George MacDonald's novel Lilith relates the story of a young man inheriting his deceased father's estate and coming in contact with its remarkable library and mysterious librarian. The protagonist's subsequent adventures in a fantastical world prepare the young Mr. Vane to assume authority over his inherited archive and become an archon. Jacques Derrida's exposition of the responsibilities of the archon including archival authority, domiciliation, and consignation illuminate the mentoring role of the elusive librarian Mr. Raven in Vane's adventures. By using Derrida's deconstruction of archives to unpack the intricacies of knowledge transfer in MacDonald's novel, the lasting impact of the archon on the archive and the individuals in Lilith, as well as the importance of the archon in the transfer of knowledge between individuals facilitated through relationships, becomes apparent. The archon, acting as a gatherer, organizer, and shaper of texts, uses the materials within the archive to exercise power and to bequeath power upon other individuals, as seen in the character Mr. Raven's actions. Lilith illustrates the necessity of the archon as he shapes the archive's contents and governs the interactions between book and reader, ultimately allowing the archive to become a place where knowledge is heritable.

Svenska kyrkan har flera gånger offentligt engagerat sig i migrationsfrågan. I den här uppsatsen analyseras, utifrån en dekonstruktion av skriften ”Detta vill vi! Kyrkorna och migrationsfrågorna”, hur Svenska kyrkans nationella ledning använder kärleksbudskapet för att motivera sitt engagemang i migrationspolitiken. I dekonstruktionen identifieras tre temor som berör rörelse, inkludering respektive makt. Materialet från dekonstruktionen diskuteras även utifrån Reinhold Niebuhrs och Jacques Derridas etik. Ett resultat från dekonstruktionen är att begreppet kyrkan som något transcendent eller som en organisation har betydelse för hur kärleksbudskapet kommuniceras. Vidare föreslås utifrån arbetet i uppsatsen att även människans egenkärlek skulle behöva diskuteras i en skrift som ”Detta vill vi! Kyrkorna och migrationsfrågorna”. Ett annat resultat är att i kyrkornas budskap finns en inneboende maktkamp mellan kärleksbudskapet och de politiska lagarna, vilket skulle behöva belysas i skriften. / The church of Sweden has several times engaged in migration politics. In this study the use of the love commandment by national level of the church of Sweden to motivate its engagement in migration politics. The analysis is based on deconstruction of the leaflet “Detta vill vi! Kyrkorna och migrationsfrågorna”. Within the deconstruction three themes are identified that relate to movement, inclusion and power, respectively. Further, the material from the deconstruction is discussed from the ethics of Reinhold Niebuhr and Jacques Derrida. A result of the deconstruction is that the concept church as something transcendent or as an organization has an impact on the communication of the love commandment. Based on the results of the study, it is recommended that the self-love of the human being should be brought up in a leaflet as ”Detta vill vi! Kyrkorna och migrationsfrågorna”. Another result is that within the message of the church there is an inherent conflict between Jesus’ message of love and the political laws, and this conflict would need to be illustrated in the text.

Originated by Jacques Derrida, deconstruction analyzes the relationship between text and meaning. This thesis applies Derrida's theory of deconstruction to three early American Puritan figures: John Winthrop, Mary Rowlandson, and Anne Bradstreet. By questioning the conceptual distinctions known as oppositions in Puritan ideology through the works of these aforementioned individuals, this thesis questions and corrupts the binaries within each text used. The emergence of new meaning through a deconstruction of Puritan ideology establishes a valid site from which to explore radical, repressed, historical, cultural, and theological narratives of religious prosperity. By enforcing narratives from Derrida's Of Grammatology, post-structuralist ideology will presume no absolute truths within a text; therefore, ambiguity is pertinent in a deconstructive critical examination. The argument in this thesis is then—through a deconstructive critical examination of Puritan ideology, are similarities present though different mediums of linguistic discourse, and can this thesis formally decenter the transcendental signifiers present. The critical approach to deconstructing each medium of discourse analytically breaks down the systematic organization of language as a whole and overturns structuralist oppositions—as to displace the authority, and formally find new importance in a text.

