Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis concerns institutional identifications. It starts from a premise that identities emerge in and through narrative and sets out to explore the links between narrative, identity and discourse from the point of view of someone embarking on a research career in the University. Not that it started out that way. To begin with I was interested in the professional identifications of teachers, having recently been a teacher myself. But following the move to a lecturing post in the School of Education it became apparent that I was losing my identity as a teacher and instead developing an identification as a researcher within what I have referred to as ‘the University at the time of the RAE' (Research Assessment Exercise). As this happened I realised I had been presented with an opportunity to investigate these processes of identification from the inside out as I moved from being a teacher, to becoming a researcher. In doing this I developed two main strategies: in one strand of the research I interviewed teachers to gather narratives of practice, because in that way I could investigate the processes involved in doing ‘being a researcher' — gathering and analysing data, writing research publications, presenting research at conferences (as well as applying the theoretical concepts I developed as part of this research to my own situation); and I started to gather data relating to my work within the academy, that positioned me as a researcher. This strand of the research made use of an autoethnographic methodology that I called ‘participant self observation'. In this way I observed what I did as a researcher and how I related to the discourse in which I was enmeshed. The structure of the thesis reflects this doubled approach: the findings from the research with teachers have been written up and presented as research papers; and this is set against texts developed from the autoethnograph research. I refer to this as an ‘anacoluthonic' structure i.e. a disjunction in the PhD which serves to open up a critical space for the examination of research and the PhD as text itself. The aims of the research are therefore: To explore processes of identification in the academy and the ways in which such identifications are narrated; Through the presentation and analysis of texts to evoke ‘a self in the academy. To examine, reflexively, the methodological processes involved in order to develop a critique of the research; The research draws on the approach to discourse analysis developed by Laclau and Mouffe (1985), which is linked to a Lacanian concept of subjectivity; and makes use of the theoretical notion of ‘interpellation' as set out by Althusser (1971). The thesis also draws on the work of Deleuze and Guattari (1987, 2004 [1979]). Narratives are posited as being the means by which individuals are linked to discourses and narrative is thus theorised as being an ideological process with reductive properties. Within this framework a theoretical concept of identification is developed which discusses resistance/complicity and agency/autonomy as key factors.

Clinical and theoretical literature suggests that some people who present with psychological problems have a poorly developed sense of their own identity. It has also been suggested that cognitive theory and therapy does not always adequately identify, conceptualise, and address these identity problems. The current study aims to develop a self-report questionnaire measure to assess these identity problems. It also tests some specific hypotheses about the relationship between identity problems and other psychological constructs, including borderline personality disorder symptomatology. anxiety and depression.

This thesis investigates the struggle for identity among the tribal people of North-East India with a special reference to the Kuki people of Manipur. It explores the cultural and religious traditions of the people and the changes brought to them in the process of western colonial administration and Christianization in the early part of the twentieth century.  It also investigates the socio-political and cultural situation of the people under the Independent India.  The thesis explores debates within sociology between primordialist and constructivist theoretical perspectives and concludes that, while identity is a social construct, it reflects the real socio-economic, cultural and political context within which it emerges and real struggles for justice and dignity on the part of marginalised peoples.  It is in this light that the current ethnic movements in North-East India are understood and their limitations are described and shown to result from the lack of a critical theological reflection.  This study demonstrates that Christianity, although playing an important role in the formation of the peoples’ identity in the new setting, neglected their traditional cultural values and hence became a factor contributing to the peoples’ identity crisis.  Dalit theology is taken as a dialogue partner in search of relevant theological response to the issue, but it is pointed out that while they have much in common, the additional task for tribal theology is to take into consideration the primal religious past as well as the difficult and complex socio-political realities shaping their present experience in a post-colonial, globalised world. The thesis outlines aspects of Kuki tradition which may contribute to a local theology and, in that process, can shape a new sense of identity, restoring dignity to the Kuki, while respecting the freedom and humanity of other peoples.

published_or_final_version / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

This thesis will argue that feminism is at the edge of a new wave brought about by the fragmentation of the feminist political movement and the rise of postmodern theory. It contends that postmodern theories have been used by feminists as a 'critical strategy' to understand why the movement fragmented and to move towards the acceptance of more strategic and conventional politics. Thus many feminists are now prepared to leave behind the utopian and separatist legacies of the second wave. These feminists are willing to consider how a future feminist movement can be built that will account for the differences between women, and realise that there will thus need to be a painful and precarious process of alliance-building. It is argued that given the precarious nature of the alliance, feminists in a new wave must also re-conceive democratic models of citizenship to ensure that women and feminists' concerns are met in the wider political sphere. This second concern also makes sure that they have institutional and procedural support should fragmentation recur. The thesis considers three such models of citizenship: Seyla Benhabib's deliberative model, Iris Young's communicative model and Chantal Mouffe's agonal one. It contends that these models only partly address the concerns of new wave feminism, because they are based on transformative and participatory models of politics. These models undermine the importance of feminists finding legitimate political relationships that respect the multiplicity of their demands as feminists, as women and as citizens. This thesis concludes that representative models of democracy are more suited to feminist concerns in a new wave. Such models have distinctive characteristics that allow women to be politically included in terms of a range of political concerns and identities. Representative models of democracy, moreover, make it clear that the political relationship is one of formal authorisation and not one of personal identity recognition and transformation.

