<p dir="ltr">When one thinks of the medieval past, one might think of knights with their shining armor and swords; these are warriors. My dissertation seeks to examine and expose how “warriors” are gendered as masculine; a person or character categorized as a warrior might be assumed to be a man unless otherwise specified to be a “woman warrior.” The need for the qualifying adjective (“woman” or “female”) illustrates that the maleness of warriorhood and violence is understood as implicit. This governing assumption affects how women’s actions, particularly women’s violent actions, are interpreted. This dissertation takes women’s violence as a starting point, examining characters from Judith to Chaucer’s Dido. I show how and why the violence these women enact cannot be relegated to, say, maternal instinct or spirituality. The spiritual warrior is herself impressive, of course; she is a tool, a weapon of God, through whom God fights. The idea of the spiritual warrior then allows for discussions of women without painting them as inherently violent or aggressive. Instead, the spiritual warrior is the martyr, an extension of maternal instincts and the idea that women are caretakers and, when necessary, protectors. But these self-sacrificial ideals, often associated with maternity, are not, nor should they be, a requirement for womanhood.</p><p dir="ltr">I argue that in order to create a capacious enough definition of “woman” and even femininity, we must prize definitions of femininity from the grip of the patriarchy. What if we took these women on their own terms, instead? I seek to do exactly this: to examine, throughout this dissertation, both the ways that violent women act and what they say, without considering how their behavior might, nonetheless, be understood to conform to limiting ideas of femininity (such as the virgin or the whore). I thereby invite us to think about what it means when violent women enact their will on the world; and I also attend to the physical, in addition to the spiritual, effects of this violence (like killing someone). My work suggests that, in order to take gender seriously, we must pay attention to these moments when women hurt or kill either someone else or themselves.</p>

Ce mémoire se concentre sur la figure de l’héroïne d’action dans les jeux vidéo. La culture vidéoludique, qui glorifie la masculinité militarisée, tend à sexualiser les personnages féminins et à négliger les préférences des joueuses afin de cibler les hommes et les garçons. La figure de l’héroïne d’action naît du désir d’inclusion des femmes dans la culture du jeu vidéo. Ces protagonistes féminins, bien que souvent objectifiés comme le témoigne le célèbre personnage de Lara Croft, présentent tout de même un potentiel subversif en envahissant l’espace traditionnellement masculin. Ce mémoire analyse quelques protagonistes qui correspondent à la figure de l’héroïne et la remodèlent. / This master thesis focuses on the action heroine trope in video games. The video game culture, which glorifies militarized masculinity, tends to sexualize female characters and to neglect the preferences of female players by targeting men and boys. The action heroine trope is born from the desire to include women in the video game culture. These female protagonists are often sexualized, such as the famous Lara Croft, but they also have a subversive potential by invading a traditional masculine space. This master thesis analyzes a few characters that are modeled and reshaped on the action heroine trope.

The thesis deals with the analysis of the literary titles and literary female heroines, that entered into the title of a literary work. The theoretical part first discusses the concept of womanhood for two important philosophers - Gilles Lipovetsky in his work, The third wife[1] and Milan Machovec in the publication Philosophy in the face of the demise of[2] . The Centre of gravity of the theoretical basis regarding the literary theoretical categories - titles and literary characters, Josef Peterka textbooks represent the Theory of literature for teachers[3] , the rigorous work of Josef Lesak Poetics in contemporary Czech prose[4] and an extensive theoretical literary publication of Daniela Hodrová . ... on the edge of chaos[5] . The knowledge from the theoretical part is applied to the analytical part of the thesis, which discusses titles of the nine selected literary works and nine female heroines of Czech prose of the 2nd half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, who have been highlighted in the titles of these literary works. [1] LIPOVETSKY, Gilles: Third wife, Prague: Prostor, 2000. [2] MACHOVEC, Milan: Philosophy in the face of extinction. Prague: Akropolis, 2006. [3] PETERKA, Josef: Theory of literature for teachers. Prague: Charles University in Prague, Faculty of...

This thesis examines the life story of Nana Yaa Asantewaa and its pedagogical implications for schooling and education in Ghana and Canada. Leadership role among women has been a topic in many debates for a long period. For many uninformed writers about the feminist struggles in Africa, Indigenous African women are docile bodies with little or no agencies and resistance power. However, the life history of Nana Yaa Asantewaa questions the legitimacy and accuracy of this misrepresentation of Indigenous African women. In 1900, Yaa Asantewaa led the Ashanti community in a war against the British imperial powers in Ghana. The role Yaa Asantewaa played in the war has made her the legend in history of Ghana and the feminist movement in Ghana. This dissertation examines the traits of Yaa Asantewaa and the pedagogic challenges of teaching Yaa Asantewaa in the public schools in Ghana and Canada.

