Tim O'Brien, a contemporary author writing mostly about his combat experience in Vietnam, has written eight books to date. All involve Vietnam in some way—overtly, for the most part. He and his stories are well known stylistically for several traits including the blurred distinctions between what actually happened and "story truth," something that did not really happen, but is true nonetheless. Within the story, he also blurs the line between what actually happens and what is imagined by the narrator or one of the characters; and, although he sometimes makes the distinction, he often does not. To help shed some light on this, there are a number of published interviews and articles wherein he discusses the themes, forms, and methods of his writing as well as his experiences. Research and analysis of O'Brien and his works show that, although his stories overtly deal with a myriad of other issues and themes, the complex and specific theme of displacement caused by trauma is present in all of his work, and can even be considered the engine that drives his stories and how they work with the reader. Additionally, O'Brien's well-known method of writing is actually a subtle yet intensely effective performance and enactment of this underlying theme of displacement. When used as a reading strategy, the theme itself clarifies and unlocks several points of contention about his texts such as O'Brien's generally negative treatment of women. / Master of Arts

Yes

By examining the celebration of the Fourth of July during the Civil War, this thesis will highlight the regional distinctiveness of both sides of the war. This work is divided into two main parts, one focusing on the Fourth of July in the Union, the other on the Fourth of July in the Confederacy. Three separate areas of commemoration are analyzed: in newspaper rhetoric, on the home front, and on the battlefield. Rather than stating that the Confederacy abandoned the holiday entirely, this thesis shows that the North and the South celebrated different aspects of the holiday, which reflected unique interpretations of America. Drawing on newspaper and diary accounts, these interpretations are tracked over the course of the war. The Southern perspective could not outlast the Confederacy, the reestablishment of the Union cemented the Northern view, and with emancipation a new vision of America emerged. / Master of Arts

La fête nationale française, décrétée en 1880, vise à consolider l’adhésion à la Troisième République, régime né dix ans auparavant et toujours en déficit de légitimité. Malgré les efforts du gouvernement pour rejoindre les Français de toutes allégeances, des discordes idéologiques persistent et la fête nationale du 14-Juillet ne parvient pas à faire l'unanimité. Telle est la situation sociale et politique de la France à l’aube de la Grande Guerre. Alors que se multiplient les batailles et les pertes militaires, la conviction d'une guerre courte fait place à la réalité d'une guerre aussi destructrice qu’interminable. Les 14-Juillet de ces années-là démontrent la nécessité d'adapter les célébrations nationales à la réalité de la guerre totale et des besoins qu'elle engendre. Parallèlement, le deuil et la souffrance de la guerre ravivent les oppositions sociales et politiques d'avant-guerre, remettant en question les capacités du gouvernement à faire face à la situation, menaçant tant l'Union Sacrée que la République. L'entrée en guerre des États-Unis, en avril 1917, offre l'occasion à quelques hommes politiques prévoyants de rétablir la cohésion sociale autour des valeurs républicaines. En 1917, puis en 1918, le gouvernement mise sur l'union des fêtes nationales républicaines française et américaine pour ranimer l'espoir, le courage et le patriotisme de tous les Français. Au-delà de l'hommage rendu à un allié que l'on espérait plus, l'union des deux fêtes devient le symbole de la solidarité et de la fraternité qui unit les deux Républiques-sœurs, et réaffirme la force et la légitimité du régime français en place. Le 14-Juillet, emblème du parcours social et politique français, connaît donc, à l’occasion de la Grande Guerre, une mutation, une redéfinition de sens. À l'image de la France, « moderne », le 14-Juillet tel que développé lors du conflit, ne cesse de s'adapter aux besoins et à l'image d'une société en constante évolution. / The French national holiday, Bastille Day, was established in 1880 to strengthen popular support to the Third Republic, a disesteemed political regime born ten years earlier. Despite the government’s efforts to rally French people of all allegiances, ideological discord persisted and the parties involved were unable to reach a unanimous decision regarding the national holiday of July 14. Such was the political and social situation in France in 1914, at the dawn of the Great War. While battles and military losses multiply, convictions of a short war gave way to the reality of an endless and destructive conflict. During the years of ceaseless battles, the celebrations of the Bastille Day demonstrated the necessity of adapting national holidays to the context and needs brought to a country by a total war. In parallel, the mourning and suffering birthed by the Great War revived pre-war oppositions, both social and political, thus undermining the Union sacrée, as well as the Republic. The United-State’s involvement in World War I, beginning in April 1917, offered to a few passionate and far-sighted political figures the opportunity to restore consensus among the French people on republican values. In 1917 and 1918, the French government united both French and American national holidays, in the hope to revive optimism, courage and patriotism amongst the population. Beyond the initial tribute to a long sought-after ally, the union of national holidays became a symbol of solidarity and fraternity between both republics, thereby reaffirming the strength and legitimacy of the French political regime in place. The French national holiday, emblematic of the social and political evolution of its people, faced a sense-defining mutation during the Great War. The “Modern” Bastille Day, as developed during the war, never ceases to adapt to the needs and image of the ever-growing society it celebrates.

