No description available.

Gogol, Dostoevsky and Bely are three Russian novelists, most of whose writings are set in the city of St. Petersburg, and whose feelings for their city were a bizarre mixture of love and hatred. / This dissertation is divided into four chapters, the first of which is a survey of the attitudes held by the literary predecessors and contemporaries of Gogol, Dostoevsky and Bely toward St. Petersburg, and a discussion of the influence of the French feuilletons on the nineteenth-century Russian urban novel. The second chapter is an investigation of the overall image of the city as presented to the reader by the three writers. The predominantly tragic fate of the novelists' heroes is discussed in the third chapter. The final chapter is a study of six major recurrent themes which link the urban novels of Gogol, Dostoevsky and Bely.

No description available.

The following study traces modern Quebecois art from the beginning of the twentieth century with specific reference to the question of the redefinition of identity. The study mainly consists of an analysis of different strategies used by certain progressive artists like Paul-Emile Borduas, Francoise Sullivan and Jean-Paul Riopelle to impose a new reality which was simultaneously contemporary, rooted and distinct in the context of a Quebec that was emerging in modernization. By using popular or marginalized artistic forms and by seizing certain ancient models belonging to the distant past---in the non-western world or precolonial America---and by using different strategies of deconstruction and transgression of normative codes defined by the dominant ideology, these artists were able to avoid current hegemonic models in order to assert new spaces for expression and representation. Taking on modern Quebecois art from an approach belonging to diverse social sciences and humanities, this study aims to renew the analytical parameters of the traditional art history. The main challenge lies in zeroing in on the ways in which the development of modern identity (meaning the affirmation of the right to be different and to self-determination, and the development of subjectivism and expressivism) influenced avant-garde artistic productions, and which strategies artists used to replace the values imposed by traditional institutions and the dominant ideology, which in turn sparked a renewal of identity. Modern identity is based upon a principle that is modeled on two foundations: on the image that the subject will have of himself, and the impression that the Other (a bordering neighbour, cultural cousin, colonial authority or political oppressor) will have of him. In fact, this "stranger" will essentially assume the role of guaranteeing the recognition of the proposed identity. The phenomena of mythical constructions of symbolical imagination and of primitivism, in this study,

No description available.

The present thesis studies the concepts of mestizaje and Mexican identity in five essays and two short stories: La raza cosmica and Indologia, by Jose Vasconcelos; El perfil del hombre y la cultura en Mexico, by Samuel Ramos; El laberinto de la soledad and Posdata, by Octavio Paz; and finally the short stories "Chac Mool" and "Por boca de los dioses", by Carlos Fuentes. The thesis shows how the confrontation between the European and the Pre-Columbian cultures, still very much a part of the Mexican reality, affects the intellectual efforts by which those authors try to grasp the problematic of mestizaje and Mexican cultural identity. The perspectives of those four authors, from the racial and optimistic vision of Vasconcelos to the psychoanalytical and rather bleaker approach of Paz, are unable to give an objective account of mestizaje and Mexican identity, precisely because of the confrontation, never settled, between the two cultural universes.

This study, Social commitment in some Zulu literary works published during the apartheid era, was motivated by what was perceived as arrogant and superficial observations by a number of especially foreign-based critics, that all the literature in South Africa African-languages published during the apartheid period was children stuff, not worth the paper it was written on, and that it did not show any effort at commitment to, or at reflecting on the weighty social problems that civil society in South Africa had to bear. In response to such criticism, the study highlights aspects of social commitment in selected literary works, and it also sketches the committed approach as part of the African literary outlook. It traces commitment in oral traditional literature, where it appears that the great preoccupation of the oral society was that none of the achievements of the human spirit get lost. The proverbs clearly reflect on, and offer directives for, day-to-day problems, while myths represent reflections on the fate of man and the world. Folktales use common problems in life and family as the basis for the conflictual situations to be resolved. Izibongo (praise poems) declaim the heroic deeds of our leaders, trace our history, and demonstrate that, even in moments of glory, the needs of the people must be taken care of on pain of being negatively labelled with invectives that will reverberate through the centuries. In a brief survey on the early 20th century stages of South African literature in African languages (Zulu, Xhosa, S. Sotho) it was noted that our pioneer writers made a gigantic effort to experiment with genres, forms and contents, and, in the process, to reflect on the anxieties caused by the often bewildering encounter of Mrica with the west. Our early writers excel in creating poetry that amalgamates tradition and modernization, but in the narrative genres they seem to be able to be more genial and creative when they deal with historical material, possibly because they feel more at home with an inspiration that imitates the glorious praise poetry and are thus able to deal with the present in terms of past events, without upsetting critics or education authorities. Then the decades of the expected maturity arrived -from the 1960s to the 1990s, but the seeds of vibrant originality sown during the previous period were cruelly trampled over and squashed, possibly by both the apartheid-appointed censors and by the fear that they would object to any 'committed' writing and destine it for the dustbin. Fear, self-imposed censorship, and possibly more than a little laziness hampered vigorous developments of literatures that had appeared very promising at their emergence. Listed here are a number of works in Xhosa, Southern Sotho, Zulu and Shona. The contributions of English and Afrikaans works to South African literary development are also outlined. The fact that most works were meant for schools caused a further restraint on originality and creativity, although it should have spurred the authors on to do their very best, because through the schools they were moulding the future of the nation. But a number of authors were valiantly able to overcome the general self-defeating frustrations and to rise to the challenge of producing excellent material, outstanding in both form and content. Some such works are examined and exemplified in the thesis. One of I.S. Kubheka's novels, Ulaka LwabaNguni, is analysed to show the depth of the conflict between Africa and the west, between country and city life, between western schooled and traditionally educated people. The new ways could become a monster that swallows everything and everybody, specially if one is unable to keep the animal on the chain of ubuntu that allows only as much westernization of the mind as can go hand in hand with the greatest traditional values. Then follows the analysis of three historically based plays and one novel. History offers the opportunity of speaking about the present by describing the past. Msimang and Zondi do exactly this, and offer visions of today's social problems that become clearer when placed on the lips of people such as Mkabayi, Shaka, Cetshwayo, Bhambatha. Each of these works is a clarion call to wake up and be counted, because the new Africa is rising, both soulful and promising, full of expectations if one is able to overcome present day restrictions. The author of this research fervently hopes that this work will produce better understanding among the South African races, and give birth to an era of multilingualism and multiculturalism, where the differences are treatgd115 gifts rather than obstacles. The country is great, and its populations present an extraordinary wealth of life and experience, especially when all is viewed through the prism of the colours of the rainbow, generously reflected in the new South African flag. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

