Paul Alexis (1847-1901) est souvent cité comme le meilleur ami de Zola, c’est là sa principale caractéristique. Presque son unique définition. On a tendance à oublier qu’il est aussi un écrivain engagé dans une cause qui est le principe même de son existence : le naturalisme. Ce travail tente d’explorer cette double perspective. En étudiant un certain nombre d’ouvrages et d’articles de journaux de cet auteur, il essaie de comprendre d’un côté ses rapports avec Zola, et de l’autre, ses conceptions personnelles, ses convictions profondes ainsi que ses relations avec les autres membres du mouvement. Pour cela, il scrute, tout d’abord, ses liens à la fois littéraires et intimes avec Zola. Il montre le quotidien d’une amitié qui connaît tumultes et mutations. Il analyse les moments marquants qui ont rythmé le cours de leur vie. Il note les convergences et tente de mettre en lumière les divergences entre le rédacteur de Germinal et celui de Madame Meuriot qui se présentait comme le tenant quasi ultime des thèses naturalistes. Ensuite, il s’efforce d’exposer précisément les idées personnelles de cet écrivain à partir de ses prises de position théoriques et de ses ouvrages de fiction. Il observe son implication dans ses domaines de prédilection : le journalisme, les arts, le théâtre, la politique... Enfin, il décrit son action menée au côté de Zola, au cœur du cercle de Médan, mais aussi d’une façon autonome, face aux grands événements qu’il a rencontrés, face aux grands problèmes qu’il a affrontés, comme l’émergence du naturalisme ou l’Affaire Dreyfus, par exemple. Le but ultime de cette thèse est de s’intéresser à ce personnage décrié souvent, parfois négligé, qui fut plus qu’un compagnon de route de Zola. / Paul Alexis (1847-1901) is mainly known as the closest friend of Zola. This is quoted as his main characteristic, almost as his unique definition. He is usually forgotten to be mentioned as also a writer who was very dedicated to a cause which had a huge significance in his life : Naturalism. This thesis tries to explore this double perspective. By studying books and newspaper articles written by this author, this work aims on the one hand, to explore his relationship with Zola, and, on the other hand, to focus on his personal designs, his deep convictions, as well as his connections with the other members of the movement. Primarily, in order to achieve this, this thesis scrutinises his personal and literary links with Zola. It shows the everyday life of a friendship which went through many challenges and changes. It analyses the striking moments which occurred during the course of their lives. It emphasises their common points of thought and tries to highlight the differences between the author of Germinal and the writer of Madam Meuriot, the last appearing to be the ultimate upholder of the naturalistic theories. Then, this project strives to precisely explain the personal ideas of this novelist, according to his theoretical views and to his works of fiction. It observes his restless involvement and the fights he led for the sake of his favourite topics such as : journalism, arts, theatre, politics... Finally, this work describes the actions Alexis carried out at the side of Zola, at the heart of the circle of Médan, but also in a more autonomous way, during major events in which he participated. This paper aims to clarify the huge issues he faced, such as the rise of naturalism or the Dreyfus affair, for example. The ultimate purpose of this PhD is to consider this character often slandered, sometimes neglected, a man who was more than a fellow traveller of Emile Zola.

Chicago occupies a place in the American imagination as a city of industry and opportunity for those who are willing to hustle. Writers have in no small part contributed to the creation of this mythology; this canon includes Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, Upton Sinclair, Carl Sandburg, and Richard Wright. What is it about these authors that make them the classics of Chicago literature? The “essential” books of Chicago enshrine a period during which the city still held a prominent position in the national economy and culture, and embodied for Americans something of their own identity—the value of individualism, and the Protestant work ethic. Notably absent are the narratives from immigrants, particularly those of color: for a city that was a primary destination for the Great Migration of African Americans from the South and the concurrent immigration of Mexicans in the early part of the 20th century, it is remarkable that these stories have not gained significant attention, with the exception of Richard Wright’s. This dissertation interrogates the discourse of ambition and labor in the Chicago literary tradition from the perspective of three Mexican American authors from Chicago—Carlos Cortez, Ana Castillo, and Sandra Cisneros. These authors, faced with late 20th century deindustrialization and the enduring legacy of segregation, engage with the canonical narratives of Chicago by addressing the intersections of race and citizenship as they affect urban space and labor opportunities. Rather than simply offering a critique, however, the Mexican American authors engage in a re-visioning of the city that incorporates the complexities of a fluid, transnational experience, and in doing so suggest the future of urban life in a post-industrial America. / text

This thesis is not structured as a conventional empirical study (theoretical background, method, results, discussion), but instead consists of an iterative series of attempts at making sense of same-race prejudice – hopefully systematically homing in on a richer and more acute understanding of the phenomenon. The chapters are grouped together in pairs or triplets – each grouping addressing different but related perspectives on the problem. Chapters 1 and 2 are contextual, setting the scene historically and conceptually. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 introduce three different perspectives on using phenomenology as a means of approaching the issue of same-race prejudice. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to looking at the themes of same-race prejudice, a critical interrogation of the themes from the interview discussions, the literature and how same-race prejudice is experienced, played out and sustained. Chapter 8 links back to Chapter 1 by casting another look at sensitivity and responsiveness to same-race prejudice by organisations whose work is supposedly on prejudice eradication. The chapter further links with both Chapters 3 and 4 by calling upon a phenomenological understanding to humanity as what can bring a liveable change to humanity regarding same-race prejudice. Chapter 9 serves as a summary of all the chapters, what each individually and collectively hoped to achieve, and the general findings and statements about same-race prejudice from the chapters’ theoretical discussions, research interviews, and critical interrogation of both the mundane and theoretical understanding. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)

