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According to philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, alterity can exist only in its infinite and fluid nature in which the aspects of it that exceed the human ability to fully understand it remain unthematized in language. Levinas sees the encounter between self and other as the moment that instigates ethical responsibility, a moment so vital to avoiding mastering what is external to oneself that it should replace Western philosophy’s traditional emphasis on being as philosophy’s basis, or “First Philosophy.” Levinas’s conceptualization of language as a fluid, non-mastering saying, which one must continually re-enliven against a congealing and mastering said, is at the heart of his ethical project of relating to the other of alterity with ethical responsibility, or proximity. The imaginative poetic language that some contemporary poetry enacts, resonates with Levinas’s ethical motivations and methods for responding to alterity. The following project investigates facets of this question in relation to Levinas: how do the contemporary poets Peter Blue Cloud, Jorie Graham, Joy Harjo, and Robert Hass use poetic language uniquely to engage with alterity in an ethical way, thus allowing it to retain its mystery and infinite nature? I argue that by keeping language alive in a way similar to a Levinasian saying, which avoids mastering otherness by attending to its uniqueness and imaginatively engaging with it, they enact an ethical response to alterity. As a way of unpacking these ideas, this inquiry will investigate the compelling, if unsettled, convergence in the work of Levinas and that of Blue Cloud, Graham, Harjo, and Hass by unfolding a number of Levinasian-informed close readings of major poems by these writers as foregrounding various forms of Levinasian saying. / Ph. D. / This project grounds itself on questions of what makes something that is outside of oneself unique, and of how to use language to let that entity, or being, retain its uniqueness alongside the human quest to understand the world that is always in danger of overtaking the not-I. Philosopher Emmanuel Levinas thought these questions were the critical ones for reframing basic issues of humanity. His work asserts that in order to become conscious selves and to relate to other people without dominating them, it is necessary to open up to the force of the encounter with those who are different from you, and whom you cannot fully conceive, allowing them to remain partially inconceivable. The site for relating in this ethically responsible way exists in language that constantly acknowledges that it cannot capture the object of its descriptions, as opposed to language that attempts to appropriate the other through its usual operations. A unique intersection between these ideas regarding ethics occurs when one considers contemporary poetry, which engages with similar considerations. Therefore, by reading four contemporary poets with vastly different cultural backgrounds: Peter Blue Cloud, Jorie Graham, Joy Harjo, and Robert Hass in a way that considers how they use language to relate ethically to the world beyond their material and intellectual grasp, it is possible to see how Levinas’s ideas might operate in actual language sensitive to these issues.

This thesis considers a range of contemporary poets' responses to science, emphasising the diversity of these engagements and exploring how poetry can disrupt or re-negotiate the barriers between the two activities. My first chapter explores the idea of ‘authority' in both science and poetry and considers how these authorities co-exist in the work of two poet-scientists, Miroslav Holub and David Morley. My second chapter considers the role of metaphor in science and the effect of transferring scientific terms into poetry, specifically with reference to the poetry of Michael Symmons Roberts who engages with the metaphors related to the human genome. In my third chapter I focus on collections by Ruth Padel and Emily Ballou that tell the life of Charles Darwin in verse. I discuss how these collections function as forms of scientific biography and show that poetic engagement with Darwin's thought processes reveals some of the similarities between scientific and poetic thinking. An area of science such as quantum mechanics may seem too complex for a non-scientist to respond to in poetry, but in my fourth chapter I show how Jorie Graham uses ideas from twentieth-century physics to re-think the materialism of the world and our perception of it. My final chapter is concerned with the relationship between ecopoetry and ecological science, with regard to the work of John Burnside. I show that although he is informed about scientific matters, in his poetry he suggests that science isn't the only way of understanding the world. Rather than framing science and poetry in terms of the ‘two cultures', this thesis moves away from antagonism towards productive interaction and dialogue. Whilst science and poetry are clearly very different activities, the many points of overlap and connection between them suggest that poetry is a resonant and unique way of exploring scientific ideas.

Despite his own conservative values, D.H. Lawrence writes sexually liberated female characters. The most subversive female characters in Lawrence’s oeuvre are the Brangwens of The Rainbow. The Brangwens are prototypical models of a form of femininity that connects women to Nature while distancing them from society; his women are cast as monsters, but are strengthened from their link with Nature. They represent what I am calling the Lawrentian-Woman. The Lawrentian-Woman has proven influential for contemporary British authors. I examine the Lawrentian-Woman’s adoption by later writers and her evolution from modernist frame to postmodern appropriation. First, I look at the Brangwens. They establish the tropes of the Lawrentian-Woman and provide the base from which to compare the model’s subsequent mutations. Next, I examine modern British writers and their appropriation of the Lawrentian-Woman. The Lawrentian-Woman’s attributes remain intact, but are deconstructed in ways that explore women’s continued liminality in patriarchal society.