This paper examines the mechanisms of “successful” communication in matters of political leaders’ability to gain public trust and credibility during large scale crises. Even though political actors andother stakeholders tend to be very proactive to promote their views, news media also play an activeand important role in framing public policy issues and crises.1 Thus, this thesis involves both politicalactors and media in the context of framing and crisis communication. Their interrelation and itsimportance for explaining successful crisis communication is demonstrated by producing a case studyof the Norwegian government’s communication efforts during and after the terrorist attack in Osloand the island of Utöya 22/7 2011. This paper argues and demonstrates that the active use ofpositive frames, that are cultural congruent and resonate with the media shaping, is a necessity tocreate a favorable context for winning praise and support in times of crisis. In line with previousresearch, framing strategies in crisis communication is demonstrated to be central to the crisisresponse and determines whether a responsible stakeholder is able to create momentum, maintainand even gain increased public support or not.

La thèse étudie les sources de la pensée de dom Guéranger, le célèbre abbé de Solesmes, sa formation initiale et ses motivations quand il restaure le monachisme bénédictin en France au début du XIXe siècle. Les travaux sur la liturgie qui l’ont rendu célèbre font partie d’un ensemble : le jeune Prosper Guéranger appartient à cette génération de clercs dits « ultramontains » qui entre en résistance contre l’État français qui entend annexer l’Église gallicane. Membre actif du cercle mennaisien avec ses amis Montalembert et Lacordaire, Guéranger propose le monachisme bénédictin comme moyen de renouveau spirituel de l’Église : la fondation de l’abbaye de Solesmes est un projet politique qui doit permettre la régénération de l’Église et même de la société tout entière. Ce courant a des ramifications en Europe et spécialement en Angleterre avec le mouvement d’Oxford : Newman et Guéranger puisent aux mêmes sources dans les mêmes années pour relever des défis similaires. Le projet monastique de Guéranger s’apparente par certains aspects aux utopies d’inspiration romantique qui fleurissent à la même époque mais c’est surtout le centralisme romain revendiqué et la dimension eschatologique de la vie monastique, manifestée dans la liturgie, qui en fait un moyen de résistance spirituelle. Guéranger appartient à un mouvement général qui explore les sources de l’Antiquité chrétienne afin de permettre à l’Église de retrouver son identité fondamentale et les moyens de sa mission. / The thesis investigates the sources of the thinking of the famous abbot of Solesmes, analyzing his initial training and motivation when he restores Benedictine monasticism in France in the early nineteenth century. His liturgical work that made him famous is part of a whole: the young Prosper Guéranger belongs to that generation of clerics called "ultramontane" who resists the French State attempt to annex the Gallican Church. As an active member of the Mennaisian circle with his friends Montalembert and Lacordaire, Guéranger presents Benedictine monasticism as a means of spiritual renewal for the Church: the foundation of Solesmes abbey is a political project which should enable the regeneration of the Church and even of society as a whole. This current has branches in Europe and especially in England with the Oxford Movement: Newman and Guéranger draw on the same sources in the same years for similar challenges. Guéranger’s monastic project is similar in some respects to some utopias of romantic inspiration that bloom at the same time but it’s especially the Roman centralism and claimed eschatological dimension of monastic life, manifested in the liturgy, which makes Solesmes a means of spiritual resistance. Guéranger belongs to a general movement that explores the sources of Christian antiquity in order to allow the Church to regain its fundamental identity and the means of its mission.

