<p>My thesis examines how eugenicist and psychologist Robert M. Yerkes’ experimental intelligence research helped to situate the non-human primate as the ideal research subject for human betterment research in the twentieth century U.S. Yerkes believed that the primate was the ideal research subject to address questions of human betterment and social welfare, specifically best to create methods of evaluating the imagined threat of intellectual disability. While Yerkes has been studied extensively in the history of psychology, primatology, and eugenics, rarely have his separate contributions to these fields been placed in conversation with one another. Placing the primate at the center of Yerkes’ work allows for all three fields to engage with one another in a new perspective. By analyzing Yerkes’ publications about the Multiple-Choice Experiment within the context of the American eugenics’ movement, we can see how the primate came to hold a central position in U.S. scientific research, the advancement of human welfare and betterment, and as a means of defining what it means to be human. This story offers a glimpse into this longer process of how the primate came to occupy this position, but even a glimpse offers historians of the American eugenics’ movement new questions. What was the role of the non-human animal in the formulation of American eugenic theories? How have we historically used the natural world in our attempts to separate ourselves from it? And can we truly reconcile a history with eugenics if we continue to ignore the role of animals within it, they who today exist unquestionably within the status of the sub-human?</p>

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation argues that shifting secular conversion therapy practices and theories in North America between 1910 and 1980 consistently relied on both queer affective experience and anti-queer and anti-trans animus to justify often brutalizing medical interventions. Canadian and American conversion therapists’ pathologizing views of queer sexual behavior and gender identity were shaped by complex interplays between cultural, legal, social, and medical perspectives, but predominately worked to uphold heteronormative social structures leading to discrimination, hate, and harm towards queer people in both countries. Focusing on affect thereby encourages scholars to recognize how conversion therapies in all their variable historical permutations are both medical <i>and </i>cultural practices that have attempted to use queer patients’ affective needs for acceptance, love, safety, and validation in ways advancing anti-gay and anti-trans social narratives in purportedly therapeutic settings since the early twentieth century.</p><p dir="ltr">This research uses a transnational approach that is at once sensitive to national differences between the American and Canadian queer experience while looking to draw connections between conversion therapy’s development and individual experiences of this practice in two national contexts over time. It additionally pays careful attention to the ways social power hierarchies based on race and class informed individuals’ affective experiences of conversion therapy between 1910 and 1980.</p>

The Gift 2.0 - A Museological Study of donations of Objects and its Underlying Motives, is a study in order to explain why people choose to donate items for museums, rather than any other alternative.The empirical study consists of qualitative, semi-structured research-interviews conducted with seven selected curators from various museums, with extensive experience of the subject acquisition. I have chosen to only examine Swedish cultural-historical museums. The hypothesis that I assumed was first and foremost that the heritage sphere is what Pierre Bourdieu calls a field. The reason that people would donate objects to museums, is that the donation itself brings cultural capital to the donor, from people with the same habitus. Since I felt that Bourdieus theory of field, capital and habitus could not explain all the reason why people donate items to museum, my second hypotheses was that certain objects are what Annette Weiner called inalienable possessions, objects that at any cost may not be sold or bartered away. It is precisely the ability to keep the object outside of the commercial sphere that is the essential for an inalienable possession. Linked to this hypothesis I argued that museums act like a bastion of inalienable possessions, in which the donor can continue to keep the object while it has been given. My source material consists of the research interviews and secondary material that I have acquired during the study, consisting of literature, deed of gift and e-mail correspondence. I have analyzed both primary and secondary source material using my hypotheses. The results of this study verify that my hypothesis is valid to use as a musicological theory of gifts. The study is a two year master´s thesis in Museum and Heritage Studies.

