This thesis describes and analyzes the practice of Sufism in a contemporary setting in Ankara from the insider point of view. The research deals critically with various approaches to Sufism in the field of anthropology, and introduces the Sufi scene in Turkey. The subject of the study is a Sufi formation which eludes categories in the field of Sufism, presenting close master/disciple relationships instead of institutional structures and normativity, and avoiding dichotomies such as modern/traditional, sacred/profane or unity/multiplicity. The research focuses on the interaction between its lack of form and the content of this particular Sufi practice, on the levels of the individuals and the group, and contextualizes it within the tradition of Islam. It also analyzes the processes of change occurred in the formation and within individuals during the time with the master and after his death. Plurality, respect for individual and cultural differences, deconstruction of existing categories &ndash / such as being, religion, the self, power and hierarchy-, ambiguity, the processuality and the open-endedness of experience and signification processes are important characteristics of the formation. Participants in the ethnographic research are restricted to the educated middle-class members of the formation. The applied method of research is Multi Grounded Theory enriched with the phenomenological mode of interviewing and collaboration of the members of the formation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-250). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Šiame darbe aptariamos kinetinės tipografikos atsiradimo prielaidos: klasikinis modernizmas, šrifto įtaigos įteisinimas, kinas. Analizuojami ryšiai tarp kinetinės tipografikos ir naujųjų medijų. Kalbama apie kinetinės tipografikos vizualinę ir stilistinę raišką, estetinius siekius, atsižvelgiant į tipografikos modifikacijas. Įvardijami skirtumai tarp kinetinės tipografikos ir spausdintinės eksperimentinės tipografikos, išryškinama kinetinės tipografikos komunikavimo specifiką. / This work discusses about the main assumptions of kinetic typography: classical modernism, validation of the font suggestion,film. This work analyzes the connection between kinetic typography and new media. It is about visual and stylistic expression of kinetic typography, aesthetic aspirations, considering to modifications of typography. This work identifies the differences between the kinetic typography and printed experimental typography, it highlights the communication specifics of kinetic typography.

This dissertation analyses a number of key themes in the work of postcolonial theorist and literary critic Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and uses her ideas to argue for the usefulness of both deconstructive and postmodern thought in a postcolonial context generally, and in South Africa in particular. The early part of the thesis presents a brief overview of Spivak's work (Chapter 1) and discusses its relationship with Derridean deconstruction and what I have called "progressive postmodern thought". Chapter 2 explores in detail Spivak's use of theoretical concepts adapted from, or closely related to, deconstruction. Perhaps the most important of these is catachresis - the idea that all naming is in a sense false, and the words we use to conceptualise the world must be seen as "inadequate, yet necessary". The thesis looks at how Spivak foregrounds the methodological consequences of this insight in her own practice of constantly revisiting and rethinking her own conclusions, and also at the political consequences of recognising specific terms like "nation", "identity" or "woman" as catachrestic. Closely related to this area of Spivak's work are her idea of "strategic essentialism" and her adaptation of Derrida's concept of the pharmakon -- that which is simultaneously poison and medicine. Chapter 3 relates Spivak's work to three key areas of postmodern thought: alterity, and the ethics of the relationship between self and other; Lyotard's notions of the differand and the "unpresentable"; and aporia, or the ethical and political consequences of undecidability. I argue here that all of these emphases are potentially very useful in postcolonial studies, particularly in relation to the predicament - of the gendered subaltern, and that they help to define a progressive postmodern politics. The remainder of the dissertation discusses individual essays at greater length. Chapter 4 focuses in the main on "Can the Subaltern Speak?" (1988) and Spivak's arguments concerning the nature of subalternity and the politics of representation. Chapter 5 examines Spivak's engagement with French Feminism and her feminist critiques of mainstream deconstruction, arguing that Spivak's use of deconstruction undermines the opposition between linguistic and material forms of oppression and hence between theory and practice. Chapter 6 focuses on Spivak's reading of literary texts and raises issues concerning, inter alia, the production of the first world self at the expense of the third world other; the limits of both metropolitan theories and narratives of national liberation, democracy and development in relation to the experience of the gendered subaltern; reading the text of the subaltern body; the (impossible but necessary) ethical relationship between first world feminist and the subaltern in neocolonial space; rights and responsibility; the need to respect subaltern selfhood; and the possibility of what Spivak calls "learning from below". Finally, I look at the relevance of Spivak's thought to three areas of South African political and academic life: conflicts over representation within the local Women's movement; notions of national origin and national identity; and debates over deconstruction and the relationship between the academy and society. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

