This study is a comparison of the development of the theories of reification and hegemony in the writings and political activities of Georg Lukacs and Antonio Gramsci during the years from 1918 to 1938. In demonstrating that reification and hegemony were formulated in response to the unsuccessful revolutionary movements in Hungary and Italy of 1919-1920, it becomes evident that the respective theories of Lukacs and Gramsci were meant to constitute critiques of bourgeois cultural domination. Thus, their problematic extends to analyses of more specific issues, such as the role of positivist science as the prevailing "paradigm of rationality" and the instrumental function of "traditional" and "organic intellectuals." The solutions that both theorists sought in order to overcome reification and hegemony are embedded in their neo-Hegelian interpretations of Marxism, where historical materialism is defined as a methodology characterised by its utilisation of the conceptual tools of "dialectic," "totality," and "absolute historicism." However, Lukacs was forced by historical circumstances to retreat into the realm of aesthetics, although he continued the critique of reification by way of his theory of critical realism. Simultaneously, Gramsci began to elaborate more practical solutions to cultural domination through his theory of the "war of position," catharsis, and counter-hegemony.

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The purpose of this study is to arrive at a critical overview of politics and literature in the Chinese context. The relationship has increasingly become a "field" of studies and theoretical inquiry that most scholars in either disciplines are wary to tread. This thesis tries to venture into this problematic field by a theoretical examination as well as an empirical critique of Chinese literature and politics, where the relationship seems even more paradoxical, but adds more insight into the argument. The Introduction and Chapter One set up a framework by asking some general but fundamental questions: what literature is, and how it is to be related to politics. Chapter Two examines the historical function of literature and Chinese writers in society to establish the basis of argument in the Chinese context. Chapter Three focuses the discussion on the relationship between politics and literature during the Mao era and after. Chapters Four analyses the literary works published during the post-Mao period to establish the argument that literature, as part of our perception of the world, is most concerned with human society and social amelioration and participates in the socio-political development by contributing to it through a discourse that is otherwise inaccessible. Chapter Five explores the argument further by extending it into the field of cinema, which basically comes from the same narrative tradition of prose literature, but offers a wider and different dimension to the argument pursued. Chapter Six and the Conclusion try to draw together the argument by examining literature as both form and content to argue how and why literature is related to politics and how it has functioned in a political manner in Chinese society. To summarise, Chinese literature in this period will b& shown to be involved In a process of political reform and development by way of bringing the reader to participate in a critical and philosophical dialogue with power, history and future. In the long run, it offers emancipating visions and possibilities revealed to the reader in ways that are historical, developmental, philosophical and comparative. This study focuses on the prose fiction published in this period, for it is the leading force in China's cultural development and constitutes the major trunk of the modern Chinese canon. In addition, the research also extends to drama and films, and the way they, together with prose fiction, make up the most popular perception and intellectual discovery of contemporary Chinese society and politics and best inform the argument of the study of politics and literature.

Arthur Ingram and Lionel Cranfield were part of the early modern phenomenon of social mobility, rising from humble merchants to titled gentlemen in one generation. Cranfield, especially, reached significant heights in a matter of years. Despite the fact both men have merited biographies which chart their commercial and political careers, little attention has been paid to their lives outside of the political sphere leaving room for an analysis of their family and personal estates and the extent to which they utilised their houses in their self-projection. The originality of this thesis lies in its comparison of the two men which not only highlights their dependency on each other and mutual advertisement of each other’s image, but also opens up the question of regional disparity in house building as Ingram’s country estates were situated in Yorkshire whereas Cranfield’s were mainly close to London. The first chapter introduces the issues of social mobility, self-fashioning, and regionality, provides a literature review and explains the methodology employed. Chapter 2 looks at the careers and families of Ingram and Cranfield before examining the ways in which they furthered their ascent through the fashioning of their attire, education and learning, and social networks. The thesis then focuses on the houses of both men, with Chapters 3 and 4 considering how they built and styled their houses. Chapter 5 examines the craftsmen and materials employed by Ingram and Cranfield on their building programmes and in particular the geographical location of their houses. Chapter 6 discusses the way Ingram and Cranfield furnished their residences and how their households were related to the local community, particularly in terms of hospitality. The gardens and grounds that surrounded their houses are the subject of Chapter 7. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of the significance of Ingram’s and Cranfield’s houses in the self-projection of their image and how far the geographical location of their residences affected how successful this was.