This thesis focuses on the trajectory of the biomedical concept of virulence from 1880 until the present. Following the concept across disciplinary boundaries, from a longue durée history perspective, it explores how virulence was shaped through two distinct, although sometimes overlapping, “styles of reasoning”. Located at the intersection of several distinct research domains in biology and medicine, the concept of virulence provides, in addition, a window into the complex and changing relations between evolutionary biology and the health sciences (broadly construed) over the past two centuries. Moving back and forth between field experiments and the laboratory, this work examines, through the lens of historical epistemology, the emergence of what I call the molecular and the ecological styles, and their respective conceptual practices. It focuses on the ways in which these styles operationalize the distinction between virulent or avirulent organisms in sometimes opposite sense: Whereas in the molecular (or endogenous) style the expression of virulence is explained by properties of internal structures of the infectious agent (e.g. polysaccharide capsule, virulence gene, or pathogenicity island), the concept of virulence in the ecological (or exogenous) style reflects, in contrast, either a lack of adaptation between two species (avirulence hypothesis) or the existence of one or more ecological compromises between, say, the mode of transmission of a pathogen and its host’s recovery rate (trade-off model). Both styles can be said to originate in the medical bacteriology of the late-nineteenth century, but while the former grew mostly out of the work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in Europe, the latter was primarily shaped by Theobald Smith in the United States. Nearly a century later, the introduction of the category of emerging infectious disease within public health discourses in the mid-1990s facilitated a rapprochement between the two styles that had, so far, remained apart. Employing the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic as an example in which to illustrate the trajectory of the molecular and the ecological approaches, the diversity of explanatory schemes developed to account for the pandemic’s exceptional virulence points toward an unresolved, and yet productive, epistemic tension between the two styles, on the one hand, and the intrinsic polarity of the concept of virulence itself, on the other.

Thomas S. Kuhn claimed that the meanings of scientific terms change in theory changes or in scientific revolutions. In philosophy, meaning change has been taken as the source of a group of problems, such as untranslatability, incommensurability, and referential variance. For this reason, the majority of analytic philosophers have sought to deny that there can be meaning change by focusing on developing a theory of reference that would guarantee referential stability. A number of philosophers have also claimed that Kuhn’s view can be explained by the fact that he accepted and further developed many central tenets of logical empiricism. I maintain that the genesis of Kuhn’s meaning theorising lies in his historical approach and that his view of meaning change is justified. Later in his career he attempted to advance a theory of meaning and can be said to have had limited success in it. What is more, recent cognitive science has unexpectedly managed to shed light on Kuhn’s insights on the organisation of information in the mind, concept learning, and concept definition. Furthermore, although Kuhn’s critique of Putnam’s causal theory of reference has often been dismissed as irrelevant, he has a serious point to address. Kuhn thought that the causal theory that works so well with proper names cannot work with scientific terms. He held that conceptual categories are formed by similarity and dissimilarity relations; therefore, several features and not only one single property are needed for determination of extension. In addition, the causal theory requires universal substances as points of reference of scientific terms. Kuhn was a conceptualist, who held that universals do not exist as mind-independent entities and that mind-dependent family resemblance concepts serve the role of universals. Further, at the beginning of his career, Kuhn was interested in the question of what concepts or ideas are and how they change in their historical context. Although he did not develop his theorising on this issue, I demonstrate that this is a genuine problem in the philosophy of history. Finally, Kuhn argued that scientists cannot have access to truth in history because we cannot transcend our historical niche, and as a consequence, the truth of a belief cannot be a reason for theory choice. Instead of truth, we can rely on justification. I also discuss Kuhn’s idea that problem-solving is the main aim of science and show that this view can be incorporated into coherentist epistemology.

This dissertation explores the role and significance of the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus in Western philosophy from Antiquity to today. Paying particular attention to its moral and existential meanings, an analysis of this in-depth investigation produces an overview of the exceptional array of the myth’s functions and themes. It demonstrates that the most significant functions of the Prometheus myth are its social, epistemic, ontological and moral functions and that the myth’s most significant themes are fire, rebellion, creation, human nature and ambiguity. The dissertation argues that this analysis brings to light meaningful information on two sides of a reference to the Prometheus myth: it reveals the nature, functions, themes and connotations of the myth, while information about these functions and themes provides access to fundamental meanings, moral statements and ontological concepts of the studied author. Based on its findings this work claims that, as in history, first, the Prometheus myth will still be meaningful in philosophy today; and second, that the analysis of the myth’s functions and themes will provide access to essential ideas underlying contemporary references to the myth. To prove the validity of these claims this thesis examines the contemporary debate on ‘human enhancement’. Advocates as well as opponents of enhancement make use of the Prometheus myth in order to support their arguments. Employing the acquired knowledge about the myth’s functions and themes, the dissertation analyses the references encountered. The results of this analysis confirm that the Prometheus myth still has a significant role in a contemporary philosophical context. They improve our understanding of the philosophical argument, ontological framework and ethics of the debate’s participants; and thus demonstrate that the information about the Prometheus myth acquired in this thesis is a useful means to reveal fundamental ideas and conceptualisations underlying contemporary (and possibly future) references to the myth.

