This thesis discusses Dambudzo Marechera's avant-gardism and its significance in the context of Zimbabwean literature and culture. I use the term avant-garde to describe Marechera's defiance of hegemonies, traditions, and prescriptions for writing, as well as his innovations with form and style. In the context of Zimbabwe, Marechera's avant-gardism involves a rejection of cultural nationalism, and an eschewal of traditional realist criteria for writing. The thesis locates Marechera in a socio-historical context, and in the framework of black Zimbabwean literature (written in English). It discusses his rejection of the nationalist tradition set by his literary predecessors; and it compares him with his contemporaries, Stanley Nyamfukudza and Charles Mungoshi, who also reject the concept of a 'pure', homogeneous, national culture in their writings. Marechera's writing explores new (and often taboo) subject matter, and it thus illustrates the diverse, complex nature of the Zimbabwean experience. It also abandons the unified, linear narrative; and it has been sharply censured by nationalist critics -- largely on the grounds of its transgression of traditional narrative form. Nationalist critics have tended to privilege traditional realist criteria in their discussions of Zimbabwean literature, and Marechera, as an avant-gardist, has been marginalized and denigrated for his non-conformity. In this thesis, I challenge the privileged status of traditional realism, question the prescriptions of nationalist/realist critics, and attempt to demonstrate the value of Marechera's non-realist writing. While many nationalist critics allege that Marechera's writing is 'unAfrican', I argue that it is a fallacy to assume his work is 'Europeanized' while nationalist/realist writing is not. Moreover, I contend that Marechera's avant-gardism is in direct response to a set of extraordinary socio-historical, political and cultural conditions -- which are specific to Zimbabwe. In analyzing Marechera's alternatives to realism (such as expressionism, stream of consciousness, surrealism, grotesque realism, the carnival, magical realism, and Menippean satire), I maintain that his experiments are not without strategy, but that they address pertinent literary, social, political, and cultural issues. The thesis furthermore attempts to show how the 'individualism' -- for which Marechera has been roundly condemned -- is paradoxically transformed into sharp and poignant social commentary. This is particularly evident in two texts which I focus on: "House of Hunger" -- his irreverent pre-independence vivisection of Zimbabwean society; and Mindblast, his much neglected anti-realist post-independence compilation, which I discuss in some detail.

Thesis (MA (Humanities))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Breytenbach, Petrus Albertus? Includes bibliographical references. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Orientador(a): Guacira Marcondes Machado Leite / Banca: Regina Maria Salgado Campos / Banca: Adalberto Luis Vicente / Resumo: A observação dos meios pelos quais a obra de Blaise Cendrars se transformou na expressão dos movimentos de vanguarda foi a intenção principal do presente trabalho. A escolha do escritor para o estudo das vanguardas reflete o modo como sua vida e obra foram representativas do espírito do mundo e da arte modernos. O embasamento teórico deste trabalho deu-se a partir de teorias e críticas da poesia em geral, para verificar a constituição da modernidade e a caracterização estética das vanguardas. La Prose du Transsibérien et de la Petite Jehanne de France, corpus central desta pesquisa, é um dos textos que mais exemplifica a estética das vanguardas dentro da obra do poeta, pois o conjunto de recursos estilísticos e artísticos empregados pelos autores, Blaise Cendrars e Sonia Delaunay-Terk, constituíram-na como um paradigma dos movimentos vanguardistas, tornando-a revolucionária entre as artes no início do século XX. Não só La Prose foi representativa das vanguardas, mas também outros títulos de Cendrars consolidaram-se como manifestações desses movimentos. Em toda a obra do poeta evidenciou-se uma forte ligação com as vanguardas, tanto no plano temático, com a presença das inovações vivenciadas pela sociedade do início do século XX, o culto à máquina e à velocidade; quanto no estético, com a aplicação de algumas técnicas vanguardistas: as palavras em liberdade; a valorização da visualidade dos versos, por meio da expressividade da tipografia e da disposição das palavras pela pág... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Résumé: L'observation des moyens par lesquels le travail de Blaise Cendrars est devenu l'expression des mouvements d'avant-gardes a été le but principal de ce travail. Le choix de l'écrivain pour l'étude des avant-gardes reflète la façon dont sa vie et son œuvre étaient représentatives de l'esprit du monde et de l'art modernes. La base théorique de ce travail s'est constitué à partir des théories et des critiques de la poésie en général, pour vérifier la constitution de la modernité et des caractéristiques esthétiques des avant-gardes. L'œuvre La Prose du Transsibérien et de la Petite Jehanne de France, corpus central de cette recherche, c'est l'une des plus illustratives de l'esthétique des avant-gardes et du travail du poète, car l'ensemble de recours stylistiques et artistiques utilisé par les auteurs, Blaise Cendrars et Sonia Delaunay-Terk, la constitue comme une œuvre paradigme des mouvements d'avant-garde et la fait révolutionnaire parmi les arts au début du XXe siècle. Pas seulement La Prose a été représentative de l'avant-garde, mais aussi d'autres titres de Cendrars ont été consolidés comme des manifestations de ces mouvements. Toute l'œuvre du poète a révélé une forte connexion avec les avant-gardes, tant au plan thématique, comme la présence des innovations vécues par la société du début du XXe siècle, le culte de la machine et de la vitesse; qu'au plan esthétique, comme l'application de certaines techniques des avant-gardes: les mots en liberté; l'appréciation visuelle... (Résumé complet accès életronique ci-dessous) / Mestre

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Text in English, with some Russian, French and Spanish. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-240). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 6, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pittsburgh, 2006. / Title from electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Delaware, 1984. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 405-437).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2004. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-186). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008.

Samuel Beckett is often thought of as an experimental writer but little critical attention has been paid to the question of what the term ‘experimental’ means when applied to Beckett’s work (and arguably literature in general). One might suggest that to call Beckett an experimental writer is to identify him as a member of the avant-garde, placing his writing in opposition to more commercially-orientated, ‘mainstream’ works of literature. Alternatively, the term might be taken to highlight Beckett’s formal innovations – his capacity to change conceptions of what literature is and does. This study, though, will specify another way in which we might understand Beckett’s writing to be experimental. Drawing on Beckett’s engagement with experimental and therapeutic psychology, the study suggests that Beckett’s works might be seen as experiments in a more scientific sense. Through readings of his later works for page, stage and screen, the chapters of this study suggest that Beckett’s writing can contribute to our knowledge of psychological concepts such as perception, attention and mental imagery. Beckett’s works, I argue, might be defined as experimental insofar as they position and stimulate human bodies in ways that allow us to better understand our complex, but partial, experiences of the world.