Thesis (M.L.A.) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.

<p> This thesis aims to study stand-up comedies as an oral and humoristic performance in today&rsquo;s French society. In the sense that these shows are mainly produced by minorities, often from Maghrebi descendants, this work asks the ethno racial question within France&rsquo;s boundaries. Based on oral tradition and humor theories, the author wondered in what ways stand-up comedies as oral productions could unveil the realities and concerns of modern French society.</p><p> The author chooses to focus her analysis on the current show <i> Comte de Bouderbala</i> by Sami Ameziane, a young French comedian of Algerian descendants and whose show addresses current issues, such as immigration, identity, or the political and educational French systems.</p><p> To answer her original question, the author divides this work in two main parts: &ldquo;Performance&rdquo; and &ldquo;Humor&rdquo;, both of which are the two main components of stand-up comedies. These elements are analyzed separately, sometimes from the perspective of the performer and the production, other times from the perspective of the spectators and the reception.</p><p> After isolating the performance aspect from the humoristic one, the author concludes that several analysis points overlap, such as the statements and messages transmitted during those performances, as well as the temporary reversal of the social power and the social recognition obtained thanks to those representations. Stand-up comedies, and more specifically <i>Comte de Bouderbala,</i> can be seen as a reflection of and about modern French society. A society that seems to refuse to admit the controversial situation, at its heart, in which ethno racial minorities &ndash; especially the Beur minority &ndash; find themselves.</p>

<p> Simply stated, steampunk literature is a hybrid genre of allohistory in steam-based science fiction that analyzes the restrictions and marginalizations found in the social issues of the Victorian period. This dissertation argues the allohistoric reconstructions in young adult steampunk didactically suggest that the power to change the future is in the hands of the individual who is able to personally alter the restrictions placed upon him or her by the social ideals of the Victorian period. In other words, protagonists of young adult steampunk consciously act against the restrictions of their past in order to create a different future for themselves, and hopefully others. The dissertation is divided into two distinct sections: the first examines how history and allohistory are presented within all types of children's and young adult literature; the second presents the ways in which steampunk elements found in allohistory interact with the presentation of factual historical social concepts while interacting with the past, present, and future. Furthermore, this dissertation argues that steampunk illustrates the effects each part of history (the past, present, and future) has on itself, so that one cannot be separated from the other, as demonstrated in Scott Westerfeld's <i> Leviathan</i> trilogy (2009&ndash;2011), Philip Pullman's <i>His Dark Materials</i> (1995&ndash;2001), and Philip Reeve's <i>Predator Cities</i> quartet (2001&ndash;2006). Finally, this dissertation argues that steampunk maintains that history is not doomed to repeat itself if the present takes note of the restrictions of the past and applies them towards changing the future. In doing so, this dissertation helps to relieve an obvious gap in literary steampunk criticism while defining the ways steampunk fits within the children's and young adult literary landscape.</p>

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Government and Binding Theory dictates that the case features of noun phrases are assigned structurally under government. On this basis the claim by Ibn Mada'al-Qurtubi, in The Refutation of the Grammarians, that case is assigned solely by the language user on strictly semantic grounds, is rejected; also untenable, however, is the position of traditional Arab grammarians that case can, in some contexts, be assigned by "concealed" governors, as the Projection and Structure-Preserving Principles require that material having semantic content be visible at all levels of representation. Government and Binding principles are adequate to account for case-assignment in the issues raised by Ibn Mada'; they cannot, however, offer a clear solution to the apparent violation of Principle C of the Binding Theory found in some examples of bab al-tanazuᶜ, the category of "contention in government".

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Utilizing film and feminist theory, traditional histories of Germany and America as well as primary source material, this paper's interdisciplinary approach exposes traditional misconceptions regarding the exiled nature of the Weimar émigrés filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Through the construct of the New Woman, or the vamp, this paper explores the emigration to America and the ways in which it affected the filmmaking which had characterized Weimar cinema, while illustrating the changing perceptions of women through the 1920s-1940s. 1930s America would prove to be a short lived period wherein the émigré community was able to craft films which departed from the typical Weimar trope of the vamp, featuring prominent and sympathetic female characters. / Pendant l'âge or d'Hollywood, il y avait nombreuses cinéastes émigrés du Weimar – réalisateurs, écrivains, acteurs, techniciens – émigrés qui avaient changé leurs méthodes cinématographiques, et, du quelque part, avaient aussi changé des méthodes d'Hollywood. La littérature populaire sur le sujet de cette période est pleine des références de la caractère d'exile de ces cinéastes, mais, même si cette caractèrisation peut s'appliquer sur certaines de ces cinéastes, il est trop simplistique pour la totalité de la communauté des émigrés. L'approche intérdisciplinaire de cette thèse, en utilisant des théories féministes, des théories de filmes, des histoires traditionelles d'Allemagne et des États Unis, ainsi que des matériaux primaires, sert à exposer les histoires fausses des cinéastes émigrés du Weimar en Hollywood. En regardant la caractère de la Femme Nouvelle en cette période, on peut simultanément tracer la trajet de ces émigrés et leurs idées entre Weimar et Hollywood, ainsi qu'utiliser la cinématographie nationale de ces deux pays comme une lentille en analysant les perceptions changeant des femmes. La traitement vindictive des femmes, un élément caractéristique des filmes du Weimar, était abandonné en les États Unis en les années 1930. Cette période avait furni des opportunités pour la communauté des émigrés de s'éloigner de ces tropes, en fabriquant des films avec des caractères feminines qui étaient fortes et sympathiques.

This master's thesis aims to understand how Paul Claudel, in the writing and rewritings of Partage de Midi, tries at once to tell the story he lived, as well as integrate thoughts on his experience and his poetic conceptions on language and society. To do so, we look at the play from two perspectives: first, we analyze the first version, which corresponds to the first emotions of the poet towards the drama. Then, we examine the second and third rewritings, which come as a response to the first one. We demonstrate how language in Partage de Midi confirms the poetic evolution of Claudel. In order to grasp this process, the study focuses on two points: the dialogues of the rivals and of the lovers, and the stage directions. We also try to pull out examples of the presence of the author's voice within the play. Moreover, we draw a parallel between the analysis of Partage de Midi and Claudel's Art poétique, an important work in which he explains his visions of the world. / Ce mémoire de maîtrise cherche à comprendre de quelles manières Paul Claudel, dans l'écriture et la réécriture de Partage de Midi, a à la fois raconter le drame vécu et intégrer les réflexions sur sa propre expérience ainsi que ses conceptions poétiques et ses visions sur le langage et son époque. Pour ce faire, nous étudions l'œuvre en deux étapes, d'abord l'analyse de la première version, qui correspond aux premières émotions face au drame, puis l'analyse des deuxième et troisième versions, qui se posent en réponse à la première. Nous démontrons que le langage dans Partage de Midi affirme une évolution poétique du poète. Pour saisir ce processus, nous consacrons l'analyse à deux objets, les dialogues des rivaux et des amants et les didascalies. Nous tentons également de dégager des exemples de la présence de la parole du dramaturge à l'intérieur du texte dramatique. De plus, nous rattachons l'analyse de Partage de Midi à L'Art poétique de Claudel, œuvre importante qui expose sa conception du monde.