eternal questions through a growing awareness and consciousness which drive them to espousing anonymity or popular wisdom. In so doing, Queneau's humor enlarges upon the parody of philosophers such as Parmenides, Plato, Descartes, Camus or Sartre. In the conclusion, entitled "Au-delà de l'humour" (Beyond Humor), Queneau's laughter which is omnipresent, expresses the underlying condition through his observation of particular individuals in their very individualities. In the final analysis, Queneau's humanism shines forth with great empathy, comprehension, and humility.

O objeto de estudo deste trabalho são as obras The Country and the City, de Raymond Williams, publicada em 1973, e Duas Meninas, de Roberto Schwarz, de 1997. Na primeira, o foco incide principalmente sobre a obra de Thomas Hardy e o romance Jude, the Obscure, autor de fundamental importância para Williams; na segunda, em Dom Casmurro, de Machado de Assis, e em Minha Vida de Menina, de Helena Morley. A partir da premissa de que a crítica de arte pode e deve ser um instrumento de aferição social, tanto Williams quanto Schwarz questionam os pressupostos da cultura hegemônica e da tradição literária, com consequências não só para a literatura como também para a sociedade. Em Cambridge, Williams constata um problema de perspectiva histórica na representação do meio rural, ligado à ideologia que sustenta o sistema capitalista no centro, cujo avanço e democracia acredita serem questionáveis. No Brasil, na periferia do capitalismo, Roberto Schwarz detecta a reposição do atraso, por vezes aparentemente em vias de ser superado, como constata a partir das dinâmicas sociais explicitadas em Minha Vida de Menina. Assim, esta tese discute os pressupostos teóricos de Williams e de Schwarz, com a finalidade de explicitar os modos como os dois críticos leem a literatura, a sociedade e a tradição. O objetivo é o de demonstrar que a crítica literária pode ser uma ferramenta de produção de conhecimento, e que, vistos pelo olhar desses críticos, Brasil e Inglaterra, centro e periferia do capitalismo, têm muito a revelar um sobre o outro.
The aim of this study is to present a reading of The Country and the City, by Raymond Williams, published in 1973, and Duas Meninas, by Roberto Schwarz, 1997. In order to exemplify Williamss way of approaching literature, I investigate how the critic analyses the work of Thomas Hardy, especially the novel Jude, the Obscure. Departing from the idea that cultural criticism could and should be an instrument of social assessment, both Williams and Schwarz question the hegemonic culture and the literary tradition, with consequences both to society and literature, in the works mentioned above. In Cambridge, Williams realizes that there usually is a problem of perspective whenever the country is depicted in the English literature, a problem connected to the ideology that sustains the capitalist system in the center. To him, both progress and democracy can be put to doubt in there. In Brazil, the periphery of capitalism, Roberto Schwarz points to the reinstatement of old social problems, at times apparently almost to be left behind, as proven by the social dynamics found in Minha Vida de Menina, by Helena Morley. Therefore, in this dissertation I discuss the main topics of the theoretical apparatus of Williams and Schwarz, aiming at demonstrating how both critics approach literature, society and tradition. The main drive of this paper is to demonstrate that literary criticism could and should be a tool to enlighten the knowledge a society has of itself, and that, seen through the perspective of these critics, Brazil and England, center and periphery of capitalism, are pieces that have a lot to reveal about each-other.

