The thesis examines the cultural and political significance of the formal and stylistic strategies in the work of Jonathan Swift; particularly the early prose satire A Tale of a Tub. Given his Irish origins and the largely colonial basis of England's relationship with Ireland, Swift's aesthetic strategies are shown to offer a mode of aesthetic resistance to, and interrogation of, English colonialism. In a rapidly modernising, secularising England national identity and social cohesion were being increasingly galvanised through an aesthetic ideology that emphasised the function of the aesthetic as that which can present a model of integration and shared values. Swift, drawing upon his experience of an Ireland socially fragmented by colonialism, emphasises the simultaneous, if contradictory, function of the aesthetic as the domain of the subjective imagination. An extreme wit, feared by Locke as that which will cause the individual subject to forget his or her social responsibilities, itself fragments society by encouraging the individual to inhabit an interiorised world of irrational associations. Swift, ostensibly satirising such behaviour in the Tale in the name of an English nationalism, actually allows the logic of such an extreme wit to dominate. Thus, he utilises what Vivian Mercier has shown to be the modes of traditional Irish literature, while simultaneously engaging with the (colonising, commercialising) ramifications of England's emergence into modernity. In the first, introductory chapter I explain, with reference to Swift's early life and work and to the critical work that already exists on Swift, why this thesis is a necessary addition to such a body of criticism. Chapter Two constitutes a closer examination of the Tale, the strategies of which are illuminated by a comparison with other works from the Anglo-Irish tradition: Burke, Swift's eighteenth-century Dublin biographers, the political economy of Sir Francis Brewster. Chapter Three turns to Swift's attempts to conform to English social and cultural modes in the first half of his career, particularly in The Examiner of 1710-11. The thesis returns to the idea of Swift as an Irish literary subverter in Chapter Four, this time by looking at the way the Tale and its companionpiece The Battle of the Books employ a form of 'extreme' allegory described by Walter Benjamin as essentially baroque in origin, and so able to adopt a critical position towards the early enlightenment principles of Swift's mentor and patron, Sir William Temple. Given that the category of the modem aesthetic emerges conceptually as a product of the enlightenment, Chapter Five examines Swift's work in the context of subsequent European enlightenment thinkers Kant and Herder, showing how Swift can be said to mediate their respective positions. The thesis concludes by arguing for Swift as, ultimately, a champion of reason; and goes on to point towards how Swift's aesthetic critique has resonances for our own contemporary situation: namely, how his early satirising of modem astrology is an early recognition of the unreason inherent in mass culture.

The following dissertation outlines historical-archaeological research focused on the nineteenth-century, British plantation settlement at Lamanai, Belize. Archaeological data presented here include recent archaeological excavations (2014) and a study of previously excavated archaeological materials recovered at the site over the past 30 years (2009), conducted by this author. The study's archaeological data are synthesized in tandem with historical and documentary sources, comparative site data, and oral histories. Even though the study data span more than thirty years of recovery, it must be noted that very little research has focused on the late-colonial period at Lamanai to date. The most recent phase of archaeology is a foundational effort, which aims to set the stage for future late-colonial period, historical-archaeological studies. To this end, a great deal of effort has been spent here outlining the project's core theoretical and methodological foundations with which frame the current study and inform future research endeavors. Little is known about the eighteenth- and nineteenth- centuries at Lamanai, and to this end, the project aimed to answer questions regarding how life (residential, industrial, and administrative) was structured. While the archaeological and historical records have elucidated much about the plantation settlement at Lamanai to date, that data have also been frustratingly oblique and obfuscating with regard to intra-site variability among known British colonial activity and habitation areas.

This thesis investigates the relationship between water resources, networks and territory under changing relations of rule in the West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territories. It focuses on the creation of uneven patterns of water infrastructure development since Israeli occupation of the territory in 1967, and on their perpetration following the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority in 1995. This is produced by the interplay of three different imperatives of water resource development: a military-strategic and territorial one, represented by the Israeli Civil Administration, one based on national sovereignty over resources and universal water rights, represented by the Palestinian National Authority, and one based on technical efficiency of the sector, promoted by some international development institutions. The relative strength of these three actors in relation to each other, which in turn is influenced by the political history of the region, determines the physical outcome of water resource development.

This dissertation examines George Dawson’s efforts to traverse several of the significant blank spaces that pervaded the map of Western Canada in the two decades following Confederation in 1870-71 on behalf of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). By analyzing how Dawson went about making these vast, remote and hitherto poorly-known territories legible we can better understand how he and his GSC colleagues helped to transform the Canadian West into a settler space that miners, traders, loggers, ranchers and many more could inhabit and exploit. As Dawson’s survey work in British Columbia and the North-West Territories reveals, the GSC helped to transform the Canadian West into settler space in two important ways. First, his western reconnaissance surveys yielded a wealth of practical knowledge about travel routes, natural resources, soils, climates, existing Native populations, potential hazards and the overall suitability of particular districts for settlement and resource extraction. This information was widely distributed in published reports and maps and served to draw the lands, natural resources and Indigenous inhabitants of the West more fully into the administrative orbit of the Dominion government. Moreover, Dawson’s reports and maps often depicted colonization as both inevitable and imminent, giving scientific weight and tangible expression to a colonial imaginary that, in practice, was never as certain nor as swift to unfold as these depictions intimated. Second, the GSC’s scientific surveys signified Canada’s desire and capacity to assert its epistemological dominion over the West. In this context, the work of a publicly-funded scientific survey was a profound symbol of authority because a state’s power to explore and map its national territory signified its power to rule over that territory. By exploring and reporting on these lands, Dawson and the Survey helped to cement the Dominion’s authority over its recent territorial acquisitions and affirm their status as a Canadian West. By offering important practical and symbolic contributions to Canada’s colonization of the West in the decades following Confederation, the Geological Survey of Canada played a vital role in transforming this region into a Canadian settler space. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-06 12:15:39.943