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

This essay is an attempt at examining the general logic of derivation, the organisational geno-practice of financial derivationówhat I have called: reiterative derivation. I will endeavour to reiterate, to repeat otherwise, to displace the derivative distinction which apart from providing the financial markets with ever new business opportunities, makes financial instruments like options and futures the potential turning point, the crisis, the utmost risk, the pure possibility, of any economic reality. Stated another way, reiterative derivation is the opening of economy, the economyís way out, its line of flight, its passibility, the invention of its future. A derivative is a financial strategy designed to handle price risks, value fluctuations in its underlying economy; it performs this task by acting simultaneously as either an instrument or a marketable commodity. Offering itself not only as a forceful appendage, a financial device, but as the possibility to deterritorialise displace unsecure uproot its underlying economic reality, the derivative displays an extremely creative approach to the economic world. What I would like to indicate in and through the present essay, then, is how financial derivation works. Not so much, perhaps, in the instrumental sense, but rather as a vehicle allowing one to create and travel into economic worlds, or, perhaps better, economic assemblages, economic ensembles so complex and complicated that they can no longer be understood as either this or that, either, for instance, real or imaginary, but should rather be interstood as imaginary economic realities, either or ... or ... or ... both and ... and ... and ... Abstract, as I use it here, should not be understood in its (perhaps) most common or ordinary sense, as a summary or epitome, as something that presents the point, comprises or concentrates the essence of my essay and thereby facilitates its comprehension. It should rather be interstood as, at one and the same time, a deviation, a diversion, an attempt to draw your attention away from the textual strategies employed (the word abstract derives from the Latin verb abstrahere, to draw away, withdraw); to ìguideî your reading, that is to say, to lure you into the textís own protocols of reading, sheltering thereby the text from being conceived too generously, a way of inviting you to invent your own reading, to write while reading, to proceed with a Deleuzean restrained step, to decide without choosing, to hold while letting go, to grasp while leaving be, to open yourself up to what is still to come, to not knowing what will happen before it happens, to the possibility of nothing happening, towards that which is (always) in the process of coming about, to adventure, the future, to the theme of this essay: the experience of financial derivation, the geno-practice of financial derivation, the economyís monstrous other, the economic futureóto, in short: reiterative derivation.

Unemployment is a major problem in South Africa that has the potential to erode the democratic future of this country. In general, the main economic approaches that deal with unemployment are informed by neo-liberal and neo-Marxist perspectives. The problem is that these perspectives are in a dialectical tension with each other and can increase conflict and unemployment. This dialectical tension is reflected in language that can be informed by the reductionist aspects of the ontologies perspectives. The purpose of this study is to inquire whether the deconstruction of Jacques Derrida can provide an alternative perspective for the dialectical tension present between neo-liberal and neo-Marxist approaches that are being used to address the problem of unemployment in the South African context. In this regard, the critique of the language of reductionist ontologies by deconstruction provides a means to move beyond the tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism, because deconstruction uncovers the ambivalence of the language of both perspectives, but without constructing a new synthesis that may result in new reductions of reality. This reduction of reality is evident in the use of “growth momentum”, referred to by Rodrik (2008:3), as a suggestion of a neo-liberal solution to the problem of unemployment. Growth is a reference to natural processes that can become a means to hide the mechanical structure of the economic cycle, which again has the potential to restrict growth through extreme forms of inequality and greed. Neo-Marxist perspectives utilise references to “equality” and “government intervention” to deal with injustice. This can result in extreme forms of control that diminish human dignity. The role of deconstruction for the language of economic theory is illustrated by Jacques Derrida’s use of the word “Gift”. A gift is ambivalent because it contains a tension between self-interest and justice, which Jacques Derrida refers to as “hospitable narcissism”. It will be argued that this ambivalence is present in the language of the economic theory of John Maynard Keynes, which may provide important sustainable economic perspectives