Breast cancer social movements have, in many ways, succeeded in increasing the visibility of the disease in North America, yet researchers understand little about the effects of this visibility; there is little information about how women with breast cancer navigate breast cancer discourse. Feminist relational autonomy helps us to understand that women's degree of autonomy in making treatment decisions regarding their breast cancer is affected by their understanding of the disease and available options. I draw on the results of multiple qualitative interviews and online discussion group posts from 12 women with breast cancer in Nova Scotia, Canada, to examine the interconnections between breast cancer discourse and approaches to decision-making. Many representations of the best ways to “do” breast cancer cross the boundaries of allopathic and homeopathic medicine, popular self-help literature, and support services approaches to care, making them extremely pervasive in women’s lives. An idealised subject position that portrays women with breast cancer as strong, positive survivors/thrivers connects to a context in which certain identities are more likely to be accepted than others. Constraining the identities worthy of social recognition, breast cancer discourse is taken up in ways that limit the actions participants could imagine and justify, and encourage self-governance and discipline of others.

This project introduces the case of the Feminist Female Slave [FFS], a female submissive in a BDSM relationship with a male Master. This case is used in order to strengthen discourse in three main areas: feminist relational autonomy, BDSM theory, and feminist community politics. I argue that the FFS offers a case in which feminist autonomy theorists can serve to grow and develop their own approaches in a way that is inclusive of the diversity of women’s sexual expression, as she challenges our narrow notions of female subservience and asks us to rethink what it means to express an autonomous women’s sexuality. In BDSM theory she asks us to reflect upon our reliance upon superficial notions of consent and the lack of space for a critical dialogue, and finally, in feminist politics she asks us to consider what it means to belong to feminist communities, or what it means to feel as if one can lay claim to a feminist identity. Each of these considerations is brought to light in this project because of the interesting balance that the FFS’s relationship holds between her feminist identity, sexual politics, and sexual and romantic practices. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis consists of an analysis of the canonical notion of the pedagogical relation, as introduced by Hermann Nohl in the 1930’s following the tradition of pedagogy and education in Germany. This notion, which has both been central in current debates on educational theory, for example in the work of Norm Friesen and Tone Sævi, has certain implications and political consequences. With an aim to expanding the notion and exploring its shortcomings, I identify certain central pillars, and focus on two of them, namely autonomy and the unified subject. The essay explores these and proposes other theoretical readings in order to contrast and broaden the landscape of thought regarding pedagogy and relations, and thereby the notion of the pedagogical relation. To this end, I first discuss the notions of relational autonomy and transindividualism, in order to put in evidence the liberal, often unnamed, roots of the (hegemonic) notion of autonomy and to open up to other ways of conceiving it. Then, I delve into a psychoanalytic reading of Jacques Lacan’s thought on education and his four discourses, through the work of Anna Pagès and Anna Herbert. In so doing, the notion of the unified subject is problematized, exploring the instability of the subject as a departure. This uncertainty, together with the notion of transindividuality, are presented as some possible ways of thinking about pedagogy, opening up to future discussions such as pedagogical relations, the philosophy of the teacher, and educational aims.

This thesis develops an account of non-domination as a principle of legitimacy that ought to govern both inter-group and intra-group relations in multicultural states. It applies this principle to the question of how political institutions should respond to claims for the accommodation of controversial minority practices, using the example of the polygamous community in Bountiful, British Columbia. In developing this account, the thesis engages with three bodies of theoretical literature – of multiculturalism, of political legitimacy, and of autonomy. In the dominant normative theories of multiculturalism, answers are centered on what the limits of toleration are, what it means to recognize a collective identity, or what group rights can be claimed and how group rights are balanced with individual rights. While not rejecting the importance of these issues in a pluralistic state, my approach de-centers them by subsuming them under the broader problem of what makes a political authority morally legitimate vis-à-vis particular collective - as well as abstract individual - subjects. I argue that the most promising response to this problem lies with the concept of non-domination, conceived as a foundational principle of political legitimacy for multicultural states. This principle both demands and checks a democratic method for determining specific forms of accommodation. In some cases the advancement of non-domination between groups conflicts with the advancement of non-domination within groups. In political theory this question is often taken up by feminist scholars concerned with the ‘paradox of multicultural vulnerability’ and, more generally, with the dilemma of how to identify and critique internalized oppression while promoting full respect for individual moral agency. Borrowing from these debates, I outline a conception of the relational moral autonomy of the person and argue that it forms a necessary component of a non-domination- based analysis. The conclusion of the thesis with respect to minority social practices is that specific claims should be determined on the basis of a democratic process aimed at uncovering whether and when, all things considered, the accommodation of that particular practice is consistent with non-domination both between and within groups. / Thesis (Ph.D, Political Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-29 11:13:58.516

