The Tablīghī Jamā'at is a Muslim organization for faith renewal that was founded by Maulana Muhammad Ilyas during the 1920s in North India. The Tablīghī Jamā'at, which was loosely associated with Dāru'l-'Ulūm Deoband, responded to the increasing importance of identity politics in twentieth century South Asia by focusing on strengthening the Muslim community through proselytism. While the members of the Tablīghī Jamā'at have routinely claimed that their movement is strictly apolitical, some commentators have questioned the aptness of their characterization. Scholarship on the Tablīghī Jamā'at either confirms the apolitical nature of the organization or argues the opposite, claiming that its leaders have maintained an apolitical front that masks members’ political activity both in South Asia and abroad. This conversation has not advanced in recent years. This thesis asks why there have been such divergent attitudes towards the Tablīghī Jamā'at. In order to answer this question, it investigates the historical issues that shed light on the historiographical problem surrounding the organization. Through an analysis of the complex structure of authority in the organization, I argue that the Tablīghī Jamā'at is highly amenable to change and highly resistant to broad characterization. / text

In October 1976, approximately 200 women from seven states met in Boone, North Carolina, at the National Advisory Council on Women's Education. In December 1976, thirty-five of these women met again at Mars Hill College and created a non-profit organization, the Council on Appalachian Women, advocating the advancement of women's education, services, and research to benefit women in the Appalachian region. During its four-year existence, the Council held a total of 71 public forums on Appalachian women's issues. Members worked to promote child development, maternal and infant health care, employment training, and education for women. The Council on Appalachian Women understood the obstacles and embraced the people of the region and served as an example of how to effect change for women in the rural Appalachian South. The organization disbanded in May 1981.

This thesis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the political ambitions and actions of the Theosophical Society within the emerging nationalist movement in India during 1879-1930. Different theoretical perspectives have been applied depending on the historical context, and Ludwik Fleck’s theory of thought collectives and thought styles served as a general frame for interpreting the movement’s actions and development A central concern in this study has been the attempt to explain how a numerically small movement with its roots in the West could come to have political influence in India for a period of time. The study starts off in a western historical context in an attempt to uncover the reasons behind the movement's commitment to India. It focuses on a culture or civilization critique the Theosophical Society shared with several other contemporary movements. The first part of the thesis examines the theosophical movement's establishment in India. The relationship with other Indian reform movements has been identified and dividing lines behind the official's eclectic attitude have been shown. The theosophical activities in India can thus be understood in relation to its critique of the modern development of society. My study of the period partly indicates shifts in opinions over time and position-takings with clear elements of competition in relation to other reform movements. The second study examines the theosophist’s involvement in education and discusses how the nationalist/theosophical educational ideals are reflected in tuition and in textbooks. Emphasis on the connection to the students’ own reality in order to develop a national consciousness is central. One's own religion, the historical narratives and the mother language are at the forefront of a national identity. The theosophist’s ambitions were to overcome the political and religious issues, but the network that was developed were too challenging to be accepted. The third study examines theosophy in the open political arena. The pattern is partly the same in terms of methods to reach a consensus for the main target - Home Rule. The political challenges were reflected in an increased political mobilization, which broadened the political activities outside the Congress. My study shows that there was an opposition in the theosophical movement to the politicization during the war, also among leading theosophists. After the war the marginalization of Theosophy was obvious in politics when the theosophical leadership chose to opt out of the Congress under Gandhi's leadership. / Per-Olof Fjällsby

The thesis is dealing with the ideals of the primitive Church throughout the history of the Church up to the 13th century. It seeks to identify and reconstruct the ideals of the primitive Church, their development in the following centuries, and the partial forms of relevant ideals that became more generally established. Beyond the general ideal of 'following Christ', it identifies three specific forms of primitive Church ideals: the missionary ideal, the martyr ideal and the ideal of the Church servant. It also attempts to explain the causes and patterns of the development of these ideals. It confirms the understanding of the history of ancient and medieval Christianity as a process in which developments are determined not only by the current spiritual, political, social or economic context, but also by the constant engagement with earlier concepts. In doing so, it seeks to determine to what extent and in what ways later ideals were shaped by the model of the early church and whether the early church period can indeed be considered formative for later Christian ideals. It assesses how faithful the proclaimed returns to this model were, and how the persons shaping later forms of these ideals 'dealt' with this model.

