Islamic theology is a new invention in today’s secular universities, at least when it comes to studying Islam with a critical and constructive approach. As a muslim practice theology is often perceived as ʿilm al-kalām, with its use of philosophical method to gain knowledge of God. In the work Modern Muslim Theology Martin Nguyen looks for a different definition of theology where he defines theology in its fullest sense as a way to engage yourself with the Divine. The question is, is this theology as such modern? The Sufis - and in this work Abū ʾAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī from Khurasan - where concerned more with an ascetic way of living rather than one fashioned by systematic doctrine, as a way to knowledge and union with God. This work in Islamic systematic theology investigates al-Sulamī’s theology and shines light on a classic example of a theology of engagement, with its possibilities of being an alternative way of knowledge in relation to kalām in Islamic theology. The study shows that al-Sulamī’s Sufism concerned with denegrating the ego-self and refinement of character constitutes its own path to theology. The study also shows that this form of theology is a challenge to the way in which theology is conducted at secular universities.

As educators and administrators continue to struggle with the low literacy proficiency rates in this country, a new genre of literature is making its way into the classroom. Young Adult Literature, such as the works of John Green, are becoming a more familiar sight inside the classroom. However, some parents, educators, and members of the school districts are not happy with this new trend. In the last year, alone, young adult books have been challenged hundreds of times in hopes of getting them removed from the classroom and library. I believe that these books need to stay in the schools, though. Through this thesis, I explore the possibility of Young Adult Literature having more of a presence in the secondary English Language Arts classroom in order to increase motivation, engagement, social awareness, and literacy rates. In this research project, only 13% of 11th and 12th grade English Language Arts students reported enjoying the reading they were currently assigned, despite their statement that they enjoy reading, in general. These books do not lead to motivated and engaged readers. By incorporating Young Adult Literature into the standard curriculum of an English Language Arts classroom, teachers can enhance motivation, engagement, and productivity. Students can continue to learn the same literary concepts and techniques, in addition to being exposed to current social problems. When Young Adult Literature is brought into a classroom, an environment is created in which students can learn what they think, why they think it, and how to respect the differing opinions of others.

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This study examines the role of social media in maintaining interest in classic cinema in today’s media culture. Ethnographic analyses and case studies were performed within a robust classic cinema fan network on the social media blogging site Tumblr. The practices of these bloggers and their online platform are framed against the traditional structure of the curator and museum, indicating that they serve many of the cultural functions attributed to these institutions. This study further demonstrates that these Tumblr networks serve as a resource for young people to discover, share, and create communities relating to classic cinema. Due to the networking capabilities of Tumblr’s youth-oriented platform, these fan activities reach a broad range of individuals, exposing them to scenes and actors from classic cinema, stimulating interest in and acceptance of the cinematic framework of classic films. This content visibility and distribution potentially draws those outside the community into the extant fan network. These communities and practices represent previously unexplored methods by which classic cinema appreciation may develop and thrive within the fast-paced media culture of the 21st century. / text

