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Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 114-119).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duquesne University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-315).

In this dissertation, I argue that the shifts in the terrain of literary criticism in Argentina during the 1950s represent the development of what I call a “critical infrastructure,” whereby criticism came to perform an essential function for the circulation and appropriation of books and literature in a context of major transformations in book publishing and distribution. In doing so, I bring together two phenomena that belong to a single historical shift, which saw the expansion of mass cultural production, and the consequent development of material and discursive practices to distribute them and to allow them to be appropriated. On the one hand, Buenos Aires experienced a rapid expansion in its publishing industry as a consequence of the Civil War’s ravages on Spain, turning Argentina for a brief period into the world’s primary producer and exporter of Spanish language publications. On the other hand, Argentina experienced what is frequently referred to as an “eruption” in literary criticism in the 1950s, propelled by the proliferation of a number of small, independent literary journals headed by young, middle-class writers and critics. These publications represented a critical challenge to the Argentine literary establishment, which was hitherto almost exclusively comprised of intellectuals belonging to the nation’s elite. While there has been considerable academic interest in each of these phenomena, theorizing their relationship to one another offers important insights into the reasons for the increased relevance and visibility of these otherwise marginal publications. Analyzing a variety of heterogeneous periodicals (including major newspapers like La Nación and La Prensa, as well as “little magazines” such as Espiga, Centro, Bibliograma, and Contorno), I discuss the expansion and increasing contentiousness of literary criticism, which became an ever more regular and visible presence in such publications. I trace the transformations in publishing (1899-1953) to show how a process of indifferentiation among printed materials made the intervention of discursive practices —mainly performed by literary reviews— a structural necessity for the distribution and appropriation of books and literature. Drawing from Adolfo Prieto’s seminal Sociología del público argentino (1956) as well as other texts, I discuss the ways in which the presence of a mass public with ostensively heterogenous ways of “consuming” literature posed a challenged to traditional ideas about national literature, the act of reading, the “figure” of the reader, and consequently also about the nature and function of criticism. Finally, I analyze the small avant-garde magazine Letra y Línea (1953-54) to show the empowering effect this transformation had on relatively marginal, middle-class writers, who invested themselves in a radical critical task in order to seize the opportunity offered by this structural discursive need.

The aim of my dissertation is to show that Plato’s metaphysics in the Laws (Chapter 1) commits him to particular accounts of virtues (Chapter 2) and political leadership (Chapter 3).In the first chapter, I show that Laws X contains a metaphysical-cosmological theory that is directly relevant to Plato’s discussion of virtue. With this proposal, I reject the assumption that Plato’s Laws does not contain any extended discussion of metaphysics. I develop this argument by attending to a puzzling passage that, I think, has not received the attention it deserves: in X 896d-e Plato seems to talk of a good and a bad cosmic soul. Given his theological-cosmological commitments, it seems inconceivable that he takes there to be a bad cosmic soul. This passage, I argue, makes sense once we attend to the immediately preceding text. This text contains a comprehensive metaphysical account of movement in the universe. Plato presents ten kinds of movement, among them “Other Movement” and “Self/Other Movement.” Only the Self/Other Movement of the cosmic soul is independent and good. This account enables us to make sense of the passage that mentions a bad cosmic soul: Plato entertains the hypothesis that there is such a soul, because he must explain where bad things in the universe come from. But the hypothesis that they come from a bad cosmic soul is immediately dismissed. Instead, the bad in the world is generated by those kinds of movements that are “lesser” as compared to the Self/Other Movement of the cosmic soul. This includes human movement. Human beings are Dependent Self-Movers: they participate both in bodily movement (Other Movement) and in psychic movement (Self/Other Movement). Since bodily movement is dependent, human beings cannot be inherently good. This status limits humans and makes them passive, weak, and inherently vulnerable to corruption. In the second chapter of my dissertation, I turn to the intriguing notion of demotic virtues. According to Plato, attainable virtues are “demotic,” literally, “people-like.” So far, there is not much scholarship on this notion, as Plato construes it in the Laws. Insofar as there is work on demotic virtue in Plato, it tends to address passages from across the corpus. Contrary to this approach, I argue that the very framework of the Laws draws attention to the way in which human nature frames our ability to become virtuous. In the Laws, demotic virtues are the virtues of human beings. On this reading, “demotic” speaks to the ethical implications of a dependent nature. Human beings cannot attain perfect virtue. Only divine beings are perfect models of virtue; they are also perfect models of political organization, psychic states, as well as poetic and governance skills in the Laws. Demotic virtues, on the other hand, are a humanly-accessible type of virtue that does not require precise knowledge, and that everyone can possess. Given their ethical limitations, the “first-best” political system (i.e. the one achieved solely through reason) is out of human reach. But mortals have access to a second-best tool to achieve a second-best order: laws. Laws are expressions of νοῦς tailored to human needs, and are meant to make humans as godlike as possible. In the third chapter, I argue that none of Magnesia’s magistrates possesses perfect virtue. Plato first introduces demotic virtues when he discusses the city’s rulers. Why should “people-like” virtues figure in the discussion of those who are presumably best? I believe that this puzzle is instructive; its solution reveals an important aspect of the Laws’ theory of virtue. The rulers have two features (XII 965a-968a): they have cosmological knowledge about soul and universe, and they have demotic virtues. Rather than assume that both of these traits differentiate them from the non-rulers, I argue that only the first trait, their knowledge, marks them out. Rulers have knowledge that others lack, but they cannot attain a different type of virtue based on that. Through an examination of Magnesia’s offices, I show that even the highest-standing officials must make an ongoing effort to sustain virtues. An analogous consideration applies to the laws. Laws can attain a high level of goodness, but they inherit the temporal and imperfect nature of their human creators. Over time, and viewed in the light of experience, laws require amendments and corrections. Eventually, Magnesia’s officials will declare them stable, but not because they attain inherent stability. Rather, the laws should be perceived as stable, and hence the process of amendments shall be called to a halt. My account of the magistrates’ demotic virtues explains why Magnesia depends on an intricate system of examination and testing. Plato scholars tend to be fairly silent on these policies of testing. I argue, however, that Plato makes a proposal we can appreciate: rather than defend the superior standing of rulers, he argues for political accountability. This need to hold leaders accountable is the political manifestation of the type of virtue human beings can attain, one that is “people-like” rather than “divine-like.”

