Abstract This doctoral thesis focuses on children’s participation in a Finnish reception centre. Using participatory action research (PAR) as the research methodology, the study engaged 12 unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls from Somalia, Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo to consider children’s participation during the asylum process, and to explore the ways in which the girls’ participation and wellbeing could be promoted. The research questions, which were formulated during the process in cooperation with the girls, were the following: How do the unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls view participation, its relevance and the possibilities for it during their asylum period? How does the liminality of their life situation promote or hinder their participation? How do the intersecting social categories affect their participation? Methodologically, the study focused on how PAR can be applied to promote children’s participation in institutional care in a culturally and gender-sensitive way. The conceptual framework consists mainly of critical pedagogy and intersectionality. Critical pedagogy made the foundations for the PAR, whereas intersectionality helped to comprehend the liminality of the girls’ life worlds. Both theoretical perspectives contributed to understanding and implementing the participatory paradigm. The findings show that the unaccompanied girls’ experiences of participation cannot be explained only through the girls’ vulnerability or their resilience, as they clearly belong to both categories and move within them. The participation, which was meaningful for the girls, reflected their fluid positions in relation to their gender, age and status as asylum seekers. Participation meant both the right to voice opinions and the possibility to choose silence, as well as the opportunity to include ‘ordinary things’ into their lives. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöstutkimus keskittyy lasten osallisuuteen suomalaisessa vastaanottokeskuksessa. Yhteensä 12 yksin maahan tullutta turvapaikanhakijatyttöä Somaliasta, Angolasta ja Kongon demokraattisesta tasavallasta osallistui toimintatutkimuksen keinoin pohtimaan lasten osallisuutta turvapaikkaprosessin aikana, ja miettimään keinoja miten lasten osallisuutta ja hyvinvointia voisi edistää. Tutkimuskysymykset, jotka muotoiltiin prosessin edetessä yhdessä osallistujien kanssa olivat seuraavat: Miten yksin maahan tulleet turvapaikanhakijatytöt käsittävät osallisuuden merkityksen ja mahdollisuudet heidän turvapaikkaprosessinsa aikana? Miten elämäntilanteen liminaalisuus heikentää tai edistää heidän osallisuuttaan? Miten ristikkäiset sosiaaliset kategoriat vaikuttavat heidän osallisuuteensa? Tutkimus pureutuu myös siihen, miten osallistavaa toimintatutkimusta voidaan käyttää kodin ulkopuolella asuvien lasten osallisuuden tukemiseen kulttuuri- ja sukupuolisensitiivisellä tavalla. Tutkimuksen käsitteellinen viitekehys rakentuu pääosin kriittisen pedagogiikan ja intersektionaalisuuden teorioista. Toimintatutkimus pohjautuu kriittiselle pedagogiikalle, kun taas intersektionaalisuus auttaa ymmärtämään tutkimuksen tyttöjen elämäntilanteen liminaalisuuden. Molemmat teoreettiset näkökulmat auttoivat tulkitsemaan ja toteuttamaan osallistavaa paradigmaa. Tulokset osoittavat, että yksin maahan tulleiden turvapaikanhakijatyttöjen osallisuuden kokemukset ovat moninaisia ja muuttuvia. Turvapaikanhakijastatuksen mukanaan tuoma haavoittuvaisuus ei riitä selittämään tyttöjen kokemuksia, kuten ei myöskään heidän elämänkokemuksensa mukanaan tuoma sinnikkyys ja vahvuus. Tutkimuksen tytöt olivat sekä haavoittuvaisia että vahvoja, ja heidän asemansa näissä kategorioissa oli joustava. Merkitykselliseen osallisuuteen vaikuttivat myös tyttöjen muuttuvat positiot, jotka liittyivät heidän sukupuoleensa, ikäänsä ja turvapaikanhakija-asemaansa. Osallisuus tarkoitti tytöille sekä oikeutta ilmaista mielipiteensä että vaieta, kuten myös arkisten asioiden sisällyttämistä jokapäiväiseen elämään.