for dealing with unemployment in South Africa, thus providing a practical application of hospitable narcissism. In this regard, deconstruction is helpful to develop sensitivity to the language used and the ontologies that inform the language when addressing unemployment. The gift advances human dignity through responsible governance that is critical of 5 uncontrolled self-interest, greed and corruption. This happens through engagement with unemployed people – an act of accountability. In this regard, the study aims at researching the following goals: Firstly, it aims to argue that unemployment in general is perpetuated by the dialectical tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism; secondly, the deconstruction of language provides a critical perspective on reality that opens new perspectives for discussing the possibility of sustainable economic language, with reference to the word “gift”; thirdly, an aspect of “the gift” is present in the economic theory of Keynes that may provide sustainable perspectives for unemployment in the South African context. In order to reach these goals, a praxis methodology is followed in which the practical reality of unemployment and the dialectical tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism in South Africa are the points of departure. The implication is that the economic reality of unemployment and the political tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism form the basis for further philosophical reflection. To do this, a deconstructive approach is followed as a means to explore the ontology of neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism. This is followed by a deconstructive reading of the economic theory that John Maynard Keynes follows in order to provide alternative perspectives for the problem of unemployment in South Africa. The following resources were consulted in the research: Library catalogue of the North-West University, research articles through the database of Ebsco-host, statistics of unemployment from Statistics South Africa, and newspaper articles. This mini-dissertation is presented in the form of an article, in accordance with rule A.7.2.5 of the “General Academic Rules” of the North-West University. The article will be presented for publication in the journal Acta Academica, at a later stage. In this regard, the guidelines for publication of this journal are included in the appendix. The article contains the following subdivisions: 1. Introduction 2. Neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism: Contemporary research of unemployment in South Africa 3. Deconstruction and “the gift” 4. John Maynard Keynes and unemployment 5. “The gift” and unemployment in the South African context 6. Conclusion In the next section, the research article is presented with a bibliography and a summary of the article in English and Afrikaans, in accordance with the prescriptions of Acta Academica. In the final sections of the document some general conclusions, the limitations of the study and recommendations for further research, are presented. This is followed by the appendix with prescriptions for research articles submitted to Acta Academica. / Thesis (MPhil)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Unemployment is a major problem in South Africa that has the potential to erode the democratic future of this country. In general, the main economic approaches that deal with unemployment are informed by neo-liberal and neo-Marxist perspectives. The problem is that these perspectives are in a dialectical tension with each other and can increase conflict and unemployment. This dialectical tension is reflected in language that can be informed by the reductionist aspects of the ontologies perspectives. The purpose of this study is to inquire whether the deconstruction of Jacques Derrida can provide an alternative perspective for the dialectical tension present between neo-liberal and neo-Marxist approaches that are being used to address the problem of unemployment in the South African context. In this regard, the critique of the language of reductionist ontologies by deconstruction provides a means to move beyond the tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism, because deconstruction uncovers the ambivalence of the language of both perspectives, but without constructing a new synthesis that may result in new reductions of reality. This reduction of reality is evident in the use of “growth momentum”, referred to by Rodrik (2008:3), as a suggestion of a neo-liberal solution to the problem of unemployment. Growth is a reference to natural processes that can become a means to hide the mechanical structure of the economic cycle, which again has the potential to restrict growth through extreme forms of inequality and greed. Neo-Marxist perspectives utilise references to “equality” and “government intervention” to deal with injustice. This can result in extreme forms of control that diminish human dignity. The role of deconstruction for the language of economic theory is illustrated by Jacques Derrida’s use of the word “Gift”. A gift is ambivalent because it contains a tension between self-interest and justice, which Jacques Derrida refers to as “hospitable narcissism”. It will be argued that this ambivalence is present in the language of the economic theory of John Maynard Keynes, which may provide important sustainable economic perspectives for dealing with unemployment in South Africa, thus providing a practical application of hospitable narcissism. In