While focussing on the metaphor of scientificity in Leavis's and Macherey's writings, this dissertation addresses other questions central to criticism, cultural theory, and the philosophy of science. Whereas Leavis opposes scientificity, Macherey proposes "scientific criticism" as imperative to theoretical practice. Between the two critics, scientificity reveals its major metamorphoses. This study is divided into four major parts. Part One situates the concept of scientificity in the modern debate between critics and philosophers of science. I compare their problematization of scientificity to the way this notion has been represented in literary criticism. The debate blurs the boundary between scientific and literary knowledge, and brings the question of ideology in scientific discourse to the fore. Scientificity is thus bound with ideology as an epistemological practice. Part two focusses on Leavis's rejection of scientificity. In three chapters here I investigate the significance of Leavis's definition of "organic culture," "civilization," "science," and "criticism." These are all rooted in Arnold's cultural paradigm, which privileges a traditional order. Leavis's opposition to "theory," "science," and "philosophy" problematizes his principles of "precision," "analysis," and "standards." His controversies with CP. Snow's scientism and with Marxism reveal his concern with theory and scientific epistemology. His defence of "ambiguity," and "impossibility of definition" also makes his framework confront a theoretical impasse that is revealed by a desire to theorize criticism—Leavis's duty towards society— and a fear of theory and science, perceived as destructive. Part Three, comprising three chapter, considers Macherey's scientific criticism. His notions of the "structure of absence" and "symptomatic reading" are central to his theorization of criticism, science, and ideology. These are formulated through Freud's categories of dream analysis, Saussure's notion of difference, and Althusser's conception of ideology. For Macherey, scientific criticism negates ideology. But his emphasis on "absence" as constitutive of scientificity brings his epistemology to a theoretical impasse that resembles Leavis's. Macherey's anchoring of meaning in economic structures, in ideology, and in Marxism as "science," problematizes his scientific project because it abandons "absence." Part Four concludes the dissertation by investigating ways in which Leavis and Macherey illustrate the importance of an epistemological phenomenon in literary studies: criticism's struggle with scientificity. Whether opposed or defended, scientificity has helped criticism to emulate the hegemonic discourse of science and to combat rival critical strategies. However, to dispel "scientific" delusions, criticism must scrutinize its affiliation with ideology both in scientific method and in theory.
Arts, Faculty of
English, Department of
Graduate

Blanche DuBois marked the most significant literary achievement of Tennessee Williams. Though her rape functions dramatically as a powerful climax which has troubled critics and bothered audiences, it is more a thematic culmination of Blanche's inability to sequester her sexuality. In fact, nearly everything Williams wrote prior to 1947 was building toward Blanche's rape; nearly everything that came after was a thematic attempt to resolve that issue left incomplete in her character--the southern dialectic, the preponderant theme and unsolved riddle of Williams's long career.The southern dialectic--a model developed from the joint theories of southern historian W. J. Cash, theorist Allen Tate, novelist William Faulkner, literary critic C. Hugh Holman, and playwright Tennessee Williams--is the internalization of opposites virulent in human nature which seeks to synthesize its disparate traits. Williams juxtaposed onto most of his characters this metaphysical debate between antinomies, most notably flesh and spirit, past and present, and miscegenation. Although he explored each with precise attention to balance, Williams returnedto flesh and spirit and its teleological (as opposed to theological) assessment of the human condition as his thematic touchstone.From his first performed play in 1935 to his last works of-the Eighties, Williams harnessed the dialectic in himself --between his innate desire for flesh and his learned duties to spirit--and generated from it the art that was as much his career as it was his exercise in psychotherapy. By placing both traits in his characters and dramatizing their interaction through two key images--the cat and the bird, whose own timeless battle reflected the same attraction/ repulsion nexus of the flesh-spirit dialectic--Williams could search for the one-androgynous hero who, like Christ, would successfully integrate them.Androgyny, for Williams, was not strictly hermaphroditism, though he was drawn to the asexual, but the ideal state of human existence--the integration of paradoxically repellent and attractive forces created by the dialectic. Though his Grail-like pursuit led him to discover different ways to end or survive this dialectic (denial, then death, then endurance), Williams's search for his androgynous hero would ultimately be in vain.
Department of English