This research examines the significance of water as it has been used as a subject in the visual arts, with particular concentration on the use of geometry as a means of accessing pictorial possibilities. The study focuses specifically on selected paintings by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), Oscar Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Pat Steir (1940-) including some of Steir's etchings, to further demonstrate her thought processes and techniques. It is argued that the paintings of all three artists, although widely divergent yet include threads of commonality and convergence. All explore the fundamental structure of nature (in this case water) through geometry. In addition, spatial concepts through the use of light and colour are closely intertwined and give rise to metaphysical implications. Turner and Monet broke the bonds of the existing academic composition and style of painting. Their paintings pointed the way for artists of the twentieth century, like Steir to further explore the close relationship between the motif and abstract painting. References to paintings, other than the selected paintings, by these artists will be made in order to illustrate their different approaches yet similar objectives. Finally the relevance of the study to the candidate's own work will be correlated. The dissertation intends to offer a new interpretation of water as a subject in painting, by illuminating and illustrating aspects of the selected paintings by Turner, Monet and Steir. In conclusion, it is anticipated that this discourse will enrich and complement previous interpretations of water, when used as a subject in visual art. It is also envisaged that the study will suggest further research on the subject. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Kwazulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The central purpose of this dissertation is to discuss different ways in which land and the broader natural environment has been used as a vehicle or medium in art-making, with a specific focus on the works of Jenny Cullinan and Lynne Hull and the candidate. The work centres on artworks that are in the landscape, of the landscape, in the earth, of the earth or predominantly concerned with ecological issues and the inter-relatedness of all living systems. It is argued that artworks included under the general appellation land or environmental art may be widely divergent in character, notwithstanding threads of commonality and convergence. In addition, the often fluid or ambiguous nature of the terminology associated with this area of investigation has necessitated some definition of key terms. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

This dissertation is an amalgam of reformulated essays on artists who had connections with 20-21st century KwaZulu-Natal: They appeared in exhibition catalogues that accompanied the exhibitions; The Azaria Mbatha Retrospective, 1998, The Trevor Makhoba Memorial, 2005 and Cyprian Mpho Shilakoe Revisited, 2006. Chapter 1, the introduction; outlines the chapters, gives the theoretical and broader theoretical framework, history of the region and art therein, literature survey and methodology. Central to the theoretical framework is an attempt to meld the original essays into a coherent whole; by expanding the interpretation of indigenous cultural world-view to include the concept of orality versus literate cultures. Even in the transformation to literacy with westernization and Christianity the African oral mind-set is still operative; thus for instance the early Zulu writers like R.R.R. Dhlomo rendered the Zulu kings‘ oral praise-poems into written form and these became set-works for Zulu schools up until the 1994 new dispensation. Also dealt with are related issues of what therefore constitutes 'Africanness‘ and debates whether it is but the invention of the west in need of the 'Other‘ (something arguably pertinent to the art-collector‘s reasons for collecting), or if there is that own to the African style, like the oral style, which can be termed a 'legitimate Africanness‘ if one will. Further, how this style then exhibits itself in the visual arts as a 'preferred form‘ in terms of medium, colour, patterning and favored technique which best conspire to express these qualities. Chapter 2 (essay 1) and chapter 3 (essay 2), carry forward the assumptions made in the introduction. In modern times the oral genre has developed into an exciting style; namely the development of urban, often migrant musical forms, like isicathimiya, that challenge politics, social-wrongs, racism and taboos. It is argued that an artist like Trevor Makhoba can be considered a social commentator and 'master of the oral genre‘ in that he rendered this style into visual form. Certain of Makhoba‘s works depicting white females and black males are analyzed in this light and it is suggested that the oral genre also draws upon both stereotypical and universal archetypal imagery. Chapter 3 (essay 2) considers Azaria Mbatha‘s use of the older oral story-telling mode, rendered in linocut medium as an echo of earlier indigenous wooden 'pokerwork‘ panels, to transmit a political message in line with concepts of African Christianity, itself a syncretism of the Christian message with African world-view. This allegory was needed in a time where the Nationalist Government would have made open insurrection impossible. Chapter 4 (essay 3) concerns ex-Rorke‘s Drift art-student Cyprian Shilakoe. I analyze his aquatints in the light of his own Sotho cultural ideas on contagion and the ancestors for deeper meaning. The fact of culture change is accepted and mention is made of the artist‘s friend and fellow student, Dan Rakgoathe‘s melding of western esoteric mysticism, like Rosicrucianism, into African thinking and how far this impacted on the more traditional Shilakoe‘s works. The essays are followed by Chapter 5, the conclusion, which serves to come to some resolution. This is then followed by the bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.