This thesis explores the relationship between colonialism and planning in a contemporary urban context in Canada. This project is important because colonialism continues to have impacts on the way that cities and city spaces are constructed. Using The Forks, Winnipeg, as an example, it reviews planning documents using a critical, postcolonial, interpretive and reflexive textual analysis. The intent is to gain more understanding of the ways in which colonialism is implicated in contemporary planning practices in settler societies. The analysis shows three main themes: the identity of The Forks is created in opposition to that of the downtown; heritage at The Forks is presented in ways that ignore colonialism and its past and present impacts on the city; and decision-making at The Forks does not reflect Indigenous priorities. The thesis concludes with some implications for planning practice.

Historically, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) have expressed strong opposition to uranium mining in their territory, in part due to concerns that it would be detrimental to their harvesting practices. During these struggles, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq had the support of various Inuit Organizations. The first decade of the 2000s saw the relevant Inuit Organizations change their policies from ones which opposed uranium mining to ones which support it. This thesis is an attempt to understand if Inuit at the community level have changed their opinions about uranium mining and, if so, why. During my time in Qamani’tuaq, it became apparent that the shift in policy has been followed by a gradual change in perspective among some members of the community. While opposition to uranium mining is by no means dead, the seemingly united stance the community previously held has become fragmented. This change is due to a number of factors, including an increased astuteness on the part of the mining industry, certain aspects of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and ongoing economic dependency upon the market economy.

The botanic garden is a space of leisure, scientific endeavour, passive recreation, education and conservation. These roles are contradictory, yet coexist 'happily' in a single space. The central aim of this thesis is to investigate the diversity of spaces and meanings in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens from the perspectives of both users and producers of this space. The fieldwork component involves interviews with staff members of the Botanical Services Team at the Gardens, and selected people at the Christchurch City Council offices who were connected with the Gardens in various ways. Additionally, I use the data gathered during my participation in tours of the Gardens. This thesis is both an historical and contemporary analysis of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. In a general history of the Western botanic garden, I show how colonialism, the Garden City movement and science shaped how botanic gardens functioned in society. This discussion contextualises the history of Christchurch's Botanic Gardens, which I compiled using archival material based on site, and the social practices that take place in this space. Using Foucault's concept of the heterotopia, I analyse the multiple and seemingly conflicting sites that exist inside the boundaries of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. I explain how these sites are able to coexist inside what Foucault terms a 'happy, universalizing' heterotopic space. I conclude that conflicts between science and leisure, and colonial spaces are not experienced inside the Gardens by visitors. In reality, for visitors to the Gardens, the paradoxical nature of the space and the resulting tension deriving from its multi-faceted role in society continue to exist in harmony. However, conflict between science and leisure is claimed by those who produce the Gardens. This is because the producers are conscious of the competing roles of the Gardens yet are involved in creating a space that caters for a diverse group of visitors.

This thesis is an examination of the particular role that education has played in the development of colonialism in New Caledonia. The focus is on the role of education in the developing relationship between the colonised people and the colonial power. It will be shown that France's education policies closely paralleled its political objectives in New Caledonia. Similarly, the changing Kanak attitude towards education can be seen to reflect changes in their political aspirations and developments in their anti-colonial struggle.

This thesis explores the relationship between colonialism and planning in a contemporary urban context in Canada. This project is important because colonialism continues to have impacts on the way that cities and city spaces are constructed. Using The Forks, Winnipeg, as an example, it reviews planning documents using a critical, postcolonial, interpretive and reflexive textual analysis. The intent is to gain more understanding of the ways in which colonialism is implicated in contemporary planning practices in settler societies. The analysis shows three main themes: the identity of The Forks is created in opposition to that of the downtown; heritage at The Forks is presented in ways that ignore colonialism and its past and present impacts on the city; and decision-making at The Forks does not reflect Indigenous priorities. The thesis concludes with some implications for planning practice.

Historically, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) have expressed strong opposition to uranium mining in their territory, in part due to concerns that it would be detrimental to their harvesting practices. During these struggles, the Inuit of Qamani’tuaq had the support of various Inuit Organizations. The first decade of the 2000s saw the relevant Inuit Organizations change their policies from ones which opposed uranium mining to ones which support it. This thesis is an attempt to understand if Inuit at the community level have changed their opinions about uranium mining and, if so, why. During my time in Qamani’tuaq, it became apparent that the shift in policy has been followed by a gradual change in perspective among some members of the community. While opposition to uranium mining is by no means dead, the seemingly united stance the community previously held has become fragmented. This change is due to a number of factors, including an increased astuteness on the part of the mining industry, certain aspects of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and ongoing economic dependency upon the market economy.