Both The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and My Ántonia by Willa Cather depict characters that perform non-traditional gender roles. In these novels, there are expectations about how women and men should act. The purpose of this comparative study is to look at how the female and male protagonists’ actions correspond to, or differ from, these expectations and if they do so in similar ways. The analytical approach is based on Judith Butler’s theory of gender performance. This study also examines in what ways the characters’ actions conflict with, or conform to, social norms of the time by investigating the social expectations for women in the Puritan society and in the late nineteenth century. Even though the settings are separated by two hundred years, this study shows that the protagonists challenge traditional gender role norms in similar ways and that both female protagonists show a feminist desire to exist outside the binary understanding of gender.

This thesis is an exploration of information and theory relative to the development and management of performances within university level theatre and dance study abroad programs. Only U.S. theatre and dance study abroad programs in foreign countries are examined. This research is focused on programs that not only include performance, but also the entire creative and production process within the duration of their time abroad. Even with these constraints, the information provided is applicable to programs of non-U.S. institutions and programs that tour a performance abroad. The core of this thesis is an examination of the 2011 cycle of the University of Texas Theatre in Italy study abroad program. Through online research and e-mail I will also research similar study abroad programs, presenting information on curricula, program host city, program duration abroad and program website. Supporting literature is found in several fields; study abroad program creation, theatre management, production and administration. A synthesis of this knowledge is essential to the success of producing and managing in an abroad academic setting. This research will be a resource for current or potential study abroad program directors interested in integrating a performance in their own program. An introduction of common study abroad models and theatre curricula will be presented to provide context and vocabulary for the remainder of the research. I will define my own role as production manager and describe the responsibilities thereof. The following chapters will cover the management and logistics involved in selecting a performance piece and students, budgeting, travel, and production. For myself, this thesis is only the beginning of my own exploration in producing performances in an international setting. This experience and study was an opportunity for me to encounter some of the challenges common to producing abroad and touring internationally. In addition to this, I believe producing internationally is a positive way to share our own rich culture as well as an opportunity for Americans to discover and appreciate the cultures of others. I hope this to be my first step on a long career path of international collaboration. / text

The tropes of the diablo, the macho, the indio and the bronco have served as a means by which the state of Guerrero, Mexico, has been discursively defined, both externally and internally. I employ a critical reading of these tropes in an analysis of several commemorative performances that characterize the historical imaginary of northern Guerrero. The heart of the study is a description and analysis of the Diablos of Telolopan, a tradition which is celebrated as part of the Fiestas Patrias, and commemorates local participation in Mexico’s War for Independence, 1810-1821. I compare this tradition with other regional commemorations, including alternative fiestas patrias, the Abrazo of Acatempan, and the Festival of Cuauhtémoc, arguing that commemorative performance forms part of a poetics of history which resists the imposition of national hegemonic historiography. I complement the study of local history-making with an analysis of the way in which space and memory come together in the practices that surround death in Teloloapan. / text

The intellectual property concept of ‘communication to the public’ in Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive is a current issue within the EU, as the means of communication increase all the time due to the fast development of the information society. Accordingly, the CJEU has more than occasionally been instructed to rule upon this provision, as the Member States of the EU are unconfident as to how it should be interpreted. The poor guidance provided for in the preamble of the InfoSoc Directive in terms of how to construe the provision does probably contribute to this confusion. Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive has been subject to disputes as concerns different means of communication, that is to say broadcasting, live performances, streaming and hyperlinking. Broadcasting and streaming are generally considered as communications within the meaning of the provision whereas live performances and hyperlinking have been deemed as falling outside the scope. More in detail, the most important criteria of a ‘communication to the public’ – laid down by the CJEU – suggest that the concept should be interpreted broadly, covering all transmissions and retransmissions where equipment facilitates for communications of signs, sounds or images, regardless of the means used and the nature of the place for the communication. A public refers to an indeterminate but fairly high number of people – considering the potential number rather than the exact number – not present at the place where the communication originates. The gap between the wording of Article 3(1) of the InfoSoc Directive and the developments carried out by the CJEU is considered troublesome since it decreases the legal certainty of the provision. A future recasting of these matters should thus contemplate the possibility to integrate the criteria laid down by the CJEU into the law.

There’s a widespread conviction in the norms of assertion literature that an agent’s asserting something false merits criticism. As Williamson puts it, asserting something false is likened to cheating at the game of assertion. Most writers on the topic have consequently proposed factive norms of assertion – ones on which truth is a necessary condition for the proper performance of an assertion. However, I argue that this view is mistaken. I suggest that we can illuminate the error by introducing a theoretical distinction between the norm of a practice and its goal. In light of this distinction, we can see that proponents of factive norms tend to mistake the goal of a practice for the norm. In making my case, I present an analogy between the norms and goals of placing wagers and the norms and goals of assertion. One may place a bet and lose without being subject to criticism, while one may win and be worthy of criticism. Whether one wins or loses is irrelevant to the normative evaluation of a bet. What is relevant is whether the bet maximizes the bettor's expected value, which is a function of what might be lost, what might be gained, and how likely those prospects are, given the bettor's evidence. Similarly, I argue, whether one's assertion is true or false is not strictly relevant to the normative evaluation of an assertion. What is relevant is whether the speaker has adequate supporting reasons for the assertion, and that the necessary conventional and pragmatic features are present. However, context will determine what count as supportive reasons for a given proposition, what counts as relevant, and what count as conventional and pragmatic elements possessing that relevance. My proposed norm, the Supportive Reasons Norm, is thus sensitive to the context of assertion and shifts from context to context.

Thèse (M.Sc.)--Université Laval, 2007. / Bibliogr.: f. [112]-127. Publié aussi en version électronique dans la Collection Mémoires et thèses électroniques.

Thèses (M.Sc.A.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2002. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.

Proefschrift Universiteit Maastricht. / Met index, lit. opg. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

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