This thesis examines the life story of Nana Yaa Asantewaa and its pedagogical implications for schooling and education in Ghana and Canada. Leadership role among women has been a topic in many debates for a long period. For many uninformed writers about the feminist struggles in Africa, Indigenous African women are docile bodies with little or no agencies and resistance power. However, the life history of Nana Yaa Asantewaa questions the legitimacy and accuracy of this misrepresentation of Indigenous African women. In 1900, Yaa Asantewaa led the Ashanti community in a war against the British imperial powers in Ghana. The role Yaa Asantewaa played in the war has made her the legend in history of Ghana and the feminist movement in Ghana. This dissertation examines the traits of Yaa Asantewaa and the pedagogic challenges of teaching Yaa Asantewaa in the public schools in Ghana and Canada.

This dissertation focuses on prose featuring a girl heroine from the beginning of the 1990s and it is aimed at upper primary school pupils. It deals with the quality literature and the pulp fiction of the Czech literature for girls. The literature for girls has themes such as eating disorders, sexual criminality and travelling. The analysis and the collation of the selected books and the most commonly used reading-books are also part of this thesis. The dissertation also captures the historical development of the prose with the girl character, the attribute of the Czech book market and changes in behaviour and in the body. Part of the practical part is a questionnaire focused on the reading experience of girls of the older school age, in particular from the point of view of the pupils and more briefly from the point of view of the teachers.

This study explores the construction of the Gothic female body in three films by the director Tim Burton, specifically Batman Returns (1992), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Dark Shadows (2012). Through a deployment of Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection, the intention is to indicate the degree to which Burton crafts his leading female characters as abject Others and embodiments of Barbara Creed’s ‘monstrous-feminine’. In this Gothic portrayal, the director consistently draws on the essentialised stereotypes of Woman as either ‘virgin’ or ‘whore’ as he shapes his Gothic heroines and femmes fatales. While a gendered duality is established, this is destabilised to an extent, as Burton permits his female characters varying degrees of agency as they acquire monstrous traits. This construction of Woman as monster, this study will show, is founded on a certain fear of femaleness, so reinstating the ideology of Woman as Other. / English Studies / M.A. (English Studies)

Diploma thesis Bc. Anna Fauknerová (2018) Transformationand Adaptation of the Cupid and Psyche Myth in Literature Abstract This thesis deals with the myth of Cupid and Psyche. It is concerned with the version of the myth found in Apulei's novel The Golden Ass as well as in other works such as fairy tales and novels. Some of these other works refer to the myth directly while others' connections to it have not been established and they merely demonstrate similar motifs. The first part of the thesis deals with Apuleius and his text The Golden Ass, which is the oldest surviving version of the myth of Amor and Psyche. The main characteristics of the myth as well as its characters, the story and the meanings that are hidden in it are examined. The character of Psyche and the way her heroism manifests itself are examined in greater detail. The second part of the thesis compares the myth with three fairy tales and three novels based on the conclusions of the previous chapter. The greatest emphasis is placed on the development and adaptation of individual motifs, similarities and disimilarities in content and form and on the way in which the myth is reflected in literature. The third part of the thesis looks at three possible ways of interpreting the myth. Keywords: Cupid, Psyche, myth, fairy tale, motif of light...

This thesis examines how the Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen portrays heroes in the aftermath of the sinking of the M/S Estonia in September of 1994. Our research questions are 1) How is heroism portrayed in the news reports about the Estonia disaster in the newspapers Expressen and Aftonbladet? 2) Are there similarities and distinctions between female and male heroes?   We have approached our material from a qualitative perspective analyzing 12 articles using critical discourse analysis.   Upon completion of our research we found that both men and women can be heroes, but regardless of gender heroes are all portrayed with traditionally male attributes, such as being aggressive, rational and courageous. To find and understand the hero in news context, the victim plays a periphery but important role. Our result also shows that the victim is needed in order for the hero to perform his or her actions. The victim can be both male or female, but are all described with female attributes as being weak, dependent and fragile.   The results of our study may be of use to understand how the journalistic practice actively uses stories about heroes to 1. personify a disaster, 2. summarize a fragmented chain of events and 3. project a distinction between the contemporary aspect of male and female.