Philosophe de l'éthique, Emmanuel Levinas a critiqué l'histoire de la philosophie occidentale comme celle de l'ontologie réduisant l'Autre au Même. Bien que les études lévinasiennes n'aient cessé de commenter son éthique, rares sont celles qui s'intéressent à sa genèse. Ce travail tente de combler cette lacune en jetant la lumière sur les écrits du jeune Levinas et son dialogue avec ses contemporains : Jacob Gordin, Jacques Maritain, Léon Brunschvicg, Edmund Husserl et Martin Heidegger.Héritier de la « philosophie juive » esquissée par les écrits de Gordin, la philosophie de Levinas pouvait se caractériser dès les années 30 comme « d’inspiration juive », bien avant sa rencontre avec Monsieu rChouchani. Bien que le philosophe lui-même n’ait jamais tenté d’établir une « philosophie juive », la proximité et la distance que révèlent ses écrits sur Maritain (héritier de l’analogie de l’être) et Brunschvicg (représentant de l’idéalisme rationnel) tracent les contours de cette philosophie essentiellement éthique cherchant toujours la séparation avec la totalité.Le mouvement de sa pensée vers l’éthique contre la philosophie de « participation » semble avoir son origine dans la gigantomachie que le jeune étudiant lituanien aurait vue entre ses deux maîtres de la phénoménologie à Fribourg autour de la question de la monadologie « métaphysique » capable de rendre compte de l’expérience de l’Autre. C’est dans cette problématique que le jeune Levinas fait son premier pas vers le refus de la constitution analogique de l’Autre, ainsi qu’à la participation à la vérité de l’être, tout en s’appuyant sur l’éthique de séparation. / Philosopher of ethics, Emmanuel Levinas has criticized the history of western philosophy as that ofontology reducing the Other to the Same. Studies on Levinas’ philosophy has so far annotated on his ethicswithout cease, whereas they are seldom interested in its genesis. This work tries to make up for this gap byfocusing on young Levinas’ writings and his dialogue with his contemporaries: Jacob Gordin, JacquesMaritain, Léon Brunschvicg, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger.Heir of « Jewish philosophy» as sketched by the writings of Gordin, Levinas’ philosophy could becharacterized, in the 1930’s, as Jewish inspired, before his encounter with Mr Chouchani. Although thephilosopher himself has not ever tried to establish a Jewish philosophy, the proximity and the distance revealedby his writings on Maritain (heir of analogy of being) and on Brunschvicg (representative of rational idealism)trace the contour of this essentially ethical philosophy always seeking the separation from totality.The movement of his thought toward the ethics against the philosophy of « participation » seems tohave its origin in the gigantomachy which the young Lithuanian student would have seen between his twoteachers of phenomenology in Freiburg about the question of the « metaphysical» monadology, capable ofexplaining the experience of the Other. It is in this question that the young Levinas has made his first steptoward the refusal of analogical constitution of the Other and of the participation to the truth of being, relyingon the ethics of separation.

A partir da unidade temática Compreensão Humana do Universo, referida nas Orientações Educacionais Complementares aos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais do Ensino Médio: Ciências da Natureza, Matemática e suas Tecnologias, capítulo Física, é possível discutir uma série de conceitos presentes em seus objetivos, em especial, sobre os modelos explicativos do universo em diferentes modos de conhecimento. A fim de contribuir com esta discussão, de forma a tratar igualitariamente os diferentes modelos, que o presente trabalho tem como objetivo fornecer subsídios teóricos e metodológicos para o planejamento e implementação de aulas direcionadas para tal unidade temática, a partir de uma abordagem histórica-filosófica e pela perspectiva antropológica da Astronomia Cultural. Para transformar esta intenção em ação foi elaborada uma sequência didática, a qual foi conduzida segundo o processo EAR de validação. A sequência foi aplicada em uma turma de primeiro ano do ensino médio. Os dados da aplicação foram coletados por meio de gravação das aulas, dos diários de aula e do material (desenhos e questionários diagnósticos) produzidos pela turma. A fonte principal de dados foi o material produzido pela turma, o qual foi submetido à análise de conteúdo categorial. Como resultado da análise desse material verificou-se que a sequência didática aplicada, de acordo com os parâmetros adotados para sua elaboração, conseguiu com que a turma caracterizasse e delimitasse os modelos explicativos do universo segundo os tipos de conhecimentos dos quais estes são advindos / From the thematic unit \"Compreensão Humana do Universo\", referred to in the Orientações Educacionais Complementares aos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais do Ensino Médio: Ciências da Natureza, Matemática e suas Tecnologias, chapter \"Física\", it is possible to discuss a series of concepts present in its objectives, in particular, on the explanatory models of the universe in different models of knowledge. In order to contribute to this discussion, treating the different models equally, the present work aims to provide theoretical and methodological support for the planning and implementation of classes directed to such thematic unit, based on a historical-philosophical approach and by anthropological perspective of Cultural Astronomy. To transform this intention into action, a didactic sequence was elaborated, which was conducted according to the EAR process of validation. The sequence was applied in a first-year High School class. The application data were collected by recording the classes, class diaries and the material (drawings and diagnostic questionnaires) produced by the students. The main source of data was the material produced by the students, which was submitted to Categorical Content Analysis. As a result of the analysis of this material, it was verified that the didactic sequence applied, according to the parameters adopted for its elaboration, enabled the students to characterize and delimit the explanatory models of the universe according to the types of knowledge from which these are derived