The process by which the classical music business operates in the UK changed significantly through the marketing of a classical music recording which took place in 1989. EMI’s recording of Vivaldi’s work Four Seasons with the violinist Nigel Kennedy was given a unique marketing campaign for a classical music recording. Instead of the traditional marketing approach for a classical music release, pop marketing techniques were employed. In a different but related development, in 1990, the first of the Three Tenors concerts was held in Rome to mark the final match of the 1990 Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) world cup competition. The success of this second record campaign lay in the novelty of three tenors performing together at a football competition. The result was classical music achieving worldwide exposure through global radio and television broadcasts. Both case studies help further classical music as a form of popular culture. Earlier precedent demonstrates pieces of classical music being used for adverts or films and becoming popular. For example Ravel’s Bolero was used in a seduction scene in the film 10 between Bo Derek and Dudley Moore in 1984, and by ice-skaters Torvill and Dean in the same year for the final of the 1984 Winter Olympics. Another example is Orff’s Carmina Burana sections of which have been used for aftershave and lager adverts as well as being sung at football matches. Because the reach of the audience is larger than that in a traditional classical music setting, the pieces achieve a mass cultural perspective in this context. My thesis examines the impact that the success of the Four Seasons and Three Tenors releases had on the classical music business and the development in marketing and selling techniques that emanated from their success. Examples of marketing campaigns post the Four Seasons are included to show the extent of non-traditional classical marketing techniques used subsequently by the classical music industry, some of which I devised and implemented. My research also analyses how trading over the internet has had an impact on the music business as a whole, and how the classical music sector has followed the pop area of the music industry in creating different ways of selling to traditional and new consumers through online trading. This part of the thesis focuses on the period between 2000-2010, especially from 2006 when developments in this field progressed. My study will draw on a Case Study approach using multiple data collection methods. Also employed is descriptive analysis using a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques, in particular through industry reports. The reasons for the sales success of both recordings are examined in my thesis. The Four Seasons achieved 2 million sales and an entry into the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling classical music recording of all time at that point. The recording of the 1990 Three Tenors concert and the successive recordings of similar concerts in 1994 and 1998 led to these albums becoming the all-time best-selling classical recordings. For example, worldwide sales for the 1990 recording reached over 12 million CDs, cassettes and videos combined and 23 million for the 1990, 1994 and 1998 Three Tenors recordings. These projects not only gave increased exposure to the classical music genre by expanding its traditional consumer reach, they also created a force for change in business models affecting the marketing and visibility of classical music since 1989. A further significant factor in the success of these vocal recordings (as well as the chance for classical music to be heard outside its traditional boundary) was the use of the arresting aria Nessun dorma from Puccini’s opera Turandot. This was sung by Pavarotti and used by the BBC for all its programmes broadcasting the 1990 football matches in the competition. The effect of internet selling and downloading on the music business was encouraged by the creation of Apple’s iTunes program in 2001. The invention of the iPod in 2002 and the legal entity of Napster in 2004 led to much increased accessibility of music. For classical music with its long movements and being part of a slow-moving market (compared to pop music), this area of the business only witnessed an increase in activity through the expansion of Broadband nationally during 2006 and 2007, reaching 70% in 2009 (discussed on page 90, chapter 4). Since then, the growth of classical music e-tailers has forged a new way of operating in the classical music field. The thesis will give examples of the leading companies trading over the internet and their influence on the classical music market. Contributions from practitioners in the music business inform my thesis through their own witnessing of changes in the classical music business since the Four Seasons campaign. My own experience as a former Head of Press and Promotion for both Decca Classics and EMI Classics, and also currently as a marketing and business consultant for classical music organisations, offers a useful and relevant addition to my research. My contribution to knowledge is to identify the adaptation of pop music marketing tools by the classical music industry over a 20 year time frame. My close involvement in the EMI Four Seasons campaign places me in a unique position to identify and evaluate the significance of the publicity campaign of that recording not only at that time but in the years that followed.