D. Litt. et Phil. / This study is an exploration of the experiences of crisis and identity. It looks specifically at these experiences from within the context of imprisonment from the concrete to the abstract. Imprisonment is not merely looked at from the physical point of view, but also the metaphorical. This means that the sense of imprisonment is not only limited to people who are serving out sentences imposed by the courts of law. We can all experience the sense of being imprisoned at some level or another, whether though a sense of isolation, being labelled and controlled, or experiencing restriction in various forms. The post-modern worldview that underlies this study is social constructionist theory. From this perspective, our sense of what is real is communally created within specific cultural and historical contexts. Language is used as the vehicle through which our meanings are constructed between people. The social constructionist view of people holds that we are open systems so that our sense of self is not only impacted by perturbing “others”, but is also shaped and transformed in relationship. The shaping of identity takes place through language processes and is circumscribed by particular contextual constraints. Identity is not viewed as a constant entity, but as an ever-evolving narrative (story) and a product of interaction with others in the world. Whereas the modern definition of “crisis” underscores the idea that it is, at best, “something” to be avoided, social constructionists describe it as a boundary experience that is communally constructed. Furthermore, if we draw on chaos theory, crisis can also be seen as a bifurcation point. This means that it is a moment in our experiences in which we are moved to make decisions and potentially proceed into new directions. Therefore, crisis holds transformational potential. The notion of exploring the transformative potential of crisis and the construction of identity sprung from a personal crisis experience around the discomfort of progressing into a professional identity. My practical training within the Johannesburg Female Prison provided a context fertile with stories of imprisonment, crisis and how these impact on identity construction. Therefore, the context of this study is prison, so that a discussion around constructions of criminality and its treatment is important to paint a fuller picture. These are discussed from the perspectives of modern criminology theories, as well as post-modern impressions of criminality and its treatment as embedded in historical and social contexts. Since this study underscores an intervention-action research approach, the implications of crisis as a potential catalyst for therapeutic change is also considered. The social constructionist understanding of therapeutic practice is that it is a relational process. Therapy is a co-creation between the client and therapist so that new ways of moving forward is a collective, not an individual achievement. This study, as a form of action research, was born out of a one and a half-year long therapeutic endeavour with a group of women offenders in the Johannesburg Female Prison. The theoretical principles of Appreciative Inquiry were used to guide the process of inquiry. Three levels of participants were involved in the collection of data: A diverse mix of women incarcerated in the Johannesburg Female Prison, the core group of women participating in the “Who am I?” therapeutic group, as well as myself. Information was in the form of written personal texts, interviews (conducted by the core group) and a newsletter. Thematic analysis was used to scrutinise the information and the following themes were identified: Loss and gain, power and helplessness, hope and despair, differentness and sameness as well as connection and disconnection. Typical character types (identities) and whether there were progressive, regressive or stable narrative plots (directionality of stories) were considered in the various themes as points of crisis. Finally, the findings are integrated with the theory by exploring social constructionist ideas about identity as being ever-changing, multiple and created in our togetherness. The principles of first and second order cybernetics are also used as systemic explanatory models of identity transformation and/or “stuckness”. The creation of therapeutic communities was explored as a tool to facilitate the reconstruction of crisis and the transformation of healing identities of women in prison. / Dr. C.J. Oosthuizen

In Rotten Oranges the characters explore the ramifications of relocation and various trapping of psychology. Each of the short stories presents pain piggybacking off of humor, in order to go spelunking in a field of study that does not deal with absolutes. The characters themselves try to illustrate the dangers of misdiagnosis and stereotypes. As a whole, the collection exhibits this sense of exaggerated realism, which focuses on spectacle and theatricality. A few of the stories access some magical qualities to deal with certain aspects of trauma. All of the pieces take place in Florida and utilize this setting's natural level of diversity and tropical allure. Florida's unshakeable connection to the twilight years, flamboyant tourism, and the possibility of a new life through immigration works perfectly in conjunction with the layers of pain and humor stacked throughout the collection. These characters live to inhabit the space between tears and laughter. / by Christina Ginfrida. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. / Content restricted to abstract and citation at the authors request

