In her series of seven novels, Rowling constructs a society and a framework of characterization that allows her to explore the human-animal boundary in a variety of ways. She connects her novels to the ideology of the classical and medieval periods while still acknowledging the ways that the relationship between humans and animals has changed over the years by showcasing the influence of modern popular culture on her characterization of the human-animal boundary. Through her descriptions of werewolves, Patronuses, Animagi, and Harry Potter's and Lord Voldemort's abilities to speak Parseltongue, Rowling uses classical, medieval, and modern animal symbolism to showcase her characters' personalities. These human-animal frameworks associate particular imagery with each character, and this imagery highlights the core of the character. By using this symbolism to showcase her characters' deepest characteristics, Rowling also delineates her heroes and villains through their relationships with the boundary between humans and animals. This thesis analyzes the ways that Rowling's fusion of classical, medieval, and modern animal symbolism contributes to Rowling's characterization of heroes and villains throughout the series. By examining the instances where characters engage the human-animal boundary, this thesis constructs an argument that highlights the fluidity of the human-animal boundary through examples from the series and analysis of Rowling's characters.

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This thesis, a comparison of the concepts of buddha-nature and dao-nature in the medieval period (from the 5th to the 10th centuries) of China, presents a historical investigation of the formation of the idea that insentient things are able to possess buddha-nature in medieval Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism, the concept of buddha-nature was originally defined as a potential possessed by sentient beings that enabled them to achieve buddhahood. From the 6th century, the concept was reinterpreted within the Chinese Buddhist tradition so that insentient things were also able to possess buddha-nature. Recent scholarship has pointed out that the idea of insentient things having buddha-nature is a combination of Buddhist and Daoist ideas based on the concept of the all-pervading Dao found in the Zhuangzi 莊子. In this sense, buddha-nature seems to be interpreted as equivalent with the Dao of Daoism. My project suggests that the reinterpretation of buddha-nature in association with the insentient realm should be elucidated in a more nuanced way than the idea of all-pervasiveness of the Dao. A historical, doctrinal investigation of the intellectual formation of the concept of buddha-nature in Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism demonstrates a new interpretation of buddha-nature in the context of insentient things having buddha-nature. Further, through a historical investigation of intellectual exchange between Buddhism and Daoism, some evidence provided in this project illustrates that the idea of insentient things having dao-nature in Daoism was not inherited from Buddhism, but drawn from Daoist tradition. This new perspective is different from that of some contemporary scholars who have claimed that the idea of insentient things having dao-nature was borrowed from Chinese Buddhism. A chronological investigation of the discussion of nature in Chinese thought demonstrates that the idea of insentient things having buddha-nature incorporates earlier Daoist traditions found in Arcane Study. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

While art can be an intensification of perception, this nature center recognizes the presence of nature through symbiotic connotations of its primordial elements as architectural form. Deepened experiences of both nature and architecture are to be achieved through a clarified ordering of architectonic elements and their relationship to each other, nature, and humanity. / Master of Architecture

En réponse à la sensation de déconnexion avec l'environnement que je perçois et ressens, ma pratique tend à rentrer en contact avec différents éléments du lieu dans lequel je me trouve. Sans cesse à l'affût, le milieu dans lequel j'avance influence directement mon travail et les thématiques que j'aborde. Mon processus se manifeste le plus souvent par une répétition du même geste et un rythme qui témoigne d'une endurance, ce qui révèle la notion de durée. J'explore la présentation des œuvres en rouleau, apportant une symbolique reliée au passage du temps. Je cherche à créer une tension entre la douceur de mes gestes et la destruction de la nature que je remarque au quotidien. À travers les points de contact que je forme avec mon environnement, je tente de créer une sensation de continuité. Accompagnant mon projet, ce mémoire offre les clefs de compréhension de l'exposition Les arbres sont fatigués. / In response to the sense of disconnection with the environment that I feel, my artistic practice explores ways to reconnect. Attentive to my surroundings, the location in which I find my self directly influences my work and chosen themes. My work methods, such as repeating the same gesture and rhythmic movements, require endurance and incorporate the notion of duration and a sense of time. I attempt to create a tension between the delicacy of my gestures and the destruction of nature which I notice on a daily basis. I explore presenting my work as rolls to symbolise the passage the time. Through the points of contact I have with my environment, I seek to create a sense of continuity. Accompanying my project, this thesis provides a guide to understanding the exhibition Les arbres sont fatigués (The Trees are Tired).

The purpose of this thesis is to show upon what aspects of nature Emily Dickinson's poems touch, to what extent and in what manner she uses nature terms in expressing her philosophy of life, what ideas she expresses through these terms, and finally what her own philosophy of nature is.

The purpose has been to discover from the study of Bryant's life and poetry the extent to which his work was influenced by nature and how he interpreted it.

La présente recherche porte sur le développement de la nature morte et sur la problématique du sujet en art au Québec de 1887 à 1907. En étudiant l’intérêt pour la représentation des objets en peinture à la fin du XIXe siècle, le texte identifie les conditions culturelles et sociales dans lesquelles un nombre important de natures mortes ont été réalisées. Par une analyse des thèmes et des langages formels suivie d’une étude sur la réception de la nature morte québécoise par la critique d’art francophone, sont mises à jour les différentes conceptions sur l’art éclairant en retour le contexte d’émergence de la nature morte. La question du sujet en art se présente alors comme l’élément clé permettant de comprendre l’émergence d’une relation dynamique entre les préoccupations propres au genre et celle du contexte artistique de l’époque. / The present research relates on the development of the still life and the subject in art problematic in Quebec from 1887 to 1907. By studying the interest for the representation of objects in painting at the end of the XIXth century, the text identifies the cultural and social conditions under which a significant number of still life were carried out. An analysis of the topics and of the formal languages, followed by a study on the reception of the Quebec still life by the French-speaking art critics, stress on the various conceptions on art which, in return, gives enlightenments on the context of emergence of the Quebec still life. The question of the subject in art then appears as a key element to understand the emergence of a dynamic relation between the main concerns of the genre and those of the artistic context of the time.

The research on "The healing touch of Nature in the context of pastoral therapy" illustrated the role of Nature in bringing healing to individual people in an urban context in South Africa. The role Nature plays in connecting the participants with God and how this positively affects their daily lives, has been central in the research. Through their interaction with Nature, the participants lead richer, more meaningful lives and experience a greater sense of well-being. Nature stimulates and elicits response as the digital world is set against the calm energy and "warmth of the earth". Through connection with God in Nature, the participants translate the healing metaphor into more tangible "language" – the "beautifying effect" of Nature. It is not the words that captivate, but the thoughts which the words carry. Mostly the research tells the story of the experiential knowledge of living in the intimate presence of God and the healing power of God‘s presence. This narrative is about a kind of knowing that can only come through Nature. The research offers a way of seeing Nature that could influence pastoral care today. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)