Este trabalho fundamenta-se na compreensão da metapsicologia dos limites como parte da teoria psicanalítica que visa compreender a estruturação e o funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo, bem como parte da teoria psicanalítica que se destina a compreender a etiologia, o funcionamento e o tratamento das patologias-limite, manifestações decorrentes de falhas na constituição e no funcionamento dos limites do psiquismo. Tem como hipótese de pesquisa que o giro metapsicológico exigido pelos estados-limite se coloca menos no sentido de ampliar a diversidade de modelos teóricos e mais no sentido de fazer dialogar dois modelos teóricos que estão na base do pensamento psicanalítico, mas que foram historicamente separados e considerados incompatíveis, a saber: o modelo pulsional e o modelo das relações objetais. Os objetivos deste trabalho são os de (1) questionar os limites da oposição entre a teoria pulsional de Freud e a teoria relacional de Winnicott, (2) apresentar a alternativa que André Green propõe para essa aparente oposição, argumentando a favor da concepção de pulsão e objeto como um par inseparável, bem como (3) apresentar e discutir algumas consequências metapsicológicas do diálogo possível entre essas duas teorias a partir do estudo de Freud e de Winnicott, dando também destaque para as contribuições de André Green para esse diálogo a fim de verificar se a hipótese explicitada acima se sustenta. A presença do objeto na teoria freudiana e a presença do instinto na teoria winnicottiana num segundo momento do desenvolvimento emocional denotam certa abertura nessas teorias para o diálogo entre elas. A forte oposição entre essas teorias apontada pela literatura psicanalítica parece ser fruto de um momento histórico. Contudo, conclui-se também que o diálogo entre essas teorias deve ser realizado dentro de certos limites que contemplem a constatação que Freud e Winnicott se dedicaram ao estudo de dois níveis diferentes de apreensão do Self, que estão relacionados, mas não se sobrepõem. André Green, a princípio, desconsidera o limite desse diálogo a partir da argumentação de que a pulsão e o objeto formam um par inseparável, o que torna inadmissível uma teoria que se organize apenas em um desses pólos, promovendo, com isso, uma releitura de Freud e Winnicott e produzindo importantes avanços para a metapsicologia dos limites. Entretanto, mais recentemente, Green apresenta o que denomina de teoria dos gradientes, que corrobora com a constatação de que há limites nesse diálogo. O exame das consequências desse diálogo produziu algumas propostas, entre elas: uma nova reorganização da tópica psíquica a fim de incluir o não-psíquico, produto da desobjetalização e da clivagem, também denominado de terceira tópica; a compreensão das patologias-limite como um tipo específico de neurose narcísica; e o pensamento metapsicológico como auxílio ao analista aos desafios clínicos propostos por esses casos. Por fim, o exame realizado nesta tese demonstra que o giro metapsicológico exigido por essas patologias está na direção do diálogo entre a teoria pulsional e a teoria das relações de objeto, confirmando a hipótese inicial desta pesquisa / Understanding the metapsychology of limits as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the framing and the functioning of the psychic limits as well as a part of the psychoanalytic theory which aim to understand the etiology, the functioning and the treatment of the borderline cases, manifestations which occur due to failures at the constitutioning and functioning of the psychic limits. And departing of the hypothesis that the metapsychologycal turn demanded by the borderline states is less in the sense of amplify the diversity of metapsychological models and much more in the sense of set in dialogue two theoretical models which are in the base of the psychoanalytic thought, but which were historically split off and considered incompatible: the drive theory and the object relation theory. The aims of this research were (1) to question the limits of the opposition between Freuds drive theory and Winnicotts object relation theory, (2) to present the solution Andre Green propose to this apparent opposition, arguing in favor of the conception of drive and instinct as an inseparable pair, (3) to present and to discuss some of the metapsychological consequences of the possible dialogue between these two theories since study of Freuds and Winnicotts theories, also giving emphasis to the Greens contributions to this dialogue, in order to verify if the hypothesis describe above can be maintained. The presence of object in Freuds theory and the presence of instinct in Winnicotts theory in a second moment of the emotional development denote some overture on theses theories for dialogue. The strong opposition between then, pointed by the psychoanalytic literature, seems to be result of a historical moment. Nevertheless, it follows that the dialogue between these two theories must be done inside certain limits which regard the evidence that Freuds and Winnicotts studies concerned two different levels of apprehension of the Self, which are related, but not superpose each other. Andre Green, at first, disrespect the limits of this dialogue arguing in favor that drive and instinct constitute an inseparable pair, which turns unacceptable one theory which is organized upon one of these two poles, promoting then a re-reading of Freuds and Winnicotts theories and producing important advances for the metapsychology of limits. Meanwhile, more recently, Green brings up what he calls the gradients theory, which corroborate with the evidence that there are limits in this dialogue. The examination of the consequences of this dialogue have produced some proposals, among them: a new reorganization of the psychic topic in order to include the no-psychic, product of the desobjatalization and splitting process, also named third topic; the understanding of borderline pathologies as a specific type of narcissistic neurosis; and also the metapsychological thought as a help to the analyst in front of the clinical challenges proposed by these cases. Finally, the exam accomplished on this research give evidence that the metapsychological turn demanded the borderline states is towards a dialogue between drive theory and object relational theory, confirming the initial hypothesis of this research

