The thesis is composed of two major parts: part one includes a statement, images and a reflection on a body of work entitled "The Ocean Is What I Meant By." These works are constructed of layers of cut tulle mounted in painted wooden frames, in which words cut out of the fabric interact to create abstract pictorial spaces. The second part of the thesis examines of the historical role of theory in the conceptualization and production of art. I argue that theory has historically occupied itself with art in categories properly connected to action, considering the end, virtues and vices associated with works of art. I consider the end of contemplation as it is advanced by Paulinus of Nola and evidenced in a sixth-century Roman mosaic, the vice of seduction as identified by Bernard of Clairvaux (against Abbot Suger of St.-Dénis), the virtue of reserve as present in Michelangelo Merisis da Caravaggio's canvases containing self-portraits. With these concepts in view, I proceed to consider the paintings of John Sloan in ethical categories--the categories most appropriate to considerations of action. I conclude by examining a disagreement between Robert Storr and Benjamin Buchloh over the interpretation of Gerhard Richter's "October 18, 1977," suggesting that the role of theory in art is returning to the more time-worn categories I associate with early Western writing about art.

Nathanael West is typically considered to be a “major minor” American writer of the late modernist period. Best known today for Miss Lonelyhearts (1933) and The Day of the Locust (1939), West wrote four dark novellas that excoriated mainstream American culture of the 1930s. Earlier critics viewed his writing mainly as an existentialist exploration of universal human suffering; more recently, critics have claimed West as an avant-garde devoted to the criticism of Depression-era capitalism and consumer society. This thesis represents something of a return to the earlier, humanist study of West’s fiction, which he himself regarded primarily as moral satire. What differentiates this project from earlier studies, however, is its style of criticism. Since the 1980s, a new revitalized and reoriented ethical criticism has emerged, as evidenced by the proliferation of scholarly works and journal special issues on the topic of literature and ethics, the growing number of readers like Todd Davis and Kenneth Womack’s Mapping the Ethical Turn (2001), and the general trend toward linking moral philosophy and literary criticism, as carried out by Martha Nussbaum and Richard Rorty, among others. The new ethical criticism tends to be descriptive, rather than prescriptive. Using approaches inspired by the scholarship of this late-twentieth century wave of ethical critics, including Wayne Booth and Daniel Schwarz, this dissertation provides a new critical illumination of West the implied author’s unique system of ethics, as dramatized through his narrative explorations of particular lives. It attempts to answer the question that has puzzled Americanist scholars contemplating his works since their initial publication: how can a fictional world so sordid and savage still evoke feelings of compassion and humanity in so many readers? The answer, I will argue, lies in the very ferocity of the author’s depictions of universal human suffering, which ultimately inspire empathy and solidarity despite West’s very real misanthropy.

Nathanael West is typically considered to be a “major minor” American writer of the late modernist period. Best known today for Miss Lonelyhearts (1933) and The Day of the Locust (1939), West wrote four dark novellas that excoriated mainstream American culture of the 1930s. Earlier critics viewed his writing mainly as an existentialist exploration of universal human suffering; more recently, critics have claimed West as an avant-garde devoted to the criticism of Depression-era capitalism and consumer society. This thesis represents something of a return to the earlier, humanist study of West’s fiction, which he himself regarded primarily as moral satire. What differentiates this project from earlier studies, however, is its style of criticism. Since the 1980s, a new revitalized and reoriented ethical criticism has emerged, as evidenced by the proliferation of scholarly works and journal special issues on the topic of literature and ethics, the growing number of readers like Todd Davis and Kenneth Womack’s Mapping the Ethical Turn (2001), and the general trend toward linking moral philosophy and literary criticism, as carried out by Martha Nussbaum and Richard Rorty, among others. The new ethical criticism tends to be descriptive, rather than prescriptive. Using approaches inspired by the scholarship of this late-twentieth century wave of ethical critics, including Wayne Booth and Daniel Schwarz, this dissertation provides a new critical illumination of West the implied author’s unique system of ethics, as dramatized through his narrative explorations of particular lives. It attempts to answer the question that has puzzled Americanist scholars contemplating his works since their initial publication: how can a fictional world so sordid and savage still evoke feelings of compassion and humanity in so many readers? The answer, I will argue, lies in the very ferocity of the author’s depictions of universal human suffering, which ultimately inspire empathy and solidarity despite West’s very real misanthropy.