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“Doctor Moreau and The Hunt for The Ethical Figure. From unsuccessful man-making to respectful relations with Jacques Derrida, Donna Haraway and H. G. Wells” In H. G. Wells’ science fiction novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), a scientist on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean attempts to create humans from animals. Wells draws on Charles Darwin’s theories on the origins of species and the descent of man to create a horror story in which the uniqueness of the human is called into question. This study uses the novel to investigate the re-emergent interest in human-animal relations, within the natural sciences as well as the arts and humanities, in the past twenty years. In what is often termed “the Animal Turn,” theorists such as Jacques Derrida and Donna Haraway, who are at the centre of this study, have dedicated a significant amount of their work to the animal question and in particular to the ethics of inter-species relationships. Furthermore this essay stages the interaction of fiction and theoretical discourse in an analysis that probes challenges inherent to the relations of humans to other species, such as the practice of eating meat, the killing of animals, and animal rights. Moreover, it considers how the figure of the animal has been used to define the human, as well as to dehumanize people in the justification of abuse and persecution. However, human-animal ethics also has positive connotations, discussed through the figures of positivity and possibility in play, sharing, contact and responsive responsibility. Taking its inspiration from Karen Barad’s method of diffraction, this study foregrounds new pattern-making while exploring how Derrida’s and Haraway’s strategies for formulating a new ethics are present in their use of tropes and figures. / Science fiction-romanen The Island of Doctor Moreau skrevs 1896 och handlar om hur en vetenskapsman på en avlägsen ö i Stilla havet försöker skapa människor av djur. Författaren H. G. Wells inspirerades av Darwins teorier om arternas uppkomst till att skriva en skräckberättelse där mänsklighetens unikhet sätts ur spel. Den här studien använder Wells text i syfte att undersöka hur relationen mellan människor och andra arter har kommit att få ett nytt intresse inom en mängd olika vetenskapliga, praktiska och konstnärliga ämnen i slutet av 1900-talet och början av 2000-talet, något som har kommit att kallas ”The Animal Turn”.  I centrum för studien återfinns teorier formulerade av filosofen Jacques Derrida och den feministiska vetenskapsteoretikern och biologen Donna Haraway. Båda två har ägnat stor del av sina respektive arbeten åt djurfrågan, framför allt med enträget intresse för hur ett etiskt förhållande mellan arter kan se ut. Studien låter romanen och de teoretiska texterna samverka i en analys som diskuterar utmaningar i människa-djur-relationer – som köttätande, dödande och rättigheter. Människan har till exempel använt sig av djuret för att definiera sig som människa, men också för att dehumanisera andra människor, och därmed kunnat utnyttja eller våldföra sig på dessa människor. Men människa-djur-etiken har också positiva aspekter: kontakt över språkgränser, att tillsammans utgöra världsmedborgare som alla består av och är beroende av varandra, att dela lek och arbete, att se och upptäcka den andre.  Med inspiration från Karen Barads användning av metoden diffraktion vill den här uppsatsen utforska Derridas och Haraways strategier för att formulera en ny etik genom bruket av figurer och troper.

[pt] Esta tese de doutorado é um estudo sobre a política internacional de banimento, uma política internacional de criminalização e proscrição. A partir da leitura de alguns dos memorandos norte-americanos da Guerra contra o Terror, e influenciado pelo quase-conceito de rastro de Jacques Derrida, bem como pelo insight de Carl Schmitt sobre o dualismo exceção/regra, este trabalho segue certos rastros constitutivos daqueles documentos e, sobretudo, do status de combatente ilegal daqueles prisioneiros determinado ali. A partir destes rastros constitutivos da categoria de combatente ilegal, identificam-se os rastros da categoria de pirata na arquitetura político-jurídica da ordem internacional, e, a partir destes, os de uma alteridade excepcional que Schmitt identificou como a de um inimigo fora-da-lei, ou fora-da-lei da humanidade. Nesse sentido, destacam-se a alteridade e o espaço-tempo excepcionais do pirata, comentando-se seu ambíguo status político-jurídico – de fora-da-lei internacional e inimigo da humanidade (hostis humani generis) –, bem como seu banimento do espaço-tempo do sistema internacional moderno e da humanidade. A partir daí, e influenciado pelos estudos mais recentes de R. B. J. Walker sobre o fora constitutivo e as práticas soberanas de exclusão do sistema internacional moderno, identificam-se e comentam-se os rastros, sobretudo contemporâneos, da política internacional de criminalização e proscrição. E então, influenciado por aquele quase-conceito de rastro de Derrida, conclui-se este trabalho posicionando-o em relação a esta política internacional de banimento; ou seja, rastreando o Fora-da-lei da Humanidade. / [en] This PhD dissertation is a study on the international politics of outlawing, an international politics of criminalization and proscription. Starting from the reading of some of the US Memos on the War on Terror, and influenced by Jacques Derrida s quasi-concept of trace, as well as by Carl Schmitt s insight on the exception/rule dualism, this work follows certain traces which are constitutive of those documents and, most importantly, of the unlawful combatant status of those detainees as determined therein. Thus, from these constitutive traces of the category of unlawful combatant, this work identifies the traces of the category of the pirate within the political-legal architecture of the international order, and, from them, those of an exceptional alterity which Schmitt has identified as one of an outlaw enemy, or an outlaw of humanity. In this regard, it focuses on the exceptional alterity and space-time of the pirate, analyzing his ambiguous political-legal status – as both an international outlaw and an enemy of humankind (hostis humani generis) –, as well as his outlawry from the space-time of the modern international system and of humanity. From this analysis, then, and influenced by R. B. J. Walker s most recent studies on the constitutive outside and the exclusionary sovereign practices of the modern international system, it identifies and comments on the traces, most especially on the contemporary traces, of the international politics of criminalization and proscription. And then, influenced by that Derridian quasi-concept of trace, this PhD work concludes positioning itself in relation to this international politics of outlawing; that is, tracing the Outlaw of Humanity.