This thesis examines French architect Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879), who combined eighteenth-century Rationalism with the historicist, anti-academic message of Romanticism, which was impelling the nineteenth-century architectural reform movement into the industrial age. Sources used include Viollet-le-Duc's architectural drawings and published works, particularly volume one of his Entretiens sur l'Architecture. The study is arranged chronologically, and it discusses his career, his restoration work, and his demands for reform of architectural education. One chapter contains a detailed analysis of his Entretiens. This thesis concludes that Viollet-le-Duc was as much a historian as he was an architect, and it notes that his hopes for reform were realized in the twentieth century.

本論文旨在分析在我國公視建構過程中(1990~2013年)的報紙相關評論與報導。從1915年開始，台灣就有許多透過媒體改革來爭取發言權的運動。然而，直到1990年，公民社會才出現了以產權為目標的媒改運動，亦即1990年代起的公視運動。因此，我們認為公視運動可被視為公民爭取「公共領域」的重要歷程，值得進行深入分析。 其次，本文主張公視這種「公共領域」的建構過程，應以公共對話為基礎。經文獻檢閱，我們認為公媒體與公共領域有以下關聯。以制度面而言，Habermas的晚近公共領域概念強調國家必須透過立法過程來保障溝通行動，這正和公媒體的制度契合。以公共論述判準而言，Habermas的「合理政治意志形成過程」與「理性溝通」則可用來檢視，關於公視制度的討論是否符合公共性。 此外，本文選報紙評論進行分析，不是為了比較各報論述的差異，而是報紙長時間地記載各報社、社運團體成員、學者專家與社會大眾對公視議題的論述，這可讓我們檢視及反思不同階段公視運動的論述目標與特徵。另一方面，我們也檢閱了公視相關的立法院、監察院公報等資料，藉此釐清政府、媒體與公民社會三者的關係。 本研究有以下三點發現。第一，政府政策意圖是引導公視論述的關鍵因素。只有當政府對公視採取較正面態度，公民社會才有機會對公視進行深度的討論。第二，公視議題的主要論述者是報社人員與學院知識份子，其中學知對於公視向來採取支持立場。相對而言，只有在公視處於不利局面時，各報才會較積極地對公視表達支持。第三，當報社與學知對公視議題進行討論，報社較支持「商業化」與「數位化」，學知則較重視「公共理念」。 / This paper aims to analyze newspaper commentary and reports published during the Taiwan Public Television Movement between 1990 and 2013. Since 1915, Taiwan has had a lot of media reform movements that fought for freedom of speech. But there were no media reform movements with the aim of dealing with media ownership until the Taiwan Public Television Movement happened in 1990.We believe that the public television movement was a very important process that structured" public sphere “in Taiwan and is worth an in-depth analysis. As a public sphere, Taiwan Broadcasting System (TBS) should be constructed on the public dialogue. After reviewing the literature, we think that the public media and the public sphere have the following correlations. In terms of institutional designs, Habermas emphasized recently that the state needs to protect the communicative action through the legislative process. We think this is similar to the idea of public television. With regard to public dialogues, Habermas' concepts of “a process model of rational political will-formation” and "rational communication ideal " can be applied to analyze the discourse of Taiwan Public Television. In addition, we analyzed newspaper commentaries, not to compare the differences of representation between newspapers, but to document different kinds of discussions of public television by media, social movement organizations, scholars and the public over a long period of time. Whereby, we can examine and reflect on the discourse goals and characteristics of the Taiwan Public Television movement in different stages. We also reviewed the official gazettes of the Legislative Yuan and the Control Yuan in order to clarify the relationship between the government, the media and civil society. In this paper, we provide readers with three findings. First, the intent of government policy was a key factor in leading the discourse of public television. Only when the government adopted more positive attitudes towards the TBS did civil society have chances for more in-depth discussions. Second, the discussions of TBS were mainly made by newspaper staffs and college intellectuals. Furthermore, college intellectuals had always taken a stand that supported public television. In contrast, only when TBS was in an unfavorable situation did newspaper staffs become more active in offering support. Third, whenever newspaper staffs and college intellectuals participated in the public discussion, the former tended to support the "commercialized" and "digitized" TBS, but the latter were inclined to favor “the ideal of public sphere” of TBS.