This thesis looks at the textual representations of sociability problems in Raymond Queneau's autobiographical novels, which are also the first six novels of his career. Using an eclectic approach that combines elements of autobiographical analysis and social psychology with the numerous studies on the presence of philosophy in Queneau's work, we use the concept of identity to study social attitudes, first the author's own attitudes toward real groups, then the way the characters identify with groups, some having a tendency to share the groups identity, others choosing to distanciate themselves from the groups.
Following this path, we try to demonstrate the assumption that the tendency to identify to groups, as well as the distanciation attitudes, are represented in both a positive and a negative way, thus creating, in the novels, an actual "argumentation" between two poles. This assumption runs counter to the preconception, often conveyed by the critics, that distanciation alone is valued in Queneau's writings.
Given the impossibility to develop, within this work, a complete collection of the ways our problematics, i.e. the relation between belonging to groups and the formation of identity, is reflected in Queneau's novels, we choose (after examining the author own's attitudes) to analyse, in a first step, the major lines of thought related to our subject in each novel, and then to highlight some "attitude types" that emerge from the novels as a whole. This approach, we believe, allows us to draw out the key issues arising from this reflection.

Cette étude se penche sur les œuvres de Russell Banks, Raymond Carver et Richard Ford, qui ont débuté leur carrière dans les années 1960-1970. À une époque où les milieux académiques s’intéressent davantage à l’autoréflexivité et aux jeux métafictionnels des écrivains postmodernes, les trois auteurs revendiquent, quant à eux, leur appartenance à la tradition réaliste. Dans « Quelques mots sur le minimalisme », John Barth suggère que le retour du réalisme social à partir des années 1970 peut être vu à la fois comme une réaction à la fiction dite « postmoderne » et comme un symptôme du malaise social et économique de l’époque. En effet, Cathedral, Continental Drift et The Sportswriter décrivent, dans un souci de vraisemblance et d’exactitude, la vie quotidienne d’Américains ordinaires malmenés par la politique de Reagan. Cette étude montre que les trois auteurs s’inscrivent dans la tradition du réalisme social, mais qu’ils sont influencés par le contexte postmoderne dans lequel ils écrivent et tiennent compte des problèmes de représentation typiques de cette période. Leurs œuvres sont donc marquées par une tension entre le respect des conventions littéraires propres à la tradition réaliste et la mise en évidence de l’artificialité de l’illusion mimétique, à une époque où la réalité elle-même est vue comme une construction linguistique
His study focuses on the works of Russell Banks, Raymond Carver and Richard Ford. They started writing during the 1960s and 1970s, at a time when the self-reflexivity and metafictional play of postmodernist writers were drawing a lot of critical attention in academic circles. However, they consider themselves to be realist writers. In “A Few Words about Minimalism,” John Barth suggested that the return to realist fiction in the mid-1970s could be both a reaction against so-called “postmodernist” fiction and a symptom of the social and economic unease of the period. Indeed, Cathedral, Continental Drift and The Sportswriter describe in accurate detail the everyday lives of ordinary American men and women during Reagan’s presidency. This study demonstrates that these authors are part of the American realist tradition, but that their strand of social realism also takes into account the postmodern context in which they write, by dealing with problems of representation that are typical of the period. Their works both use and challenge the literary conventions associated with the realist tradition, by underlining the artificiality of mimetic illusion at a time when reality itself is seen as a linguistic construct