Gabriel Bounoure (1886-1969) a été durant plus de trente ans un acteur important de la vie littéraire française, collaborateur régulier de nombreuses revues prestigieuses. Il fut même, selon d’excellents juges, l’un des plus grands critiques littéraires de son temps. Il fut par ailleurs diplomate. Il vécut ainsi près de 30 ans à Beyrouth (1923-1952) avant de s’installer au Caire puis à Rabat. Au cours de sa carrière diplomatique, il a assumé de hautes responsabilités dans les domaines de la culture et de l’éducation. Gabriel Bounoure, garda, dans son exil oriental, des relations étroites avec la France. Par ses fonctions diplomatiques mais également par ses critiques qui, loin de s’attacher exclusivement aux écrivains les plus en vue de l’époque (Claudel, Gide) ou aux figures littéraires marquantes du XIXe siècle (Rimbaud, Nerval) ont contribué à faire découvrir des poètes alors jeunes comme Henri Michaux. Parallèlement, il éprouvait pour l’Orient une attirance et une affinité profondes. Il révéla ainsi au public français de jeunes auteurs francophones arabes comme Georges Schéhadé.Les liens entre Bounoure et l’espace méditerranéen sont complexes. La Méditerranée était alors le lieu de changements historiques décisifs. Quel rôle politique Bounoure a-t-il joué ? Quel acteur de la vie littéraire française fut-il à cette même époque ? De quelle façon ces deux facettes de sa personnalité, poétique et politique, ont-elles évolué ? Enfin, dans quelle mesure la réflexion politique et la réflexion critique se sont articulées ? Cette thèse rassemble ses articles critiques éparpillés dans les revues, donne à lire des témoignages et exploite de nombreuses archives inédites. / For more than thirty years, Gabriel Bounoure (1886-1969) played a major role in the French literary life, a regular contributor to many prestigious journals. According to excellent judges, he was even one of the greatest literary critics of his time. He was also a diplomat. He lived for nearly 30 years in Beirut (1923-1952) before moving to Cairo and Rabat. During his diplomatic career, he held positions of high responsibility in culture and education. During his eastern exile, Gabriel Bounoure remained closely linked with France, as a diplomat but as a critic as well, who did not focus exclusively on the writers most popular at the time (Claudel, Gide) or on prominent literary figures of the nineteenth century (Rimbaud, Nerval). He helped to discover young poets like Henri Michaux. Meanwhile, he felt an attraction for and a deep affinity with the East. He thus introduced to the French audience young Arab francophone writers like Georges Schéhadé.The links between Bounoure and the Mediterranean area are complex. The Mediterranean was then the place of decisive historical changes. What political role did Bounoure play? What was his role in the French literary life at the time? How did these two facets of his personality, poetic and political, evolved? Finally, to what extent did his thoughts and views both as a diplomat and a critic meet?This thesis gathers his critical articles scattered in journals, offers testimonials and uses numerous unpublished archives.