Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2002. / Co-Chairpersons: Jerome Harste, Sharon Lynn Pugh. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-244).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-240). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ67923.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis is a theoretical and practical investigation of the role played by informal learning and teaching in the development of identity and applied knowledge. With the advent of mass schooling, there came to be a distinction between formal and informal education, with formal schooling representing the superiority of abstract, decontextualized, and rule-based learning over the informal, or the concrete, situated, and supposedly unstructured learning from everyday life. Research and theory in anthropology, sociocultural psychology and progressive educational philosophy have challenged this distinction, explicitly demonstrating the dialectical relationship between the formal and informal modes of all activity, regardless of setting. Inseparable from this conception of cognition is the notion that all knowledge is transmitted via culturally and sociohistorically framed and interrelated valuations of norms, beliefs, social conduct and the application of knowledge across spheres. / Progressive educational theorists argue that the creative process is the best means to tap the identity and skill-shaping potential of the informal mode. This proposition is actively and concretely investigated in this thesis through the writing, by this researcher, of a one-act play, Nineveh . As postulated by the theory, through the creative process the author's sense of identity and ability to creatively apply knowledge was affected positively. From this combined theoretical and practical examination of the informal mode of learning and teaching, a need for pluralistic educational praxis is forwarded. Engagement with the creative process is suggested as a means to help students feel more confident to learn from and enrich their lived experiences in their cultural environment, and thereby actively contribute to their interconnected sense of identity and mastery over multiple forms of applied knowledge.

No description available.

According to self-categorization theory (SCT), environmental context is the key factor in determining whether or not a social identity will be activated. Blanz (1999) has extended SCT by suggesting that there are certain social categories (i.e., race and gender) that people will chronically use to categorize individuals. However, neither of these two perspectives addresses the notion that individuals could differ in the chronic accessibility of a given social identity. The present research explored this hypothesis. By adapting Higgins and colleagues' (1982) methodology for studying the chronic accessibility of personality traits, three studies were conducted to determine if there are differences in chronicity of female (Experiments 1 and 3) and anglophone (Experiment 2) social identities. Results suggest that individual differences in accessibility appear to exist. However, differences in chronicity of female and anglophone social identities were not related to discrimination, an important variable in social identity theorizing. Theoretical and real-world implications are discussed along with suggestions for future research.

Research conducted with Montreal schizophrenics who frequent alternative groups for the mentally ill was aimed at exploring their strategies of identity reconstitution. Applying Paul Ricoeur's concept of the "narrative identity" and its emphasis on the recollection, interpretation, and narrations of events, the content of schizophrenics' life narratives was analyzed to establish the manner in which identity and experience were fashioned, and what role social and cultural elements played in this process of transformation. The results of this research indicate that schizophrenics who try to position themselves anew frequently tend to reject biomedical meanings and definitions as a privileged frame of reference. Instead of the biomedical paradigm and its usually negative connotations, explanations of supernatural and autobiographical origins are preferred. Drawing on our culture's diverse references in some kind of unique-amalgamation of meaning frames, highly individualized and distinctive identities are constructed. These identities, although unusual or 'abnormal' when looked at from the point of view of mainstream society, often constitute significant steps in the personal growth and well being of people who suffer from schizophrenia.

This thesis explores both modernist and poststructuralist theories of the identification process as a vehicle for understanding the makeup of individuals and their relationship with social movements. It is asserted that individuals are made up of multiple lines of identity, such as sexuality and gender, which interact with societal normative discourse. This essay develops the theory of the fractured being to account for these arrangements and asserts that individuals continually rearrange their identity in order to negotiate axiomatic activities. By demonstrating that it is possible to affect change at micro and macro levels, the fractured being retains agonistic power relations. Theories that demonstrate how individuals resist norms on a daily basis are explored through an examination of daily events, popular culture, and a qualitative interview. This thesis concludes that benefits are derived within social movements when members organise around more complex relationships rather than singular issues.

Thesis (MVisualArts)--University of South Australia, 2003.