The present thesis examines the fraught relationship between the sixteenth-century formulations of the theories of sovereign violence, tyranny and usurpation and the manifestations of these ideas on the contemporary English stage. The thesis will attempt to trace an evolution of the poetics of English and Scottish political drama through the early, middle, and late decades of the sixteenth-century in conjunction with developments in the political thought of the century, linking theatre and politics through the representations of the problematic figure of the usurper or, in Machiavellian terms, the ‘New Prince'. I will demonstrate that while the early Tudor morality plays are concerned with the legitimate monarch who becomes a tyrant, the later historical and tragic drama of the century foregrounds the figure of the illegitimate monarch who is a tyrant by default. On the one hand the sudden proliferation of usurpation plots in Elizabethan drama and the transition from the legitimate tyrant to the usurper tyrant is linked to the dramaturgical shift from the allegorical morality play tradition to later history plays and tragedies, and on the other it is reflective of a poetic turn in political thought which impelled political writers to conceive of the state and sovereignty as a product of human ‘poiesis', independent of transcendental legitimization. The poetics of political drama and the emergence of the idea of ‘poiesis' in the political context merge in the figure of the nuove principe: the prince without dynastic claims who creates his sovereignty by dint of his own ‘virtu' and through an act of law-making violence.

Scholars have examined visuality, or cultural modes of sight, in the ancient Mediterranean, especially in Greece and Rome. Their work has revealed how ancient sight operated differently. However, the Etruscans have been absent from these studies, likely due to the dearth of extant texts describing vision and its mechanics in Etruscan. This dissertation examines objects that harness an artifactual vision. These include faces of various forms, including face antefixes, bucchero face appliqués, and the surfaces of Etruscan black-figure pottery that integrate the contour eye motif. By considering of their modes of making, their visual impact on their surrounding spaces, and prevailing decorative conventions, this project argues that a fraction of a larger, more complex Archaic Etruscan visuality can be reconstructed. This approach acknowledges the ability for representations of the visible world to recursively influence it. From this perspective, the collected body of objects that gaze at the human world actively participate in shaping it.

This paper describes my research project and body of work, which investigates social inequalities through the different language and functions of everyday objects. The research moves on from my previous Honours research project on the dou ble nature of caravan parks in NSW and looked at the changing demographics of these locations. I noted the increase of semi-permanent, residential 'homes' for low income earners and the unemployed, in these holiday locations. This paper examines broader social issues of homelessness and social inequalities within our society. I look at the complexities in the definitions of homelessness and the ways in which people find themselves in the position where they rely on welfare agencies and government support. I also investigate different representations of homelessness by artists and other social commentators, ranging from the hopeless victim to the vagrant. This section locates my social concerns with the context of theoretical debate and artistic representation. I have used everyday and mundane objects in my artworks to discuss these social concerns. Everyday objects posses a language and commonality that is familiar to all members of society. This language is developed from the different historical, cultural and functional qualities that everyday objects possess. I discus this in relation to the development of the everyday object in artistic practices from the early 20th century to today. Of specifically importance to my practice is the influence of contemporary German artists and their manipulation of objects to make works with political and social content. Throughout this paper I have discussed individual art works which illustrate my social concerns and the practicalities of the everyday. Revealing how I juxtapose certain objects to question the uneven nature of travel and home, with regards to possessions and mobility. Additionally I challenge the normal functions of objects to reveal new absurd possibilities of use.

The thesis attempts to analyse the František Hrubín's poetry in which the parallels with The Scripture or biblical themes could be found. The thesis sorts discovered themes to those that can and to those that cannot be analyzed with the Scripture. The important findings is whether the discovered themes can be essentially marked as biblical or if they are used also with the other meaning by the author. Partical objective is the finding of identical themes in the other authors pieces and comparing them with the themes of František Hrubín. The thesis looks for the connections between the subjects, themes or with the author's writing itself or his contemporaries.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

AFRICAN LANGUAGES / MA (AFRICAN LANGUAGES)

