<p> &ldquo;The Art of Information Management&rdquo; explores the ways that information technologies influence thought and take shape in imaginative works of literature at the turn of the seventeenth century in early modern England, from 1580 to 1605. Imaginative literature becomes a space for articulating the challenges presented by discourses perceived to have been unalterably expanded and amplified through technology, as well for experimenting with strategies to respond to those challenges.</p><p> Drawing on studies of early modern Materialism, New Historicism, Literary History, Digital Humanities, and Media Archeology, this project seeks to move the understanding of the role information technologies as agents of change forward by relocating debates concerning technology to the spaces imagined in early modern English literature of the fantastic: Thomas Nashe&rsquo;s multi-modal London and ocean-sanctuary Yarmouth, Edmund Spenser&rsquo;s Faery Land, William Shakespeare and Robert Armin&rsquo;s holiday Kingdom of Illyria, and Samuel Daniel&rsquo;s pastoral Arcadia. In each imagined space, this project looks at the printing press and beyond to attendant technologies in order to develop a better understand of the period&rsquo;s relationship to our own. </p><p> The works considered here expose a moment of feverish innovation with regard to the rhetorical construction of authenticity, political expression, and right behavior. The first two chapters argue that the writings of Thomas Nashe and Edmund Spenser reflect a heightened sensitivity to the speed and timings associated with technologically-mediated discourse. The final two chapters examine the efforts of William Shakespeare, Robert Armin, and Samuel Daniel, as they sort through the solidifying perception of discourse structures outpacing traditional modes of thought and learning.</p>

The industrial safety posters produced by Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) during WW2 are evidence of a politically progressive, socially engaged and mass-produced graphic communication in Britain. These characteristics allow the RoSPA posters to qualify, by Walter Benjamin’s criteria, as exemplars of Modernist cultural production in the age of mechanical reproduction. The emergence of these images, within the unlikely context of war, is evidence of the social change identified by George Orwell as a necessary condition of victory. Furthermore, the presence of this material, within an English context, counters the prevailing orthodoxy of an English resistance to Modernism. The thesis describes the administrative and technical determinants of the posters, as indicated by the structure of RoSPA, the personalities behind the campaign and the technical expertise of the printers; Loxley Brothers of Sheffield. Quaker and Nonconformist antecedents are revealed to define the values of both administration and printers. The thesis explores the RoSPA posters’ use of Surrealist techniques and iconography and also their appeal to a wider and international Left community. The address of the RoSPA posters to the neophyte industrial worker offers the opportunity, exemplified by the special case of women workers, to project an “imagined community” beyond the normal tribal and class distinctions of British society through “Social Vision.” The RoSPA posters make explicit a connection, within English Modernism, between community, technology, progress and dissent. A catalogue of posters is appended to the thesis. The RoSPA posters reaffirm the progressive, emancipatory and radical quality of the popular experience of the Home-Front in Britain during WW2. The social changes, precipitated by the circumstances of war, of which the RoSPA posters are a manifestation, alter the role of graphic designer in relationship to community through an embrace of technology. The concept of graphic authorship is, in consequence, irrevocably changed.

Cette recherche se penche sur l’oeuvre polémique du réformateur Jean Calvin et plus particulièrement sur le corpus d’opuscules qu’il publie entre 1531 et 1564, pour prendre position sur la scène théologique. À partir de l’analyse historique de ces prises de plume, la thèse s’attache à éclairer le fonctionnement du dispositif polémique, à souligner les spécificités et l’évolution de la guerre des mots au XVIe siècle et à mettre au jour des normes discursives, des pratiques d’écriture et des habitudes de lecture caractéristiques de la période renaissante. Postulant l’existence d’un jeu polémique, fait de contraintes sociales mais aussi de choix individuels, cette étude cherche, dans le même temps, à comprendre les conditions de l’engagement de Calvin, en analysant les configurations qui président à chaque intervention publique et les motivations qu’elles traduisent. Pour conduire cette analyse d’histoire du discours, l’étude se concentre sur les jeux de posture du polémiste Calvin, c’est-à-dire sur les modalités de la présentation de soi et la fabrique d’une légitimité. Comment des stratégies auctoriales et éditoriales sont-elles ainsi élaborées, pour circonscrire un public de lecteurs et porter un message efficace ? Que dénotent-elles du positionnement du polémiste sur la scène religieuse des années 1530-1560 ? C’est une conversion dans l’ordre de l’èthos, un glissement de l’autorité des Lettres au ministère de la Parole, que le corpus polémique invite à suivre. / This research examines the controversial work of the reformer John Calvin. It particularly investigates the corpus of pamphlets he published between 1531 and 1564 in order to take a stance on the theological stage. Based first on a historical analysis of these pamphlets, the thesis seeks to elucidate how the controversy operated, to highlight the features and the evolution of the war of words in the sixteenth century, and to shed light on discursive norms, writing processes and reading habits of the Renaissance period. Firmly claiming the existence of a controversy, one that is constructed by social constraints but by individual choices as well, this study also analyses the specific qualities of Calvin’s undertaking by interpreting the salient patterns in his public interventions and the motives behind them. In this historical analysis of discourse, the study focuses on the polemical postures of Calvin, that is to say the manner in which he presents himself and creates his legitimacy. How did Calvin devise authorial and editorial strategies in order to circumscribe an audience of readers and convey an effective message ? What did these choices reveal about the polemicist’s positioning on the religious stage from the 1530’s to the 1560’s ? Analysing this polemical corpus enables one to witness a conversion in the order of ethos, a shift of authority from Letters to the Ministry of Word.