Orientador: Maria José Rodrigues Faria Coracini
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem
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Resumo: No romance Zazie dans le métro (1959), Raymond Queneau explora a linguagem coloquial, valendo-se da língua que chamou de neo-francês. O autor faz um verdadeiro "exercício de estilo" oral popular, em que mistura registros e faz paródias, imprimindo ao romance, além de um ritmo rápido, redundâncias, ortografia fonética, ausência de concordâncias gramaticais, arcaísmos etc. em franca oposição aos preconceitos em relação à língua oral. O oulipiano questiona a língua, provocando o leitor e obrigando-o a se distanciar da linguagem a que está habituado. Este trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a violência observada tanto no texto dito 'original' de Queneau, quanto na tradução e, em particular, na passagem do neo-francês à língua portuguesa do Brasil. Se a própria escrita de Zazie na língua original (o neo-francês) já é um exercício, da tradução espera-se um trabalho que podemos chamar de "trabalho dobrado". Para tanto, admite-se a violência na tradução, o que permite levantar várias questões relativas à língua, à cultura, à identidade, à dicotomia entre língua oral e língua escrita, entre obra original e obra traduzida, além de questionar os limites e as proibições, a criação literária, o trabalho do tradutor, as normas acadêmicas, o desafio da escrita e favorece a divulgação de obras literárias importantes
Abstract: In the novel Zazie dans le métro (1959), Raymond Queneau explores colloquial language, making use of what he called neo-French. The author makes a real popular and oral "exercise in style", mixing registers and parodies, making the novel fast paced and using redundancy, phonetic spelling, grammatically incorrect expressions, archaisms etc. in clear opposition to the prejudices about oral language. The oulipian questions language and culture provoking the reader and forcing him to distance himself from the language he is accustomed to. This work proposes a reflection on violence observed both in Queneau's 'original' text and in its translations, particularly between neo-French and Brazilian Portuguese. If the actual writing of Zazie in the original language (neo-French) was already an exercise, in translation, a kind of "double work" is expected. Admitting violence in translation allows us to raise several issues relating to language, culture, identity, the dichotomy between oral and written language, and between original work and translated work, to limits and prohibitions, literary creation, the work of the translator, academic standards, the challenge of writing and dissemination of important literary works
Mestrado
Teoria, Pratica e Ensino da Tradução
Mestre em Linguística Aplicada

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
The purpose of this master's dissertation is to compare the English-language original of A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, with the respective translation in Portuguese, Um bonde chamado Desejo, by Vadim Nikitin, in order to characterize the differences between the two versions based on the lexicographic choices made by these authors. Since the 1950s, the important work of linguistic-based translation scholars has done much to break the boundaries between different disciplines dedicated to it, and to draw their studies from a position of possible confrontation. The research has the support of Systemic-Functional Linguistics (SFL), a theoreticalmethodological proposal of Halliday (1985) and Halliday and Matthiessen (2004). The SFL states that the use of language is functional; that its function is to construct meanings; that meanings are influenced by the social and cultural context in which they are exchanged; and that the process of language in use is a semiotic process, a process of making meaning through choices. Researches show that this theoretical framework can be applied to the field of translation studies from several aspects involved in SFL: the transitivity system, the modality and the evaluation, as well as the notion of thematic structure. Other contributions help to understand the characteristics that mark a translation, such as the notions of linguistic determinism and relativity, as well as the question of linguistic typology. The present study seeks to answer the following questions: (a) what can the comparison of the original in English and the Portuguese translation of A Streetcar Named Desire reveal? (b) what consequences do these differences mean for the interpretation of the original text and its translation? The results show the impossibility of a literal translation, since several linguistic characteristics separate the two languages in terms of the specific typology of both English and Portuguese. This fact obliges the translator to make lexicographic choices, made possible by the target language, which may imply modifications in the interpretation of the drama from one language to another
O objetivo desta dissertação de mestrado é a comparação entre o original em língua inglesa de A Streetcar Named Desire, de Tennessee Williams, com a respectiva tradução em português, Um bonde chamado Desejo, de Vadim Nikitin, a fim de caracterizar as diferenças entre as duas versões com base nas escolhas lexicogramaticais feitas pelos referidos autores. Desde 1950, o importante trabalho de estudiosos da tradução baseada em linguística tem feito muito para romper as fronteiras entre diferentes disciplinas dedicadas a ela, e tirar seus estudos de uma posição de possível confronto. A pesquisa tem o apoio da Linguística Sistêmico- Funcional (LSF), uma proposta teórico-metodológica de Halliday (1985) e Halliday e Matthiessen (2004). A LSF estabelece que o uso da língua é funcional; que sua função é construir significados; que os significados são influenciados pelo contexto social e cultural em que são intercambiados; e que o processo de uso da língua é um processo semiótico, um processo de fazer significado por meio de escolhas. Pesquisas mostram que esse quadro teórico pode ser aplicável ao campo dos estudos da tradução a partir de vários aspectos envolvidos na LSF: o sistema da transitividade, a modalidade e a avaliatividade, além da noção de estrutura temática. Outras contribuições ajudam a entender as características que marcam uma tradução, tais como as noções de determinismo e relatividade linguísticos, bem como a questão da tipologia linguística. O presente estudo busca responder às seguintes perguntas: (a) o que a comparação do original em inglês e a tradução em português de A Streetcar Named Desire pode revelar? (b) que consequências essas diferenças significam para a interpretação do texto original e de sua tradução? Os resultados mostram a impossibilidade de uma tradução literal, já que várias características linguísticas separam as duas línguas em termos da tipologia específica seja do inglês, seja do português. Esse fato obriga o tradutor a fazer escolhas lexicogramaticais possibilitadas pela língua alvo o que pode implicar modificações na interpretação do drama de uma língua a outra