La ville préhispanique de Cantona, située dans la vallée d’Oriental dans l’état de Puebla au Mexique, atteignit sa première apogée culturelle entre 150 av. J.C. et 600/650 A.D. Durant cette période, des complexes cérémoniaux comprenant des groupes de pyramides-temples et des terrains de jeu de balle furent construits. Ces installations servirent au déroulement de nombreux rites au cours desquels les victimes de sacrifices étaient décapitées, démembrées, décharnées, écorchées, bouillies, brûlées et, dans certains cas, consommées. D’autres traitements du corps humain comportent l’inhumation d’individus en position assise et repliés sur eux-mêmes. Pour mieux comprendre le traitement mortuaire rituel des corps humains à Cantona, les découvertes faites sur place sont comparées aux données datant de la même époque obtenues dans trois régions voisines : la vallée de Mexico, Puebla-Tlaxcala et le golfe du Mexique. A partir de ces renseignements, on peut en déduire que la majorité des découvertes faites à Cantona sont les restes des dépouilles et offrandes provenant de rites destinés à la communication avec les dieux et à l’obtention de la fertilité, tandis que les dépouilles des individus en position assise appartiennent à des prêtres ou à des personnages religieux. / The prehispanic city of Cantona, located in the Valley of Oriental in the state of Puebla, Mexico, reached its first cultural apogee between 150 B.C. - 600/650 A.D. During this time, ceremonial complexes such as Temple Pyramid Groups and ballcourts were constructed. These served as the location for a number of rituals involving the beheading, dismemberment, defleshing, flaying, boiling, burning, and in some cases, the consumption of sacrifice victims. Other human body treatment included the burial of individuals in flexed seated positions. To better understand the ritual mortuary treatment of human bodies at Cantona, the finds are compared with data from three neighboring areas: the Valley of Mexico, Puebla-Tlaxcala, and the Gulf of Mexico. From this information, it can be deduced that most of discoveries at Cantona are the remains of rites dedicated to deity communication and fertility while those of individuals in flexed, seated positions belong to religious actors. / La ciudad prehispánica de Cantona, ubicada en el valle de Oriental dentro del estado de Puebla, Mexico, tuvo su primer apogeo cultural entre 150 a.ne. y 600/650 d.n.e. Durante ese periodo, se edificaron gran número de complejos ceremoniales tal como Grupos de Templo Pirámide y canchas de juego de pelota. Estas construcciones sirvieron como sitios rituales en donde se llevaron a cabo gran número de ritos, los cuales, en parte, consistían en decapitar, desmembrar, descarnar, desollar, hervir, quemar, y, en algunos casos, comer a las víctimas humanas de los sacrificios. En otros casos, los cuerpos humanos fueron encontrados en posición flexionada y sentada. Para entender mejor el tratamiento ritual de cuerpos humanos en Cantona, estos descubrimientos fueron comparados con información obtenida de tres regiones cercanas: el Valle de México, Puebla-Tlaxcala y la Costa del Golfo. Esto permitió deducir que la mayoría de los hallazgos en Cantona representan los restos de ritos dedicados a la comunicación con divinidades y a la fertilidad, mientras que los individuos encontrados en posición flexionada y sentada corresponden a sacerdotes o actores rituales difuntos.

Ce mémoire porte sur l’étude de l’orientation des sépultures mayas de la Période Classique (250 - 900/1000 de notre ère). Il s’agit d’une recherche visant à comprendre le choix d’une orientation sud des défunts dans la vallée du Belize et ses environs. L’intérêt porté à cette région vient du fait que l’orientation sud des défunts est un phénomène que l’on retrouve rarement sur le territoire maya, sauf à cet endroit. Alors que la présence de la cardinalité en lien avec la cosmovision maya est attestée dans l’architecture, le plan des sites, la forme et la fonction des divinités, dans l’agriculture, etc., il est plutôt rare qu’elle soit analysée dans les études du traitement funéraire. Ainsi, le but de cette recherche est de saisir l’ampleur de la pratique de l’orientation sud des défunts sur le territoire maya, de comprendre son origine et sa ou ses possible(s) signification(s). Les données des sépultures de la Période Classique de cinq