The thesis uses the case study of the experience of middle-class northern white women in America during the period 1800-1860 to explore several issues of wider significance. Firstly, the research focuses upon the dynamic relationships between the culturally-constructed categories of public/formal and private/informal power and participation at both the practical and symbolic levels, suggesting ways in which they intersected on the lives of women. Secondly, consideration is given to the validity of the stereotyped view that 'domestic' women were necessarily disadvantaged and dominated relative to those who aspired to public political and economic roles. Thirdly, the relationship of religious belief to these two areas is discussed, in order to discover its relevance to the way in which women both perceived themselves and were perceived by others. In seeking to explore these issues, the research has analysed the patterns of social and cultural change in the era under question, indicating how those changes influenced the perceptions and experiences of both women and men. Their reactions in terms of discourse and activity are located as strategies of negotiation in redefining both social role and participation for the sexes. The rhetoric of 'separate spheres', which was used by men and women to order their mental and physical surroundings, is reduced to its symbolic constituents in order to illustrate that the distinction between male and female arenas was more perceptual than actual. The motivating forces behind the activities and ideas of women themselves are investigated to determine the role of religion in the construction of both female self-images and wider negotiational strategies. The context of nineteenth-century social dynamics has been revealed by detailed analysis of extensive primary sources originated by both women and men for private as well as public consumption. Feminist tools of analysis which enable the conceptualisation of 'meaningful discourse' as including female contributions have further enhanced the specific focus on how women constructed their own world-views and approaches to reality. 'Traditional' approaches and tools are shown to have seriously skewed and misrepresented the reality and variety of both discourse and female experience in the era. Great efforts have been made to allow women to speak in their own words. This has produced an insight into a richness of female social participation and discourse which would otherwise be obscured. The research indicates that women were indeed actors and negotiators during the period. Those women who advocated as primary the duties of women in the domestic and social arenas were by no means setting narrow limitations on female participation in both society and discourse. The religious impulses and eschatological frameworks derived by women (varied as they were) served to order and renegotiate reality and meaning, whilst they produced female roles and influence of great significance. Women were not passive victims of male oppression. Religion can thus be perceived as a positive force which women were able to approach both for its own sake, and for their own particular ends.

This study seeks to explore aspects of the educational practice of the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) programme. The philosophy (the Christian underpinnings) and pedagogy (mastery learning) of the ACE programme as contemporary educational practice is examined against a background of educational reform movements such as outcomes-based education. In addition, the thesis examines the issue of what it takes for a student to succeed in tertiary education, investigates the stated claims of the ACE programme in this regard, and then scrutinises these claims, in an empirical study, that includes ACE graduates, their parents and university admissions officers. Finally recommendations are made to those who use the programme in schools regarding any perceived strengths and/or weaknesses in the programme itself, or in the management and implementation of the programme, with a view to enhancing the educational experience of high school students preparing to enter the realm of tertiary education. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed.(Educational Management)

This study seeks to explore aspects of the educational practice of the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) programme. The philosophy (the Christian underpinnings) and pedagogy (mastery learning) of the ACE programme as contemporary educational practice is examined against a background of educational reform movements such as outcomes-based education. In addition, the thesis examines the issue of what it takes for a student to succeed in tertiary education, investigates the stated claims of the ACE programme in this regard, and then scrutinises these claims, in an empirical study, that includes ACE graduates, their parents and university admissions officers. Finally recommendations are made to those who use the programme in schools regarding any perceived strengths and/or weaknesses in the programme itself, or in the management and implementation of the programme, with a view to enhancing the educational experience of high school students preparing to enter the realm of tertiary education. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed.(Educational Management)