For African Americans, literacy has historically been rooted in passion, collaboration, and social justice. This study explores two distinct sites of historical African American literacy development: literary societies of the 1800s and print culture of the Harlem Renaissance. Notably, literacy and culture were fundamentally intertwined during these times, creating an urgency and inspiration for literary pursuits not often seen today. In an effort to rekindle this reverence and utility for literacy in classrooms today, a culturally sustaining pedagogy is called for. Culturally sustaining pedagogy seeks to leverage students’ cultural knowledge and skills. By culturally aligning curriculum and instruction, educators position students to experience the transformative power of literacy—a transformative power that was evident in African American literary societies and through the Harlem Renaissance print culture. This study seeks to merge historical and contemporary approaches to literacy development to reconceptualize literacy education and engagement for all students.

A partir da unidade temática Compreensão Humana do Universo, referida nas Orientações Educacionais Complementares aos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais do Ensino Médio: Ciências da Natureza, Matemática e suas Tecnologias, capítulo Física, é possível discutir uma série de conceitos presentes em seus objetivos, em especial, sobre os modelos explicativos do universo em diferentes modos de conhecimento. A fim de contribuir com esta discussão, de forma a tratar igualitariamente os diferentes modelos, que o presente trabalho tem como objetivo fornecer subsídios teóricos e metodológicos para o planejamento e implementação de aulas direcionadas para tal unidade temática, a partir de uma abordagem histórica-filosófica e pela perspectiva antropológica da Astronomia Cultural. Para transformar esta intenção em ação foi elaborada uma sequência didática, a qual foi conduzida segundo o processo EAR de validação. A sequência foi aplicada em uma turma de primeiro ano do ensino médio. Os dados da aplicação foram coletados por meio de gravação das aulas, dos diários de aula e do material (desenhos e questionários diagnósticos) produzidos pela turma. A fonte principal de dados foi o material produzido pela turma, o qual foi submetido à análise de conteúdo categorial. Como resultado da análise desse material verificou-se que a sequência didática aplicada, de acordo com os parâmetros adotados para sua elaboração, conseguiu com que a turma caracterizasse e delimitasse os modelos explicativos do universo segundo os tipos de conhecimentos dos quais estes são advindos / From the thematic unit \"Compreensão Humana do Universo\", referred to in the Orientações Educacionais Complementares aos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais do Ensino Médio: Ciências da Natureza, Matemática e suas Tecnologias, chapter \"Física\", it is possible to discuss a series of concepts present in its objectives, in particular, on the explanatory models of the universe in different models of knowledge. In order to contribute to this discussion, treating the different models equally, the present work aims to provide theoretical and methodological support for the planning and implementation of classes directed to such thematic unit, based on a historical-philosophical approach and by anthropological perspective of Cultural Astronomy. To transform this intention into action, a didactic sequence was elaborated, which was conducted according to the EAR process of validation. The sequence was applied in a first-year High School class. The application data were collected by recording the classes, class diaries and the material (drawings and diagnostic questionnaires) produced by the students. The main source of data was the material produced by the students, which was submitted to Categorical Content Analysis. As a result of the analysis of this material, it was verified that the didactic sequence applied, according to the parameters adopted for its elaboration, enabled the students to characterize and delimit the explanatory models of the universe according to the types of knowledge from which these are derived