Thesis (M.A.P.S.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-42).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-168).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-170).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 2001. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-170).

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka varför människor ansluter sig till sekter genom att studera vad aktuellforskning säger om ämnet. Detta har gjorts främst ur en psykologisk och sociologisk synvinkel. De vetenskapligaverk som har studerats är skrivna avforskarna Peter Åkerbäck, Håkan Järvå och Anton Geels. Dessaverkhar jämförts med teorier av Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman och Abraham Maslow. Resultatet blev att frågeställningarnainte går att besvara på ett simplifierat sätt, utan anledningen till att människor ansluter sig till sekter ligger på ett djupt sociologiskt och psykologiskt plan, som bottnar ien konsekvens av samhällets fragmentisering och individualisering. Studien efterlyser en kombination av olika perspektiv.

This thesis attempts to demarcate the use of the term “racism” by looking at two of main accounts of what the word means. The first, individualism, defines racism as normally meaning an individual act or attitude of antipathy or apathy towards a person on the basis of their perceived race. The second, structuralism, defines racism as normally meaning the various beliefs, ideologies, laws, and actions that a cultural group participates in as caused by the structures of society which negatively affect a racialized group. I believe that neither of these accounts can adequately define nor address racism. As is shown in chapter III, many of the critiques made against individualism do not adequately answer the major structuralist concerns, but, as is shown in chapter IV, the same can be said for individualist critiques of structuralism. As I show in chapter V, each of them address an important aspect of racism, but fail when they attempt to entirely address it. Both act as a useful evaluative lens, but I will argue that we should be able to use both, rather than have to explain one by using the other / Thesis / Master of Philosophy (MA) / This Thesis discusses individualist and structuralist accounts of racism in an attempt to bridge the two. Many people have discussed this topic in the past 20 years, but nearly all do it from one of these two camps. I propose that we allow for both account to be used in tandom, rather than using one account to explain situations and aspects of situations better explained by the other account.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis is concerned with the definition of an inclusive democratic educational theory and practice which mediates the assumed tension between individualism and collectivism, difference and equality, and liberty and equality. In Part 1, I set out the elements of an inclusive theory of democracy and then proceed in Part 2 to examine various aspects of educational practice in the light of this. My main claim is that these assumed tensions can be mediated through the conceptualising of our composite identity in terms of the notion of dual social ontology. This refers to our two-fold identities as universal, common human beings and our multiple subjective positions as particular, different individuating beings. Together, these two aspects of our identity constitute the basis for conceptualising our simultaneous commonality and difference and for an inclusive notion of democracy. I argue further that the key to understanding the intersection of commonality and difference in social relations and institutional practices is the concept of the spheres of social relations and their constitutive meanings. The latter provide the criterion by which we can judge the appropriateness of difference or equality in that sphere or in practices which relate to it. In the light of these concepts, I trace the ideological contestation at the heart of democratic theory between liberalism and socialism. My claim is that the mutual limitations of these theories preclude constructing an inclusive theory of democracy which incorporates collective equality and individual liberty in a non-polarised way. I argue that the tension between individualism and collectivism can be mediated by analysing these cluster concepts into non-polarised simpler elements. My main contention is that only self-interested individualism, which assumes individuals as atomistic self-seekers, is necessarily in conceptual conflict with collectivism. The other two elements of individualism which I identify, namely, individuality, our universal common identity as bearers of rights, and individuation, the process of self-development through the expression of the unique difference, are shown to be compatible with collective concerns and the social view of human identity. Together, I suggest, individuality and individuation constitute our dual social ontology and the foundation for moral regard and an inclusive theory of democracy which accommodates difference and commonality. During the discussion, I draw from several theorists who provide inclusive frameworks in terms of the social, dialogical view of human nature and identity formation and who combine contemporary concerns for pluralism and critical social transformation. I examine the conceptual link between education and democracy through the educative notion of democracy and education for democracy. Critical educational theory is explored as an exemplar of an inclusive democratic educational practice incorporating individual and collective dimensions. The dynamics of commonality and difference are traced in key aspects of the educational process, namely, moral development, learning and the relationship between authority and freedom, and with regard to the democratisation of schooling, the appropriate boundary between the spheres of education and of politics, distributive justice in education and the curriculum. I argue throughout that the discursive tool of dual social ontology, along with the concept of the spheres of social relations and their constitutive meanings, provides the conceptual framework by which these tensions can be mediated and incorporated in an inclusive democratic educational theory and practice.