this regard, deconstruction is helpful to develop sensitivity to the language used and the ontologies that inform the language when addressing unemployment. The gift advances human dignity through responsible governance that is critical of 5 uncontrolled self-interest, greed and corruption. This happens through engagement with unemployed people – an act of accountability. In this regard, the study aims at researching the following goals: Firstly, it aims to argue that unemployment in general is perpetuated by the dialectical tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism; secondly, the deconstruction of language provides a critical perspective on reality that opens new perspectives for discussing the possibility of sustainable economic language, with reference to the word “gift”; thirdly, an aspect of “the gift” is present in the economic theory of Keynes that may provide sustainable perspectives for unemployment in the South African context. In order to reach these goals, a praxis methodology is followed in which the practical reality of unemployment and the dialectical tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism in South Africa are the points of departure. The implication is that the economic reality of unemployment and the political tension between neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism form the basis for further philosophical reflection. To do this, a deconstructive approach is followed as a means to explore the ontology of neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism. This is followed by a deconstructive reading of the economic theory that John Maynard Keynes follows in order to provide alternative perspectives for the problem of unemployment in South Africa. The following resources were consulted in the research: Library catalogue of the North-West University, research articles through the database of Ebsco-host, statistics of unemployment from Statistics South Africa, and newspaper articles. This mini-dissertation is presented in the form of an article, in accordance with rule A.7.2.5 of the “General Academic Rules” of the North-West University. The article will be presented for publication in the journal Acta Academica, at a later stage. In this regard, the guidelines for publication of this journal are included in the appendix. The article contains the following subdivisions: 1. Introduction 2. Neo-liberalism and neo-Marxism: Contemporary research of unemployment in South Africa 3. Deconstruction and “the gift” 4. John Maynard Keynes and unemployment 5. “The gift” and unemployment in the South African context 6. Conclusion In the next section, the research article is presented with a bibliography and a summary of the article in English and Afrikaans, in accordance with the prescriptions of Acta Academica. In the final sections of the document some general conclusions, the limitations of the study and recommendations for further research, are presented. This is followed by the appendix with prescriptions for research articles submitted to Acta Academica. / Thesis (MPhil)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This study has been approached from a narrative counseling point of view, which is a product of the postmodern discourse. Counseling within this framework represents a fundamental new shift in counseling practices. Various theories and perspectives are being discussed in this study to explain the context to the reader in which narrative theory operates. Taking the above mentioned framework into consideration the researcher enters into discussions with an individual who has experienced restrictive narratives. Another point of departure of the researcher in this study is that the belief systems of individuals play a significant role in their lives. Narrative counseling with respect to counseling is therefore a very useful instrument in assisting people to understand how their lives are being shaped and influenced by means of their belief systems. Within the framework of the narrative counseling perspective a series of discussions took place with the client. The purpose of these discussions was to deconstruct the client problem saturated story or restrictive narrative into an alternative story of hope, free from the restrictions of the dysfunctional belief system. / This study has been approached from a narrative counseling point of view, which is a product of the postmodern discourse. Counseling within this framework represents a fundamental new shift in counseling practices. Various theories and perspectives are being discussed in this study to explain the context to the reader in which narrative theory operates. Taking the above mentioned framework into consideration the researcher enters into discussions with an individual who has experienced restrictive narratives. Another point of departure of the researcher in this study is that the belief systems of individuals play a significant role in their lives. Narrative counseling with respect to counseling is therefore a very useful instrument in assisting people to understand how their lives are being shaped and influenced by means of their belief systems. Within the framework of the narrative counseling perspective a series of discussions took place with the client. The purpose of these discussions was to deconstruct the client problem saturated story or restrictive narrative into an alternative story of hope, free from the restrictions of the dysfunctional belief system. / Thesis (M.A. (Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.