Design is reemerging again as an active system of enquiry for cultural production with a wide ranging set of methods - not only to address short-term formal problems and limited functions, but as a discipline that is uniquely placed in its relations to other fields of visual culture, special settings and textual production. A new generation of designers are currently reassessing the positions within graphics, product design and architecture and picking up loose ends of progressive historic developments.

[pt] A presente pesquisa discute o papel da Computação Gráfica na década de 1980 no âmbito da equipe multidisciplinar que atuou na Rede Globo, realizando um trabalho pioneiro na TV brasileira. Esta equipe foi formada em um período inicial da Computação Gráfica mundial, e pesquisamos quais foram os processos, talentos, recursos e capacidades que estavam disponíveis neste período, onde o Brasil, mais conhecido como a terra do samba e futebol, de forma surpreendente e inesperada teve a oportunidade de participar de forma mundialmente relevante no campo do design e da Computação Gráfica, como era entendida naquele contexto de época. Após uma pequena introdução a história do design para a televisão e do início da Computação Gráfica, a pesquisa demonstra de que maneira a Rede Globo de Televisão estruturou-se na área de tecnologia de imagens em computação, com consequências que chegam até os dias de hoje. Esta pesquisa identificou quais profissionais foram atraídos para esta área, quais foram as suas qualificações, como suas diversas qualidades e capacidades foram desenvolvidas no processo de criação e produção de design e imagens em computação, quais foram os processos de formação/educação utilizados neste processo. / [en] This research investigates the role of computer graphics in the 1980s within the multidisciplinary team at Rede Globo, a Brazilian television network. The team was formed during the early stages of computer graphics development worldwide, and this study examines the processes, talents, resources, and capabilities available during this period. In a surprising and unexpected turn of events, Brazil, a country better known for samba and soccer, had the opportunity to make a globally relevant contribution to the field of design and computer graphics, as understood in the context of that time. Following a brief introduction to the history of television design and the early days of computer graphics, the research demonstrates how Rede Globo structured itself in the area of computer imaging technology, with consequences that continue to this day. The study identifies the professionals who were attracted to this field, their qualifications, how their diverse qualities and capabilities were developed in the process of creating and producing design and computer-generated images, and the training and education processes used in this process...

Cette thèse interroge l’émergence de ce que j’appelle le problème guerre-communication-public dans le travail de Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), le célèbre journaliste et écrivain, pour ensuite aborder le déploiement ultérieur de ce problème au sein de deux formations contemporaines de pouvoir, le spectacle et la société de contrôle biopolitique. Au niveau théorique et méthodologique, cette thèse réactive l’analytique du pouvoir en tant que guerre proposée par Michel Foucault (1997), laquelle solidarise l’enquête historique et l’analyse du pouvoir. Adoptant cette perspective, cette thèse relève tout à la fois de l’enquête historique et de l’analyse du pouvoir et vise simultanément à produire un savoir historique original et à mobiliser ce savoir afin d’éclairer certains aspects de l’exercice contemporain du pouvoir, notamment quant aux savoirs qui y sont mobilisés. La première partie de cette thèse aborde le renversement de la relation clausewitzienne entre guerre et politique caractéristique du travail de Lippmann, lequel est central au problème guerre-communication-public. Afin d’exposer ce renversement, cette thèse revisite la question des influences intellectuelles de Lippmann à partir d’une enquête archivistique ainsi que par une analyse généalogique de la notion de guerre froide (qui est généralement attribuée à Lippmann). Ce faisant, cette partie de la thèse contribue aux débats historiographiques portant sur l’apport de Lippmann aux théories de la communication (débats avec lesquels cette thèse s’engage), notamment en proposant une nouvelle analyse du débat Dewey-Lippmann et des rapports de Lippmann à la philosophie pragmatiste. La deuxième partie de cette thèse interroge le fonctionnement contemporain du pouvoir en tant que spectacle et société de contrôle biopolitique à partir du problème guerre-communication-public. Cette démarche permet de préciser certains aspects de ces formations de pouvoir, notamment quant à leurs événements historiques, leurs modes de fonctionnement, leurs ancrages dans la guerre et la stratégie ainsi que leurs rapports mutuels. / In this dissertation, I question the emergence of what I call the war/communication/public problem in the work of renowned journalist and writer Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), before addressing the subsequent unfolding of two contemporary power formations, namely the spectacle and the biopolitical control society. At a theoretical and methodological level, this dissertation is based upon Michel Foucault’s (1997) analytics of power as war, which links historical enquiry and power analysis. Through this perspective, this dissertation relates both to historical inquiry and to power analysis, and aims both to produce original historical knowledge and to mobilize that knowledge in order to shed light on some aspects of contemporary exercise of power, especially with respect to the knowledge it mobilizes. The first part of this dissertation addresses the reversal of Clausewitz’s relation between war and politics, which characterizes Lippmann’s work and is central to the war/communication/public problem. In order to highlight this reversal, this dissertation revisits the question of Lippmann’s intellectual influences, thanks of archival work as well as to the genealogical analysis of the notion of cold war (which is usually attributed to Lippmann). In doing so, this first part of the dissertation contributes to the historiographical debates relating to the Lippmann’s contribution to communication theory (debates with which this dissertation converses), especially by suggestion a new outlook on the Dewey-Lippmann debate and the latter’s relationships to pragmatist philosophy. The second part of this dissertation questions the functioning of contemporary power as a spectacle and as a biopolitical control society, through the war/communication/public problem. This endeavor allows pinpointing some aspects of these power formations, especially with respect to their historical events, their modes of operation, their anchoring in war and strategy, as well as their respective relationships.