Keywords: Regional history, project methods, baroque and baroque culture Abstract: The thesis deals primarily with the baroque era of Lysá nad Labem regional history and its application in the educational project at the secondary level of a primary school. The first part of the Diploma thesis contains a short overview of regional literature concerning Lysá as well as pedagogic literature suitable for project training. There is an overall characteristic of the Baroque era in the Czech lands with the focus on how it was expressed in art, religion and thinking of people back then and how it influenced the landscape formation. The emphasis is placed on the Baroque era of Lysá nad Labem. Its history is being described along with the history of the most influential family in the area the Sporcks. All of the baroque monuments in the town and its surroundings are described in order for the theoretical part to be complete and with respect to their possible application in the project training. I have also explored the significance of regional history and project training. Now turning to the practical part of the Diploma thesis. By means of a project that was executed as a part of the History instruction at the Lysá nad Labem primary school, I attempt to prove the value and suitability of such project training for...

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T14:42:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RICARDO_MACHADO.pdf: 1660039 bytes, checksum: b24256a2b89ef808292ec91e854936be (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-21 / This work aims to analyse a group of drug addicted people and find the reasons why they keep together, although they realise that they are considered outsiders by the society where they live in. Through an exploratory and qualitative research, and with a focus based on Sociology and Anthropology, it tries to reveal what identity these drug addicted people assume due to this grouping, as well as the possibility of having internal rules in this group. For this, seven people that take part in the same drug addicted group were selected. These people, who live in Vilela neighborhood, in the city of Ponta Grossa, Parana state, started being addicted during the adolescence and, although adult now, still use illicit drugs. At the end, after data analysis, it was possible to understand that these people assume a group and/or collective identity and also that there are internal rules, just like other society members. / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar um grupo de usuários de drogas e conhecer as razões pelas quais os mantêm próximos, ainda que haja consciência de seus integrantes serem considerados outsiders pela sociedade onde residem. Por intermédio de uma pesquisa exploratória, qualitativa, e com um enfoque baseado na Sociologia e na Antropologia, buscou-se desvelar qual a identidade que assumem esses indivíduos usuários de drogas em função desse agrupamento, bem como desvelar a existência de regras internas nesse grupo. Foram selecionados sete indivíduos integrantes de um mesmo grupo, residentes na Vila Vilela, no município de Ponta Grossa – PR, cujo vício foi desenvolvido ao longo da adolescência e que, apesar de adultos, ainda permanecem como usuários de drogas ilícitas. Ao final, após as análises dos dados, foi possível compreender que esses indivíduos assumem uma identidade de grupo e/ou coletiva e também a existência de regras internas tal qual os demais integrantes da sociedade.

