An act of violence, be it personal or institution is an event that would distress most witnesses. Yet the representation of violent acts in fictional forms as literature, drama and film often aestheticises that violence, with the result that it is possible to experience it without such distress. However, despite various conjectures being offered, no single and universal theory is possible. An aesthetic response to a representation of violence is influenced to a large extent by the degree of aestheticisation produced by the author and/or director. In addition, the aestheticisation of violence is dependent upon, and an inevitable consequence of, the representation of the violent. This dissertation is an endeavour to explore the issues that the paradox makes evident, to critique various hypotheses that have been offered as a solution, and to speculate upon a more comprehensive theory ofthe representation and aestheticisation of violence / English Studies / M.A. (English)

An act of violence, be it personal or institution is an event that would distress most witnesses. Yet the representation of violent acts in fictional forms as literature, drama and film often aestheticises that violence, with the result that it is possible to experience it without such distress. However, despite various conjectures being offered, no single and universal theory is possible. An aesthetic response to a representation of violence is influenced to a large extent by the degree of aestheticisation produced by the author and/or director. In addition, the aestheticisation of violence is dependent upon, and an inevitable consequence of, the representation of the violent. This dissertation is an endeavour to explore the issues that the paradox makes evident, to critique various hypotheses that have been offered as a solution, and to speculate upon a more comprehensive theory ofthe representation and aestheticisation of violence / English Studies / M.A. (English)

Dans un contexte de développement urbain en pleine vitesse de la province du Guangdong (au sud de la Chine), notamment de sa capitale Guangzhou, la transformation paysagère rapide et radicale nous incite à nous interroger sur les relations entre la société et l’environnement, les habitants et les lieux de vie, l’art et la ville. Face aux enjeux politiques et économiques liés aux mutations urbaines, quelle est la place et l’action de l’art sur l’aménagement de la ville? Sous quelles formes et de quelles manières l’art s’y intègre-t-il? Avec les interventions artistiques dans l’espace public, l’artiste est-il capable de rétablir, in situ, la communication réciproque entre les habitants et les lieux ? Quelles sont les approches et les modalités envisageables pour répondre à ces questions?Vu qu’il y a de nombreux bâtiments occidentaux construits à Guangzhou depuis une trentaine d’années, qui font face aux sculptures traditionnelles chinoises qui ne correspondent pas au style occidental, comment peut-on trouver les voies intermédiaires réconciliant deux polarités – la forme moderne occidentalisée et l’esprit traditionnel cantonais – dans la création de la sculpture urbaine ? Il devient nécessaire de reconstruire une version moderne de l’ancien système en proposant une forme urbaine locale contemporaine utilisant les savoirs-faires traditionnels des artisans qui dépasseraient la dissonance entre contexte architectural occidentalisé et sculpture régionale cantonaise. / In a context of urban development at full speed in Guangdong (South of China), especially its capital Guangzhou, the rapid and radical transformation of landscapes raises a number of questions about the relationship between societies and their environment, the local peoples and the living places, art and the city. Faced with political and economic issues related to urban change, what is the role and work of art on the city layout? In what forms and in what ways the art it does integrity? With artistic interventions in public space, the artist is capable of restoring it in situ, mutual communication between people and places? What approaches and possible ways to address these issues?Since there are many western buildings built in Guangzhou last thirty years, face to face traditional Chinese sculptures that do not fit the Western style, how can we find the subchannels reconciling two polarities - the modern westernized form and the traditional Cantonese spirit - in the creation of urban sculpture? It therefore becomes necessary to rebuild a modern version of the old system by providing a local contemporary urban form using the traditional skills of artisans who exceed the dissonance between westernized architectural context and Cantonese regional sculpture.

Corolaire de l'exode rural et de l'industrialisation, une attention au patrimoine local et à l'espace régional se fait jour en France à la fin du 19e siècle. Cet intérêt se manifeste en particulier à travers le renouvellement et le dynamisme de revues destinées à de nouvelles catégories sociales aspirant à une activité culturelle. Préfiguration du magazine, ces revues contribuent au sein des espaces français à définir des identités régionales. Elle permettent d'élargir les critères de patrimonialisation, auparavant cantonnés à l'histoire, à la littérature et à la philologie, et à démocratiser par la mise à l'honneur des traditions populaires, de la pratique personnelle des espaces (tourisme, environnement) et de leur approche esthétique. Elles tendent aussi à individualiser un rapport jusque-là communautaire aux territoires. Elles marquent enfin le renouvellement d'une vision du patrimoine à base d'héritage et d'atavisme, au profit d'une notion plus moderne de patrimoine d'élection, notamment dans le cadre de l'évasion par rapport au quotidien. / Corollary of the rural exodus and the industrialization, a focus on the local heritage and on the regional area emerges in France at the end of the 19th century. This concern manifests itself through the regeneration and the dynamism of journals intended for new social groups yearning for cultural activities. Prefiguration of the magazine, these journals contribute, inside of French Regions, to the definition of the regional identities. They enable the expansion of the making of heritage, previously limited to history, literature and philology, and its democratization, thanks to the valorization of popular traditions, to the private practice of the areas (tourism, environment) et to its esthetical approach. They also seek the individualization of a so far communal relation to territories. Finally, they rejuvenate a conception of heritage based on legacy and atavism, in favor of a more modern concept of chosen heritage, especially in the context of escaping daily life.