A dissertation submitted for the degree of Master of Music in the Wits School of Arts, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, 2014 / Kevin Volans’s music has generated much international recognition and attention. As a result, his influence is increasingly evident in the work of younger composers. As yet, little research has delved deeply into Volans’s music at the technical level. His piano etudes consist largely of transcriptions, paraphrases and variations of a wide range of his previous work. So, as a microcosm of his oeuvre, they provide the ideal opportunity to understand his unique compositional voice. A twofold, overarching question informs this study. What historical conditions produced Kevin Volans’s etudes and how are they constructed? In response to this question, this dissertation presents a written analysis of Kevin Volans’s piano etudes using the notions formulated by Michel Foucault (1926-1984) in his genealogies. The genealogical theoretical framework accommodates a multiplicity of analytical approaches while providing the tools to synthesise a plurality of findings. The author has used Foucault’s genealogical model to underpin the analysis of both the historical context surrounding the etudes and the scores themselves. The goal is to gain a thorough understanding of the musical material of the etudes in terms of the ideological landscape which produced them. Part one of the dissertation lays out the broader epistemic conditions which produced the etudes. The initial two chapters trace nodes of influence in parallel spheres: the ideological and musical landscape of Volans’s life and issues surrounding the genre of the piano etude are juxtaposed to set the scene for the textural analysis. The third chapter of part one traces the transcription sources and outlines the most distinguishing characteristics of the etudes. Together, these spheres yield the epistemic conditions within which the textural analysis can take place. The three chapters in part two focus on the scores of the etudes. They each deal with the organisation of the material by applying slightly different existing and modified analytical parameters. Chapter 5 analyses the stratified, almost sedimentary forms evident in the etudes. By mapping out levels of non-hierarchically layered groupings of material in the etudes, strong reference points within the structure of each are identified. Chapter 6 takes a semiotic viewpoint, reading the musical images through the lens of metonymy, metaphor and allegory. The final chapter seeks to understand the organic and mechanical composition techniques used in the etudes. The conclusion reunites the scattered findings of the preceding chapters by tracing the genealogical web of power relations between them. This web of power relationships represents both the internal and external dynamics at play within Volans’s etudes.

Ph.D., Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 2000.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 1992 / Our thesis consists of a critical study of Tradition et modernite dans l'histoire du Roi de Boheme et de ses sept chateaux, by Charles Nodier. The work, published by Delangle in 1830, defies all previous novelistic traditions and appears to take the form of a provocation, by the writer, of critics and public alike. [Abbreviated abstract. Open document to view full version]

Thesis (M.A. (Masters by dissertation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2012. / This study is concerned with the relationship between images and poetry in the early illuminated books of William Blake. It seeks to explore the generative production of meaning which arises from the interaction of these different aesthetic modalities. Such meanings are investigated through the notion of a “Third Text”, which has been adapted from the thought of Stephen Behrendt (“‘Something in my Eye’: Irritants in Blake’s Illuminated Texts”). The Third Text arises from the interaction of images and texts, but is identical to neither alone, nor is it constituted by the sum of the contributing parts. The interactions of image and text are further elucidated through the application of selected poststructuralist theories, drawn from the writing of Jacques Derrida and Roland Barthes. Notions of the Text, différance, the supplement and spectrality are central to the argument. An interaction is established between Blake’s illuminated books and the chosen poststructuralist constructs in order to recognise the singularity of the verbal and visual material considered. An interrelated component of this study is a reflection on the ways in which Blake breaks the conceptual frames of image and text in his illuminated books, thus challenging a range of established models. Particular attention is paid to the early illuminated books, Songs of Innocence and of Experience and America a Prophecy. Key concerns of this study include the ways in which Songs challenges the boundaries between innocence and experience and the exploration of prophetic vision in America. The dissertation concludes by emphasising the importance of preserving an infinite relation of image to text, both in Blake studies and more broadly in the analysis of image-text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Arts (Music), 1985.

This dissertation examines William Plomer's first novel, Turbott Wolfe (1925), within its socio-political and literary context, and also explores the crucial relationship between the author's life and his work. Turbott Wolfe at one level represents Plomer's complex responses to and interpretation of the South African milieu during the early 1920s. During this decade, the foundations of modem Apartheid were being consolidated, and African Nationalism emerged as a powerful challenge to the South African state. Turbott Wolfe is informed by these political developments, and the milieu and events portrayed in the novel vividly express the author's feelings about and attitudes towards the society he finds himself in. Since its publication, ZiZ&stsJBal&a has suffered considerable critical neglect The superficiality of much of the existing criticism about the novel must be challenged, since Turbott Wolfe is not only of tremendous intrinsic literary merit, but also provides valuable insights into the socio-political environment and historical moment in which Plotter wrote. Thus one of the novel's main concerns is the all informing "colour question", which dominated political debate in the 1920s. Plomer's appr< -• "colour question" is unorthodox,« rajor question confronting the reader is how this unusual novel cane to be written. An examination of earlier fiction reveals that Turbott Wolfe is both influenced b; and a reaction against existing literary traditions, while the major themes show in what way and to what extent the novel is engaged with contemporary sociopolitical issues. The key to this crucial question, however, lies in a detailed exploration of the author's personal history. Turbott Wolfe emerges as an important work within the development of South African literature, a novel which encapsulates some of the complexity and diversity of contemporary South Africa, as perceived by its youthful author.

University of Macau / Faculty of Arts and Humanities. / Department of English

During the English Revolution of the seventeenth century, writers like William Walwyn produced documents contesting the restriction of their liberties. This thesis is a critical edition of Walwyn’s Demurre to the Bill for Preventing the Growth and Spreading of Heresie, unedited since its original publication in 1646. In this text Walwyn advocates for man’s right to question religious orthodoxy in his search for Truth and urges Parliament not to pass a proposed Bill for the harsh punishment of religious sectarians. Prior to a transcription of the text is an introduction to Walwyn and an attempt to situate the reader in the context of his time. Following that is a style and rhetorical analysis, which concludes that despite his rejection of rhetorical practices, Walwyn’s own use of them is effective. Perhaps this skill is one of the reasons that Parliament passed a milder, non-punitive version of the Bill Walwyn argued against. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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Zhu, Xinqu. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.