The shared conceptual underpinnings of contemporary metaphor theory and Christian mystical expression form the basis of this study of the works of two very different fourteenth-century French mystics, Marguerite d’Oingt (c.1240-1310) and Marguerite Porete (d.1310). The former, a Carthusian prioress, wrote a series of vivid visionary narratives, the Pagina meditationum, the Speculum, and Li via de Seiti Biatrix, but, to date, has been the subject of little scholarly attention. The latter, meanwhile, is perhaps best known for her condemnation for relapsed heresy and her death at the stake in Paris, on account of her radical mystical text, the Mirouer des simples ames. These two women’s writings present very different examples of late medieval mystical expression. Nevertheless, the two are intimately connected in the sense that both oeuvres are driven by a desire to express their respective experiences of the mystical presence of God. What precisely is meant by ‘mystical experience’ constitutes this mode of expression’s fundamental paradox: by its very definition, the perfection of divine encounter lies beyond the scope of human communication. Metaphor’s capacity for (partial) revelation in circumstances where other modes of communication fail, however, suggests that when applied as a hermeneutic device, theoretical perspectives of metaphor provide a fresh interpretative framework with which to explore the more enigmatic aspects of mystical thought. Drawing on a number of modern theoretical approaches, including those of Paul Ricoeur, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, and Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner, this investigation explores the extent to which metaphor’s conceptual and cognitive underpinnings engage with, and potentially unlock, the sensitivities of Marguerite d’Oingt’s and Marguerite Porete’s post-experiential accounts of mystical phenomena. To this end, metaphor may be seen to represent mysticism’s cognitive analogue, a means of effecting linguistic and cognitive transformation impossible to express through literal language alone.

This thesis examines particular aspects and elements within the texts of Julian of Norwich, in light of certain of the tenets and concepts of Jaques Lacan, in order to attempt to offer a psychoanalytical reading of these facets of Julian's works. Specifically, this thesis addresses Julian's oft-evoked longing for a God who appears to manifest in several different guises - which appear in a recurring, non-linear and ven dialectical fashion throughout her accounts - in term's of Lacan's formulations on desire for the Thing, or an intense yearning for an elusive quantity that seems to rest within an object, yet which morphs of jumps into another object entirely, the moment the subject draws near. As part of this Lacanian reading of certain aspects within Julian's works, I examine the varying perceptions of the sought divinity which the texts portray and the perspectives or authorial voices from which they are offered in light of Lacan's conceptions of anamorphosis, the gaze and subject as object. Additionally, Julian's encounters with and textual descriptions of mortality are looked at through the prism of Lacan's notion of the 'space between two deaths'. This thesis draws to a close by examining Julian's discovery that the sought quantity resides within her own soul in light of Lacan's concept of desire for desire. Finally, after exploring, throughout this thesis, how the formulations of Jacques Lacan can be useful in illuminating elements within Julian's works, this thesis concludes by investigating whether there is some benefit to be gained from staging a dialogue between certain aspects of Julain's texts and specific elements of the psychoanalytic theory of Lacan.

This study investigates the impact of aspects of task design and implementation on oral second language performance in terms of task type, performance criteria and task-type repetition. One hundred and forty-four Chinese learners of English participated in the study. They were randomly paired and assigned to either a map task or a picture-story task. Two exemplars of each task type were used on separate occasions (one week apart). Each task group was further divided into two experimental groups - high criterion (HC) and low criterion (LC) - and a control group. Both the HC and the LC groups were informed at the outset that they would be asked to perform an additional activity upon completion of the baseline task. The He speakers undertook a more demanding post-task activity, and the LC group a less demanding one. No extra post-task requirement was imposed on the control group. A wide range of measures were employed to evaluate the participants' language production in terms of complexity. accuracy and fluency. A strong effect for task type was observed 011 all aspects of language performance, with the picture-story task giving rise to greater complexity both syntactically and lexically, and the map task generating more accurate and fluent language use. Overall. performance criteria were positively related to phrasal complexity and fluency on both types of tasks, but negatively associated with subordination complexity on the picture-story task. That is, in the case of the picture-story task, the HC group produced the highest phrasal complexity, but lowest subordination complexity, while the control group produced the opposite results. Such contrasting findings on complexity have not been reported in previous studies. In addition, repeating a similar task of the same type resulted in greater accuracy and repair fluency, whereas the temporal aspects of fluency deteriorated. The results are discussed mainly in terms of the limited attentional resources model on second language performance. The study contributes in particular to the current understanding of how pre-set task performance criteria can potentially affect language production. It also provides useful pedagogical implications.

