Galen's Avoiding Distress provides an opportunity for scholars to qualify Galen's philosophical eclecticism because his ἄσκησις to avoid distress intersects theory and practice. My thesis carefully analyzes the theoretical framework behind Galen's claim that he “trained his φαντασἰαι for the loss of all his possessions” as well as the specific practices that constitute this training regimen. I trace the concept of φαντασἰα back to the first philosophical discussions in Plato's Theaetetus-Sophist structure and Aristotle's De anima to answer the questions “What are the φαντασἰαι that he talks about?” and “How do they participate in cognition?” I analyze Galen's On the doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato, Affections and Errors, and Thrasybulus to identify Galen's specific practices and relate them to what Galen thinks is the purpose of all humans. My inquiry allows me to argue that while Galen uses his imagination to condition himself not to fear the atrocities of Commodus he subordinates emotional tranquility and practices that promote it to the greater goal of doing good deeds for others.

Alejandra Pizarnik et Sylvia Plath, poètes prolifiques et figures frôlant le mythe, ont forgé au cours de leurs carrières voix uniques et œuvres riches. Elles se partagent une vaste sensibilité artistique, un goût pour la démesure, ainsi qu’une volonté, celle d’être artiste avant tout, de laisser une marque, une trace. Outre leurs œuvres narratives et poétiques, Plath et Pizarnik sont reconnues pour leurs journaux (The Unabridged Journals, 1950-1962 ; Diarios, 1954-1971). Ces textes sont fréquemment lus comme des journaux intimes, mais gagnent à être approchés autrement : comme une part intégrale de la création. Ils sont un appui à l’œuvre à venir, un lieu de travail du geste et de l’idée, un atelier. Omniprésents depuis la fin du 19e siècle, indissociables de la modernité littéraire, les journaux d’écrivain·es ont aujourd’hui encore un statut instable. Ils restent difficilement classables, empruntent à la fois les réflexes d’une longue tradition spirituelle et philosophique, tout comme des procédés uniques à la pratique écrivaine. Ce mémoire cherche à réfléchir leur rôle dans la création, prenant comme base la tradition des exercices spirituels (définis par Hadot) ou des techniques de soi (théorisées par Foucault), puis développant une réflexion grâce à l’idée d’atelier d’écriture. Telles des artistes visuelles, pour avancer jusqu’à Ariel ou Infierno musical, Plath et Pizarnik s’appuieront sur un atelier, un lieu d’expérimentation, de liberté – constellation de carnets, d’ébauches tapées à la machine, de recueils de notes. Ce lieu de langage réunit deux versants : l’entraînement (très vaste, à la manière de l’askesis antique) et l’ouverture vers la création (progression vers la poiesis, l’idée neuve). L’atelier permet d’œuvrer sur le langage et le soi. Avec toujours en vue la quête de la poésie, née de l’intime puis se dépliant, depuis la chute de la plume jusqu’à l’œuvre entière, multicolore. Dans les mots de Plath : « to invent on the drop of a feather, a whole multicolored bird » . / Alejandra Pizarnik and Sylvia Plath, prolific writers and almost mythical figures, have built throughout their careers a unique voice and a rich body of work. They share a broad artistic sensitivity, a taste for excess, and the need to become an artist above all else, to make their mark, leave a trace. Besides their narrative and poetic production, Plath and Pizarnik are known for their journals (The Unabridged Journals, 1950-1962 ; Diarios, 1954-1971), which are often interpreted as intimate texts, as diaries – but who should be primarily seen as an integral part of their creation process. They are a support, a place to work on craft and ideas, an atelier (workshop and studio). Essential since the end of the 19th century, linked to literary modernity, writers’ diaries are still today hard to categorize. They inherit from a long spiritual and philosophical tradition, as well as create their own unique methods. This thesis aims to understand their role in literary creation, with the help of the tradition of the “spiritual exercises” defined by Hadot and of the “techniques of the self” theorized by Foucault, then expanding further with the idea of atelier. Like visual artists, to progress towards Ariel or Infierno musical, Plath and Pizarnik use their atelier, a space of experiment, of freedom – a collection of notebooks, drafts and typescripts, and notes. This space made of language has two purposes : practice (a vast training, like the askesis of Antiquity) and creation (progression towards poiesis, the new idea). The atelier helps working on language and the self. Always searching for this breach that is poetry, born from an intimate place and then unfolded, from the drop of a feather to a whole, multicolored oeuvre. Or as Plath puts it : “to invent on the drop of a feather, a whole multicolored bird”.

