My dissertation, "A Proper Secularism: Beyond Ideology in Bulgakov, Trilling, Updike and Pynchon," explores the ways in which the literary imagination pushes beyond ideology, and points towards notions of the eternal, by attunement and fidelity to the material. In the terms of Rowan Williams, "if a proper secularism requires faith; if it is to guarantee freedom, this is because a civilized politics must be a politics attuned to the real capacities and dignities of the person." It is the argument of this thesis that the literary imagination, when operating with integrity, mirrors this understanding of the properly secular. A proper secularism is thus defined as both an insistence upon accurate portrayal of the material world in all its variety and difference and, concomitantly, as an honest "holding together" of that difference that can provide an approach to the eternal. It is my contention that four novels, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov; The Middle of the Journey by Lionel Trilling; Roger's Version by John Updike; and Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, each embody and rely upon this understanding of the secular. In so doing, each book pushes beyond the ideology of a century of war and violent imposition. Bulgakov's novel was composed in the heart of Communist Russia; Trilling's novel deals with the lives and ideological biases of Communist sympathizers in America; Pynchon writes from America but about London as it copes with the unitary, impositional ideology of death as signified by the German V-2 rocket in World War II; John Updike, though not overtly concerned with the Cold War in Roger's Version, nonetheless explores the machinery of war in the computer and its language. It is the argument of this dissertation that these novels constitute an answer to the violence of impositional ideology, a counter-arc to the path of the rocket, gravity's impositional rainbow.

My thesis investigates the construction of democratic ideology in classical Athens. Ideology has often provided an alternative tool to formal institutions for the study of Athenian political life. An approach that reconciles institutions and ideology can provide us with a fuller understanding of Athenian democracy. Rather than as a fixed set of ideas, values and beliefs shared by the majority of the Athenians, I argue that Athenian democratic ideology should be seen as the product of a constant process of ideological practice which took place within and was influenced by the institutions of the democracy. My thesis focuses in particular on the construction of shared ideas and beliefs about Athens’ mythical past. Ch. 1 lays down the methodology of my work, which is inspired by the trend in the political sciences known as New Institutionalism. Ch. 2 explores the relationship between myth and Athenian democratic institutions. I show that the Athenians interacted with myth at all levels of their public and private lives, and were thus able to appreciate mythical variants and their potential ideological value. I also show that Athenian democratic institutions were characterised by specific discursive parameters which conditioned the behaviour of Athenian political actors. A comparison between mythical narratives produced for public and private contexts shows that the discursive parameters of Athenian democratic institutions influenced the construction of shared ideas about the mythical past in Athenian public discourse. As proven in Ch. 3-5, the Athenians emphasised different values and mythical variants depending on the institutional settings of the democracy. Ch. 3 analyses the influence of institutions on the values of charis and philanthrōpia in the myth of the Athenian war in defence of the Heraclidae. Ch. 4 explores the use or absence of hybris in accounts of the Attic Amazonomachy produced for public and private contexts. Ch. 5 explores how the myth of autochthony was conceptualised in terms of exclusiveness or collective eugeneia in different Athenian institutions. My research therefore provides a dynamic and multifaceted picture of Athenian democratic ideology, and shows that the Athenian democratic institutions enabled the Athenians to produce multiple and compatible ideas about their mythical past.

Orientador: Francisco Luís Corsi / Banca: João Fábio Bertonha / Banca: Marcos Tadeu Del Roio / Resumo: A presente investigação busca analisar o jornal integralista Acção que circulou entre 1936 a 1938 em São Paulo como manifestação da ideologia integralista na interpretação de alguns aspectos da conjuntura política nacional e internacional do período. A coleção do jornal Acção é uma fonte importante para a análise dos valores preconizados pelos camisas-verdes, além dos livros escritos pelos teóricos da AIB, onde podem ser encontrados elementos ideológicos que evidenciam a compreensão da Ação Integralista Brasileira como manifestação nacional no contexto de ascensão da extrema direita como fenômeno político internacional. / Abstract: The present investigation intends to analyze the newspaper integralist "Acção" that circulated between 1936 to 1938 in São Paulo as manifestation of integralist ideology in the interpretation some aspects of national and international politics state of period. The collection of Action is an important source to analyses of the advocated values for the "camisas-verdes" (green shirt people), beyond the written books by theoretical of AIB, where can be wet ideological elements that show up the understanding of Brazilian Integralist Action as national manifestation in the context of rising of the right extreme as international politics phenomenon. / Mestre