In this thesis I ask how I can legitimately be a Christian teacher-educator through living my professional practice in the light of my religious beliefs. Christ came as the image of the invisible God and I come as a poor (i.e. imperfect) image of him. Through taking him as my role model, and living out the values that he endorsed and embodied, it is hoped that this image is made clearer. I describe myself as a Christian through living out my religion in all aspects of my life (including being a teacher-educator and Religious Education specialist). Values identified as grounded in religious belief emerge also as educational values, the strongest being love, faith and hope. Faith exercised in an educational way has epistemological and pedagogical implications for work that is grounded in love for God, self and others. This, in turn, impacts upon the methodological choices I make as a teacher. It implies trusting others to exercise their capacity to understand and think independently. The exercise of faith can then lead to hope for personal transformation through the creation of new knowledge and understanding. This in turn joins with love and optimism for others, through developing persons in a loving educational community in which all seek to learn from and with one another through collaborative and reciprocal learning and teaching processes. This has social commitments. I aim to teach Religious Education in a way that promotes a pedagogy that helps people develop as improved teachers and learners - in my terms but not necessarily theirs, as clearer, though never perfect, images of God.

Bodleian Library MS Douce 114 contains the unique copy of four Middle English texts, translations of Latin vitae, all describing Continental women saints whose unusual forms of devotion set them apart from the often more sober atmosphere of late-medieval English spirituality in which the texts appeared. The texts first attracted scholarly notice following the publication of The Book of Margery Kempe and the subsequent interest in the lives of the Continental women mystics whom Kempe resembled far more than her own English contemporaries; however, the texts have yet to be examined in any detail. This study investigates both the physical production of the translation and the context of book production in which the manuscript appeared, as well as the ideological context and controversies which would have informed the reading and reception of the texts.

The basis of this first critical edition of Book II of Hilton's Scale of Perfection is MS. British Museum, Harley 6579. The twenty-four known extant manuscripts have been collated in full (with the exception of one where only a partial collation was possible). The manuscript problem proved to be very complicated. The results of collation are discussed at length, and an argument advanced which leads to the choice of the basic manuscript, and to the citation in footnotes throughout the text of all but the slightest variants from five representatives of differing traditions of transmission which can be established with some probability. A further examination of interesting readings from all twenty-four manuscripts will be found appended to the text; this aims to give support for the principles of emendation adopted as well as to indicate the character of manuscripts not cited in the footnotes. The basic manuscript was frequently corrected at an early date (these corrections are set between round brackets). Square brackets indicate necessary emendations. To avoid presenting a text needlessly difficult to read, standard contractions have been silently expanded. In view of the wide variation in scribal practice, the word division, punctuation and paragraphing of the critical text have been modernized. The aim throughout has been to present a text which, whilst seeking to approach the author's original, retains as far as possible the homogeneity of a single manuscript. The major part of the Introduction is devoted to the textual argument. The Introduction also contains a brief summary of what is known of Hilton's life and works, and a description of all the manuscripts of The Scale, Book II. This description is detailed in order to throw some light on the associations of Hilton's text with other medieval devotional works. The edition is completed by a selective Glossary and a Bibliography of works which have assisted the editor.