<p>U ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji je uspe&scaron;no izvr&scaron;eno izolovanje&nbsp;opijatnih alkaloida iz humanih biolo&scaron;kih uzoraka (moždanog&nbsp;tkiva, krvi, urina i žuči) kao i biolo&scaron;kih uzoraka&nbsp;<br />eksperimentalnih životinja (moždanog tkiva i krvi) primenom&nbsp;postupka čvrsto-tečne ekstrakcije (SPE-Solid Phase Extraction).&nbsp;Modifikovan je postupak za kvalitativnu i kvantitativnu GC-MS&nbsp;(Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) analizu biolo&scaron;kih&nbsp;<br />uzoraka.&nbsp;Utvrđena je distribucija opijatnih alkaloida: morfina, kodeina,&nbsp;acetilkodeina, 6-acetilmorfina i heroina u humanim biolo&scaron;kim&nbsp;uzorcima moždanog tkiva (moždanoj kori, moždanom stablu,&nbsp;amigdali i bazalnim jedrima), pri čemu je najveći sadržaj&nbsp;<br />opijata određen u moždanoj kori i bazalnim jedrima,&nbsp;podjednako kod mu&scaron;kih i ženskih osoba.&nbsp;Utvrđena je distribucija opijatnih alkaloida: morfina, kodeina,&nbsp;acetilkodeina, 6-acetilmorfina i heroina u biolo&scaron;kim uzorcima&nbsp;moždanog tkiva (moždanoj kori, moždanom &nbsp;stablu, amigdali i&nbsp;bazalnim jedrima) i krvi eksperimentalnih životinja (pacova), u&nbsp;<br />različitim vremenskim periodima (5, 15, 45 i 120 minuta) od&nbsp;tretiranja životinja heroinom.&nbsp;Najveći sadržaj opijata je određen u moždanoj kori i bazalnim&nbsp;jedrima, podjednako kod mužjaka i ženki pacova ali u različitim&nbsp;vremenskim periodima. U uzorcima krvi je najveći sadržaj&nbsp;opijata određen u istom vremenskom periodu kod životinja oba&nbsp;pola, pri čemu su kod mužjaka određene znatno veće vrednosti&nbsp;koncentracija, &scaron;to ukazuje na bržudistribuciju opijata iz krvi u&nbsp;mozak kod ženki u &nbsp;odnosu na mužjake pacova.&nbsp;Utvrđeno je da je distribucija opijata u humanom moždanom&nbsp;tkivu kod pripadnika suprotnih polova kao i moždanom tkivu&nbsp;mužjaka i ženki pacova (nakon 120 minuta od tretiranja&nbsp;heroinom), identična.&nbsp;Ispitivanjem uticaja opijata &nbsp;na markere oksidativnog stresa u&nbsp;jetri eksperimentalnih životinja suprotnih polova, utvrđeno je&nbsp;smanjenje aktivnosti enzima: katalaze (CAT), glutation-peroksidaze (GSH- Px), peroksidaze (Px) i ksantin-oksidaze&nbsp;(XOD).</p> / <p>Opiate alkaloids were successfully isolated from human biological samples (brain tissue, blood, urine, and bile) as well as from biological samples of experimental animals (brain tissue and blood) by applying procedure of solid-phase extraction (SPE). A modified procedure was worked out for qualitative and quantitative analysis of biological samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The distribution of opiate alkaloids:morphine, codeine, acetylcodeine, 6-acetylmorphine, and heroine in human biological samples of brain tissue (cortex, brain stem, amigdala and basal nuclei) was established, showing the highest content of opiates &nbsp; in the cortex and basal nuclei, equal with male and female persons. It was established how the opiatealkaloids: morphine codeine, acetylcodeine, 6-acetylmorphine&nbsp; and heroine are distributed in biological samples of brain tissue (cortex, brain stem, amigdala and basal nuclei) and blood of experimental animals&nbsp; (rats) in different time periods (5, 15, 45 and 120 min) after the animal treatment with&nbsp;heroine. The highest content of opiates was found in the cortex and basal nuclei,&nbsp;equal in the male and female rats, but in different time periods. In blood samples, the highest content of opiates was measured in the same period with animals of both sexes, the concentration in the males being significantly higher, indicating a faster passage of the opiates from blood to brain in the female compared to male rats.&nbsp;Identical distribution of opiates was found in human brain tissue of both male and female subjects as in rats of both sexes (120 min after treatment with heroine).&nbsp;Study of the effect of opiates on the markers of oxidative stress in the liver of tested animals of opposite sexes showed a lowered activity of the following enzymes: &nbsp;catalase (CAT), glutathion-peroxidase (GSH-Px), peroxidase (Px) and xanthine-xidase &nbsp;(XOD).</p>