In recent years there has been a body of studies relating nostalgia and fiction in political, sociological, feminist, or historical ways. This thesis, instead, sets out to perform an unusual textual study of nostalgia in modern fiction in order to work towards a poetics of nostalgia. Although the experience of emotion is private, the object of analytical discourse must be to approach this experience with objective tools. The thesis therefore develops a method for analyzing the experience of nostalgia in literary texts and then uses this method to study how nostalgia can be evoked in readers. The method works through close textual readings, developed through reader-response and narratological theories and validated through a thorough investigation of modern nostalgia in general. The result is a taxonomy of nostalgic strategies that possibly create nostalgic reactions in readers.

本劇為原創電影劇本。故事意圖捕捉在三十歲階段，年輕人於追求理想抑或現實前途之迷惘。質疑自身天分的主角，徘迴於城鄉之間，在細瑣生活體驗中，思考計算何謂正確的人生進度，前顧後盼地決定下一步。 全文分為創作論述及劇本：創作論述部分，以說明創作背景、研究過程為始；再以結構主義的敘事理論，探討本劇的處理手法；最後，則是作品發表的評量回饋及創作檢討。劇本部分，包含電影本事、角色簡介、故事大綱、分場大綱及全劇劇本。

O objetivo deste trabalho é entender como o jogo narrativo de aventura para videogame consegue atrair e manter a atenção do jogador, imergindo-o no mundo ficcional, em face dos inúmeros estímulos existentes a sua volta. É sugerida uma definição para o jogo narrativo de aventura e a imersão e, posteriormente, estabelece-se uma relação entre elementos presentes nos jogos e as estruturas que atraem a atenção do indivíduo. Para isso, consultou-se material produzido pelas duas principais linhas de estudos de jogos: Narratologia e Ludologia. O conteúdo teórico foi comparado e exemplificado através da prática de diversos jogos, principalmente do console Sony Playstation 3. O próprio conceito de jogo narrativo, a prática dos jogos e a relação percebida entre seus elementos e as ferramentas para criar e manter a atenção revelaram que o videogame, através dos jogos narrativos de aventura, representa um potente meio para criar e manter o estado de imersão sobre o jogador. / The objective of this research is to understand how the narrative game of adventure manages to attract and maintain the attention of the player, immersing him into the fictional world, despite the existence of countless stimuli available around him. It is suggested a definition to narrative game of adventure and to immersion, and then it is established a relationship between elements present in games and frameworks that attract the attention of the individual. The research uses material produced by the two main lines of games study: Narratology and Ludology. The theoretical content was compared and exemplified by the practice of different games, mainly of Sony Playstation 3. The concept of narrative game, the playing of games and the relationship between its elements and the attention tools revealed that the narrative game of adventure represents a powerful way to create and maintain the state of immersion of the player.