The focus of this dissertation is a group of individuals applying for psychotherapy. They have attended an office that offers psychodynamic psychotherapy, based on a Christian outlook on mankind. My research questions dealt with why they did apply for psychotherapy and what their goals were. I had planned the study and selected my data collection methods considering three domains of hypothetical reasons for their decisions to apply for psychotherapy. These grounds were their object relations, existential/religious orientations, and psychological problems and goals for the treatment. The first part of the dissertation is a survey of concepts, theories and former studies in the mentioned domains. Concerning the object-relations I make use of psychoanalytical thinking on the importance of early experiences in relation to parents and other persons but also its application to a “religious relation”, namely to the relation of the individual to her/his socalled God-representation. Concerning the existential/religious orientations I make use of existential-analytical thinking on satisfaction and meaning of life and death as an existential problem. I also make use of research from the psychology of religion on different dimensions of religiosity and its correlations to mental health. In the second part of the dissertation there is an account of my development of methods to be used in data collection. In this part of the book one can also find data from a reference group of people not applying for psychotherapy. The main part of the dissertation is the third part, describing the data of eight persons applying for psychotherapy. The information, from interviews, projective methods and scales, from each of the study subjects is put together, analysed and interpreted as intensive case studies. Questions in the interview covered religious and existential matters, relations to important persons during childhood and later, the persons’ descriptions of themselves, and the reasons for applying for psychotherapy and their goals for the treatment. Their answers were analysed using a hermeneutic method. The projective methods covered a picture and unfinished sentences. The psychological scales covered religious beliefs and satisfaction and meaning of life and a semantic differential the symbolic meaning of the words Mother, Father and GOD. According to the results the influence of the object-relations on the decision to apply for psychotherapy was sometimes direct. But on the whole the most obvious reason was the persons’ experiences and descriptions of themselves as filled with conflicting feelings and lack of or difficulties in controlling them. The influence of existential themes was not so obvious and the effects of the religious orientations were sometimes direct and sometimes only indirect. Peoples’ mental problems and goals of the psychotherapy influenced directly their decisions to apply. Most individuals had been in therapy before. There was some difference in the description of goals between those individuals who finished recently and those applying for the first time or long time after an earlier therapy. The latter having more well-defined goals. Theoretically it is possible to classify goals into treatment and life goals, but in real life they often stick together. One important conclusion was that, when the persons experience themselves as filled with contradictory feelings or conflicting strivings and having lack of feelings or difficulties in controlling them, they also experience themselves as responsible to this and as a consequence they also apply for psychotherapy.

Re-evaluating classic work in the sociology of the visual arts, this Ph.D. thesis explores the tacit and practical bases of artistic mediation with reference to curatorial exhibition making in contemporary art. Data presented here derive from a visual microethnographic study of the exhibition-making process in two elite European centres for contemporary art (London’s Institute of Contemporary Art and ARC/Musée D’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris), combined with an additional thirty-five interviews with other curatorial professionals. By focusing on the visual dimensions of curatorial work, this thesis uses a case study in the sociology of art to think more broadly about aesthetic materials as active mediators of action, or actants in the sense of actor-network theory. Drawing on work in the sociology of education, communication studies, and the sociologies of science and technology, this research explores how the material, embodied, and situated interactions between curators, objects, and environments are constructed and understood in reflexive relation to more explicitly cognitive and verbal representations, interpretations, and accounts. In planning and installing an exhibition of contemporary art, curators frame artworks and build meaning based on the material and conceptual resources at hand. The plans made by curators when preparing an exhibition and composing textual documentation are altered and elaborated during the installation of contemporary art in the physical presence of the artworks and gallery space. The disjuncture between curatorial plans and these situated actions has consequences for the public presentation and comprehension of the final exhibition. In documenting these processes as they take shape in real time and in relation to material objects, the body, and the built environment, this work aims to contribute to the on-going developments and debates that centre on the creation of a ‘strong’ cultural sociology and to extend core sociological thinking on the social structures and bases of action.

Chapter One of this thesis looks at psychoanalytical object relations theory dealing with early childhood, with an aim to outline the shift that has taken place within critical thinking on personal development--from an emphasis on oedipal relations to the auspicious re-exploration of pre-oedipal states. Here the main theme derives from the paradoxical nature of the human skin, whose fluid sensory and communicative qualities profoundly shape our psychological functioning, and thus ultimately our creation of (gendered) knowledge in all its forms. / Chapter Two seeks to establish some of the possible socio-political implications of a recovered pre-oedipal sensibility, by way of situating the place of the personal within critical discourse--the cross-fertilization of critical theory and self-critical artistic discourses. Using the specific example of film, my central conceit consists in drawing a parallel between the skin and the filmic screen as both being simultaneously introjective and projective liminal membranes. / Chapter Three is a case study of sorts, one which traces the manifestations of a liminal subjectivity during a critical phase in the history of my native Nordic culture--the period of transition between pagan and Christian society. Its spirit is then shown to be alive and well within the ensemble films of Ingmar Bergman, whose work has come to stand as something of an archetype of the Nordic film form. / The second section, PRAXIS, appropriately provides this project's own creative component, a sketch of a film scenario that I hope to one day be able to liberate from the stasis of the written page and project into the uncertain spaces of a theater screen.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-102).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, Deerfield, Ill., 1997. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-87).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-68).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duquesne University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-118).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-96). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-96). Also available on the Internet.