薩爾曼•魯希迪的《摩爾人的最後嘆息》運用想像與史實描繪出一個印度家族的故事。這個四代家族所經歷的時間橫跨整個二十世紀，一般說來在這個世紀前半部分大多數國家經歷了殖民統治與帝國主義，而在後半部分則面臨去殖民與國家主義的風潮。因此，書中論及的這些殖民與後殖民的經驗也引發了一些重要的議題，像是混雜、多元文化，和國家主義。霍米•巴巴提出‘閾限空間’這個概念有助於對這本小說做深入的評價與賞析，特別是能促進對以上三個議題更深入而具體的認知。霍米•巴巴將許多概念納入‘閾限空間’這個總括性術語的討論範圍，因此本論文將從中擷取三個概念來論述這本小說，分別是混雜、文化差異、及國家意識。 本論文的導論先闡釋霍米•巴巴‘閾限空間’這個概念並且發掘魯希迪這本小說中許多重要的後殖民議題。這些議題與‘閾限空間’ 這個概念的關係密不可分，因此這個概念所延伸論及的理論便可用於理解並賞析這本小說。接下來的三章將分別以混雜、文化差異、及國家意識來發掘並建立《摩爾人的最後嘆息》與‘閾限空間’這概念之間的關係。第二章將藉由霍米•巴巴對殖民者與被殖民者之間的矛盾關係的論述進而深入理解小說中意欲呈現的殖民混雜與後殖民混雜。這種矛盾的關係理論上與他者化的過程有關聯，在這過程中身分認同與主體化不論是在後殖民理論還是此本小說中都是值得商榷的議題。第三章利用霍米•巴巴的‘文化差異’來重新檢視並且重新定義所謂的多元文化。魯希迪在小說中巧妙地將現在的印度重疊在過去由摩爾人統治的西班牙之上，這種後殖民的羊皮紙影像便可藉由文化差異與多元文化的概念得到更具體的意義。此外，閾限空間也是一種不同文化的接觸地帶，這樣的中介地域也有助於理解魯希迪在流行文化與高等文化間所採的折衷主義。第四章則著重於探討霍米•巴巴如何發展閾限空間與國家意識的理論關係，還有國家與敘事之間的關係。此章也將利用國家與敘事的關係來理解魯希迪是如何在這本小說中運用許多文學技巧在小說世界中重構國家形象，尤其是文本互涉的材料與歷史的指涉這樣的技巧。 最後的總論將重申在本論文中提及的一些重要的論點，藉由重申這些論點來總結論文提及的一些重要概念的大意，並且讓魯希迪的《摩爾人的最後嘆息》與巴巴的‘閾限空間’這個文本與理論相互闡釋並佐證的關係更為清楚。 / Salman Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh delineates, fictively and historically, a family saga in India. The four-generation family approximately spans the twentieth century that, generally speaking, has gone through colonization and imperialism in the first half as well as de-colonization and nationalism in the second half. Accordingly, they bring forth a few significant issues, such as hybridity, multiculturalism, and nationalism. Homi Bhabha’s idea of ‘liminal space’ is conducive to the evaluation of the novel, and expressly to the discussion of the above three concepts in a more specific way. He subsumes a lot of ideas under the umbrella term ‘liminal space’, so this thesis is to extract three ideas—hybridity, cultural difference, and nationness—to elaborate on the novel. The introductory chapter expounds Bhabha’s idea of ‘liminal space’ and also explores a few post-colonial issues in the novel. The issues in question are related to Bhabha’s idea of ‘liminal space’, from which some key ideas are derived so as to appreciate the fictional world Rushdie constructs in the novel. The following three chapters are respectively based on the three liminality-related ideas, whereby to find the relation of the novel with Bhabha’s ‘liminal space’. The second chapter is to obtain a deeper apprehension of colonial and post-colonial hybridity through Bhabha’s argumentation concerning the ambivalent relationship between colonizer and colonized. The ambivalent relationship is theoretically associated with the othering process. In the process, identification and subjectification are moot questions not only in post-colonial theory but in the novel as well. The third chapter is intended to make use of Bhabha’s idea of ‘cultural difference’ to review and redefine what the word ‘multiculturalism’ is like. In turn, it helps to shed much more light upon Rushdie’s palimpsesting modern India over Moorish Spain. In addition, liminal space refers to a contact zone of cultural difference that elucidates Rushdie’s eclecticism between popular culture and high culture in the novel. The fourth chapter is to discuss the way Bhabha colligates liminal space and the idiolect ‘nationness’ and the way he relates the idea of nation to narration. The relationship between nation and narration is applied to the understanding of how Rushdie utilizes literary techniques, especially intertextual materials and historical allusions, for a re-construction of a nation in a fictional world. The conclusive chapter is to reiterate some important arguments that are germane to the above key concepts and to the reciprocal clarification between Bhabha’s ‘liminal space’ and Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh.