La performativité est une théorie qui a été développée de la théorie des actes de paroles (J.L. Austin), aux études anthropologiques (Victor Turner), jusqu’à être considérée comme un modèle épistémologique plus connu sous le nom de tournant performatif. La théorie performative est ainsi devenue une catégorie d’analyse qui cherche à étudier les phénomènes culturels en tant que représentations d’actes et de discours. C’est avec Judith Butler et les études performatives (Performative Studies) qu’elle a atteint son apogée comme outil fructueux pour l’étude des performances théâtrales. Cependant, son application aux phénomènes narratifs a été moindre et elle s’est à peine développée en tant que perspective qui favorise l’observation du genre comme performance dans le roman. À partir de la théorie de la performativité du genre (Butler) et des performances théâtrales considérées comme modificatrices des réalités des spectateurs, ce travail aspire, en premier lieu, à unir les deux concepts et à établir un cadre épistémologique qui permette d’organiser la performativité du genre dans le roman. Ainsi, nous utiliserons les concepts anti-essentialistes de Butler sur le sexe et le genre, le tabou, les livrets de genre et la parodie, puis les éléments propres à tout acte performatif décrits par Erika Fischer-Lichte dans sa théorie de la performance : l’imprévisibilité, la perception et l’ambivalence. Pour mettre en pratique cette théorie, nous avons utilisé un corpus de littérature contemporaine argentine composé des romans Ganarse la muerte de Griselda Gambaro, El común olvido de Sylvia Molloy et “Letargo” de Perla Suez. À travers les diverses stratégies narratives utilisées par ces écrivaines, nous entreprendrons de démontrer la manière dont se performe le genre dans le roman particulièrement à travers la figure du personnage. / The concept of performativity has been developed by different approaches, ranging from speech act theory (J. L. Austin) to anthropological studies (Victor Turner), and has been considered an epistemological model known as “performative turn”. The performative theory has turned into an analytical category that aims to investigate cultural phenomena as a representation of acts and discourses, reaching its peak by gender studies as created by Judith Butler and the Performance Studies as a tool to analyze dramatic performances. However, its application to narrative phenomena has been scarce and there hardly exists any perspectives that would allow to consider gender as a performance within a novel.Based on the theory of gender performativity (Butler) and drama performance as modifiers of spectators’ realities, the present work aims in the first place to fuse both concepts and establish an epistemological framework that allows the analysis of gender performances in narrative fiction. Among these concepts the anti-essentialist ones by Butler about sex and gender, taboo, gender libretos and parody, stand out, as well as the elements of every performative act as depicted by Erika Fischer-Lichte in her theory on performance: unpredictability, perception and ambivalence.A corpus of contemporary Argentine literature was used to put into practice this theory. It consists of the novels Ganarse la muerte by Griselda Gambaro, El común olvido by Sylvia Molloy and “Letargo” by Perla Suez. The authors of these texts make use of a wide range of narrative strategies whose analysis will prove how gender is performed in novels. / La performatividad ha sido desarrollada desde la teoría de los actos de habla (J. L. Austin) hasta los estudios antropológicos (Victor Turner) hasta considerarse un modelo epistemológico conocido como giro performativo. La teoría performativa se convirtió en una categoría de análisis que pretendía estudiar los fenómenos culturales como una representación de actos y discursos, cuyo desarrollo alcanzó su cima con los estudios de género de la mano de Judith Butler y con los estudios performativos (Performance studies) como una herramienta capaz de estudiar las performances teatrales. Sin embargo, su aplicación en los fenómenos narrativos ha sido escasa y apenas se ha desarrollado un enfoque que permita contemplar el género como performance en la novela.Partiendo de la teoría de la performatividad del género (Butler) y de las performances teatrales como modificadoras de las realidades de lxs espetadorxs, este trabajo pretende, en primer lugar, aunar ambos conceptos y establecer un marco epistemológico que permita analizar la performatividad del género en la ficción narrativa. Entre ellos destacan los conceptos antiesencialistas de Butler sobre el sexo y género, el tabú, los libretos de género y la parodia, así como los elementos propios de todo acto performativo descritos por Erika Fischer-Lichte en su teoría de la performance: la imprevisibilidad, percepción y ambivalencia.Para poner en práctica esta teoría se ha utilizado un corpus de literatura contemporánea argentina compuesto por las novelas Ganarse la muerte de Griselda Gambaro, El común olvido de Sylvia Molloy y “Letargo” de Perla Suez. Las autoras de estos textos hacen uso de una diversidad de estrategias narrativas a través de las cuales se pretende demostrar cómo se performa el género en la novela, prestando especial atención al personaje.

O objetivo deste trabalho é entender como o jogo narrativo de aventura para videogame consegue atrair e manter a atenção do jogador, imergindo-o no mundo ficcional, em face dos inúmeros estímulos existentes a sua volta. É sugerida uma definição para o jogo narrativo de aventura e a imersão e, posteriormente, estabelece-se uma relação entre elementos presentes nos jogos e as estruturas que atraem a atenção do indivíduo. Para isso, consultou-se material produzido pelas duas principais linhas de estudos de jogos: Narratologia e Ludologia. O conteúdo teórico foi comparado e exemplificado através da prática de diversos jogos, principalmente do console Sony Playstation 3. O próprio conceito de jogo narrativo, a prática dos jogos e a relação percebida entre seus elementos e as ferramentas para criar e manter a atenção revelaram que o videogame, através dos jogos narrativos de aventura, representa um potente meio para criar e manter o estado de imersão sobre o jogador. / The objective of this research is to understand how the narrative game of adventure manages to attract and maintain the attention of the player, immersing him into the fictional world, despite the existence of countless stimuli available around him. It is suggested a definition to narrative game of adventure and to immersion, and then it is established a relationship between elements present in games and frameworks that attract the attention of the individual. The research uses material produced by the two main lines of games study: Narratology and Ludology. The theoretical content was compared and exemplified by the practice of different games, mainly of Sony Playstation 3. The concept of narrative game, the playing of games and the relationship between its elements and the attention tools revealed that the narrative game of adventure represents a powerful way to create and maintain the state of immersion of the player.