A majority of critics examine Raymond Carver’s fiction in terms of minimalism, but in this thesis, I highlight the themes in Carver’s work rather than emphasize the format. Many women in Carver’s work contrast the futility of their male counterparts by showing a determination to move on with their lives. By looking at each of Carver’s major collections of short stories, one may find a progression in the way women react to the hopeless situations in their lives. Carver’s early stories, found in "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?", show women who are capable of handling situations, yet unproductive in finding true autonomy. Later stories in "Cathedral" and "Where I’m Calling From" find women working with men and eventually finding their own independence - a characteristic that begins to develop in Carver’s second collection, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love".
Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, Dept. of English.
Includes bibliographic references (leaves 57-60).
"May 2006."

P.F. Strawson rejects several assumptions shared by most compatibilists and incompatibilists in his account of free will. He rejects the view that our practices of viewing one another as free, and of holding one another responsible for our actions must, in order to be appropriate, answer to certain kinds of theoretical commitment about the nature of the world. He also rejects the view that we can achieve complete objectivity in the practice of holding others responsible, and argues that even if we could achieve it there is a risk that our lives would be impoverished by adopting it. In this thesis I argue that Strawson's approach can be interpreted as a humanistic one - an approach that emphasises both our psychological limitations as human beings and the central role that our existence as social creatures plays in endowing other aspects of our lives with meaning. My aim is to defend a Strawsonian approach, thus construed. In doing so, I offer critical analysis of libertarian and (non-Strawsonian) compatibilist approaches, arguing that they fail to successfully avoid a number of well-known challenges to the possibility of free will. I attempt to demonstrate that Strawson's humanistic approach does avoid these challenges. I draw on the work of other philosophers, especially Bernard Williams, in developing this argument. In setting up the project, I also offer a revised framework for classifying approaches to the free will debate, with a particular focus on the way that compatibilist approaches are classified.

This is a comparative study of a selection of the works of H.I.E. and R.R.R. Dhlomo in an attempt to specify the ways in which both writers contributed to constructing a sense of African modernity. While the focus will be on the content of the writing, it will include an analysis of the form and style of the literature, as well as the historical and political setting of the work, and of the authors. By employing the theoretical work of Alain Locke, David Attwell and Tim Couzens, I will address the issue of how Herbert and Rolfes Dhlomo negotiate the issue of a Christian modernity, as well as the ambiguous relationship between tradition and modernity. Another matter that I will focus on is that of the differences and similarities of their writing, in terms of aesthetics and their positions vis-a-vis tradition, modernity and the role of the Black subject, among other topics. Some questions that I will address are whether they are both contributing to an African modernity, and in what sense, and whether Rolfes' work complements that of Herbert, and vice versa. This will be done through a close reading of selected works across a range of mediums, from literary texts such as plays, poems and short stories to the print media. In the Introduction I will outline the key theoretical work and definitions that I will make use of in my research, as well as give brief biographies of the two writers under examination. In Chapter One I will make a close reading of selected works of Herbert Dhlomo, and will attempt to show his changing role in the establishment of a sense of an African modernity. In Chapter Two the focus of my work will be selected prose fiction of Rolfes Dhlomo. I will examine the major themes of these works, and show how they pertain to a sense of an African modernity. In Chapter Three I will examine Rolfes Dhlomo's "R. Roamer Esq." column from the Bantu World. I have selected in particular the year 1941, and I will show how Rolfes Dhlomo used satire and topical issues to help in the creation of a sense of African modernity. The Conclusion deals with the findings of my research on the role that Herbert and Rolfes Dhlomo played in the creation of an African modernity in South Africa.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

