Habilitation - Universität, Zürich, 2004/05. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 380-412) and indexes.

Notre travail porte sur l’histoire de l’opéra vue à travers le double prisme du mythe et de la prosodie. Dans une première partie, nous définissons chacun de ces termes - mythe, prosodie - et envisageons ceux-ci dans les contextes précis de l’histoire de l’art, de l’histoire de la musique, enfin de l’histoire de l’opéra. Ainsi, l’aspect généalogique de notre travail est exposé dès cette première partie introductive, avant que chacune des parties suivantes ne soit consacrée à une, deux ou trois œuvres, siècle après siècle, de façon chronologique. Il nous a semblé important de rapprocher mythe et histoire pour aborder le XVIIe siècle qui voit tout d’abord la naissance de l’opéra liée à un certain retour au monde antique et à ses mythes, puis l’émergence, avec la dernière œuvre de Monteverdi notamment, de sujets historiques. Le XVIIIe siècle nous amène en France avec l’épanouissement de la tragédie lyrique, tandis que le XIXe siècle nous porte en Allemagne, sur les terres du romantisme. Le point d’aboutissement de notre parcours est l’opéra de Betsy Jolas, Schliemann, créé en 1995. / Our research deals with the history of opera as observed through the double prism of myth and prosody. We begin with a definition of these terms - myth, prosody - and examine them within the specific contexts of the history of art, the history of music and finally the history of the opera. The genealogical aspect of our work is thus presented forthwith at this introductory stage following which we shall, at each of the following stages, focus specifically on one, two or three works, century by century, in chronological order. It appeared important to us to bring together myth and history in order to deal with the 17th century which first witnessed the birth of the opera as a result of a return of sorts to the ancient world and its myths, and then saw the emergence of historical themes, notably illustrated by the final work of Monteverdi. The 18th century brings us to France with the tragédie lyrique in full bloom while the 19th century transports us to Germany on the footsteps of the romantic movement. Our journey culminates with the opera Schliemann by Betsy Jolas staged for the first time in 1995.

Myth and Argument in Plato's Phaedrus, Republic, and Phaedo investigates the role played by eschatological myth in the arguments of Plato's Phaedrus, Republic and Phaedo. It argues that a reconsideration of the agenda followed by Socrates in each of these dialogues brings into view the contribution made by the mythological narrative to their argumentative line. Each of the three chapters of my thesis analyses the nature of this contribution. The first chapter argues that the myth occupying the central pages of the Phaedrus contributes to developing one of the themes addressed in the dialogue, namely a link between the divine realm and the activities thought by Phaedrus to be unrelated to the religious sphere. By showing that Eros fosters imitation of the gods, the palinode makes an important contribution to this topic. The second chapter proposes that the myth of Er and passage 608c2-621d3 in which it is included are an essential part of the line of argument of the Republic. I analyse the aims Socrates sets in Book 2 for his investigation into justice, and show that they include the description of the positive consequences of justice along with the benefits it causes in and by itself. By listing the rewards just people will receive from other people and the gods, passage 608c2-621d3 gives a description of the positive consequences of justice. The third chapter argues that the argumentative line followed in the Phaedo finds its culmination in the eschatological myth. Socrates expresses a hope for post-mortem justice in his defence of the philosophical life. To render it plausible to his interlocutors he needs to show that the soul is both immortal and intrinsically intelligent. After vindicating these notions, Socrates presents in the concluding myth the image of an afterlife governed by ethical principles.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker på sociologiskt vis möjligheterna att spåra möten mellan tidigamänniskor och jätteprimaten Gigantopithecus från östra Asien i myter som överlevt fram till idag,detta för att försöka peka på ett gemensamt ursprung till den ofta förekommande figurtypen jätten imyter och folksagor i världen. Teoretikerna som uppbådas till hjälp är Emile Durkheim, MartinCortazzi, Josef Ludvik Fisher samt Forrester Sibelan, vilka visar på dels hur myter fungerar och kanuppstå och hur de fungerar i relation till människor.Till metod har arbetet utgått ifrån diskursteori då denna lämpar sig väl för att förstå relationenmellan den sociala verklighet en text rör sig inom och den text sagda verklighet bidrar till att skapa.Arbetet börjar med att försöka motivera sin hypotes genom att påvisa dels belägg för att primatenoch människan i urtiden mötts och dels genom att visa på att myter och berättelser i muntlig formkan överleva länge nog för att det ska vara rimligt. Den fortsätter med att presentera och beskrivamytbildningar från olika delar av världen; Nordiska, Grekiska, Babyloniska, Indiska Afrikanska,Nord- och Sydamerikanska samt Kinesiska där fokus ligger på att jämföra och sammanföra myterför att försöka peka på samband som andra forskare redan upptäckt eller sådana som pekar mot denöstasiatiska primaten.Det visar sig snabbt att några sådana belägg inte finns att finna under de förhållanden den härundersökningen utgår ifrån när den går in på ämnet. Istället försöker den fokusera på att visa på debevisliga ursprungen från de jätterelaterade myter som i världen förekommer. Till stor del härrör de,enligt forskarna uppsatsen använder som källor, från Mesopotamien och rent sociologiskt så kanuppsatsen peka på ett samband mellan ett behov av politisk kontroll och den roll jättar i mytbildningbrukar få. Platser som Grekland, Inkariket och Kina har oberoende av varandra utvecklat deursprungliga mytbildningarna på ett sätt som underbygger auktoritära figurer både inom och utanförmyterna så att berättelserna passar den grupp som styr området, något som i viss utsträckning gällerför alla mytbildningar som undersöktes. Jättarna får ofta roller såsom förfäder eller fientliga folksom människor och deras gudar obrydda kan avsky eller diskreditera. Genomgående så stämmer dei teoridelen presenterade forskarnas teorier med det sätt som myterna som undersöks visas fungerapå. / This paper tries to explore the sociological possibilities of finding a link between interactionsbetween the giant primate Gigantopithecus and early humans of eastern Asia and surviving mythsfrom around the world that have survived up until today. Theorists that have been drafted to attemptto prove this are Emile Durkheim, Martin Cortazzi, Josef Ludvik Fischer and Forrester Sibelan,who's work revolve around the area of the inner workings of myth and its relation to the peoplesustaining them.As Method the paper operates on the basis of discourse theory as it is well suited to explain theways in which reality and text co-opt in the creation of the other.To begin with the paper puts out hypothesis strengthening research to try to show ways that theprimate in theory could have acted as a forefather to the giant, due to prehistoric humans havinginteracted with Gigantopithecus and the way oral myth is able to survive for very long stretches oftime. It continues by presenting and describing various myths from around the world; Nordic,Greek, Babylonian, Indian, African, North and South American as well as Chinese. The focus lieson showing the many themes the myths share between themselves, with an initial focus on pinningits origins to Gigantopithecus.Early on any such connections prove to be without credible proof, and as it is the paper is illequipped to attempt to claim any connections between the myths and the primate. To stay relevant,the paper tries to present other more substantiated potential origins of the concept of giants andfinds other researchers pointing towards old Mesopotamia. Sociologically however the paper canpoint towards connections between political control and the role of the giants of myths in the storiesof many of the stories it presents. Places such as Greece, the Inca empire and China all, apparentlyindependently of one another created and developed myths wherein giants assist in reinforcing theauthoritarian positions of leader characters both within and outside of the stories. Giants in mythoften played the role of ancient ancestors or non human or non tribe people that gods and peoplebereft of conscience could paint as enemies or buffoons.