Fokus för avhandlingen, Att uttrycka det mänskliga: narrativ etik i Nuruddin Farah’s trilogier, är de nio romaner publicerade mellan 1979 och 2011 som tillsammans utgör Nuruddin Farah’s tre trilogier: ”Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship,” bestående av Sweet and Sour Milk (1979), Sardines (1981), Close Sesame (1983); “Blood in the Sun,” bestående av Maps (1986), Gifts (1993), Secrets (1998); samt “Past Imperfect,” bestående av Links (2003), Knots (2007), Crossbones (2011). Tematiska och stilistiska skillnader till trots så är dessa trilogier och romaner märkbart sammanhängande i sitt fokus. De är inte bara tydligt förankrade i en somalisk verklighet som spänner över mer än tre decennier – en resa som inbegriper landets skifte från kommunisitstyre, via diktatur, till inbördeskrig, och 2010-talets version med islamistiskt styre och pirater som härjar kustregionen – men dessa romaner pekar genomgående bortom sin tydliga socio-politiska kontext mot djupt etiska, tid- och rumsoberoende frågeställningar: Hur förhåller sig individen till kollektivet? Vilket etiskt ansvar har jaget för den andre? Vad utgör grunden för människans gemensamma varande? Hur bevara sin mänsklighet under omänskliga levnadsförhållanden? Hur göra motstånd i en diktatur utan att bli en del i det maskineri av våld och tyranni man söker bekämpa? Trots det tydligt etiska anslaget så har dessa trilogier nästan uteslutande lästs utifrån sina politiska implikationer. Utan att undervärdera decennier av rikt och varierande kritiskt mottagande så har denna tendens till politiska läsningar ofta genererat förvånansvärt entydiga läsningar av verk kända för sin mångtydighet och komplexitet. Avhandlingen avser därför att påvisa djupet och bredden i Farah’s gestaltningar genom att tydligt belysa hur det etiska gestaltar sig på flera nivåer – tematiskt, berättartekniskt, i mötet mellan läsare och text, samt i föreställningar om författarens moraliska ansvar. Därutöver diskuteras även de etiska dimensionerna av litteraturkritik: vad innebär en etiskt hållen läsemetodik? Arbetets unika bidrag kan formuleras i fyra steg. För det första utgör avhandlingen det ända kända arbete – utöver Fiona F. Moola’s Reading Nuruddin Farah: The Individual, the Novel, and the Idea of Home (2014) – som inbegriper Farah’s alla trilogier, vilket möjliggör mer långtgående och genomgripande analyser än vad som hittills publicerats. Avhandlingens fokus på den senaste trilogin fyller dessutom en viktig lucka i det kritiska mottagandet av Farah’s romaner eftersom väldigt lite publicerats utöver recensioner. Förutom nya läsningar av Farah så utgör min emfas på det etiska i Farah’s etisk-politiska skrivande ett viktigt bidrag till det vidare fält av (afrikansk) (postkolonial) litteraturkritik där man ofta betonat det politiska över det etiska, snarare än att läst dessa två som oskiljaktiga entiteter. Trots att anledningarna till politiska läsningar av Farah’s trilogier kan härledas såväl till verkens starkt politiska nerv som författarens egna uttalanden i intervjuer och artiklar, så pekar privilegieringen av det politiska framför det etiska på en mer generell tendens inom postkolonial kritik att inrymma det etiska under det politiska. Trots att kopplingen mellan fiktion, politik och författaransvar inte kan avfärdas, hävdar jag i denna avhandling att ett ensidigt politisk angreppssätt hotar att såväl underskatta komplexiteten i romanernas gestaltningar, som att reducera konceptuellt vad författare som Farah faktiskt åstadkommer. För det andra så vidgar avhandlingen befintlig forskning kring det etiska i Farah’s romaner genom att inte endast fokusera på tematik och berättartekniska grepp, men också diskutera läsandet och skrivandet – det som i avhandlingen beskrivs som fyra sammanlänkande ”ethical moments of the told, the telling, the act of writing, the act of reading.” Utan att undervärdera tidgare kritiska läsningar så tycks många diskussioner kring Farah’s trilogier fokusera författarens centralitet på ett vis som emellanåt tar fokus från i övrigt tankeväckande läsningar av tematik och narrativa strategier. Min högst textcentrerade utgångspunkt visar som kontrast att läsningen av Farah’s trilogier genererar spörsmål som kräver ett mer holistiskt perspektiv, inte minst tydliga diskussioner