Although Rapunzel criticism habitually concerns literary fairytales, this thesis contributes to the field a sustained examination of the feminist and patriarchal uses to which Rapunzel has been put, with close attention to the range of media, forms, and styles into which ‗Rapunzel‘ has been adapted, from 1970 onwards. It argues that each adaptation appropriates ‗Rapunzel‘ to repeat or disturb gender ideologies, and also extends or contracts the scope of the fairytale and its feminism. Underpinned by memetics, selective adaptation and fairytale theories, and Adrienne Rich‘s concept of ‗re-vision‘, individual chapters focus upon redrawing the boundaries of what makes a (feminist) Rapunzel adaptation a (feminist) Rapunzel adaptation. The thesis also examines the difficult question of why Rapunzel motifs or ‗memes‘ have persisted and whether this is due to the power of cultural ideologies or to certain universal human urges to which ‗Rapunzel‘ ostensibly appeals. As what is meant by feminism changes from the 1970s through to the present day, the selected works are considered in terms of terms of second- and third-wave feminism and postfeminism. Chapter 1 (the Introduction) establishes the approach and rationale. Chapter 2 examines the Grimm ‗Rapunzel‘ variants of 1812 and 1857 as a prelude to examining the ideological uses to which Rapunzel is put post-1970. Chapter 3 focuses on how four feminist poets subject the memes and morals of ‗Rapunzel‘ to different feminist revisions, and thereby challenge the patriarchal meanings invested by the Grimms. Chapter 4 extends this work by examining a feminist moral fable, two complex short stories, a psychological novella, and a graphic novel, in order to draw contrasts between celebratory and darker, more disturbing ‗post-fairytale‘ feminist Rapunzels. Demonstrating the many genres and media into which feminist Rapunzels have been translated, several adapters use the tale on behalf of various kinds of individualism and subjectivisation, and suggest a movement toward greater psychological complexity and interiority in their treatment of Rapunzel memes. Chapter 5 focuses on how Rapunzel memes translate to screen in the feminist reworking Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair (1978) and the postfeminist adaptations Barbie as Rapunzel (2002), Shrek the Third (2007), and Disney‘s Tangled (2010) and Into the Woods (2014). Chapter 6, the final chapter, further extends the analysis by examining Rapunzel‘s general prevalence in the cultural imagination, namely in adverts and on television. By assembling and giving fresh analyses of rare and well-known Rapunzel tales, the chapters critique the gender essentialism in fairytales and reinstate Rapunzel as key to fairytale debate. This research has led to the conclusion that post-1970s Rapunzels exemplify how fairytales appropriate or discard memes in accordance with the possibilities of genre and medium, as well as with the changing face of feminism over the last four decades.

This thesis has examined several of the most recent advances in the theory of ideology. These have developed in the wake of the seminal work of the French Marxist philosopher, Louis Althusser. They have attempted to continue the insights found in Althusser's attack on empiricist epistemoloqy and in his theory of the formation of human subjectivity. The central argument of this thesis is that the theory of ideology, in terms of the "constitution of the subject", is a valuable breakthrough which allows the concept of ideology to be extended beyond its traditional (class) parameters. However, the anti-empiricist epistemology which has removed the object (ie. the material referent) from the theory of ideology, has been a regressive step since it has rendered the whole enterprise idealist. The standpoint of: this thesis is a materialist one which forcefully maintains that the real world is directly implicated in the knowledge produced by social practices. Therefore, the theory of ideology must include a concept of representations of that real world if it is to be fully materialist. This thesis does not explicitly present a materialist theory of ideology. Instead, it examines the theoretical principles of these recent advances and shows how they ultimately degenerate into idealism at crucial points. The thesis then employs some of my empirical interview material and proceeds to show that the concrete application of these theoretical principles also leads to idealist research practices. The thesis concludes by suggesting that there is, nevertheless, something of value in these recent advances which a materialist research practice can incorporate.