sites de la vallée du Belize (Baking Pot, Barton Ramie, Blackman Eddy, Cahal Pech et Xunantunich), de quatre sites du Plateau Vaca (Minanha, Pacbitun, Mountain Cow et Caracol) et de trois sites situés à l’ouest (Holmul) et au nord (San José et Altun Ha) de ces deux régions sont compilées. Les résultats révèlent que le coeur de cette pratique se trouve dans la vallée du Belize, bien qu’une orientation sud des défunts ait été retrouvée partout. Cette pratique semble apparaitre à la fin de la Période Préclassique et les analyses ne révèlent pas de lien entre l’orientation sud et certaines variables (âge, sexe, position du défunt). Finalement, on arrive à la conclusion qu’il est possible que cette orientation sud des défunts soit en lien avec le passage des défunts dans l’inframonde et que cela forme un choix culturel local en lien avec le statut et l’identité du défunt. / This thesis focuses on the study of the orientation of Classic Maya burials (AD 250 - 900/1000). The research is directed towards the understanding of the presence of the south orientation of burials in the Belize Valley and its surroundings. While the presence of the cardinality of the Mayan worldview is established as reflected in the architecture, settlement patterns, form and function of divine agents, agriculture, etc., it is rarely analyzed in funerary treatment studies. Thus, the aim of this research is to understand the extent of the practice of the south orientation of the deceased on the Mayan territory, to understand its origin, and its possible signification(s). Data from the Classic burials of five Belize Valley sites (Baking Pot, Barton Ramie, Blackman Eddy, Cahal Pech, and Xunantunich), four Vaca Plateau sites (Minanha, Pacbitun, Mountain Cow, and Caracol), and three sites located west (Holmul) and north (San José and Altun Ha) of the two previous regions have been compiled. The results reveal that the heart of this practice lies in the Belize Valley, although a south orientation of the deceased was found everywhere. This practice seems to appear at the end of the Preclassic Period and analysis revealed no link between south orientation and certain variables (age, sex, position of the deceased). Finally, it was found that it is possible that south orientation of the deceased is connected with the passage of the deceased in the underworld, and that it is a local choice in connection with the status and the identity of the deceased.

Le rétablissement de l’égalité rompue entre les époux était l’une des questions épineuses qui ont motivé les différentes réclamations des réformes du droit de la famille au Maroc.La nouvelle voie de divorce pour discorde s’inscrit dans cette logique qui est d’octroyer à la femme le droit de se libérer du lien de mariage sans qu’elle ait besoin d’établir aucun motif, tout comme le droit du mari à la répudiation.La procédure de discorde, d’origine purement religieuse, est appelée à assurer une double fonction, d’une part, répondre à la question du référentiel religieux, d’autre part, rétablir l’égalité entre les sexes lors de la rupture du lien conjugal. Mais la réglementation législative de cette institution cache un consensus entre les deux courants : conservateur traditionaliste et celui favorable à la promotion des droits de la femme, ce qui ne manque de se répercuter sur la pratique jurisprudentielle et l’appréhension doctrinale de la procédure de divorce et menace l’existence même des motifs classiques de divorce voire de la répudiation. / Restoring the equality disrupted between spouses is one of the big issues which motivated the claims to reform the family code in Morocco.The new divorce on the ground of discord is to grant women the right to free herself from the marriage bond without providing a cause, same as the right of men of repudiation.The discord procedure, which is purely religious, aims at answering the religious terms of reference and restoring the equality between men and women when the marital bond is terminated.However, the legislative regulation in this institution hides a consensus between the two parties: conservative and traditionalist vrs the one in favor of promoting women’s right. This affect the practice of the law case and the apprehension of doctrinal nature of the divorce procedure. It also presents a threat to the classic causes of divorce and even to the repudiation.