An interpretative methodology for understanding meaning in cinema since the 1950s, auteur analysis is an approach to film studies in which an individual, usually the director, is studied as the author of her or his films. The principal argument of this thesis is that proponents of auteurism have privileged examination of the visual components in a film-maker’s body of work, neglecting the potentially significant role played by sound. The thesis seeks to address this problematic imbalance by interrogating the creative use of sound in the films written and directed by Rolf de Heer, asking the question, “Does his use of sound make Rolf de Heer an aural auteur?” In so far as the term ‘aural’ encompasses everything in the film that is heard by the audience, the analysis seeks to discover if de Heer has, as Peter Wollen suggests of the auteur and her or his directing of the visual components (1968, 1972 and 1998), unconsciously left a detectable aural signature on his films. The thesis delivers an innovative outcome by demonstrating that auteur analysis that goes beyond the mise-en-scène (i.e. visuals) is productive and worthwhile as an interpretive response to film. De Heer’s use of the aural point of view and binaural sound recording, his interest in providing a ‘voice’ for marginalised people, his self-penned song lyrics, his close and early collaboration with composer Graham Tardif and sound designer Jim Currie, his ‘hands-on’ approach to sound recording and sound editing and his predilection for making films about sound are all shown to be examples of de Heer’s aural auteurism. As well as the three published (or accepted for publication) interviews with de Heer, Tardif and Currie, the dissertation consists of seven papers refereed and published (or accepted for publication) in journals and international conference proceedings, a literature review and a unifying essay. The papers presented are close textual analyses of de Heer’s films which, when considered as a whole, support the thesis’ overall argument and serve as a comprehensive auteur analysis, the first such sustained study of his work, and the first with an emphasis on the aural.

The 17th October 2014 the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF) introduced an intelligence operation in Stockholm archipelago after receiving credible observations regarding illegal underwater activities. Following the data collection and associated analysis it could be stated with certainty that a foreign submarine had violated the Swedish territorial waters. Media depend on SwAF to provide them with accurate information due to the confidentiality in these matters and the general area of investigation is therefore how the actions of the Swedish Armed Forces, in the submarine incident 2014, were portrayed in the Swedish media. Newspapers and blogs of defense policy represent the media and the thesis is based on the theories constructed by Graham Allison, the rational actor, organizational behavior and governmental politics. Furthermore, it is relevant to examine if there are any similarities or differences in how the submarine incident is illustrated, and what may be the reason for any possible occurrences. The conclusion shows that the same tendency of frequent used theories occur equivalent throughout the media where the rational actor was highlighted, and few attempts were made to include governmental politics. The newspapers adopt a descriptive character whereas the blogs mainly focus on discussions regarding operational improvements, which probably vary due to the different types of platforms and their time-dependent interest in the matter.

The 17th October 2014 the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF) introduced an intelligence operation in Stockholm archipelago after receiving credible observations regarding illegal underwater activities. Following the data collection and associated analysis it could be stated with certainty that a foreign submarine had violated the Swedish territorial waters. Media depend on SwAF to provide them with accurate information due to the confidentiality in these matters and the general area of investigation is therefore how the actions of the Swedish Armed Forces, in the submarine incident 2014, were portrayed in the Swedish media. Newspapers and blogs of defense policy represent the media and the thesis is based on the theories constructed by Graham Allison, the rational actor, organizational behavior and governmental politics. Furthermore, it is relevant to examine if there are any similarities or differences in how the submarine incident is illustrated, and what may be the reason for any possible occurrences. The conclusion shows that the same tendency of frequent used theories occur equivalent throughout the media where the rational actor was highlighted, and few attempts were made to include governmental politics. The newspapers adopt a descriptive character whereas the blogs mainly focus on discussions regarding operational improvements, which probably vary due to the different types of platforms and their time-dependent interest in the matter.