Cette thèse interroge l’émergence de ce que j’appelle le problème guerre-communication-public dans le travail de Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), le célèbre journaliste et écrivain, pour ensuite aborder le déploiement ultérieur de ce problème au sein de deux formations contemporaines de pouvoir, le spectacle et la société de contrôle biopolitique. Au niveau théorique et méthodologique, cette thèse réactive l’analytique du pouvoir en tant que guerre proposée par Michel Foucault (1997), laquelle solidarise l’enquête historique et l’analyse du pouvoir. Adoptant cette perspective, cette thèse relève tout à la fois de l’enquête historique et de l’analyse du pouvoir et vise simultanément à produire un savoir historique original et à mobiliser ce savoir afin d’éclairer certains aspects de l’exercice contemporain du pouvoir, notamment quant aux savoirs qui y sont mobilisés. La première partie de cette thèse aborde le renversement de la relation clausewitzienne entre guerre et politique caractéristique du travail de Lippmann, lequel est central au problème guerre-communication-public. Afin d’exposer ce renversement, cette thèse revisite la question des influences intellectuelles de Lippmann à partir d’une enquête archivistique ainsi que par une analyse généalogique de la notion de guerre froide (qui est généralement attribuée à Lippmann). Ce faisant, cette partie de la thèse contribue aux débats historiographiques portant sur l’apport de Lippmann aux théories de la communication (débats avec lesquels cette thèse s’engage), notamment en proposant une nouvelle analyse du débat Dewey-Lippmann et des rapports de Lippmann à la philosophie pragmatiste. La deuxième partie de cette thèse interroge le fonctionnement contemporain du pouvoir en tant que spectacle et société de contrôle biopolitique à partir du problème guerre-communication-public. Cette démarche permet de préciser certains aspects de ces formations de pouvoir, notamment quant à leurs événements historiques, leurs modes de fonctionnement, leurs ancrages dans la guerre et la stratégie ainsi que leurs rapports mutuels. / In this dissertation, I question the emergence of what I call the war/communication/public problem in the work of renowned journalist and writer Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), before addressing the subsequent unfolding of two contemporary power formations, namely the spectacle and the biopolitical control society. At a theoretical and methodological level, this dissertation is based upon Michel Foucault’s (1997) analytics of power as war, which links historical enquiry and power analysis. Through this perspective, this dissertation relates both to historical inquiry and to power analysis, and aims both to produce original historical knowledge and to mobilize that knowledge in order to shed light on some aspects of contemporary exercise of power, especially with respect to the knowledge it mobilizes. The first part of this dissertation addresses the reversal of Clausewitz’s relation between war and politics, which characterizes Lippmann’s work and is central to the war/communication/public problem. In order to highlight this reversal, this dissertation revisits the question of Lippmann’s intellectual influences, thanks of archival work as well as to the genealogical analysis of the notion of cold war (which is usually attributed to Lippmann). In doing so, this first part of the dissertation contributes to the historiographical debates relating to the Lippmann’s contribution to communication theory (debates with which this dissertation converses), especially by suggestion a new outlook on the Dewey-Lippmann debate and the latter’s relationships to pragmatist philosophy. The second part of this dissertation questions the functioning of contemporary power as a spectacle and as a biopolitical control society, through the war/communication/public problem. This endeavor allows pinpointing some aspects of these power formations, especially with respect to their historical events, their modes of operation, their anchoring in war and strategy, as well as their respective relationships.