Based on the semiotic analysis, this diploma thesis analyses mythological frameworks of chosen magazines. It consists of two parts, a theoretical and a practical one. The theoretical part is focused on semiotics as science, examines a sign and its historical development, describes myth, its history and research, as well as defines a theoretical starting points leading to definition of mythological framework. This definition is built on the theory of decoding and encoding of Stuart Hall, as well as his representation acknowledgements, as well as on the works of Claude Lévi-Strauss and Roland Barthes examining the myth. The practical part consists of definition of research-subject and semiotic analysis of mythological frameworks in front pages of Reflex and Respekt magazines. Findings of this analysis are then compared. This comparison leads to confirmation or disproval of hypotheses the author articulated prior to the analysis.

Employing Cornish Cultures for Community Resilience. Can cultural distinctiveness be used to strengthen community bonds, boost morale and equip and motivate people socially and economically? Using the witness of people in Cornwall and comparative experiences, this discussion combines a review of how cultures are commodified and portrayed with reflections on well-being and ‘emotional prosperity’. Cornwall is a relatively poor European region with a cultural identity that inspires an established ethno-cultural movement and is the symbolic basis of community awareness and aspiration, as well as the subject of contested identities and representations. At the heart of this is an array of cultures that is identified as Cornish, including a distinct post-industrial inheritance, the Cornish Language and Celtic Revivalism. Cultural difference has long been a resource for cultural industries and tourism and discussion of using culture for regeneration has accordingly concentrated almost exclusively on these sectors but an emergent ‘regional distinctiveness agenda’ is beginning to present Cornish cultures as an asset for use in branding and marketing other sectors. All of these uses ultimately involve commodification but culture potentially has a far wider role to play in fostering economic, social, cultural and environmental resilience. This research therefore uses multidisciplinary approaches to broaden the discussion to include culture’s primary emotional and social uses. It explores the possibility that enhancing these uses could help to tackle economic and social disadvantage and to build more cohesive communities. The discussion centres on four linked themes: multiple forms of capital; discourse, narrative and myth; human need, emotion and well-being; representation and intervention. Cultural, social, symbolic and human capital are related to collective status and well-being through consideration of cultural practices, repertoires and knowledge. These are explored with discussion of accompanying representations and discourses and their social, emotional and economic implications so as to allow tentative suggestions for intervention in policy and representation. A key conclusion is that culture may be used proactively to increase ‘emotional capital’.

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