Speculative fiction allows an expanded view of literature and so allows scholars to explore new boundaries in the way words and ideas work. In the titular character of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, the reader sees an expansion of self through liminality while A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick explores its collapse. In order to portray each of these the character examined must move though one seems to move upward and the other downward. This idea of movement is only part of what expands the idea of liminality past the traditional idea of a doorway to create a hallway that the character might traverse on the way from place to place. This is not a redefinition of the term but a revision, a change in the way that we look at the concept as we accept and explore newer genres.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to map the form and development of funeral customs in the southern part of the Roman Catholic parish Český Dub - in the collature of the church of St. Jakub Major in Letařovice from the middle of the 19th century to the second half of the 20th century. The focus is on the local village community, its experience of the death of its own member and the form of the funeral rite, which allowed the deceased to pass from the world of the living to the world of the dead. The work analyzes funeral rituals and their development through the prism of the theory of rites of passage, specifically through the perspective of Victor Turner and the analysis of the liminal phase. It also shows the reason for ritual behavior and its performative parts. The work reflects the modernization and secularization of society and tries to reveal their influence on the rituality of burials in Letařovice. It analyzes with bureaucratization and sanitation of funeral homes. The first part of this diploma thesis presents the development of burial in the Czech lands and regional historical context. Furthermore, the traditional rural funeral in the Letařovice cemetery, its spiritual and secular part, is depicted and analyzed, as it looked for the entire period - farewell in the mourning house,...

Die doel van die navorsing is om vas te stel of liminale prosesse, drumpeloorgange en transformasie deur die verskuiwing van sosiogeografiese omgewing teweeggebring word. Vir die terreinverkenning van die term liminaliteit word gebruik gemaak van die teorië van antropoloë Arnold van Gennep en Victor Turner en word getoon dat die term liminaliteit al hoe meer vryelik in velde buite die antropologie gebruik word. Die toepasbaarheid van die drie fases (pre-liminaire, liminaire en post-liminaire) van die rites de passage en die heropname in die communitas word met betrekking tot die letterkunde toegelig. Die ondersoek van die konsep liminaliteit word ten opsigte van literêre karakters gedoen aan die hand van die oorsake en dryfvere wat tot liminale prosesse lei, asook die uitwerking van daardie prosesse op die geestelike instelling van die verskillende hoofkarakters in die romans ’n Ander land van Karel Schoeman, Die son kom aan die seekant op van Jeanette Ferreira, Lang skaduwees in Afrika van Connie Luyt en die ongepubliseerde roman Paul Roux van die kandidaat self. Die verskillende elemente (dryfvere, karakterisering, milieus, drumpeloorgange en transformasies) wat tot liminale situasies bydra, word behandel. Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die verskillende elemente dui op die roete wat na die rites de passage toe kan lei. Navorsingsartikels en essays wat die tussenruimtes en oorskryding van grense in verskillende publikasies bespreek, word gebruik om die ondersoek toe te lig. Besprekings van Louise Viljoen (Woordwerk van Breyten Breytenbach), Adéle Nel (Lykdigte en Ruggespraak van Joan Hambidge), Heilna du Plooy (Niggie van Ingrid Winterbach), Dorothea van Zyl (Vaselinetjie van Anoeschka von Meck), Marlies Taljaard (Kleur kom nooit alleen nie van Antjie Krog) is hiervoor aangewend. Daar word ook na ekspat-literatuur soos dié van Laurens van der Post, Breyten Breytenbach en Gérard Rudolf verwys. Dit is ’n vrugbare tegniek om literêre karakters vanuit Van Gennep en Turner se teorieë te ontleed. Soos wat die konsep liminaliteit toenemend gebruik en toegepas word, sal dit ook meer in die literatuur aangewend word, veral in die werk van ekspatskrywers. Wat hierdie bevindings betref, kan ’n mens begin gis oor die Afrikaanse diaspora-letterkunde wat ’n nuwe communitas vir drumpelfigure geskep het. Die gemeenskaplike kreatiewe energie in hierdie liminale sone kan as bewusmaking dien en sodoende verandering teweegbring. ENGLISH : The purpose of the research is to determine whether liminal processes, threshold crossings or transformation can be brought about by the changing