Bien que La Fontaine ait explicitement placé ses Contes dans la lignée de grands recueils de narrations plaisantes, comme le Décaméron, les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles ou l’Heptaméron, cette filiation assumée masque deux énigmes. La première concerne la transmission de ces modèles prestigieux jusqu’au poète ; ceux-ci ont en effet connu une diffusion européenne par le biais de compilations anonymes mal connues, agissant comme autant de filtres qu’il faut mieux évaluer. La seconde est celle de l’influence, sous-estimée, de cette production récréative multiforme sur l’autre versant de l’œuvre de La Fontaine, rédigé parallèlement aux Contes : celui des Fables. Il est donc nécessaire de confronter ces deux œuvres du poète, abordées de manière solidaire, à un corpus d’une centaine de recueils de narrations brèves à visée divertissante, écrits entre le XVe et le XVIIe siècle, pour cerner ce que les Contes et les Fables doivent précisément à cette tradition plaisante. L’enquête, fondée sur des investigations archéologiques minutieuses, conduit à mesurer, dans les textes lafontainiens, les reprises (directes ou médiatisées) de canevas facétieux, les modalités d’adaptation stylistique de cet héritage ancien, et les nouveaux mécanismes de différenciation générique entre vis comica et vis gnomica. La relation entretenue par La Fontaine avec ce patrimoine pluriséculaire, associé à une Renaissance gaillarde, permet, plus largement, de mieux comprendre les rapports ambivalents de l’âge classique avec un passé perçu comme plus rieur. Sont ainsi posés les fondements d’une esthétique de l’influence, articulant les recherches génétiques, les micro-analyses littéraires et l’histoire des représentations. / Although La Fontaine claimed that his Tales were deliberately imitating some famous collections of amusing stories, such as The Decameron or French Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles and Heptaméron, two questions remain unresolved. The first one deals with how those prestigious models were passed on to the poet; little-known, anonymous compilations that both spread those narratives throughout Europe and influenced the way they were read, are to be taken into consideration in this process. The second one is about the undervalued influence of these protean entertaining texts on the other part of La Fontaine’s works, written at the same time as his Tales: the Fables. Those two works, tackled as a coherent whole, must therefore be collated to a corpus of about one hundred books collecting short, funny narratives, mainly written between the XVth and the XVIIth century – in order to define the precise debt of the Tales and Fables to this merry literary tradition. Thorough archeological investigations are the basis of this survey that determines, within La Fontaine’s texts, how the poet rewrote some jokes he knew directly or indirectly ; which stylistic devices he invented to adapt this ancient legacy ; how he renewed the way the didactic genres are differentiated from the comic ones. The view La Fontaine had of this long-aged heritage, seen as the product of a saucy Renaissance, entails a broader and better understanding of the ambiguous relations between the classic era and a past supposed to have been more cheerful. This lays the foundations of an aesthetics of influence, which links together genetic research, close-reading of literary texts and history of cultural representations.

Este trabalho é sobre idéia de governo no pensamento político do filósofo moral e do direito, radical político e teórico constitucional inglês Jeremy Bentham (1748- 1832). Após uma breve exposição dos principais temas e questões exploradas, bem como, dos respectivos momentos da sua vida intelectual, argumento a favor de que é possível extrair da crítica política e jurídica de Bentham a Blackstone alguns elementos da sua concepção de governo e visão sobre a política. Argumenta-se a favor de certa convergência entre as posições de Bacon e de Bentham com relação aos projetos de reforma penal, concepção de governo, métodos de investigação e ontologia da política. Também, é explorada a sugestão de que tal convergência pode ser explicada em virtude dos princípios filosóficos similares adotados por ambos. A principal conclusão é a de que a linha de interpretação discutida pode fornecer uma melhor compreensão sobre as conexões entre a variedade de assuntos explorados nos escritos jurídicos-políticos de Bentham. / This work is about the idea of the government in the political thought of the English utilitarian moral and legal philosopher, political radical and constitutional theorist Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). After a brief exposition of the main themes and questions explored by him and the respective moments of his intellectual life, give evidence it is possible to extract from Bentham´s political and juridical criticism to the Blackstone some elements of his government conception and vision about politics. It is argued in favor of some convergence between Bacon´s and Bentham´s positions concerning legal reform projects, government conception, investigation methods, and political ontology; also, the suggestion that it can be explained by their similar philosophical principles is explored. The main conclusion is that the line of the interpretation discussed can provide a better understanding about the connections among the variety of the issues concerning the government theme explored in the Bentham´s juridical-political works.