This thesis reports on a study involving student teachers of literature in a teacher education programme who used literary texts as catalysts for implementing change. The researcher asserted that if student teachers are empowered with sound disciplinary knowledge, effective pedagogical tools and an understanding of how to bring about academic and social change, they can make a difference to the lives of their learners, irrespective of context or resources. Critical pedagogy served as the theoretical framework for the study which was characterised by a system of interventions within six participatory action research cycles. The researcher found that participants responded positively to co-operative, experiential learning strategies in lecture-rooms that were perceived to be safe. When participants recognised that their views were respected, their interactions with others were characterised by respect as well. They realised that having agency and voice did not mean denying others the same. They felt empowered to make decisions and access resources, and they embraced challenges perceived to be valuable. By the end of the study, participants recognised that teachers can serve as primary resources in schools if they empowered themselves with deep content knowledge, pedagogical skills and a transformative agenda, and if they actively engage learners, scaffold learning, build on prior knowledge and skills, affirm histories, and enable a classroom where learners’ contributions are valued. Participants established that to serve as agents of change in the classroom, teachers need to critically reflect on their practices and confront their prejudices. In addition, they need to ascertain the underpinning philosophy of their practices. Only then can they determine the roles and functions that comprise their identities as teachers. Ultimately, the researcher draws on the knowledge from participatory action research, critical pedagogy and literary texts to enable change agency in a lecture-room at a School of Education. The thesis adds to the discourses on teacher education, participatory action research, critical pedagogy and change agency and contributes to knowledge by showing that using participatory action research and critical pedagogy in a lecture-room is feasible and useful in enabling the transformation and empowerment of students. / Ph.D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 7, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-258).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 1999. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 275-300). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p9947980.

The thesis deals with one major issue of how the amaXhosa authors reflect change and transition in the lives of their characters in the period under consideration. This change pertains both to the socio-politico-economic life of the people concerned and the contents of the books and the style of the authors' writings. The study is ground-breaking in that it goes beyond common dissection of the structural elements of the books to a synthetic study of their themes, subject matter, character portrayal and setting. The primary aim is to give a holistic overview of the changing culture of the black people against the backdrop of subjugation and transformation. Chapter 1 contains all the formal preliminary information such as aim, method, context, relevance and topicality of study. Chapter 2 anchors the study in the newspaper age as a solid foundation for the amaXhosa literature. Chapter 3 is an overview of the beginnings of literary endeavours among the amaXhosa and how they reflect the impact of socio-economic pressures in the lives of the people. Chapter 4 further illustrates the impact of education and Christianisation on the blacks as well as growing political awareness among the authors. Chapter 5 focuses on culture-clash among the amaXhosa as a result of the alienating influence of both the church and the school. Chapter 6 highlights changes in society at the height of oppression under the previous political dispensation. Chapters 7 and 8 reflect the authors' thinking and how they depict changes in post-apartheid South Africa while Chapter 9 focuses on the role of Language Boards in restricting freedom of writing and expression during the apartheid years. Chapter 10 is a general conclusion that encapsulates the main points of the thesis. / African Languages / D. Litt, et Phil. (African Languages)

The thesis deals with one major issue of how the amaXhosa authors reflect change and transition in the lives of their characters in the period under consideration. This change pertains both to the socio-politico-economic life of the people concerned and the contents of the books and the style of the authors' writings. The study is ground-breaking in that it goes beyond common dissection of the structural elements of the books to a synthetic study of their themes, subject matter, character portrayal and setting. The primary aim is to give a holistic overview of the changing culture of the black people against the backdrop of subjugation and transformation. Chapter 1 contains all the formal preliminary information such as aim, method, context, relevance and topicality of study. Chapter 2 anchors the study in the newspaper age as a solid foundation for the amaXhosa literature. Chapter 3 is an overview of the beginnings of literary endeavours among the amaXhosa and how they reflect the impact of socio-economic pressures in the lives of the people. Chapter 4 further illustrates the impact of education and Christianisation on the blacks as well as growing political awareness among the authors. Chapter 5 focuses on culture-clash among the amaXhosa as a result of the alienating influence of both the church and the school. Chapter 6 highlights changes in society at the height of oppression under the previous political dispensation. Chapters 7 and 8 reflect the authors' thinking and how they depict changes in post-apartheid South Africa while Chapter 9 focuses on the role of Language Boards in restricting freedom of writing and expression during the apartheid years. Chapter 10 is a general conclusion that encapsulates the main points of the thesis. / African Languages / D. Litt, et Phil. (African Languages)