Cette thèse de sociologie qualitative porte sur les pratiques et les significations des aménagements de l’habitat chez des couples d’individus nouvellement retraités et issus du « Baby-Boom ». Elle rend compte des dynamiques - socio-historiques, identitaires et corporelles, relationnelles et de mode de vie - qui modèlent l’expérience du « vieillir » et de l’ « habiter » de ces individus, et ce, dans une double temporalité : dans le temps présent, à travers les aménagements réalisés et/ou projetés à court terme ; dans l’avenir, à travers les aménagements réalisés par anticipation des risques liés à la vieillesse et/ou projetés à long terme. Les résultats de cette thèse montrent, d’une part, que les aménagements de l’habitat et leurs pratiques afférentes constituent les « supports » d’une transition dans le parcours de vie, pour des « êtres vieillissants sans être vieux » qui arrivent à la retraite et en même temps, au dernier tiers de leur vie. Dans le même mouvement, ils montrent comment les liens et les activités diverses de « pivots générationnels » nouvellement retraités façonnent leur habitat et leur façon d’habiter en début de retraite. D’autre part, les résultats de cette thèse donnent à voir une approche « endogène » de l’adaptation de l’habitat, à l’heure où cette question constitue un enjeu essentiel pour les pouvoirs publics et pour les individus. Cette recherche montre sur ce point comment des Baby-Boomers font preuve, via l’aménagement de leur habitat, d’un empowerment notable au sujet de leur vieillissement présent et à venir, afin de vivre et de vieillir « bien » et si possible, chez eux. Les résultats exposés donnent aussi à penser le potentiel du « confort » pour accompagner les individus issus des générations du Baby-Boom dans la prévention des risques de l’avenir et la préparation de leur vieux jours. En même temps, cette recherche invite à réfléchir à certains freins liés aujourd’hui (encore) à ces questions, tels qu’un imaginaire de la vieillesse profondément négatif, que certaines images et messages véhiculés continuent de nourrir. / This thesis of qualitative sociology is about practices and meanings of home’s adaptations made by newly retired couples of Baby Boomers. It reports various dynamics – sociological, historical, physical or of identity, relationship and lifestyle - that shape the experience of "ageing" and the "housing" of these individuals, and this in two different time frames : in the present, through realized and /or short-term planned developments; in the future, through the developments made by anticipation of risks linked to the ageing and/or long-term projection. The results of this thesis show, first of all, that the adaptation of housing and related practices constitute some "supports" for this transition in the life course, and for "ageing but not old yet” people coming to retirement and entering the “last third of their life”. In the same time, they show how the relationships and the various activities of newly retired "generational pillars" shape their habitat and way of living in the early retirement period. On the other hand, the results of this thesis give to see an "endogenous" approach to adaptation of housing, at a time when this issue is a major challenge for governments and individuals. Regarding this point of view, this research demonstrates how Baby Boomers show, through the development of their habitat, a significant empowerment about their present and future ageing in order to live and age "good" and if possible, at home. The exposed results also suggest the potential of "comfort" in order to help Baby Boomers in the process of risk’s prevention, for the future and the preparation of their old years. At the same time, this research encourages to think about the obstacles that still exist on these questions, such as the deep negative perception of aging, that certain popular images and messages continue to feed.