Conceptualising an understanding of home within South African law and how certain relationships create such an understanding. Home can be thought of as a place of safety, security, peace and identity. Home encapsulates values such as human dignity, freedom and equality. Furthermore, it is a space where one can exercise your identity autonomously. Home is a space for autonomy. However, some relationships give rise to this positive concept of home and autonomy whilst others are detrimental thereto. These relations are explored, specifically relations of domestic violence which threaten the values of home. Furthermore, the public/private divide is a contributing factor to domestic violence that occurs within the home. Efforts used to protect the private sphere has resulted in the public sphere compromising the privacy and autonomy of the victim. Privacy should not solely be equated with the private sphere and should rather be understood in terms of autonomy and a right which should be afforded to individuals. Autonomy itself, has for a long time been equated with the private sphere, and has, therefore, been used as a tool to protect the abusive party from state action, rather than protecting the abused party from the actions of the abuser. Therefore, autonomy itself should not be equated with the private sphere, as this conception lacks creativity in achieving autonomy within the collective. Therefore,an alternative understanding of autonomy is suggested: relational autonomy. Relational autonomy examines how specific relationships are beneficial to the meaning of autonomy. Relational autonomy calls for the restructuring of destructive relations which stand in the way of achieving autonomy and therefore also stands in the way of achieving a positive concept of home. / Thesis (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Private Law / LLM Research / Unrestricted

No description available.

Supports to improve self-care or self-management are beneficial for many people living with health issues, especially chronic conditions. Yet, socioeconomically marginalized groups have often been neglected from self-management initiatives, despite experiencing an increased prevalence of chronicity and multimorbidity. To this end, there are several established critiques within the self-management literature that are addressed through this dissertation. First, limited attention has been given to equity considerations within self-management, thus there remain gaps in the evidence base around disadvantaged groups. Second, there is a lack of understanding about the mechanisms that make self-management supports work, as well as little evidence to explain the wide extent of non-participation, including understanding the impact of structural barriers. Third, the social embeddedness of self-care has received little attention, despite people highlighting social roles as important concerns within self-care. In addition, the grassroots history of self-care has been neglected, which has resulted in minimal recognition of the role of mutual aid/self-help groups. This dissertation includes two exploratory, qualitative studies that attend to these knowledge gaps: the first explored self-care experiences among people who use drugs with chronic health issues, and the second explored mutual support among people experiencing homelessness within the context of encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study findings are also contextualized by worsening overdose and housing crises. I employed community-based participatory research methods and the transformative framework to contend with social injustice and power imbalance and amplify the worldviews of marginalized groups. We conducted in-depth interviews and reflexive thematic analysis to analyze data. Overarching findings demonstrate the importance of agency in shaping how marginalized groups manage their health and social needs, the critical structural limitations they face in doing so, and the substantial influence of their formal and informal social supports. Thus, findings show the importance of recognizing these groups’ alternative and holistic practices of care, the need to address structural and systemic barriers that inhibit their capacity for care, and the immense value of harnessing social support networks to meet care needs. Programs intended to support self-care among marginalized communities would benefit from incorporating a relational autonomy lens and community-centered approach.