This thesis examines the work of ordained clergymen, of all denominations, who were active photographers between 1839 and the beginning of World War One: its primary aim is to investigate the extent to which a relationship existed between the religious culture of the individual clergyman and the nature of his photographic activities. Ministers of 'the Black Art' makes a significant intervention in the study of the history of photography by addressing a major weakness in existing work. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the research draws on a wide range of primary and secondary sources such as printed books, sermons, religious pamphlets, parish and missionary newsletters, manuscript diaries, correspondence, notebooks, biographies and works of church history, as well as visual materials including original glass plate negatives, paper prints and lantern slides held in archival collections, postcards, camera catalogues, photographic ephemera and photographically-illustrated books. Through close readings of both textual and visual sources, my thesis argues that factors such as religious denomination, theological opinion and cultural identity helped to influence not only the photographs taken by these clergymen, but also the way in which these photographs were created and used. Conversely, patterns also emerge that provide insights into how different clergymen integrated their photographic activities within their wider religious life and pastoral duties. The relationship between religious culture and photographic aesthetics explored in my thesis contributes to a number of key questions in Victorian Studies, including the tension between clergy and professional scientists as they struggled over claims to authority, participation in debates about rural traditions and church restoration, questions about moral truth and objectivity, as well as the distinctive experience and approaches of Roman Catholic clergy. The research thus demonstrates the range of applications of clerical photography and the extent to which religious factors were significant. Almost 200 clergymen-photographers have been identified during this research, and biographical data is provided in an appendix. Ministers of the Black Art aims at filling a gap in scholarship caused by the absence of any substantial interdisciplinary research connecting the fields of photohistory and religious studies. While a few individual clergymen-photographers have been the subject of academic research - perhaps excessively in the case of Charles Dodgson - no attempt has been made to analyse their activities comprehensively. This thesis is therefore unique in both its far-ranging scope and the fact that the researcher has a background rooted in both theological studies and the history of photography. Ecclesiastical historians are generally as unfamiliar with the technical and aesthetic aspects of photography as photohistorians are with theological nuances and the complex variations of Victorian religious beliefs and practices. This thesis attempts to bridge this gulf, making novel connections between hitherto disparate fields of study. By bringing these religious factors to the foreground, a more nuanced understanding of Victorian visual culture emerges; by taking an independent line away from both the canonical historiography of photography and more recent approaches that depict photography as a means of social control and surveillance, this research will stimulate further discussion about how photography operates on the boundaries between private and public, amateur and professional, material and spiritual.

By analyzing the written documents and the inscriptions of the bronze artifacts excavated in the Ningzhen and Shaoxing regions, the author concludes that there were a long period of cultural dissemination and exchange among the kingdoms in the Central Plain with the Wu and the Yue people between the region of Huai River and the Yangzi River where Wu and Yue were located. Due to the geographical advantage, Wu and Yue gradually merged into a greater cultural entity which eventually had the same religious beliefs and social customs. However, as indicated in the following discussions, both the cultural traditions of the Wu and the Yue reserved their uniqueness in various aspects. First, they adopted different strategies and attitudes in absorbing the Han culture. Second, both the Wu and the Yue discarded part of their aboriginal cultures, while modified their own traditions by integrating cultural elements from neighboring feudal kingdoms. Third, since the cultural strategies of both the Wu and Yue were different, which directly affected Wu's and Yue's cultural and political development. For example, there were conflicts and disputes among the ruling classes, especially during the early period of their contending hegemony with the feudal lords in the Central Plain. After a long period of cultural acculturations, new cultures were formed under the reigns of the Wu and the Yue's rulers. / This thesis focuses on explaining different processes of cultural acculturations among the Wu and the Yue, and the culture between their neighboring countries. By examining the evidences from written literatures and bronze inscriptions, the author emphasizes the internal and external political developments that affected the paces and the directions of their cultural development. / Wu and Yue, were located in the south-east China, contended with the feudal lords in the Central Plain for the hegemony during the Chunqiu and Zhanguo Periods (770 B. C.--221 B.C.). These two neighboring countries had similar cultural characteristics. For instance, they shared the same language, similar living customs and political systems. The author holds the view that the cultural elements of the Wu and the Yue were fairly similar to the Han people in the Central Plain. However, due to the barbaric origins of the Wu and the Yue ethnic groups, they were regarded as outsiders and were rejected to participate in the ritual affairs with the feudal lords of Zhou Dynasty B.C. 1122? until B.C. 585. / 陳月平. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2006. / 參考文獻(p. 233-247). / Adviser: Ming Chiu Lai. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-02, Section: A, page: 0685. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2006. / Can kao wen xian (p. 233-247). / Chen Yueping.

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This mixed-method study is focused on the values, beliefs, and attitudes of Jordanian elites towards liberalization, democratization and development. The study aims to describe elites' political culture and centers of influence, as well as Jordan's viability of achieving higher developmental levels. Survey results are presented. The study argues that the Jordanian regime remains congruent with elites' political culture and other patterns of authority within the elite strata. However, until this "cautious liberal" political culture of Jordanian elites changes, a transitional movement cannot arise that would lead Jordan towards greater liberalism, constitutionalism and development. The study concludes with implications for transitional movements in other developing countries, particularly in the Arab region.