kring den etiska dialog som uppstår i mötet mellan läsare och text. Förutom att bidra till befintlig forskning på Farah’s författarskap, så bidrar avhandlingens holistiska inställning till narrativ etik med fem sammanlänkade perspektiv till det vidare fältet av etisk litteraturkritik. Dels beror detta på det faktum att en sådan modell förutsätter användandet av multipla tolkningsmodeller; i mitt fall kontinental filosofi, postkolonial teori, samt narratologiska teorier kring läsande och mottagande. Denna interdisciplinära modell för narrativ etik är dock inte begränsad till min specifika sammansättning utan kan fungera som modell även för andra litteraturforskare, med alternativa kombinationer av tänkare och teoretiker. Till sist; trots att det inte varit ett uttalat mål från projektets början så har arbetet med det etiska i Farah’s trilogier generarat många funderingar kring den egna läsningen som efterhand lett till formulering av nya narratologiska perspektiv. Här utgör mötet mellan text och läsare en central del i avhandlingen. Genom att betona de etiska elementen i mötet mellan text och läsare närmar jag mig spörsmål som i förlängningen kan ses som byggstenar i en mera etiskt hållen läsemetodik. I stället för att tolka ”störande” element som exempel på estetiska brister, alternativt brister i författarens moraliska ansvarstagande (!) så menar jag att de aspekter som irriterar läsaren, försvårar eller rent av omöjliggör förståelse mycket väl kan vara de ting i texten som tvingar läsaren till en mera engagerad och därmed etiskt mer välgrundad läsning. Att läsa textens ”krux” i termer av ”ethical resource” utgör ett viktigt bidrag till såväl litteratur-filosofisk som narratologisk litteraturforskning, eftersom man ofta hamnat i endera värderande samtal kring ”god litteratur” eller i resonemang kring vilka narrativa element/strategier som väcker läsarens engagemang, empati, etc – och vilka som inte gör det. / This study explores the multiple ethical dimensions of the nine novels published between 1979 and 2011 that together constitute Nuruddin Farah’s three trilogies Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship, including Sweet and Sour Milk (1979), Sardines (1981), and Close Sesame (1983); Blood in the Sun, including Maps (1986), Gifts (1993), and Secrets (1998); and Past Imperfect, including Links (2003), Knots (2007), and Crossbones (2011). For all that separate these trilogies and novels thematically and stylistically, they are remarkably consistent in their enquiry. While firmly rooted in the geo-political particulars of Somalia, these novels stage human experience in ways that cut across time and place, inviting the reader to ponder a plethora of questions of profoundly ethical import: How can one remain human in the face of extreme adversities? How can one resist oppression in all its forms without becoming a perpetrator of that which one seeks to resist? What role may violence or non-violence have in seeking to see justice done? How far does responsibility for the other reach? How may dehumanizing forces be resisted in ways that preserve and even restore human dignity? By privileging the ethical in Farah’s ethico-political writing, the study draws attention to voices and perspectives that have gone unnoticed in previous readings, where political perspectives have dominated. Not only does a sustained analytical focus on how human dignity is valued, protected, preserved and even restored call for re-assessments of concepts such as ‘freedom,’ ‘resistance,’ and ‘moral responsibility.’ but the thesis’ highly text-centered approach has in the process of writing proved that Farah’s trilogies generate questions that demand a fuller exploration than what has hitherto been possible with a more limited emphasis on themes and narrative strategies. The use of a model in which five ‘ethical moments’ are explored thus allows for more extensive conclusions to be drawn, both regarding the ethics emerging in the trilogies themselves (‘ethics of the told,’ ‘ethics of telling’ and ‘ethics of writing’), in reading practices and critical reception (‘ethics of reading’), and my own research practice (‘ethics of method’). Ultimately, the study’s explorations of themes, narrative strategies, author’s responsibilities and critical response