I argue that autonomy is substantially relational by appealing to a variety of findings from the cognitive sciences. I gather findings related to a variety of paradigms of the cognitive sciences under the collective banner Relational Cognition and argue that these speak in favor of contingent relational accounts of autonomy by demonstrating the relational nature of cognition and agency. I focus on the ways in which these findings emphasise the embedded nature of cognition. I pay particular attention to the frameworks of 4E cognition because of their general emphasis on how cognition operates in concert with the external environment of the agent. This, I argue, speaks in favor of externalist approaches to autonomy. For example, 4E cognition explores how the human mind exploits its embodied nature to offload part of its internal, mental processing to features of its external environments. By operating in this fashion, an agent’s development and effective exercise of many of her cognitive capacities depend upon her prior embedding into particular environments. This perspective is conceptually very similar to relational accounts of autonomy which emphasise the situatedness of agents, positing that individual autonomy is necessarily contingent on certain social relations. I illuminate this conceptual overlap and bridge it in two ways. First, more broadly through a contingency argument, and second, by connecting relational cognition to the social self thesis which is a central conceptual component of relational accounts of autonomy. Finally, in light of all this, I claim that liberal theorizing on autonomy needs to grant a greater importance to the environments of agents for their ability to develop and practice autonomous agency. I criticise Joseph Raz’s conception of autonomy in this manner and suggest that a relational cognition perspective provides an instructive avenue for further developing a more externalist liberal understanding of autonomy.

La définition commune du concept d’autonomie prend son origine dans les travaux d’Emmanuel Kant. Au XXe siècle, une lecture féministe de ce concept dénonce, en la faisant ressortir, une conception atomiste et masculine de l’autonomie, non représentative de la nature vulnérable et sociale de l’être humain. Ce mémoire explore les concepts d’autonomie et de vulnérabilité dans une perspective féministe en cherchant à établir comment il serait possible de concevoir l’agent moral comme étant autonome tout en étant dépendant de son environnement social. Le concept d’autonomie relationnelle proposé par Catriona Mackenzie et Natalie Stoljar constitue une alternative à la conception kantienne qui est plus en accord avec la sociabilité humaine. / The common definition of autonomy takes its origins from the works of Emmanuel Kant. During the twentieth century, a feminist lecture of this nature denounces, while also highlighting an atomistic and masculine conception of autonomy, non-representative of the vulnerable and social nature of the human being. This memoir explores the themes and concepts surrounding autonomy and vulnerability within a feminist perspective, while actively establishing the possibility of the moral agent as a separate and autonomous member, dependent on its social environment. The concept of relational autonomy proposed by Catriona Mackenzie and Natalie Stoljar constitutes an alternative to this Kant notion, which is further adjusted with human sociability.

Bakgrund: Att involvera patienterna och de närstående i planeringen av vården i livets slut är en essentiell del av palliativ vård. För att uppfylla detta behöver patienternas självbestämmande stärkas. Syfte: Syftet var att kartlägga begreppet självbestämmande i palliativ vård. Metod: Begreppsanalys enligt vårdforskarna Walker och Avants metod.  Resultat: De definierande attributen för självbestämmande i palliativ vård är; respektera patientens frihet, information, samarbete och kommunikation. Alla attribut behöver inkluderas för att stärka patienternas självbestämmande i palliativ vård. Slutsats: Patienternas självbestämmande i palliativ vård kan stärkas genom att vårdpersonalen arbetar personcentrerat enligt 6S-modellen. / Background: To involve patients and their families in the planning of care in the end of life is an essential part of palliative care. To meet this, patients self-determination needs to be strengthened. Aim: The aim was to clarify the concept of self-determination in palliative care. Method: Concept analysis according to Walker and Avants method. Results: The defining attributes of self-determination in palliative care are; respecting the patients freedom, information, cooperation and communication. All attributes needs to be included to be able to strengthen patients self-determination i palliative care. Conclusion: Patients self-determination in palliative care can be strengthened if healthcare professionals work person-centered according to the 6S-model.