This thesis explores a long-neglected area of Julian’s work, namely her devotional and pastoral understanding of the nature of sin and the sacrament of penance. Her two texts reveal a deep concern, set within the context of a rise in lay penitential piety, for those devout who continued to experience a sense of shame and dread of sin, even after confession to a priest. By means of a close comparative reading of Julian's short and long texts of A Revelation of Divine Love, and an examination of a wide range of Middle English devotional texts and manuals, as well as a breadth of Julian scholarship to date, I argue that Julian addresses the devotional and ecclesiastical concerns of late fourteenth-century England in the problem of sin and confession for the ordinary believer. By articulating her revelation in the penitential terms of the manuals of the Church, Julian reveals the extent to which the daily devotional life of 'holy moder church' is the means by which the saving love of Christ is realised and made accessible to the penitent. Within her writing Julian seeks to reassure her reader that God has dealt with sin and triumphed over the devil but in order to do this she must alter their understanding of a contrition-centred sacrament. For this reason Julian sets up a crisis of understanding within her long text between the 'common teaching of holy church' and her revelation of love. This conflict is deliberately left unresolved in order that, in scholastic terms, two opposing arguments in opposition may jointly illuminate the necessity of sin and penance in bringing the soul to the proper state of humility and the mercy and grace of the loving Lord in forgiveness. In so doing it is argued that, within Julian’s writing, the pastoral process of penance is integral to those who desire a more intimate relationship with God. The thesis consists of four chapters which first, locates Julian's short and long versions of A Revelation of Divine Love within the climate of the late-fourteenth century; secondly, it charts the rise of the significance of the role of the penitent within the history of penance which led to an increasing lack of confidence within the late fourteenth century in the ability of the confessional encounter to alleviate the sense of sin experienced by some devout souls; thirdly, I analyse the extent to which Julian's short and long version of a Revelation of Divine Love reflect and address this catechetical and penitential climate in her theology of sin and penance; and finally the thesis poses the question of the extent to which Julian's work can be considered as a penitential text which seeks to bring ease and comfort of the assurance of sins forgiven through the everyday practices of the Church. It is concluded that Julian's writing reveals a fascinating and significant contribution to late fourteenth-century thought on penance and brings a fresh reading of Julian's texts.

By way of preface several issues will be dealt with briefly. First, the study of Familism since 1862; second, the problems encountered in the study of Familism; and finally, the significance of the word "mysticism" as used in this study. Following this is an acknowledgement of assistance received by the author.

This thesis examines changes in core values held by postgraduate students and visiting scholars from China who professed belief in Christianity while studying in UK universities. It is the first study to ascertain whether changes remain after return to China. Employing a theoretical framework constructed from work by James Fowler, Charles Taylor, Yuting Wang and Fenggang Yang, it identifies both factors contributing to initial change in the UK and factors contributing to sustained change after return to China. It shows that lasting values change occurred. As a consequence, tensions were experienced at work, socially and in church. However, these were outweighed by benefits, including inner security, particularly after a distressed childhood. Benefits were also experienced in personal relationships and in belonging in a new community, the Church. This was a qualitative, interpretive study employing ethnographic interviews with nineteen people, from eleven British universities, in seven Chinese cities. It was based on the hypotheses that Christian conversion leads to change in values and that evidence for values can be found in responses to major decisions and dilemmas, in saddest and happiest memories and in relationships. Conducted against a backdrop of transnational movement of people and ideas, including a recent increase in mainland Chinese studying abroad which has led to more Chinese in British churches, it contributes new insights into both the contents of sustained Christian conversion amongst Chinese abroad who have since returned to China and factors contributing to it. Bringing the afore-mentioned theories together for the first time it provides an illuminating, original lens for further study of conversion amongst returned Chinese. It also adds to knowledge of the effects of Chinese students’ UK education experience on their values.

Since the 1960’s there has been a marked increase in the number of known conversions from Islam to Christianity. This thesis asks whether certain of these ex-Muslim Christians engage in the process of theology-making and, if so, it asks what these theologies claim to know about God and humans’ relation to God. Utilizing the dialectic of contextuality-contextualization of Shoki Coe, and the sociology of theological knowledge of Robert Schreiter, the thesis seeks to answer these questions by the use of two case studies and an examination of some of the texts written by ex-Muslim Christians. Lewis Rambo’s theory of religious conversion and Steven Lukes’ theory of power will be used to clarify the changing dynamics of power which have helped to foster modern contexts wherein an unprecedented number of Muslims are both exposed to the Christian message and, if they choose to do so, able to appropriate it through religious conversion. The two case studies are of a Christian community which founded a Muslim-background church in the Arabophone world and some Iranian Christian congregations in the USA and UK Diaspora. Aspects of the contexts of these believers are investigated in some detail, including motives for religious conversion, numbers and locations of the converts, how apostates may be treated by Muslims, changes in migration and communications, and the Christian concept of religious conversion. The concept of inculturation which helps to describe the meeting of a specific community with the Christian message will aid in analyzing the communities and individuals being studied. The final chapter brings together the various threads which have been raised throughout the thesis and argues that ex-Muslim Christians are engaged in theology-making, that areas of interest to them include theology of the church, salvation and baptism, and that the dominant metaphor in these theologies is a conceptualization of love and power that sees the two divine traits as inseparable from each other; they represent a knowledge about who God is and what he is like, which, in their understanding, is irreconcilable with their former religion, Islam.