Thesis--Bonn. / Cover title. At head of title: Romanische Philologie. Vita. Includes index. Bibliography: p. 3-6.

Thèse--Paris. / Bibliography: p. [xi]-xlvi.

Thesis--Zürich. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 8-10) and index.

Issued also as Thesis--Helsingfors.

Inaug.-diss.--Leipzig. / Lebenslauf. "Diese arbeit erscheint gleichzeitig als heft 18 der 'Leipziger romanistischen studien'."

Inaug. Diss.--Münster.

This thesis examines how Brittany and Corsica are represented in the medium of bande dessinée. Both are peripheral French regions with cultural identities markedly different from that of the overarching French norm, and both have been historically subject to ridicule from the political and cultural centre. By comparing a fair selection of bandes dessinées which are either set in Brittany or Corsica or feature characters from the relevant regions, this thesis sets out to discover whether representations of Brittany and Corsica differ according to the origin of the creators of the bandes dessinées and, if so, how. To facilitate this analysis, the bandes dessinées included for study have been classified as either external representations (published by mainstream bande dessinée publishers and/or the work of creators originating from outside the two regions) or internal representations (published by local Breton or Corsican companies and/or the work of local creators). It transpires that there are clear differences between mainstream and local bande dessinée authors and illustrators with regard to their portrayal of the local culture of both ‘outlying’ regions. External representations rely on broad stereotypes and received ideas, while internal representations draw on local folklore, regional history and regional identity to create works with more local relevance. In some cases internal representations are or were clearly aimed at a local market, while others aim both at local readers and at the wider bande dessinée market. Those aimed at a wider readership have an additional function, namely that of promoting their regional cultures in French culture generally and offering an alternative to the stereotypical representations presented by larger publishers of bandes dessinées. Brittany and Corsica are examined separately, each taking up roughly half of the thesis. Each half has the same general structure, beginning with discussion of how historical events have shaped perceptions of Brittany and Corsica in French popular consciousness, followed by analysis of the respective external representations and lastly internal representations. There are also two case studies of representations of Corsica in wider visual culture. Owing to its widespread appeal, its adaptability and its capacity to reflect popular opinion in different sectors of society, the medium of bande dessinée offers a potentially rich field for the investigation of social and cultural attitudes and prejudices. It is hoped that this thesis points the way to further research on the topic.

The purpose of this study is to explore literary representations of the human subject in the work of Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922–2008) and Marguerite Duras (1914–1996), and to do so using a modified, updated version of Peter Brooks’s influential theorization of plot in terms of desire. Both ‘subject’ and ‘representation’ will receive critical attention; in particular, the relation of ‘subject’ to ‘character’ will be explored. Post-Cartesian traditions tend to ground definitions of the subject in particular concepts of its relation to knowledge. As far as Descartes’s shadow extends, the individual is seen as coherent, self-aware and exercising freedom of choice. Throughout the nineteenth century, theories of social and medical determinism reflected in Realism and Naturalism posed new challenges to the belief that individuals are self-determining; but whilst they eroded certain assumptions concerning subjecthood in this way, they did not pose radical questions concerning the ability of art accurately to represent the relation of the individual to the (social) world. The assumptions underlying the writing of novels remained rooted in a concept of literature as mimesis. The classic nineteenth-century realist novel aspired to offer a plausible representation or imitation of the real world and, in spite of subsequent radical movements including the nouveau roman, it has left an enduring legacy. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of self-conscious experimentation with the novel: when Robbe-Grillet, Duras and others were writing their most celebrated works, the anti-realist novel – the nouveau roman – with its radical break from conventionally mimetic storytelling was only just beginning to develop a set of conventions and descriptions. Roland Barthes confidently proclaimed the ‘death of the author’ and celebrated the ‘birth of the reader’. During and after the nouveau roman movement, Robbe-Grillet and Duras attempt very different writing experiments, but there are clear parallels to be made. In Pour un nouveau roman, Robbe-Grillet initially presents his work as breaking with realism and mimesis, and ultimately concerned with (self-reflexive) ‘écriture’ alone. Accordingly, he claims that his works cannot be read in terms of their ‘representation’ of the world, or related to conventional notions of character; he seems to distance himself, in particular, from readings that assume a coherent, analysable ‘psychology’ in the (post-Cartesian) character. Similarly, Duras has often been assimilated with the nouveau roman movement, as she is held to write experimentally from the early 1950s in ways that subvert and challenge the traditional, male-authored novels of the literary canon as it was constituted in mid-twentieth-century France. Indeed, she has been held up as a rare example of écriture féminine. Peter Brooks’s argument that plot is driven (as if) by desire is a valid and exciting one that allows narratology and psychoanalysis to be brought into conjunction. But the desire he invokes is (stereotypically) ‘masculine’, being the desire of a male subject for a (passive) female object; and he allows this ‘plot of desire’, which might be termed ‘desire in the masculine’, a normative status. Using close readings of Robbe-Grillet and Duras, this thesis modifies Brooks’s thesis by asking what a plot of ‘female’ desire might be, besides a softened or more passive version of the ‘male’ plot. This allows us to reassess each writer’s break with traditional notions of representation and subject by reviewing their writing practice in terms of desire. In spite of his claims in Pour un nouveau roman, Robbe-Grillet clings tenaciously to a ‘masculine’ plot throughout his writing; and whilst Duras initially deploys a similar structure, she increasingly problematises it, though without breaking from it altogether, and so offers possibilities for representing desire ‘in the feminine’.

This thesis addresses, amongst other issues, the phenomenon of the professional development and teacher training of the University Portuguese language teachers in England. Nowadays society needs a new profile of teacher who is capable of facing various challenges. These are essentially related to technologies and new knowledge, according to the European Higher Education Area. Therefore, the focus of our study is directed to the training of the University Portuguese Language Teachers at the English universities, in particular at the University of Nottingham (developing a case study) in order to contribute for a reflection of their needs of training and preparation for their job. We also seek for the students’ opinion on this subject and we try to understand the context of a society clearly dominated by a culture of monolonguism and resistence to the learning of foreign languages. For this reason, and because the number of investigations on the subject is scarce, this is a contribution to reflect on the main aspects to take into consideration in the preparation of training for this specific professionals.

No description available.