Text in Afrikaans / Die doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel hoe die Afrikaner in literere tekste van die veertiger- en tagtigerjare uitgebeeld word, en of 'n vaste beskouing oor die begrip Afrikanerskap by die skrywers van die verskillende tekste bestaan. Omdat die verhouding tussen die gekose tekste en die geskiedenis telkens ondersoek is, is die Nuwe Historisistiese benadering as geskikte teoretiese model gevolg. Waar hierdie benadering die klem op die realiteit plaas, stel die lmagologie die beeld voorop, en die lmagologiese werkswyse is dus aanvullend gevolg. Omdat die tekste van veertig hoofsaaklik as koloniale literatuur beskou kan word, en die tekste van tagtig as postkoloniaal van aard, is die koloniale en postkoloniale literatuur in Afrikaans kortliks ondersoek. Die studie het verder gepoog om deeglik verkenning van die begrippe Afrikaner en Afrikanerskap te doen aan die hand van verskillende narratiewe tekste wat nie noodwendig literer van aard is nie. Alhoewel daar by die herlees van die vier en twintig literere tekste van die veertigerjare gevind is dat die tekste hoofsaaklik nog as koloniale literatuur beskou kan word, is die interessante insig verwerf dat sekere tekste wat nie deel van die kanon vorm nie, 'n ander realiteit oor die Afrikaner en oor Afrikanerskap aan die leser voorhou as wat tradisioneel die geval was. So is byvoorbeeld bevind dat die strukture wat die Afrikanermaghebber sedert die veertigerjare geskep het, die belange van die Afrikanerdom moes dien. Deur die herlees van die tekste kon die gegewe opnuut ge'interpreteer word en kon nodige aanpassings dus by aanvaarde opvattings gemaak word. Die ondersoek het verder aan die lig gebring dat veral die tekste uit die tagtigerjare verruimend ingewerk het op bestaande, geykte opvattinge oor die Afrikaner en Afrikanerskap en dat sulke opvattinge deur die tekste ondermyn, ontluister of bloot ontken word. Ten slotte het dit duidelik geword dat daar geen eensydige of stabiele betekenis oor die begrippe Afrikaner en van Afrikanerskap uit die verskillende tekste afgelei kon word nie / The purpose of this study was to determine how the Afrikaner was depicted in the literary texts of the forties and the eighties, and to determine whether the authors of the different texts expresses fixed views of the concept Afrikanerskap. As the relationship between the chosen texts and history had been investigated several times, the New Historisistic approach was adopted as a suitable theoretical model. As this approach places the emphasis on reality, and the lmagology sees the image as the most important, lmagological procedures were used additionally. Because the texts of the forties can be seen as mainly colonial of nature and the texts of the eighties as post colonial, the colonial and post colonial literature in Afrikaans was briefly investigated. The study further attempted to thoroughly investigate the concepts Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap with reference to different narrative texts which are not necessarily literary of nature. Although the rereading of twenty four literary texts of the forties confirms that the texts could mainly be seen as colonial literature, the interesting conclusion was made that certain texts not included in the canon gave the reader another reality of Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap than was traditionally the case. It was found, for example, that structures created by Afrikaner authorities since the forties were created to serve the needs of the Afrikanerdom. The rereading of these specific texts led to new interpretations and the necessary adaptations could be done to previously accepted views. The research further indicated that texts from the eighties especially had a broadening effect on existing hackneyed conceptions of Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap and that such views are undermined, clouded or simply ignored by the texts. In conclusion it became clear that no onesided or static interpretation of the concepts Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap could be derived from the different texts / Afrikaans & Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Afrikaans)

Thesis (MA)- Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In fulfilment of the degree of Magister in Creative Writing: Afrikaans, a novel titled Sirkus (Circus) is presented in which the main character figures as an idiot. It is accompanied by a perspicacious formal essay which maintains the relationship between theory and novel. The essay titled "Die idioot: spieël en skadu" (The idiot: mirror and shadow) reflects on the problematics concerning the representation of the idiot in literary texts. The essay investigates the phenomenon of the idiot in literature according to well-known literary texts presenting idiots. What these texts have in common is that the narrator acts on behalf of a character who does not have the ability nor the will to narrate himself. The problematics is viewed from a thematic as well as writing technique niveaux, according to insights gleaned from literature, philosophy, narratology and psychology. The argument concludes by reflecting on the responsibility of the author and the ethics of creating an effigy of the idiot. The novel Sirkus, (Circus), focuses on an idiot character with webbed hands and feet, Siegfried Landman. It is an exposition of his journey to hell starting on a farm in the Karoo. It takes him through a grotesque urban landscape where he eventually ends up in a circus of freaks. The text starts with the death of Siegfried's father and is in the form of a quest narrative, a quest for the vague image of his uncle Fischer. The tale emanates predominantly from Siegfried's consciousness. During the course of the text he is accompanied by varioius travelling companions who each fmd a voice in the text. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING Ter vervulling van die graad van Magister in Kreatiewe Afrikaanse skryfkunde is 'n roman getiteld Sirkus voorgelê waarin die hoofkarakter 'n idiotefiguur is. Dit word vergesel met 'n verbandhoudende beskoulike werkstuk: "Die idioot: spieël en skadu", wat die vorm aanneem van 'n essay oar die problematiek rondom die representasie van die idioot in literêre tekste. In die werkstuk word die verskynsel van die idioot in die letterkunde ondersoek aan die hand van bekende literêre tekste waarin idiotefigure gerepresenteer word. Hierdie tekste het dit gemeen dat die verteller optree namens 'n karakter wat nie die vermoë óf die wil het om self te vertel nie. Die problematiek word beskou op tematiese sowel as skryftegniese vlakke aan die hand van insigte uit die letterkunde, filosofie, narratologie en sielkunde. Die argument sluit uiteindelik af met 'n besinning oor die skrywerlike verantwoordelikheid en 'n skrywerlike etiek ten opsigte van die uitbeelding van die idioot. Die roman Sirkus fokus op 'n idiote-karakter met gewebde hande en voete, Siegfried Landman. Dit is 'n uitbeelding van sy hellevaart wat begin op 'n plaas in die Karoo en hom voer deur 'n groteske stadslandskap voor hy uiteindelik opeindig in 'n sirkus van fratse. Die teks begin met die dood van Siegfried se vader en is in die vorm van 'n soektognarratief, 'n soektog na die vae beeld van sy oom Fischer. Die verhaal word grotendeels vanuit Siegfried se bewussyn vertel. Hy word deur die verloop van die teks vergesel deur verskeie reisgenote wat elk ook 'n eie stem in die teks verkry.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Please refer to full text for abstract

Thesis (MA (Visual Arts))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.