of socio-geographical environment. For the exploration of the term liminality the theories of anthropologists Arnold Van Gennep en Victor Turner are used and it is shown that the term is increasingly used in other fields. The applicability of the three phases (preliminaire, liminaire and post-liminaire) of the rites de passage and the reentering of the structural realm, the communitas, is enlightened with the help of literature. The analysis of the concept liminality regarding these literary characters is done by causes and motivations that lead to liminal processes, as well as the effect of those processes on the spiritual/mental inclination of the characters in the novels ’n Ander land by Karel Schoeman, Die son kom aan die seekant op by Jeanette Ferreira, Lang skaduwees in Afrika by Connie Luyt and the candidate’s unpublished novel Paul Roux. Different elements (motivation, characteristics, milieu, thresholds and transformation) that lead to liminal phases, are discussed. It was found that the different elements indicate the route leading to the rites de passage. Applicable essays and articles regarding the liminal phases and transgression of borders in different publications are explored to explain the analysis. Research articles and essays focusing on the phases leading to the rites de passage used for this analysis are those by Louise Viljoen (Woordwerk of Breyten Breytenbach), Adéle Nel (Lykdigte en Ruggespraak of Joan Hambidge), Heilna du Plooy (Niggie by Ingrid Winterbach), Dorothea van Zyl (Vaselinetjie by Anoeschka von Meck) and Marlies Taljaard (Kleur kom nooit alleen nie by Antjie Krog). Reference is also made to the ex-pat literature of Laurens van der Post, Breyten Breytenbach and Gérard Rudolf. Applying Van Gennep and Turner’s theories for the analysis of literary characters is fruitful. As the concept liminality is used and applied increasingly, it will become more relevant in literature, especially in the work of expat writers. Regarding the findings, one can speculate about the ‘diaspora’ literature in Afrikaans that created a new communitas for threshold figures. The communal creative energy in this liminal zone can be effective as to an awakening that can bring about change. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Afrikaans / unrestricted

Humanitarian organizations and research groups are increasingly considering the potential of integrating palliative care into humanitarian health responses. While studies on the topic frequently examine the obstacles of integrating palliative care into humanitarian action, the field is marked by notable research gaps, particularly concerning assessments of practice, the impact of guidelines, as well as critical inquiries into the moral and conceptual implications of a “humanitarian palliative care”. This thesis contributes to the latter of these research gaps by unpacking the discourses of palliative care and humanitarianism as imperatives, with attention to the ways in which the two may support or challenge each other.  The main research question, “How does humanitarian action take up palliative care as a humanitarian concern?”, is addressed through an anthropological lens. To shed light on the intangible, yet powerful, moral aspects of combining these discourses, this research method consists of a literature review approaching guidelines and studies as empirical data. While without its main ethnographic method, the use of classic anthropological theories and analysis offers apt insight into the framework of a humanitarian palliative care. The thesis paper progresses as follows: first, a literature review outlines the background of palliative care and its introduction in the humanitarian sector along with the direction of existing studies and guidelines on the topic. This outline then facilitates a comparative analysis of the moral language and principles of palliative care and humanitarianism. During this analysis, Fassin’s critique of “humanitarian reason” (2012) is used to better understand both imperatives in focus, leading to a biopolitical analysis of the implications of a combined ‘humanitarian palliative care’. This analysis suggests that palliative needs inhabit a liminal position in humanitarian healthcare – at the threshold of humanitarian concern.   The liminality of humanitarian palliative care is then explored with particular attention to the infrastructure and relevant temporal aspects of humanitarian healthcare. While addressing abstract concepts, the analysis draws upon case examples to illuminate each analytical point in practice. Finally, I conclude with a discussion reflecting on the suggestions made by this thesis, and ultimately, the – arguably ambiguous – dynamic between palliative care and humanitarian action.