Despite the inherently multivalent nature of images of Napoleon Bonaparte created during the middle of the nineteenth century, scholars often employ only one lens to interpret them: the political context of the age in which they were created. In doing so, they effectively separate these images from the wider art historical narrative. A second—and equally fraught—effect of this tendency is the perpetuation of dominant assumptions that the popularity of his image was due to his status as a “Great Man.” This dissertation examines a subset of mid-century Napoleonic imagery that demonstrates the flawed nature of neglecting other approaches to interpreting these works: depictions of the Emperor’s resurrection. These images frequently portray the Emperor as an inherently democratic, republican, or Populist force that derives its power not from Napoleon’s identity, but from the creativity, commemorative work, or critical thinking of the audience and the French people. This dissertation closely examines these images in their artistic and cultural contexts, applying cultural art historical methodology and close iconographical analysis to works that are either absent from or marginalized in the art historical narrative. In doing so, it reveals Napoleonic resurrection imagery’s potential for commenting on changing social mores that privileged the cultural agency of the French people at mid-century. The underlying argument of this study is that Napoleon was a popular artistic subject not because of his status as a “Great Man,” but because of his endlessly mutable identity. This mutability facilitated the creation of new forms of art and knowledge while allowing the French people to reflect upon their place in the changing cultural and artistic milieu. By demonstrating that this admittedly narrow subset of Napoleonic representation is open to cultural analysis, this dissertation opens up new avenues of inquiry for scholars of the Napoleonic Revival. The first chapter of this study is a largely theoretical examination of Napoleonic “ghosts” and their connection to the strained relationship between fine art and popular culture as well as the masses and “Great Men.” Chapter two analyzes several images in which academically trained artists use Christ-like Napoleonic imagery to engage with the rising cultural and creative agency of the lower classes. The third chapter examines the political implications of the Napoleonic Revival. However, unlike earlier studies, it does so through the lens of the ongoing conflict between cultural narratives passed down from a centralized authority and popular culture that challenges these narratives. In particular, it contrasts the July Monarchy regime’s marginalization of the “real” Napoleon with public enthusiasm for the image of his corpse. Finally, the dissertation considers Paul Delaroche’s Napoleonic series in the context of the shifting locus of artistic production during the period.

Termine Juni - Juli 2008

LL.M. (International Law) / The coming into force of the Rome Statute of the ICC (International Criminal Court) created a shift in state attitude in respect of the implementation and enforcement of International Law. In particular, several issues arise concerning the role to be played by states in the context of complementarity between the ICC and national courts. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes of the most concern to the international community and its power is limited by, amongst others, the complementarity principle as well as the jurisdiction and functioning of national courts. States parties agreed to establish a permanent court which would put an end to impunity and prevent acts of core international crimes, as well as ensure effective prosecution of international crimes. Under the Rome Statute, states parties are obliged to develop measures at the national level in order to enhance international cooperation with the ICC. The complementarity principle encompasses, amongst others, the duty of every State to exercise criminal jurisdiction over international crimes, to enhance the capacity of national jurisdiction and to implement an appropriate national legal system which provides the same level of guarantee in investigating and prosecuting international crimes as the ICC. Both the ICC and national courts have jurisdiction over core crimes and this concurrent jurisdiction causes conflict between both institutions. The complementarity principle is based on the basis that states should maintain primary responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. However,these conflicts do not arise with Ad Hoc tribunals, whose Statutes emphasise the supremacy of the international criminal tribunals over national courts. The complementarity principle is based on the basis that states should maintain primary responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The complementarity principle provides that prosecutions of crimes stipulated under the Rome Statute are primarily the task of states and the ICC is the court of last resort.6 This primary competence of national courts and the boundary between the two jurisdictions is given expression in article 17 of the Rome Statute. Prosecutions of core crimes before the ICC are only admissible if, and under condition that, an effective prosecution at the national level is threatened by legal, political and factual obstacles.

This thesis focuses on the reaction of the German bishops to the Reichskonkordat, which was negotiated between the Vatican and the German government from April 10, 1933 to September 10, 1933. The paper attempts to show that the views of the episcopate were their own and did not always correspond to those of the Vatican. While secondary sources offer an important supplement, the account relies mostly on published documents. In particular, the Catholic Church documents compiled from the Reichskonkordat negotiations and the correspondence of the German bishops during the year 1933 were used most extensively.