elucidate how Farah’s trilogies escape any narrow definition of what (African) (postcolonial) literature is or should be. By privileging the ethical trajectory – without losing sight of the strong political impetus of Farah’s writing – significant stories and perspectives surface that are no less political in their outlook than more conventional readings of “resistance writing.” By drawing on continental philosophy (Lévinas, Cavarero and Butler), narrative theory and postcolonial studies, this study brings fresh perspectives to bear on both familiar and less well-known material, while also contributing to new methodological frameworks within narrative ethics and new theoretical perspectives within narrative theory, not least as reflected in the final chapter’s discussion of imaginative challenges.

This thesis examines a new genre in Bible publishing: the BibleZine, a combination of the Bible with the formatting and visual elements of a teenage fashion magazine. The first BibleZine, Revolve: The Complete New Testament, appeared in the summer of 2003 and sold all of its 40,000 copies in a matter of months. This success has inspired a new line of Bible products, as several follow-up editions of Revolve and other BibleZines have flooded the marketplace. While the publisher and editors of Revolve claim that their modern creation is meant to inspire young readers to connect with the text of the New Testament, the forceful combining of the two disparate genres has produced an artifact whose form undermines and trivializes biblical content.<p> The significance of the BibleZines message extends beyond its updated magazine format. This thesis uses the theories of Kenneth Burke, George Dillon, Edwin Black, and several other rhetorical critics to reveal and critique the editorial influence found in this updated New Testament. The analysis is divided into three chapters that examine specific elements of the carefully orchestrated BibleZine, from the impact of Revolves prominent magazine-like features to the pseudo-friendships the editors create to influence its young target audience. Revolve does not represent a unique way of interpreting the Bible for a new generation. It may look contemporary in its format, but Revolve masks a materialistic and highly conservative ideology that will negatively influence its young readers in how they approach matters of identity and spirituality. My analysis will reveal the numerous ways the editors of the BibleZine use and manipulate biblical sanction in order to convey a consumeristic ideology.

This thesis examines a new genre in Bible publishing: the BibleZine, a combination of the Bible with the formatting and visual elements of a teenage fashion magazine. The first BibleZine, Revolve: The Complete New Testament, appeared in the summer of 2003 and sold all of its 40,000 copies in a matter of months. This success has inspired a new line of Bible products, as several follow-up editions of Revolve and other BibleZines have flooded the marketplace. While the publisher and editors of Revolve claim that their modern creation is meant to inspire young readers to connect with the text of the New Testament, the forceful combining of the two disparate genres has produced an artifact whose form undermines and trivializes biblical content.<p> The significance of the BibleZines message extends beyond its updated magazine format. This thesis uses the theories of Kenneth Burke, George Dillon, Edwin Black, and several other rhetorical critics to reveal and critique the editorial influence found in this updated New Testament. The analysis is divided into three chapters that examine specific elements of the carefully orchestrated BibleZine, from the impact of Revolves prominent magazine-like features to the pseudo-friendships the editors create to influence its young target audience. Revolve does not represent a unique way of interpreting the Bible for a new generation. It may look contemporary in its format, but Revolve masks a materialistic and highly conservative ideology that will negatively influence its young readers in how they approach matters of identity and spirituality. My analysis will reveal the numerous ways the editors of the BibleZine use and manipulate biblical sanction in order to convey a consumeristic ideology.