This study draws upon a methodological approach based on the use of objects to explore the experiences of a group of teachers undertaking a Masters-level Continuing Professional Development programme. Eight Respondents were invited to bring three objects to their interview that represented significant aspects of their practice in relation to the course. These objects afforded an exploration of respondents’ views, experiences and consideration of the impact of the programme on their professional identities. In order to engage analytically with the data the work draws upon notions of spatiality as well as the later work of Foucault on truth and subject formation. The thesis considers the role of professional learning as shaped by the current policy process and, how professional learning is, in turn, shaped by the teachers undertaking the course. Such a consideration allows for a methodological take on the CPD process as one whereby people, as well as objects, such as ‘standards’, play equally important roles. In drawing upon the later work of Foucault (1984a, 1984b) analysis of the data considered the ways in which the practices of the course that the teachers engaged with (Askēsis) lead to a desire to speak their mind and express ideals of truth about educational practice (Parrhēsia). This means that in thinking about their practice through the activities and processes of the programme encourages the development of the ethical work of the teacher. In the light of such problematisation, this study encourages a rethinking of both policy and practice and argues for a change in the discourse of education from the concept of professional development to that of professional learning within a relational and ethical framing.

Thesis advisor: Jane E. Regan / The Eastern Fathers through the centuries affirm that askesis—struggle and training in spiritual life—is integral to Christian growth, life, and maturity. It is a part of the Church’s basic mindset regarding growth in life in Christ. Within the US Orthodox Christian Education (OCE) field, however, no substantial treatment of this theme exists. The place of a discussion of askesis within OCE requires that one perceive how vitally and expansively the Orthodox Church understands this theme. Clearing lesser things from the heart, preparing room for divinity, learning to turn the eyes of the heart toward Christ, and to fix them on Him in all things are all vital to acquiring the Holy Spirit, whose fruit in us proclaims and brings about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christian witness presupposes fruit, while fruit is born of divine indwelling. Yet, as Gregory of Nyssa affirms, grace “does not naturally frequent souls which are fleeing from salvation.” We must engage. If spiritual maturity is important to the Church’s witness, then, so is developing maturity. In this way, askesis is integral to the mission of the Church. The Eastern Fathers understand this training in expansive ways. While askesis can indicate a subset of specific practices (vigils, fasting, chastity, etc.) in a larger sense it indicates active formation in spiritual life in general. Various Fathers affirm things as diverse as prayer, marriage, faith, childrearing, and patient endurance of suffering as opportunities for askesis. Since askesis is vital to Orthodox Christian life and faith, and given the gap in coverage, this study explores the theme, in three steps. First, after surveying recent OCE engagements with askesis, it considers in depth the spiritual anthropology and ascetical teaching of a relatively early figure, Gregory of Nyssa. Second, it explores three themes from the Byzantine period that display some of the Church’s broader, more settled sensibilities regarding askesis, namely, 1) the centrality of Jesus Christ in developing virtue and maturity; 2) the importance of the Church and Sacraments for spiritual growth; and 3) how material creation figures in spiritual life. Third, the study turns to the voices of more recent elders as they convey the Church’s expansive understanding of askesis. Again, three themes are developed: 1) how each and every aspect of human nature must be formed in Christ; 2) how, in God’s providence, the entire arena of life provides opportunities for Christian development; and 3) the ascetic character of an Orthodox Christian vision of education. This study is not a historical work of Christian spirituality, a history of the development of ascetical theology, or a comprehensive summary of its theme. Rather, it seeks to specify key elements of the developmental path to freedom in Christ proclaimed by the Orthodox faith, and to argue for their wisdom and fruitfulness. It aims to be a useful tool for those engaged in the task of forming the faithful. A final chapter summarizes implications in this regard. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.