This dissertation presents a conceptual bricolage that explores complex, reflexive, and interrelated dimensions of educational praxes. My work is grounded in the assertion that the ever-changing, local-global nature of contemporary societies requires new approaches to curricula, pedagogies, policies, and practices in U.S. schools to meet the challenges and opportunities of a global era. Presenting my research and findings as four articles, I begin with a dialectical analysis of theoretical and pedagogical literatures to develop an adaptable framework for decolonial multicultural education. In Article 1, I demonstrate how this framework synergizes aspects of social reconstructionist and critical multicultural, global, and decolonial educations, while re-emphasizing possibilities for relational learning in local-global classrooms. In Article 2, I examine a unique local-global context: the matriculation of resettled refugee children into host country schools. This project integrates the decolonial multicultural framework with literatures on ecological interventions for refugee students to address grief, trauma, loss, poverty, acculturation, and host culture hostilities. The theoretical frameworks are infused with considerations concerning children’s lived experiences as complex beings rooted in multiple, fluid, and intersecting contexts. In Article 3, I present a pilot case study on students with refugee status who attended a public school in the South. I discuss qualitative data from participant observations and staff interviews. Using the framework I developed in Article 2 for ecological, decolonial multiculturalism, this study discusses the emergent themes of teacher training, ecological interventions, deficit and assimilationist approaches, and hostile school peer relations. Finally, in Article 4 I argue for a shift in the teacher professional role to include systemic support for ongoing teacher research as a way to address the complexity, multiplicity, and reflexivity of local-global classrooms. I propose postcritical ethnography and feminist praxis-based methodologies as tools to help teacher-researchers learn about and respond to their students. My dissertation thus entails four articles interconnected by the theme of decolonial multicultural education, and enriches framework considerations by exploring the local-global contexts of students with refugee status, specific refugee students in a U.S. school, and potential uses of postcritical and feminist qualitative methodologies for decolonial multicultural teacher-researchers.

This project considers the ways in which Wiccan marriage and American marriage law interact with each other. The thesis examines certain aspects of the history of 20th-century American marriage law, the concurrent development of contemporary marriage ritual in Wicca, developing problems in this area, and possible solutions. In particular, the project focuses on the recognition of religious groups and their officials as they are authorized by state and federal law to perform marriages and how this process has affected Wiccan ritual.

This thesis describes how I took part in a series of collaborations with dancers Danai Pappa and Katie Hall, musician George Williams and video artist Julie Kuzminska. To realise our collaborations, I built electronic sculptural instruments from junk using bricolage, the act of subversion, skip diving and appropriation. From an auto-ethnographic viewpoint, I explored how collaborations began, how relationships developed and how various levels of expertise across different disciplines were negotiated. I examined how the documentation of the performances related to, and could be realised as, video art in their own right. I investigated the themes of work, labour and effort that are used in the process of producing and documenting these works in order to better understand how to ‘create’. I analysed the gender dynamics that existed between my collaborators and myself, which led to the exploration of issues around interaction and intimacy, democratic roles and live art. The resulting works challenged gender stereotypes, the notion of what a musical instrument can be and how sound is produced through action/interaction. I found that reflective time was imperative; serendipity, constant awareness of one’s environment, community and intimate relationships greatly enhanced the success of the collaborations. Instruments became conduits and instigators with shifting implied genders based on their context or creative use. As well as sound being a product of movement, effort and interaction, I realised it was also an artefact of the instruments.