Tam Wing-sai Jessica. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-234). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstracts --- p.i / Acknowledgements --- p.iii / Prelude --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter1 --- Literature Review / Chapter 1.1 --- Literature Review on Cyber Researches --- p.5 / Chapter 1.11 --- Cyberspace and Self --- p.7 / Chapter 1.111 --- Goffmanian Dramaturgy: Presentation of Self in Cyberspace --- p.9 / Chapter 1.112 --- The Postmodern View: Fragmented and Multiple Cyberselves --- p.13 / Chapter 1.12 --- Later Foucault on Ethics --- p.19 / Chapter 1.121 --- Self-Writing as Self-Technology --- p.24 / Chapter 1.13 --- Conceptual Framework: Practice of Ethics in Cyberspace --- p.25 / Chapter 1.2 --- Summary --- p.32 / Chapter Chapter2 --- Research Design / Chapter 2.1 --- Research Site --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2 --- Research Method --- p.38 / Chapter 2.21 --- Textual Analysis --- p.38 / Chapter 2.22 --- Online Participatory Observation --- p.36 / Chapter 2.23 --- Online Interview / Chatting --- p.43 / Chapter 2.3 --- Summary --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter3 --- Approaching the Cyber Context: On the Threshold of Cyberspace / Chapter 3.1 --- Intrinsic Nexuses of Cyberspace --- p.47 / Chapter 3.11 --- Nexus of Space and Place --- p.47 / Chapter 3.111 --- Invisibility /Anonymity --- p.50 / Chapter 3.112 --- Sociality --- p.52 / Chapter 3.12 --- Nexus of Nearness and Remoteness --- p.60 / Chapter 3.121 --- Strangeness --- p.61 / Chapter 3.2 --- People on the Net: a Classification of Cyber-individuals --- p.63 / Chapter 3.21 --- Instrumental net user --- p.68 / Chapter 3.22 --- Cybernaut --- p.70 / Chapter 3.23 --- Netizen --- p.71 / Chapter 3.24 --- Net-addict --- p.75 / Chapter 3.3 --- Summary: Crossing the Threshold of Cyberspace --- p.79 / Chapter Chapter4 --- Caring the Cyberself: Self-awareness and Mind-caring / Chapter 4.1 --- Problematization of Virtuality and Virtual self --- p.82 / Chapter 4.11 --- Relationship with Virtual Reality: Materiality Vs Virtuality --- p.83 / Chapter 4.12 --- Relationship with Selves: Authentic self? Unauthentic self? --- p.91 / Chapter 4.13 --- Self-caring: Forgetting the body? Caring the mind --- p.97 / Chapter 4.131 --- Ethical Substance: Free and Reflective Subject --- p.109 / Chapter 4.2 --- Summary: Cyberself as an Ethical Subject --- p.114 / Chapter Chapter5 --- Creating the Cyber Flesh: Self-fashioning as a Virtual Self-technology / Chapter 5.1 --- Nickname --- p.117 / Chapter 5.2 --- Personal Details --- p.124 / Chapter 5.21 --- Net-hupomnemata --- p.126 / Chapter 5.22 --- Net Self-narration --- p.134 / Chapter 5.3 --- Summary: Self-fashioning as Virtual Self-technology --- p.137 / Chapter Chapter6 --- Playing the Cyberself: Self-experiment as a Virtual Self-technology / Chapter 6.1 --- Forms of Cyberself --- p.140 / Chapter 6.11 --- Disembodied --- p.140 / Chapter 6.12 --- Plastic --- p.141 / Chapter 6.13 --- Multiple and interchangeable --- p.142 / Chapter 6.2 --- Virtual Self-experiment --- p.143 / Chapter 6.21 --- Multiplicity: Self as a Masquer --- p.143 / Chapter 6.22 --- Plasticity : Self as a Creator --- p.151 / Chapter 6.221 --- Gender Swapping --- p.153 / Chapter 6.3 --- Summary: Self-Experiment as Virtual Self-Technology --- p.158 / Chapter Chapter7 --- Narrating the Cyberself: Self-Narration as a Virtual Self-Technology / Chapter 7.1 --- Net-Narration --- p.161 / Chapter 7.11 --- Net-diary --- p.162 / Chapter 7.12 --- Net-Correspondence --- p.166 / Chapter 7.2 --- Summary: Self-Narration as Virtual Self-technology --- p.176 / Epilogue-Game of Power in Cyberspace / Part I: Cyber-nature and Cyber-individuals --- p.179 / Part II： Self-awareness --- p.182 / Part III: Self-technologies --- p.185 / Reflection --- p.191 / Notes --- p.195 / Appendices --- p.207 / Bibliography --- p.226