Diss. : Kunstgeschichte : Zürich : 1984. / Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich, 1984.

Los Angeles has long been identified as a fragmented city, by nature of its cosmology and those constructed perceptions that constitute it in the collective imaginary. In an effort to articulate, interrogate and understand such a place, we have come to rely on its representations to function as mediators of meaning, delivering through their simulation of the city an experience of the real, lived Los Angeles. As a result, the relationships between the real and the representation become skewed, altering the processes by which we engage with the everyday. To better understand the implications of this dialectic, I examine four representations of the city: Disneyland, David Hockney’s “Domestic Scene, Los Angeles,” David Gebhard and Robert Winter’s A Guide to Architecture in Southern California and the BBC “One Pair of Eyes” installment “Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles.” By analyzing representations of Los Angeles produced in a range of media, it becomes possible to discern the complex relationships between the real and envisioned Los Angeles, and to recognize the constructive force that emerges out of this discursive space. / text

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Loneliness, unhappiness, and discord pervade David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest. Parental neglect and abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, and obsession with entertainment all work to increase characters’ narcissism and self-absorption. This increased narcissism prevents characters from developing meaningful relationships, and this absence of meaningful relationships contributes to the feeling of sadness that plagues the Organization of North American Nations. Rather than confronting reality and working to overcome their sadness by attempting to form meaningful relationships, characters instead seek to escape this sadness through the various fantasies provided by drug-use and entertainment. These fantasies only work to exacerbate characters’ self-absorption and narcissism which consequently increases their unhappiness. Certain characters are able to break free of these narcissistic impulses by turning outwards to form meaningful relationships. As these characters break free of the “cage of the self” (777), they experience a sense of meaning and happiness that other characters are without. / iv, 114 leaves ; 29 cm

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2003. / Advisor: John Ferns. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-241). Also available via World Wide Web.

Diss. Karlstad : Karlstads universitet, 2007.

Originally published as author's dissertation--Munich, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [245]-252).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Amsterdam, 1903.

Thesis--Paris VII, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 423-444).