A small proportion of people claim to live and consume in ways they consider more sustainable in social and environmental terms. As yet, we do not know how many exactly, but possibly no more than 5-10% of the population. The thesis intentionally focuses on this minority finding there are at least three reasons why it is interesting to do so. First because they are all but ignored in sociologies of practice in the context of sustainable consumption which considers this minority an insignificance and focuses almost exclusively on 'mainstream' majority which more closely maps onto the stereotype of 'consumer society'. Second because we think we can learn much from juxtapositioning this group empirically against the spectrum of theories of practice to devise more robust and appropriate theoretical explanation of how these subjects, in the context of everyday practice, negotiate the many interpretations and contradictions involved in trying to put 'sustainability' into practice. Third because by understanding them better we can reflect on theoretical, empirical and policy implications for nudging this minority of the population to a higher percentage. The thesis sits at one end of a spectrum of positions in theories of practice applied to consumption, and in particular with a normative interest in sustainable consumption. It aligns with those who seek to re-insert the reflexive agent into accounts of practice, with particular reference to the conceptual construct of the 'citizen-consumer' and the context of political consumption (Spaargaren & Oosterveer 2010). Referring to theories of consumption, the thesis adds perspectives on how people negotiate multiple domains of consumption simultaneously since everyday practice involves interactions across multiple domains (such as eating, mobility, householding); and yet typically in theories of practice these are artificially separated into single domains. The study therefore considers the implications which domains have on how particular practices are carried out, first separately (per domain) and then as they come together (in a cross-cutting domain perspective). The study then takes theories of practice as a springboard to develop a theoretical position and framework which better fits the narrated accounts of the 37 subjects who participated in this study. In iteratively co-developing a theoretical framework and multiple 'stages' of empirical research (using grounded theory methodology) the study seeks to explain theoretically how subjects justify their 'doings' (drawing on 'conventions' and 'orders of worth' (Boltanski & Thévenot 2006)); how they appear to muddle through as best they can (introducing 'bricolage' (Lévi-Strauss 1972)); and how subjects appear to devise decision short-cuts when approaching decisions characterised by the multiple contradictions of sustainable consumption and incomplete or 'too much' information (introducing heuristics (Gigerenzer & Gaissmaier 2011)). In joining calls to re-insert the reflexive agent to account for how, when and why subjects enact changes towards trajectories which they consider 'more sustainable' in their own terms, the study takes inspiration from Margaret Archer's morphogenesis approach (1998) and explores her model of multiple modes of reflexivity, announcing certain modes as 'better fitting' conditions of late modernity. The study finally finds that contrary to a notion of the un-reflexive agent, the citizen-consumer is able to articulate visions of the 'good life'. In addition she is able to fold these visions back onto everyday practices performed in the past, present and future, laying out normative guidelines and positive accounts of how to achieve personal or societal well-being and happiness. The overarching positioning of the study is much inspired by Andrew Sayer's (2011; 2000) 'normative turn' calling upon social sciences to re-instate research into the things about which people care. The study is therefore guided by the overarching question of how people translate their environmental and/or social concerns into the ways in which they live and consume.

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No description available.

Muslims have the starring role in the mass media’s curriculum on otherness, which circulates in-between local and global contexts to powerfully constitute subjectivities. This study inquires into what it is like to be a female, Muslim student in Ontario, in this post 9/11 discursive context. Seven young Muslim women share stories of their high schooling experiences and their sense of identity in interviews and focus group sessions. They also respond to images of Muslim females in the print media, offering perspectives on the intersections of visual media discourses with their lived experience. This interdisciplinary project draws from cultural studies, postcolonial feminist theory, and post-reconceptualist curriculum theorizing. Working with auto/ethno/graphy, my own subjectivity is also brought into the study to trouble researcher-as-knower and acknowledge that personal histories are implicated in larger social, cultural, and historical processes. Using bricolage, I compose a hybrid text with multiple layers of meaning by juxtapositing theory, image, and narrative, leaving spaces for the reader’s own biography to become entangled with what is emerging in the text. Issues raised include veiling obsession, Islamophobia, absences in the school curriculum, and mass media as curriculum. Muslim females navigate a complex discursive terrain and their identity negotiations are varied. These include creating Muslim spaces in their schools, wearing hijab to assert their Muslim identity, and downplaying their religious identity at school. I argue for the need to engage students and teacher candidates in complicated conversations on difference via auto/ethno/graphy, pedagogies of tension, and epistemologies of doubt. Educators and researchers might also consider the possibilities of linking visual media literacy with social justice issues.

To understand how Aboriginal youths’ access to post-secondary schooling opportunities is created and constrained, structures of inclusion and exclusion are examined. In particular, the legitimization of unequal treatment and disparate outcomes is problematized; making the case that public schooling systems limit the opportunities of youth. In this study, youths’ post-secondary aspirations are contextualized on the basis of racial identity, gender, programs of enrolment, graduate destinations, parent’s level of schooling, parental income, and community size; binary analyses evaluate the relationships among these variables. The variables were accessed from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Findings of this research counter other studies that demonstrate Aboriginal youth with lower post-secondary opportunities relative to their peers. This study substantiates that barriers to aspiration achievement and post-secondary opportunities are not from a lack of ambition or academic preparedness among Aboriginal youth attending Canadian public schools.