Im Rahmen der Performancekunst in Nordamerika und Europa seit 1970 lassen sich Performances ausmachen, die sich inhaltlich mit dem Sterben befassen. Die vorliegende Dissertation widmet sich der Frage, inwiefern sich die existenzielle Performancekunst als Medium zur Evokation von Sterblichkeitsbewusstsein eignet. Den Untersuchungsgegenstand bilden 19 Performances, die als existenzielle Performancekunst bezeichnet werden. Die Performer*innen zeigen ihr „Spiel mit dem Sterben“ oder laden dazu ein, bei der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Sterben mitzuspielen. Es wird analysiert, auf welche Weise sich die elf Performer*innen in existenzieller Performance mit Sterblichkeit befassen. Dabei fällt auf, dass es einerseits eine spielerische, liminoide Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema gibt. Andererseits lassen sich existenzielle Performances ausmachen, die eine ernste, liminale Auseinandersetzung mit der Sterblichkeit aufzeigen, da sich der Künstler/die Künstlerin Schmerzen zufügt bzw. zufügen lässt oder gar in die Gefahr begibt, während der Performance zu sterben. Jene dichotomischen Aspekte, wie sie bereits der Anthropologe Victor Turner beschrieb, werden konkretisiert mit existenzieller Performancekunst in Zusammenhang gebracht und zudem auf Überlegungen der Theaterwissenschaftlerin Erika Fischer-Lichte zur Liminalität bezogen und weiterentwickelt. Im Fokus stehen somit auftretende und sich auflösende Dichotomien, sowie die Interpersonalität zwischen Performenden und Teilnehmenden. Darüber hinaus werden Primäraspekte existenzieller Performancekunst herausgearbeitet. Die Primäraspekte und die dichotomischen Aspekte werden im Hinblick auf die Evokation von Sterblichkeitsbewusstsein untersucht. Die vorliegende Dissertation reflektiert darüber hinaus Fragen der Medialität von existenzieller Performancekunst. / Within the context of performance art in North America and Europe since 1970 several performances that consider mortality can be identified. This dissertation deals with the question, whether existential performance art is suitable as medium to evoke an awareness of mortality. The research object consists of 19 performances that are designated as existential performance art. The performers show their „play with dying“ or invite to participate in the involvement with dying. It is analysed in which kind of way the eleven performer deal with mortality in existential performance art. As can be noticed, on the one hand there is a ludic and liminoid involvement with dying. On the other hand art performances can be identified that demonstrate serious and liminal involvement with dying, because of the artist`s willingness to suffer or even to run the risk of losing his or her life while performing. Those dichotomic aspects, as already described by anthropologist Victor Turner, are made concrete and brought into connection with existential performance art in this dissertation. Furthermore the dissertation refers to Erika Fischer-Lichte`s thoughts concerning liminality, but extends the ideas related to existential performance art and mortality. Oscillating dichotomies are focussed on as well as the interpersonal encounter between performer and participant. Primary aspects of existential performance art are worked out. Both dichotomic and primary aspects are examined concerning their role in evoking an awareness of mortality. Moreover this dissertation reflects on mediality of existential performance art.

This thesis investigates the uncanny (das Unheimliche) in five of Sylvia Plath’s 1962 poems: “Berck-Plage”, “The Arrival of the Bee Box”, “Daddy”, “Fever 103°”, and “Death & Co.”. Furthermore, it looks at how the biographical circumstances in which the poet found herself while writing the poems, may have influenced them. Drawing mainly on Sigmund Freud’s 1919 essay “The Uncanny” and the 2003 The Uncanny by Nicholas Royle, this thesis examines a variety of elements in Plath’s poems including, but not limited to, the beach as a liminal space, aposiopesis as intellectual uncertainty and as an example of l’écriture féminine, thresholds in the form of windows, shoes, and locked boxes, severed limbs as examples of Viktor Shklovsky’s defamiliarization, Latin as a heimlich/unheimlich language, the uncanny effect of darkness, silence, and solitude, the double as a harbinger of death, the wish to both include and exclude the specter and that which is strange, and breathlessness and euphoria as manifestations of madness. Furthermore, it examines hitherto unexplored potential influences on Plath’s poetry, including but not limited to, the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thérèse of Lisieux, Franz Kafka, and Knut Hamsun. Because of the ambiguity of the concept of the uncanny, this thesis incorporates a host of material such as taped interviews conducted by Harriet Rosenstein, Subha Mukherji’s Thinking on Thresholds, Julia Kristeva’s Strangers to Ourselves, and Jacques Derrida’s Specters of Marx. In conclusion, this thesis argues that the uncanny is an instrumental key to the comprehension of Plath’s late poetry.

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