Thesis (MA VA (Visual Arts))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Please refer to full text for abstract.

After the change of their country’s political and international statuses, post-colonial and respectively post-communist individuals and collectives develop feelings of alienation and estrangement that do not involve physical dislocation. Eventually, they start imagining their national community as a collective of individuals who share this state. Paraphrasing Benedict Anderson’s definition of the nation as an “imagined community,” this study identifies this process as “imagined exile,” an act that temporarily compensates for the absence of a metanarrative of the nation during the post-colonial and post-communist transitions. This dissertation analyzes and compares ten English Canadian and Romanian plays, written between 1976 and 2004, and argues that they function as expressions and agents of post-colonial and respectively post-communist imagined exile, helping their readers and audiences overcome the identity crisis and regain the feeling of belonging to a national community. Chapter 1 explores the development of major theoretical concepts, such as nation, national identity, national identity crisis, post-colonialism, and post-communism. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 analyze dramatic rewritings of historical events, in “1837: The Farmers’ Revolt” by the theatre Passe Muraille with Rick Salutin as dramaturge, and “A Cold” by Marin Sorescu, and of past political leaders, in “Sir John, Eh!” by Jim Garrard and “A Day from the Life of Nicolae Ceausescu” by Denis Dinulescu. Chapter 4 examines the expression of the individual and collective identity crises in “Sled” by Judith Thompson and “The Future Is Rubbish” by Vlad Zografi. Chapter 5 explores the treatment of physical and cultural borders and borderlands in Kelly Rebar’s “Bordertown Café”, Guillermo Verdecchia’s “Fronteras Americanas”, Petre Barbu’s “God Bless America”, and Saviana Stanescu’s “Waxing West”. The concluding chapter briefly discusses the concept of imagined exile in relation to other investigations of post-colonial and post-communist dramas and reviews some of the latest perspectives of national identity, reassessing this study from a diachronic perspective.

This paper presents the results of a critical discourse analysis of a selection of Canada’s security texts and argues that the country’s security discourses construct Muslims as dangerous and different from the normative Canadian. The research relies on a social constructionist understanding of discourse and the recognition that our state’s representatives and agents, operating from positions of discursive power, wield disproportionate influence in directing the national conversation and managing the signals that shape our social attitudes and imaginaries. By persistently qualifying terrorism with Islam, portraying the terrorist figure as a religiously and ideologically-motivated actor opposed to ‘Western values’ and by casting suspicion on the ordinary behaviour of Muslims, Canada’s security discourses produce a mental model in which Islam and its followers are associated with a propensity for terrorist violence. The discourses also naturalize the idea that Muslims are in need of surveillance, not only by the state’s agents, but by the public itself. When examined alongside a body of research illustrating Canada’s ‘visible minority’ population continues to be negatively affected by dominant group discrimination, the results of the study raise questions about the culpability of state representatives in the reproduction of ideas of difference which continue to inform the country’s social imaginary and hinder the equality and inclusivity of minority groups within the national collective.