This thesis is an exploration of Tennessee Williams' idea of 'plastic theatre,' locating its origins within the theatrical context of the period, with the object of identifying its chief principles and seeking something approaching a definition 'of plastic theatre,' as a starting point from which to demonstrate its application to theatre production and especially to set design. In 1945, with the published version of The Glass Menagerie, Williams launched his theory of 'plastic theatre,' a theatrical mode that would, he believed, answer the problems he perceived in American war-time theatre, and that would help develop a stronger post-war American theatre. Williams claimed that theatre in America placed too much emphasis on words and not enough on the essential elements of theatre. Taking an anti-realist stance, he asserted that this emphasis on words should be replaced by a theatre that recognised the plasticity of the stage and the expressivity of all the elements of play production. In his scripts he sought to present his vision of how his plays would work on stage by demonstrating how these elements should be integrated with text. From Williams' assertion that the physicality of the stage environment is as important as the text, we can deduce that the manner in which the stage space is arranged is a crucial performance element. The notion of 'plastic theatre,' therefore, has significant implications for the practice of set design. The aim of this project is to place Tennessee Williams' ideas within the history of American scenic design and demonstrate the way designers have expressed his ideas. This project engages in two types of research methodologies: historical and practical. The first component begins with an exploration of Williams' theory by reference to his published and unpublished works, particularly his journals and notebooks, followed by a consideration of the rise of the set designer in America so as to contextualise the work of designers of Williams' major plays. I look at the first designers of his plays, leading practitioners who responded to his all-encompassing vision and created designs which not only answered the demands of his scripts, but were to influence the history of stage design in America. I then explore the work of leading designers of Williams plays since 1960, considering how their designs have related to their precedents and to dominant trends in twentieth-century set design. Even though this thesis explores design issues up to the twenty-first century, the focal plays will be limited to those major works of Williams' career up to 1960, the period in which he developed his idea of 'plastic theatre' and wrote plays which demonstrably illustrate its principles. In order to assess what a practical engagement with the texts can reveal about 'plastic theatre,' the practical component comprises the designing of three major Tennessee Williams plays: The Night of the Iguana, Suddenly Last Summer and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Designs for these plays were created and constructed for performances in Canberra, Australia. --provided by Candidate

Text in English
This study offers a fine-grained analysis of James Cameron’s film, Avatar (2009), on several theoretical fronts to provide a view of the film from a cognitive cultural studies perspective. The insights gained from cognitive theory are used to situate the debate by indicating the value cognitive theories have in cultural criticism. The critical discourse analysis of Avatar that results is a vehicle for the central concern of this study, which is to understand the diverse, often contradictory, meaning-making exhibited by Avatar audiences. A focus on the construction of empathic responses to the film’s messages investigates the success of this polysemy. Ihe central propositions of the study are that meanings and interpretations of the experience of viewing Avatar are made discursively; they are situated in definable traditions, mores and values; and this meaning-making takes place in a cognitive framework which allows for the technical reproduction and reception of the experience while providing powerful, emerging and cognitively plausible narratives. In an attempt to situate the film’s commercial success and its plethora of awards, including an Oscar for best art direction, the analysis takes a critical view of Cameron’s use of cultural stereotypes and the framing of the exotic other, and considers the continuing development of these elements over the whole series and product line or, as Henry Jenkins (2007) defines it, “transmedia”. In drawing the theoretical boundaries of the methodologies used in this study and in arguing for their complementarities, the study contributes to a renewal of Raymond Williams’ (1961) mostly forgotten claim of the cross-disciplinary cognitive dimension of cultural studies and demonstrates an affirmation of this formulation as cognitive cultural studies.
Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology
M.A. (Art History)