This thesis addresses the question posed to ecocriticism by Dana Phillips in his iconoclastic The Truth of Ecology: Nature, Culture, and Literature in America: “What is the truth of ecology, insofar as this truth is addressed by literature and art?” by examining how ecocriticism has, or has failed to, contextualize ecocritical discourse within an ecological framework. After reviewing the current state of ecocriticism and its relationship with environmentalism, the thesis suggests that both rely on the same outmoded, inaccurate and essentially inutile ecological concepts and language, and argues for a new approach to ecocriticism that borrows its concepts and language from the geophilosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. The thesis concludes with a reassessment of the work of Barry Lopez, showing how his fiction, when viewed through the lens of geophilosophy, does not support essentialist notions of nature, but rather works to articulate a world of multiplicities, and new modes of becoming.

Zugl.: Kassel, Univ., Diss., 2007/2008

No description available.

In this study I examine the genesis and compositional purpose of Mendelssohn's seven chorale cantatas which include "Christe, du Lamm Gottes" (1827); "Jesu, meine Freude" (1828); "Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" (1829); "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden" (1830); "Vom Himmel hoch" (1831); "Wir Glauben all an einem Gott" (1831); and "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh’ darein" (1832). I also re-examine the widely held belief that Mendelssohn's chorale cantatas were juvenilia, functioning only as compositional exercises to better learn the style of J.S. Bach. My examination includes a stylistic analysis of each cantata that shows a direct deviation from an imitation of Bach's musical syntax and form to a re-creation of the chorale cantata genre using nineteenth-century idioms. My approach to analysis is modeled after that of James Garratt, who has done a great deal of research on Mendelssohn's psalm settings. These works, like the chorale cantatas, have also been criticized for being compositional exercises that imitate Palestrina's musical syntax and form. Garratt believes that by using a literary method called translation theory, one can gain an unbiased assessment and evaluation of compositions that are based on pre-existent models. I have applied the tenets of translation theory as the foundation for my analysis to determine if the chorale cantatas were imitations of Bach's model or re-creations of the genre. This approach provides, as Garratt states, "a means of differentiating between the degree of affinity that links the works of Mendelssohn...and [his] models." The stylistic analysis also illustrates how the chorale cantatas are exemplars of Mendelssohn's compositional style. Unique characteristics such as Mendelssohn's frank religious convictions; his perceptive and creative treatment of chorales; his understanding of Baroque forms and styles; and his remarkable contrapuntal prowess are all beautifully exemplified in the chorale cantatas. I conclude that instead of being regarded as archaic, compositional exercises, Mendelssohn's chorale cantatas can and should be viewed as seminal works in his sacred choral-orchestral output.

This thesis addresses the question posed to ecocriticism by Dana Phillips in his iconoclastic The Truth of Ecology: Nature, Culture, and Literature in America: “What is the truth of ecology, insofar as this truth is addressed by literature and art?” by examining how ecocriticism has, or has failed to, contextualize ecocritical discourse within an ecological framework. After reviewing the current state of ecocriticism and its relationship with environmentalism, the thesis suggests that both rely on the same outmoded, inaccurate and essentially inutile ecological concepts and language, and argues for a new approach to ecocriticism that borrows its concepts and language from the geophilosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. The thesis concludes with a reassessment of the work of Barry Lopez, showing how his fiction, when viewed through the lens of geophilosophy, does not support essentialist notions of nature, but rather works to articulate a world of multiplicities, and new modes of becoming.

As a feminist poststructural autoethnography of deafness in social work workplaces, this thesis sets out to map d/Deafness as a cracked subjectivity. Using the work of Rosi Braidotti and Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, I draw out configurations of d/Deafness as lack or cultural minority and split them apart. By positioning d/Deafness on a plane of immanence and employing specificity, I explore d/Deafness as a subjectivity constituted through space, place, time and encounters with other bodies. I argue that the constitution of material and cultural experiences of d/Deafness as specific allows for the articulation of spaces in between Deafness and hearing, disability and ability as spaces in and of themselves in order to think the new as well as to crack up fixed binaries informing traditional notions of what specific bodies can do. / Graduate

This thesis investigates the theoretical and practical importance of nomadic ways of life for architecture. Nomadology is a construction of Deleuze and Guattari's 'counter-philosophy', challenging authenticity and propriety, in this case, in the context of architecture. This thesis describes how nomadology may serve contemporary architectural practice and criticism; challenging static, permanent, and heroically solitary ways of working and dwelling. Nomadology in architecture proposes ways for thinking and working temporally, dynamically, and collaboratively. The thesis suggests strategies - diagramming, ephemerality, movement, and collaboration - as ways of reconciling nomadism and architecture. The 'Contexts' section of this thesis surveys Western and global contexts of understanding nomads and nomadology, and how these pertain to architecture. Western conceptions of architecture have inhibited the study of nomadology in architecture. A case is made for challenging biases in Western views of architecture, for critically employing the ideas of the diagram and the rhizome in architectural criticism, and for recognising the role of movement. The 'Applications' section shows, through practical examples, that the potential of nomadology is latent in spatial and environmental practices of architectural production and architectural criticism. This section of the thesis identifies the significance of nomads as users and exponents of architecture, despite their frequent exclusion from architectural history. Tent architecture, practices of nomadic resistance and Bedouin life practices are considered as key examples. The 'Strategies' section suggests ways of applying principles of nomadology. This final section expands on the potential for 'peripatetic' practices of architecture. Processes of reconciling settled and nomadic tendencies in architectural projects are outlined. Strategies are described by which engendering and collaborating may be the means for creating architecture. The continuing research into, and interpretation of nomadology in architecture are proposed as a basis for critical theorisation and reflective practice of architecture. / Thesis (M.Arch.)--School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design, 2002.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät--Münster--Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, 1989. Titre de soutenance : Felix Porsch, 1853-1930. Katholische Interessenpolitik und der Zwang zur Modernisierung.

Diss. Ph. D.--Arts--Utrecht--Rijksuniversiteit, 2000. / Bibliogr. Index.

Inaug.-Diss.--Frankfurt a. Main. / Lebenslauf. "Anhang: Sechs bisher unveröffentlichte Lieder Mendelssohns": p. 155-166. "Verzeichnis der benutzten Litertur": p. 150-153.