Acculturation is a phenomenon which results when groups of individuals with different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact with each other, with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of either or both groups. What an individual does when he or she comes into contact with a second culture is assumed to have an effect on his or her sense of emotional well-being. It has been hypothesized that how one copes with that contact will affect such socio-emotional factors such as self-esteem, social adjustment and academic performance and mental health. Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that the strategies an individual uses to cope with second culture contact will have an effect on that individual's academic or job performance, sense of social competence, and psychological well-being. From the available literature, various models are used in acculturation studies, namely the Unidimensional model, Bidimensional model and Interactive Acculturation Model. It is from the latter models that three groups of variables were addressed in this study: at the group level, acculturation context variables include characteristics of the society of settlement (work) and characteristics of the society of origin, at the individual level, acculturation conditions include characteristics or factors that act as moderators prior to acculturation and during acculturation and acculturation outcomes refers to the consequences of the frequent contact between people from different cultural backgrounds in terms of how well they function (do) and feel. The general objective of this research is to analyse the acculturation process and to determine the impact of acculturation context and individual variables on acculturation outcomes of members of the SAPS. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample (n = 153) was taken of members of the SAPS in the Pretora Arca. Instruments used in previous acculturation research were adapted to measure Mainstream Domain, Ethnocultural Domain, Individual variable and Socio Cultural Acculturation Outcomes. The results indicated that acculturation context and individual coping styles of members of the SAPS did impact on acculturation outcomes variables explaining 29% and 35% of the variance in physical and psychological (ill) health respectively and 26% and 33% of the variance in perceived (work success) effectiveness and efficiency at work and perceived status and recognition that you receive at work (for being successful) respectively. Although 14% and 13% of the variance in perceived commitment from the organisation to its employees and perceived commitment of the individual to its organisation, only one of the models used in the hierurchicul regressions were found to be statistically significant, with none of the predictors being statistically significant contributors. Limitation for the present study and recommendations for the organisation and future research are also provided. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Ce mémoire propose d’étudier la problématique de la gestion de la diversité religieuse au Québec à partir de la question du port du foulard islamique. Le premier objectif du mémoire est de caractériser le contexte socio-historique québécois, en voyant comment cette société se trouve en tension entre le modèle multiculturaliste canadien d’une part, et l’influence de la laïcité stricte à la française. En second lieu, cet ouvrage s’appuie sur les écrits tardifs de John Rawls pour développer un modèle libéral républicain de gestion du pluralisme. Le dernier chapitre vise quant à lui à appliquer ce modèle d’inspiration rawlsienne à la problématique du port du foulard, et ce, afin de montrer en quoi il peut constituer une formule mitoyenne pour le Québec en fournissant une solution autant aux écueils de l’approche libérale individualiste qu’à ceux de l’approche du républicanisme jacobin. / This thesis analyzes the problem of managing religious diversity in Quebec through the debates surrounding the Islamic veil. The thesis' first objective is to characterize Quebec's socio-historical context, mainly by underlining the tension between Canadian multiculturalism and French-style secularism. Afterwards, this work will rely on the late writings of John Rawls in the development of a liberal republican model in regards to managing diversity. The last chapter will involve the application of this model to the problem of the Islamic veil in Quebec, in order to present an hybrid solution that is as liberal as it is republican.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Alors que la plupart des théories libérales ont mis l’accent sur les principes de justice, et sur une conception de la justice qui nous fait penser la société et les relations individuelles de manière de plus en plus abstraite, les réflexions sur le respect de soi nous portent plutôt vers ce qui est essentiel à la valeur et l’importance de l’identité des personnes et de leurs relations sociales. Ces réflexions nous révèlent que non seulement les principes de justice ne sont pas la seule source de respect, mais que tant les cultures et les religions que les communautés morales et les groupes compréhensifs ont des rôles fondamentaux pour le niveau de respect de soi et de respect mutuel que les individus éprouvent envers eux-mêmes et envers les autres. Si les projets de vie, les valeurs et les croyances des individus sont révélés comme fondamentaux à leur autonomie et leur vie comme individu, les réflexions sur le multiculturalisme et le pluralisme révèlent les difficultés de notre temps : comment une société peut-elle promouvoir le respect de soi des individus dans un tel contexte de diversité morale, compréhensive, religieuse, etc.? Critiquant les théories de John Rawls, Will Kymlicka, ainsi que certains arguments de philosophes tels que Bhiku Parekh et David Miller, la thèse défendue dans ce mémoire prend la position très forte qu’une société doit donner beaucoup plus de moyens aux individus pour que leur respect de soi soit favorisé. La thèse centrale est que les individus ont tous le droit à un contexte de valorisation, soit un espace politique propre à une communauté ou un groupe et qui inclut les institutions et les pouvoirs nécessaires pour que le respect de soi des membres de ces groupes puisse être favorisé. C’est seulement par un tel droit et par les revendications structurelles et institutionnelles qui s’y rapportent que les groupes culturels et religieux, ainsi que les communautés morales et les groupes compréhensifs peuvent être reconnus politiquement et qu’une théorie libérale et multiculturelle des individus et des groupes puisse concilier idéal et réalité. / While most liberal theories have focused on the principles of justice and on an idea of justice in which the perspective used to reflect on society and on individuals’ relationship is becoming more abstract, an analysis of self-respect leads us towards what is essential to individuals’ self-esteem and esteem of their social relationships. These reflections reveal that the principles of justice are not the only sources of self-respect. Cultures and religions, as well as moral communities and comprehensive groups, have also fundamental roles in the level of self-respect and mutual respect that individuals have between themselves and towards each other. If individuals’ plan of life, values and beliefs are revealed as fundamental to their autonomy and to their life as individuals, the reflections on multiculturalism and pluralism reveal the problem of our time: how can a society achieve to promote individuals’ self-respect in a context where moral, comprehensive and religious diversities are among the main characteristics? Criticizing John Rawls and Will Kymlicka’s theories, as well as some arguments made by philosophers such as Bhiku Parekh and David Miller, the position taken in this theory is that a society must give individuals further means to achieve their self-respect. The main proposition of this essay is that individuals have a right to a self-respect framework, which is a political space particular to a group or community that includes the institutions and powers necessary to promote the self-respect of the members of such group or community. It is only through such right and through the structural and institutional claims that are associated with it, that cultural and religious groups as well as comprehensive groups and moral communities can be recognized politically and that a liberal and multicultural theory of individuals and groups can conciliate ideal and reality.