The aim of this essay is to analyze the concept of rugged individualism in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. This paper will also examine the American Dream since rugged individualism is related to the American Dream. Marxist criticism problematizes rugged individualism and the American Dream. The title character Jay Gatsby is portrayed as an exemplary rugged individualist. Gatsby shows several traits of rugged individualism and he can be used as a representative for both rugged individualism and the American Dream.

Care for old people is a particular concern in ageing societies. In Taiwan, traditional collective cultures encourage collective practice, including informal family care of elderly people. However, social change is modifying traditional values and behaviours, leading some commentators identify a western style of individualism on this change. This thesis explores how Taiwanese young adult grandchildren and their grandparents interpret ’collectivism’ and ‘individualism’ and think about or draw on these value systems in familial interactions. This was achieved through in-depth individual interviews with 20 pairs of college-aged grandchildren and their grandparents living in different locations and family households. The research questions mainly focus on three areas. Firstly, how perceptions of the role, and the attached expectations of being a grandchild construct contemporary grandchildren’s understandings of their orientations to their families. Secondly, how grandchildren interpret traditional and what they understand imported individualistic value systems and how these operate on personal and family lives. Lastly, how the two generations, grandparents and grandchildren, perceive transformation of Taiwanese society and family, particularly their views of the effects of domestic-demographics and wider structural changes on the grandparent-grandchild relationship over time. How grandchildren viewed collectivism and individualism and reported their behaviours towards the grandparent generation was both as expected in terms of the results of previous research and contained some unexpected outcomes. According to the interviewees, being more individualistic is responsible for causing distance between family members, whereas possessing more collective perspectives encourages more communal considerations for common benefit. However, grandchild informants acknowledged benefits of individualistic concepts and use them to rationalise intergenerational flows that do not follow tradition, arguing that personal considerations themselves are able to contribute more collective practices. Interestingly, the expressed views of the grandchild generation reverse commonly perceived negative impacts of individualistic concepts on collective interests. Critically, the youth in Taiwan still regards themselves as being primarily guided by collective-based doctrines, by indicating how traditional Chinese values are still prioritised. Meanwhile, the concepts of individualism are placed as complementary principles by the grandchildren, although they and their grandparents had identified some negative effects of individualistic-led tendencies in their society and families.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, with China's remarkable success in economic developments and greater openness to the outside world, two sharply opposing views of China have appeared in the Western perception of China - a rising superpower as well as a threat to the West, economically, militarily and environmentally. The West, particularly the US and Britain fears that China is likely to take advantage of its growing economic and geopolitical influence in order to change the world's power pattern. Within such a social context, this thesis sets out to explore if the old concepts of Orientalism on China has ever changed in modern times and how the modern images China and the Chinese are framed in the contemporary British news media. It is carried out through four cases – Chinese migration, Hong Kong handover (1997), Tibet issue and Sichuan Great Earthquake (2008). More specifically, the thesis examines: how the two dominating masterframes – ethno-nationalist and liberal individualist masterframes coexist or compete with each other in the reporting; and what the differences are between newspapers in terms of frame choice and the ratio of struggle between two frames. The study implies that the old Orientalist stereotypes, such as ‘Yellow Peril', which were used to describe China and the Chinese have not often appeared in the recent British news media representations in the selected four cases. Instead, the liberal individualist views have been widely and deeply embedded in the British news reporting, criticising China being essentially a Communist dictatorship as opposed to Western democracy. Additionally, the relations between two masterframes appear in three forms – coexistence or intertwining, supporting each other, and struggle.