La présente thèse propose d’aborder l’oeuvre perecquienne sous le prisme de la mise en abyme, procédé a priori éculé de la littérature du XXe siècle, dont l’efficacité narrative semble toutefois avoir séduit un écrivain préoccupé à la fois à fonder son écriture dans un système et à entretenir le plaisir illusoire de la fiction. En raison de l’aporie d’une apparition pure du procédé, le champ d’étude est élargi aux mouvements plus amples qu’il implique : l’inclusion et la répétition. Ces deux mouvements, qui stimulent une tension entre le tout et ses parties, peuvent également servir à décrire le geste d’écriture de Perec, profondément animé par une recherche d’adhésion au monde. Un horizon narratif spécifique se profile, complété de l’imaginaire du procédé en soi. D’une part, la mise en abyme est considérée dans sa proximité avec la dimension métatextuelle des récits, aux effets souvent métaleptiques. D’autre part, par la figurabilité du procédé, lui permettant d’agir comme sujet et objet d’une réflexion, l’écriture perecquienne est appréhendée dans sa plasticité. Enfin, cet horizon narratif est confronté à l’idée que Perec formule autour d’un possible « narratème », une unité narrative minimale qui contiendrait en germe un univers de fiction. L’effet local de la mise en abyme s’ouvre à la dynamique générale des récits, entre condensation et extension. Des seuils narratifs ou textuels émergent où se négocie l’inscription de l’auteur dans ses récits : raconter et se raconter. Outre le corpus perecquien, la pertinence de cet élargissement de la mise en abyme est vérifiée au sein des oeuvres des écrivains francophones luxembourgeois : Jean Portante et Jean Sorrente. / This PHD thesis approaches Perec’s work through the prism of the mise en abyme, an a priori overused process of 20th century literature, whose narrative efficiency seems nevertheless to have attracted a writer set on basing his writing in a system and maintaining the illusory pleasure of fiction. Due to the aporia of a pure appearance of the process, the area of the study is broadened to the more wide et #8208;ranging movements it implies: inclusion and repetition. These two movements, which initiate a tension between the whole and its parts, can also be used to describe Perec’s gesture of writing, animated by the wish to be part of the world. A specific narrative horizon emerges. On the one hand, the mise en abyme is considered in its closeness to the metatextual dimension of the narratives, whose effects are often metaleptical. On the other hand, because of the process’ figurability, which enables it to act as subject as well as objet of a reflection, Perec’s writing can be apprehended in its plasticity. Finally, this narrative horizon is confronted with the idea that Perec voices about a possible “narratheme”, a minimal narrative unit that would contain the seeds of a fictional world. The local effect of the mise en abyme opens to a more general dynamic of the narratives, between condensation and extension. Narrative or textual thresholds appear, where the inclusion of the author in his writings is negotiated: to narrate and to narrate oneself. Besides the perecquian corpus, the relevance of the enlargement of the mise en abyme is demonstrated in the works of Luxembourgish authors writing in french: Jean Portante and Jean Sorrente.