This thesis examines the early work of poets Leonard Cohen and Seamus Heaney in light of their treatment of mythology, ritual, and mythologization, moving either from personal to political awareness (Heaney), or from political to personal awareness (Cohen). Heaney, writing in the midst of the Irish Troubles throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, slowly works up to political awareness as the situation from which he is writing becomes more dire. By contrast, Cohen writes during the beginnings of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec, from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, moving progressively farther away from the highly political and mythologized work of his first book. This thesis analyzes both poets first four books of poetry and how each poet addresses the politics of his historical time and place as a minority figure: an Irish Catholic in Northern Ireland, and an Anglophone Jew in Montreal, respectively. Ultimately, each poet chooses to mythologize and use traditional mythologies as a means of addressing contemporary horrors before being poetically (and politically) exhausted by the spiritual and mental exertion involved in the "poetry of disfigurement."

This thesis examines the early work of poets Leonard Cohen and Seamus Heaney in light of their treatment of mythology, ritual, and mythologization, moving either from personal to political awareness (Heaney), or from political to personal awareness (Cohen). Heaney, writing in the midst of the Irish Troubles throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, slowly works up to political awareness as the situation from which he is writing becomes more dire. By contrast, Cohen writes during the beginnings of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec, from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, moving progressively farther away from the highly political and mythologized work of his first book. This thesis analyzes both poets first four books of poetry and how each poet addresses the politics of his historical time and place as a minority figure: an Irish Catholic in Northern Ireland, and an Anglophone Jew in Montreal, respectively. Ultimately, each poet chooses to mythologize and use traditional mythologies as a means of addressing contemporary horrors before being poetically (and politically) exhausted by the spiritual and mental exertion involved in the "poetry of disfigurement."

Dans la foulée de leur colonisation de l’Amérique aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, les Français ont dressé des inventaires des ressources du territoire occupé ou convoité. Apte à décrire toute cette richesse, l’histoire naturelle devint ainsi un savoir colonial par excellence et l’un des rouages centraux de la « machine coloniale » française. Aussi, le legs textuel de cette activité est-il considérable et diverses perspectives s’y expriment : un entreprenant colon, par exemple, ne verra pas les ressources de la Louisiane de la même façon qu’un officiel métropolitain de passage ou qu’un botaniste en mission. Mais le regard colonisateur est largement partagé et tous ces textes, ou presque, font acte d’appropriation des plantes, minéraux et animaux américains. La place ménagée aux indigènes et aux esclaves – qu’ils soient d’origine autochtone ou afro-américaine – comme acteurs dans le processus de création de savoir est variable selon le contexte et l’auteur. Ce mémoire se penche sur un petit nombre de textes éloquents tirés du corpus de l’histoire naturelle des colonies d’Amérique continentales françaises. Sont étudiés de près quatre auteurs qui ont œuvré ou qui ont été de passage au Canada (Kalm), en Guyane française (Barrère) et en Louisiane (Le Page du Pratz et Dumont de Montigny). Nous examinons dans un premier temps les différents contextes d’acquisition de savoirs. Par la suite, l’analyse portera sur leurs inventaires respectifs des ressources coloniales, puis leur façon de traiter leurs sources. Finalement, nous concluons cette recherche sur les manières dont ces naturalistes-écrivains transmettront à leurs lecteurs européens leurs connaissances nouvellement acquises et la portée de la diffusion que leurs écrits connaîtront. / Following their colonization of America in the 17th and 18th centuries, the French drew up inventories for the resources of the occupied or coveted territory. Being able to describe all this wealth, natural history thus became the ultimate colonial knowledge and one of the central cogs of the French Colonial Machine. Also, the textual legacy of this activity is considerable and various points of view are taken into account: an enterprising settler, for example, will not see Louisiana’s resources in the same way as a travelling metropolitan official or a botanist on assignment. However, the colonial perspective is widely spread and all these texts, or almost all of them, are evidence of the appropriation of American plants, minerals and animals. The position of indigenous people and slaves – whether of indigenous or African-American origin – as actors in the process of knowledge creation depends on the context and the author’s stance. This thesis focuses on a small number of compelling texts from the natural history corpus of the French mainland colonies in America. Four authors who worked in or visited Canada (Kalm), French Guiana (Barrère) and Louisiana (Le Page du Pratz and Dumont de Montigny) are studied in depth. We first examine the different contexts of knowledge acquisition. Subsequently, we analyze the colonial resources inventories available at that time and how the sources are managed. Lastly, we conclude by looking at how these naturalist writers transmit to their European readers their newly acquired knowledge and the impact that their work will have.

Many contemporary naturalistic philosophers have taken it for granted that a robust theory of free will, one which would afford us with an agency substantial enough to render us morally responsible for our actions, is itself not conceptually compatible with the philosophical theory of naturalism. I attempt to account for why it is that free will (in its most substantial form) cannot be plausibly located within a naturalistic understanding of the world. I consider the issues surrounding an acceptance of a robust theory of free will within a naturalistic framework. Timothy O’Connor’s reconciliatory effort in maintaining both a scientifically naturalist understanding of the human person and a full-blooded theory of agent-causal libertarian free will is considered. I conclude that Timothy O’Connor’s reconciliatory model cannot be maintained and I reference several conceptual difficulties surrounding the reconciliation of agent-causal libertarian properties with physical properties that haunt the naturalistic libertarian.