<p><p>The aim of this study was to identify and analyze why parents choose independent schools for their children. The survey was carried out using a total survey addressed to all parents with children in three independent schools in a medium-sized municipality. Two of the schools have a specially oriented pedagogy, Waldorf and Montessori while the third school has general direction. Parents were asked to answer questionnaires with closed questions and calls for comments. We found three categories of reasons for the choice, namely the educational motives, social motives and availability. The social motives proved to be the most important but also pedagogical reasons had certain significance when parents searched for an independent school. The parents sought from that the public school the child would belong to had shortcomings. A major reason in this regard was that bullying occurred in the past. Comparisons between parents grouped in different ways shows that it is the differences between the parents at the various schools. When parents are grouped by income and education the difference between the groups are very limited. We cannot find that the parents received any information that they have been able to base their choice of school. Choice seems rational, but unfounded.</p></p> / Education, Rational Elections, School Choice, Private Schools, Effective Schools, Neoliberals, Welfare Criticizer, Ideology

<p><strong>Purpose: </strong></p><ul><li>Which type of social critique does hiphop music present and is it possible to categorize the critique?</li><li>Is it possible to categorize the social critique ideologically on the basis of socialism, liberalism and conservatism?</li></ul><p><strong>Procedure and method: </strong>A qualitative text method has been used to see which arguments the songs portray. Two different analyzes has been used. The first one was a theory based on Thomas Denk and Daniel Silanders book: <em>Att studera demokratisering</em> and Arvidssons book: <em>Musik och politik hör ihop</em> and its purpose were to categorise the critique. The second one was based on a book by Reidar Larssons: <em>Politiska ideologier i vår tid</em>. With the purpose to ideologically classify the critique.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The social critique that was found in the songs where the following: <strong>poverty, education system, ethnicity, racism, elite governing, misused power by the police, welfare, religion, justice system, ghettos and the war on Iraq. The social </strong>critique came from socialism and liberalism. The arguments from socialism where the class society and the critique that came from the liberalisms side was: political power, freedom and harassment from the police. Conservatism was not represented in the songs.     <strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p>

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore and understand how the dominant ideological effect of capitalism has influenced the development of one local ten-year plan to end homelessness in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Ten-year plans to end homelessness were instituted through a national initiative launched by the Bush Administration in 2003. The Allegheny County Homeless Alliance Advisory Board (HAAB) was studied because they were the appointed group held responsible for the implementation of the local plan. The literature review established a context for homelessness and capitalism, exploring how the two concepts are connected. Analysis occurred on multiple levels to reveal power-based constraints in both a local, extralocal, and theoretical context. The study was conducted utilizing an extended case method approach, exploring sociological aspects of capitalist phenomenon utilizing Marxist tradition. Data was gathered during open ended interviews with HAAB members, participant observation of meetings, field notes, and within document analysis of three years of quarterly meetings. The study revealed an association between submerged and tightly interwoven internal and external systems of control as exerted by the local governmental body responsible for implementing the group's plan. Secondary outcomes indicated that there were increased levels of awareness and communication among the diverse membership of the HAAB. Furthermore, the data illustrated that internal networks and relationships had spawned transformative actions outside of the institutionalized governmental structure of the group. The theoretical findings in this dissertation indicate that Marxism can be reconstructed and extended to better explain the dehumanizing effects of capitalism. The research suggests that praxical transformation of embedded capitalist-driven social relationships can be initiated through a cyclical process of reflection, evaluation, education, and critical discourse. Furthermore, empowering and educating group participants to carry out plan implementation through democratically-informed consensus building processes may be more effective than bureaucratic-led, state-run, government-driven approaches to ending homelessness. Expanded research focusing on how capitalism influences interpersonal relationships and corresponding institutional structures is needed to better reveal unjust power-based relationships that defeat the purpose of plans to eradicate homelessness and poverty. / Dissertation Chair: Dr. Harvey Holtz (Retired) Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Melanie Hildebrandt and Dr. Thomas VanDyke