Will Kymlicka a formulé une théorie libérale du droit des minorités en arguant que l'on doit protéger les cultures minoritaires des influences extérieures, car, selon lui, ces cultures fournissent aux individus un contexte de choix significatif qui permet la prise de décision autonome. Il limite donc la portée de sa théorie aux minorités « culturelles », c'est-à-dire les minorités nationales et immigrantes, qui peuvent fournir ce contexte de choix significatif aux individus. Évidemment, les injustices vécues par ces deux types de minorités, aussi sévères soient-elles, n'épuisent pas les expériences d'injustices vécues par les membres de groupes minoritaires et minorisés (i.e. minorités sexuelles, femmes, Afro-Américains, etc.). On pourrait donc être tenté d'élargir la portée de la théorie du droit des minorités pour rendre compte de toutes les injustices vécues en tant que minorité. Toutefois, je défends la thèse selon laquelle cette extension est impossible dans le cadre d'une théorie libérale, car une de ses méthodes typiques, la « théorie idéale », limite la portée critique des thèses de Kymlicka et parce que l'autonomie individuelle a un caractère si fondamental pour les libéraux, qu'ils ne peuvent rendre compte du fait que certaines décisions individuelles autonomes peuvent contribuer à perpétuer des systèmes et des normes injustes. / Will Kymlicka defends a liberal theory of minority rights, arguing that we must protect minority cultures from outside influences, as these cultures provide individuals with a meaningful context of choice that allows autonomous decision-making. This defence of minority rights limits the scope of his theory by focusing on 'cultural' minorities, that is to say, national minorities and immigrants, which can provide individuals with this meaningful context of choice. Obviously, the injustices experienced by these two types of minorities, however severe they are, do not exhaust the injustices experienced by members of minority groups and minoritized groups (i.e. sexual minorities, women, African Americans, etc.). One might be tempted to expand the scope of the theory of minority rights to account for all the injustices experienced as a minority. However, I argue that this extension is not possible within a liberal theorical framework where 'ideal theory' limits the critical force of Kymlicka’s thesis and in which the centrality of individual autonomy prevents liberals to realize that certain individual decisions contribute to the perpetuation of unjust systems, values and norms.

Studies addressing racial/ethnic identity development have often overlooked the developmental cultural context. The impact of growing up with contradictory cultures has not been well explored. Immersion in multiple cultures may produce mixed patterns of strengths deficits. This study reviews the literature's currently inconsistent usage of the terms race, ethnicity, and culture; introduces the concept and theoretical framework of Cultural Homelessness; relates CH to multicultural integration; and develops two study-specific measures (included) to examine the construct validity of CH. The sample’s (N = 448, 67% women) racial, ethnic, and cultural mixture was coded back three generations using complex coding criteria. Empirical findings supported the CH-specific pattern of cognitive and social strengths with emotional difficulties: social adaptability and cross-cultural competence but also low self-esteem and shame regarding diff