The 1880s were turbulent years in the Dominion. Under the auspices of the National Policy, Canada was in the midst of a social and political ‘transformation.’ The social and cultural aspects of this transformation became a source of public debate as the ‘Labour Question’ and the relations between labour and capital reached a high mark of political and economic significance. Waves of strikes and the emergence of large international labour organizations challenged many liberal Victorian ideas about a strictly limited state. Many looked upon the federal government as responsible not only for economic growth, but also for protection from the more pressing problems of industrial life. The Royal Commission on the Relations of Capital and Labour is a testament to not only the turbulent economic relations in late-Victorian Canada, but the emergence of the Canadian state’s active role in social relations. Its very title envisioned a dual role for the Canadian state: to “promote the material, social, intellectual and moral prosperity” of labouring men and women, and to improve and develop “the productive industries of the Dominion so as to advance and improve the trade and commerce of Canada.” However, this thesis argues that the Labour Commission was more subtly designed to enhance the prestige of the Canadian state and install Ottawa as an authority on, and mediator of, industrial relations in Canada. Attention to the formation, activities, and impact of the Labour Commission suggests that, rather than an exercise in addressing a mounting social polarization between “labour” and “capital,” the Commission lends insight into the emergence of a Canadian middle class. It was a carefully-constructed exercise in the assertion of middle-class cultural hegemony whereby such values and understandings as respectability, morality, manliness, worth and expertise were naturalized. In the process, the tension between labour and capital was diminished and in its place were developed visions of social reciprocity and mutual interest. It is in this way that the Labour Commission was an exercise in ‘commissioning consent:’ it placed oppositional voices and wrenching exposés about industrial life in a framework that worked to quell rather than stimulate far-reaching critiques of the established order. The Commission’s formation, methodology and language functioned like an industrial exhibition rather than a pointed social investigation. The evidence presents a thriving economy that had grown exponentially under a wise and paternal government. It also presented a vision of the Dominion whereby the disturbances that occurred between labour and capital could be handled within a conventional language of liberal politics. In addition, social and intellectual elites were fully ensconced in the formation and legitimization of these social and moral understandings. Because it was up to the state to select who would speak for labour and capital, the Commission’s message was not one of class polarization. Thus, exploring who became ‘labour’ and who ‘capital,’ and what sorts of things they said to each other, sheds light on to the emergent strategies of the Canadian state as it sought to understand and influence civil society. The Commission is an indication, even anticipation, of a more activist and energetic state. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-17 14:59:08.581

Thesis (M. A. (Media Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The study investigates the popular South African feature film entitled Safarina (1992) and its depiction of young South Africans’ resistance against the apartheid system during the 1970s through the 1980s. It analyses how Sarafina portrays the socio-cultural and political environment that characterised the apartheid modus operandi; explores the film’s ideological frames of societal dissent during apartheid and examines Sarafina’s cinema verité and application of symbolism in portraying the historical context and narrative of the South African struggle for freedom. The study refers to extensive literature about film as an artistic medium, dynamics in film genre, its role in representing societal dissent, application of filmic elements in technical production and relevance of symbolism in film criticism. The theoretical framework entails two theories, namely Framing and Ideological Film Criticism. The study adopted the qualitative descriptive case study design cognisant of its ability to provide a complex visual and audio-textual description of the events represented during the period under study. It used purposive sampling to select the film Sarafina to elucidate the contours and experiences of the apartheid system in pre-democratic South Africa. Methodological techniques used in the study involved audio-visual content analysis during the data collection process and thematic analysis from which discursive themes were generated and findings were derived. The findings of the study demonstrate the representational etiquette of Sarafina to bring out significant political and cultural memories of the struggle for freedom with potential to create conducive spaces for positive social, cultural and political benefits for the contemporary South African society. The study concludes by recommending the usage of Sarafina and other forms of film genre, not only as artefacts for preserving historical experiences, but also to promote active citizenship, good democratic governance, and effective service delivery in post-apartheid South Africa.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-07T15:08:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 15831141 bytes, checksum: fffe8e229229f888ebd708e6f2f3a2ba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The main objective of this dissertation is to discuss the processes involved in the establishment of the Historical Museum of Campina Grande (Museu Histórico de Campina Grande, or MHCG) between the years of 1980 to 1983. It was in these years that occurred the promulgation of the law which enabled the creation of the Department of Cultural Heritage and the inauguration of the museum, which was one of the actions of the department. We seek to establish three conditions and possibilities which enabled the creation of the museum: the political-cultural demand which were established by the government organs of the historical heritage subsided by the National Pro-Memory Foundation (Fundação Nacional Pró-Memória Pró-Memória), a heritage action; the demand of a group of intellectuals, responsible for the Geografical and Historical Institute of Campina Grande, of maintaining the historical memory of the city; the forefront intellectual actions of William Ramos Tejo, responsible for the creation of the MHCG and director of the Department of Cultural Heritage in its initial years. Our objective is to determine the importance of each of these conditions in the museum project, which establishes the directives and possibilities of the museum actions. Based on these three conditions, we also seek to argue the discursive practice which opens way to establish the historical narrative which exists because of the expositions of the MHCG on the history of Campina Grande. Such discursive practice can also be seen as an educational action of the intellectual society on the acknowledgement the official memory. With this work, we seek to help on the recreation of the context of the patrimonial heritage actions of the city as it was enabled by the Department of Cultural Heritage in 1980. We emphasize the need of a historical argument on the places which promote the memory of the city, reconfiguring these based on the actions regarding the demands of the heritage action established by local agents. In summary, we compose a study which seeks to understand the implantation of such practices in a local level. / Este trabalho tem como objetivo discutir sobre o processo de produção do Museu Histórico de Campina Grande entre os anos de 1980 a 1983 que compreendem a Promulgação da Lei que possibilita a criação do Departamento de Patrimônio Cultural e a Inauguração do Museu, que corresponde a uma das ações do Departamento. Buscamos estabelecer três condições e possibilidades de criação do Museu: a Demanda Político-Cultural elaborada nos órgãos deliberativos do Patrimônio Histórico e consubstanciada na Fundação Nacional Pró-Memória; a Demanda Memorialista representada pelas tentativas por parte de um determinado grupo de intelectuais da criação do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico de Campina Grande e; o Protagonismo Intelectual de William Ramos Tejo, responsável pela criação do MHCG e diretor do Departamento de Patrimônio Cultural nos primeiros anos de sua criação. Buscamos trabalhar a forma como cada uma dessas condições foi importante para a definição do Projeto Museal que formata diretrizes e cria a possibilidade da ação museal. Procuramos também problematizar através destas três condições de existência do Museu a prática discursiva que abre caminho para o estabelecimento da narrativa histórica elaborada através da exposição do MHCG sobre a história da cidade de Campina Grande à época. Esta prática discursiva é também vista enquanto uma ação que busca educar para o reconhecimento da memória oficial, elaborada por indivíduos localizados numa sociabilidade intelectual e cultural interessada. Procuramos com este trabalho ajudar a recriar o contexto de entrada das Ações do Patrimônio Histórico na cidade, assim como a sua operacionalização através da criação do Departamento de Patrimônio Cultural em 1980. Com este propósito destacam-se a necessidade em historicizar os lugares que promovem a memória e reconfigurá-los a partir das ações empreendidas através de agentes localizados nos locais para onde são direcionadas as demandas de Ação do Patrimônio. Compondo desta forma, um estudo que busca compreender a implementação destas práticas em nível local.