In the 1960’s, the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota developed target costing – a management accounting model that reduces the risk of releasing unprofitable products. The method eventually spread to Swedish firms. The study starts by summing recent previous research on target costing in Sweden (full description of these studies is available in Appendix I). Looking at this research, it is noted that there is an inconsistency with regards to what principles of target costing are used, and which are not. It is also noted that some firms are claimed to be used target costing and some firms are claimed not to be using it. No study, however, has tried to find an explanation to why some principles are implemented and why some are not. This is also the theoretical contribution of this thesis. More specifically, the research problems are therefore: (1) is target costing really implemented in a different way in Sweden as compared to Japan and (2), if so, why are there differences? It is further assumed that ideology could be a good explaining variable for the possible differences in implementation. In answering the first question, target costing is firstly described according to well-known books and articles on the subject. Following normative description, a presentation is made how target costing has been employed in Sweden. Secondary data based on three quantative studies is used here. These two descriptions are then contrasted against each other and it is found that target costing is implemented in a different way as compared to normative Japanese literature. Next, the second question is answered by constructing a theoretical framework based on ideological- and managerial assumptions of Japan and Sweden, respectively. This framework is then used to try to explain the differences mentioned above. Through the analysis it is observed that the Swedes’ lower priority of financial goal as well as their orientation towards the future are often used to explain the differences. These two aspects are also two of the main differences between Swedish and Japanese ideologies. It is therefore concluded that the differences might be explained using ideological assumptions, although there are probably other important factors as well. An implication of the result is that it is questionable whether target costing even will reach popularity in Sweden. Finally, it is also concluded that Likert-scales are not usefil when measuring target costing implementation

In this thesis, I examine the domestication of the Gothic hero-villain in Charlotte Brontës Jane Eyre, Emily Brontës Wuthering Heights, and Anne Brontës The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Each of these novels features a powerful Gothic figure who finds himself physically and emotionally subject to the heroine. This subjection is closely linked to the passing away of that hero-villains Gothic masculinity and his conversion to or replacement by domestic, middle-class masculinity. I argue that the larger social shift from gentry and aristocratic authority in eighteenth-century British society to the entrenchment of domestic, middle-class ideology in the Victorian period and the accompanying shift from an elite to a bourgeois model of masculinity are largely responsible for the subjection, and conversion or supplanting, of these Gothic hero-villains. <p>This social-historical framework also allows me to examine these male characters from a masculinist perspective. Much recent Brontë criticism has been feminist in nature, and these analyses fail to do justice to the novels male characters, usually examining them only in relation to the heroine or indeed casting them as feminized figures, especially when their masculinity is perceived to be unconventional. By looking at effects of the shift from elite to domestic masculinity, I offer a more nuanced analysis of these male characters and how they navigate changing expectations of masculinity. <p>I conclude that though these novels follow a similar pattern, which seems to reify domestic ideology, each Brontë supports this ideology to a different degree. This problematization of ideology has a long tradition in the Gothic novel, which is frequently ambivalent and can be used for either revolutionary or reactionary ends. Charlotte and Anne Brontë defeat the Gothic and gentry masculinity of their hero-villains, making way for the domestic man. Along the way, Charlotte Brontë creates a marriage that is both domestic and radically equal; Anne Brontë critiques the dictates of domestic ideology before finally reifying it. Most interestingly, Emily Brontë allows Heathcliff to die unrepentant and haunt the closing pages of Wuthering Heights. Of the three sisters, Emily Brontë most strongly resists domestic ideology and masculinity in her treatment of the Gothic hero-villain.