Cette thèse a été menée à bien grâce au soutien financier du Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQSC), de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales de l’Université de Montréal (FESP) et du Département d’histoire de l’art de l’Université de Montréal. / À la fin des années 1990 et au début des années 2000, les musées cherchent à renouveler leur image de marque afin d’attirer des publics plus diversifiés. Dans la foulée d’un utopisme généralisé qui caractérise Internet comme une force démocratisante pour les sociétés occidentales, les musées voient une occasion de fidéliser de nouvelles clientèles sur la base d’une participation supposée dialogique et émancipatrice. Les institutions muséales font alors l’acquisition d’œuvres d’art internet et certaines, pionnières, en font même la commande. Pour quelles raisons ? Les cas analysés dans cette recherche permettent d’élucider cette question par l’analyse culturelle des œuvres inaugurales de cette pratique artistique et muséale : Ding an sich (The Canon Series) de Piotr Szyhalski, commandée par le Walker Art Center ; Uncomfortable Proximity de Graham Harwood acquise par la Tate ; IdeaLine de Martin Wattenberg présentée par le Whitney Museum of American Art. Nous constatons que, arrimées à des infrastructures en ligne développées en étroite collaboration avec et par l’industrie technologique, ces œuvres se situent à la rencontre d’intérêts convergents des mondes institutionnel et entrepreneurial. L’industrie technologique trouve dans l’espace muséal internet une opportunité de déployer son offre de service à des clientèles favorables – les œuvres sont un attrait ; l’institution discerne dans l’entreprise un partenaire d’affaires expert à même de raffiner son image en ligne auprès de spectateurs à conquérir – les œuvres sont un atout. Les productions qui en découlent s’immiscent dans des espaces hybrides : entre espace expositionnel et page informationnelle ; entre fonction artistique et discours démocratisant autour de l’œuvre ; entre objet de collection et distinction philanthropique. Au carrefour des relations entre institution et industrie, ces œuvres portent un regard acéré sur leurs conditions d’émergence et mettent au jour les dynamiques muséo-entrepreneuriales qui sous-tendent leur arrivée. Face à des ensembles discursifs connotés, elles sont à même de conceptualiser l’industrie technologique non pas comme une autorité commerciale hégémonique, mais comme un appareillage théorique riche de stratégies thématiques et de modes opératoires à même d’être démantelés, détournés, renversés, critiqués. / At the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, museums sought to revitalise their image with the aim to attract increasingly diversified audiences. The general view of the Internet as a democratic force in western societies lead institutions to consider it as an opportunity to acquire new audiences through participation which was thought to foster emancipation and dialogue. Enthused, museums thus acquire internet artworks and some even commission them in order to inaugurate newly developed media arts programs. For what reasons? Our case studies provide an answer to this question, along with a cultural analysis of artworks, annual reports, press releases and other pertinent documents: Ding an sich (The Canon Series) by Piotr Szyhalski acquired by the Walker Art Center; Uncomfortable Proximity by Graham Harwood commissioned by the Tate; IdeaLine by Martin Wattenberg presented by the Whitney Museum of American Art. We found that these artworks are at the intersection of converging interests on the part of the institutional and business worlds as they are presented in online infrastructure developed in close collaboration with the technological industry. To this industry artworks are enticing as they offer an opportunity to expose a favourable clientele to its products; to the institution artworks are an asset to attract expert business partners able to enhance the online museum brand in the eyes of audiences. As such, artworks are located in hybrid spaces: between exhibition and information spaces, between artistic purpose and democratising discourse, between collection and philanthropy. At these crossroads, artworks take a sharp look at the conditions and dynamics that underlie their arrival. In the face of connoted discourses, they conceptualise the technological industry not as hegemonic commercial authority but as theoretical apparatus, rich with thematic strategies and operating modes ripe for dismantling, diverting, reversing, and criticising.

The purpose of this study was to develop a new investment strategy called NC-Score. The strategy is based on Chapter 14 of The Intelligent Investor written by Benjamin Graham, but with other key figures and criteria. The key figures were chosen on the basis of creating a varied and comprehensive picture of the companies as possible. They describe the companies' valuation, profitability, growth, cash flows, and capital structure. The strategy was tested between 2011 and 2020 at OMX Stockholm Large Cap. An index and Graham's original strategy have been used to compare NC-Score's performance during the period. The purpose of the index was to emulate the market and act as a minimum requirement for returns. Graham's portfolio gives a picture of how a similar strategy performs under the same conditions. The result for the strategy was a high return at a lower risk than our benchmark index and the original Graham strategy. Between 2011 and 2020, NC-Score generated a return of 191.67% with a Sharpe Ratio of 2.70. During the same period, OMX Stockholm 30 GI generated a return of 110.48% with a Sharpe Ratio of 0.91. NC-Score's results cannot be considered to be significantly positively risk-adjusted since it cannot be ruled out that the higher return in relation to the risk was due to a coincidence. / Syftet med denna studie var att utveckla en ny investeringsstrategi som benämns NC-Score. Strategin utgår ifrån kapitel 14 av The Intelligent Investor skriven av Benjamin Graham, fast med andra nyckeltal och kriterier. Nyckeltalen valdes med utgångspunkt att skapa en varierande och så omfattande bild av bolaget som möjligt. De beskriver bolagens värdering, lönsamhet, tillväxt, kassaflöden samt kapitalstruktur.  Strategin testades mellan 2011 och 2020 på OMX Stockholm Large Cap. Ett index samt Grahams ursprungliga strategi har använts för att jämföra prestationen av NC-Score under tidsperioden. Indexets syfte var att efterlikna marknaden och agera som ett minimikrav för avkastningen. Grahams portfölj ger en bild av hur en liknande strategi presterar under samma förutsättningar. Resultatet för strategin var en hög avkastning till en lägre risk än vårt jämförelseindex samt den ursprungliga Graham strategin. Mellan 2011 till 2020 genererade NC-Score en avkastning på 191,67% med en Sharpe Ratio på 2,70. Under samma period genererade OMX Stockholm 30 GI en avkastning på 110,48% med en Sharpe Ratio på 0,91. NC-Scores resultat kan inte anses vara signifikant positivt riskjusterad, då det inte kan uteslutas att den högre avkastningen i förhållande till risk berott på slumpen.