This dissertation explores the intersection of new media and narrative, as it is presented through a cinematic aesthetic. The narrative language of film is analyzed through the theoretical framework of Bakhtin’s concepts of Heteroglossia, Chronotope, and Dialogism. Bakhtin’s ideas of classifying language act as strong tools for demonstrating how cinematic narrative can inform and alter the perception of its spectators. Lev Manovich’s principles of New Media, specifically Variability, Modularity, and Automation are also utilized to demonstrate how cinema is a constantly evolving paradigm. Chapter one focuses on the theoretical terminology, outlining the conceptual definitions and illustrating their relevance in precise moments of cinema. This chapter introduces the idea that despite the original conception of Bakhtin and Manovich’s deriving from text and digital processes, their concepts are strongly present in contemporary cinema. Chapter two explores Manovich’s concept of variability in the cinematic genre of Noir. The Coen Brother’s Miller’s Crossing illustrates how the use of pastiche and homage has paved the way for the classic Noir genre to evolve into the genre of Neo-Noir. The aesthetic of Miller’s Crossing is examined in great detail to illuminate the comparisons between the variability of both genres. Chapter three also employs a Neo-Noir aesthetic. In Rian Johnson’s film Brick, the language is as much a character as any of the actors on the screen. A detailed reading of film exploring Bakhtin’s Dialogic concepts is established. The narrative of the film is examined with the idea that multiple meanings exist throughout individual units of speech. Chapter four continues the exploration of new media narrative concepts with a Science Fiction and Noir cinematic hybrid in an investigation of Rian Johnson’s film Looper. The basis of this analysis will be focused on fabula time and how the narrative of the film explores time travel, literally and metaphorically. In Looper the concepts of Chronotope and Modularity are both used to illustrate the director’s stylistic use of narrative sequencing to explore the paradoxes of time travel. Chapter five illustrates Manovich’s principles of new media as demonstrated in a biographical music drama. The documentary 20,000 Days on Earth features 24 hours in the life of Noir rock musician Nick Cave. The use of Cave’s music as a basis for the documentarians’ artful biopic creates an interpretive grid for analyzing the views of the artist and the persona that he has created for himself. Representations of diachrony in Cave’s reflective interviews regarding his evolution as an artist are also examined. The goal of this dissertation is to provide academic consideration for theoretical concepts that have not been traditionally applied to the study of cinema. It should be of interest to scholars seeking to supplement their endeavors within the realms of film studies as well as new media. In the interest of nurturing an interdisciplinary space for literary studies to exist and inform other branches of scholarship, the topics of new media and narratology, when applied to cinema establish a juncture between historical linguistics, digital media concepts and film studies.

From an environmental perspective, the earth’s future has been, and is, a current and much-debated topic in today’s society. Consumerism and materialism are two reasons why earth’s natural resources run out earlier and earlier every year. One opponent of materialism whose life has been portrayed in Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction biography Into the Wild and later in director Sean Penn’s film adaptation with the same title was Christopher (Chris) McCandless (1968-1992). In Penn’s film adaptation, materialism is made more prominent than in the biography, which gives an effect of directing criticism against a materialistic society. The theoretical framework is based on narratology and adaptation theory. Moreover, the method proceeds from close reading and comparative method to detect differences and similarities and to make a comparative analysis of the texts. One significant aspect was detected as essential when close reading the texts, namely: intertextuality. Hence, intertextuality served as a key concept in the analysis.

This essay is an analysis of Aldous Huxley’s novel Crome Yellow and how it can be read as exposing social hypocrisy and tracing social flaws through England’s religious history. The analysis uses narratology as a tool for exploring how the author can be perceived as offering a perspective on religious history that might have been controversial in his day. Crome Yellow is Huxley's first novel and is written in the tradition of Satirical literature which can be traced back to the seventeenth century and writers such as Jonathan Swift and Charles Dickens in the nineteenth century. As Crome Yellow also has autobiographical tendencies, it has been read as revolving around Huxley's own experiences and perspectives, revealing a vulnerability that none of his later novels seems to have done. Though Huxley was drawn to the religions of the East, the novel refers to the Christian religion, making a distinction between Catholicism and Protestantism. This distinction pertains directly to the characters and narrative structures in Crome Yellow and can be seen as a key in what Huxley might be conveying through the novel. The aim is to demonstrate how the novel can be read as the author’s tracing of his religious roots.

This paper suggests that a reconceptualization of the structuralist framework of story anddiscourse, the foundational concept of narrative theory, is needed in order to account for postmodernist texts. It reframes story and discourse as an “intra-textual” approach, wherein individual narrative strata are understood as equal and interrelated voices within a text, thus refusing to privilege any one aspect over another. In other words, I work to build a method of narrative analysis that interrogates form as it manifests across various levels of narrative, uncovering the patterns, connections, fissures and inconsistencies that emerge within and between the various levels in order to produce meaning. The paper then employs this method through a reading of Samuel Beckett’s postwar Trilogy that argues against traditional critical interpretations of the text, thus presenting a new possibility for historicizing Beckett at the midcentury mark.