This study weaves together several strands of inquiry. On the level of dramatic analysis, I look to understand how "sanctuary" spaces operate in Shakespeare's early plays and the ways in which such zones relate to genre. In tragedy, there is no escape valve, no place for retreat. The aesthetic depends on the increasing pressure and the gradual winnowing of options and possibilities. I analyze Richard III (both Thomas More's and Shakespeare's) as the preeminent example of sanctuary-breaking and generic claustrophobia. In Shakespearean comedy, on the other hand, sanctuaries allow action to continue, brokering resolutions while avoiding tragic termination. In this vein I consider The Comedy of Errors and As You Like It. The second strand is historical: I attempt to situate the plays within the larger context of England’s immunity spaces in their twilight. I document the upheaval and confusion regarding refuge sites following the Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries, contending that the conflicting swirl of concepts surrounding Elizabethan sanctuary – as something both holy and debauched – made it ripe for Shakespeare’s fascination. Finally, in the epilogue I offer a more theoretical reading of sanctuary practices over time, arguing that asylum is often a tool for young or relatively unstable governments to get subjects to present themselves. In this view, sanctuaries are not exceptional spaces outside diurnal affairs and authority, but rather the precise cohesive principle that keeps a fledgling jurisdictional structure intact. Nevertheless, I argue that alternative modes of access to the tools of the administrative culture within which one is unavoidably entrenched may ultimately be more profound than the utopian wish for escape.

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux processus de production de l’image votive à travers l’étude d’un ensemble de sculptures conservées dans le Sanctuaire de la Madone des Grâces de Curtatone, proche de Mantoue. L’extraordinaire apparat votif que l’on peut y admirer est constitué de cinquante-trois effigies polychromes et polymatheriques, datant pour la plupart du XVIe siècle, représentant le donateur grandeur nature, et pourvues d’accessoires réels (vêtements, cordes, objets dévotionnels…). Ces figures sont disposées dans des niches au sein d’une structure architecturale en bois totalement couverte d’ex-voto anatomiques en cire. Les documents concernant les effigies du sanctuaire de Curtatone sont considérés en rapport à d’autres rares témoignages de cette pratique en Italie. Cette analyse nous permet de réfléchir au rapport qui relie l’objet au donateur, en indiquant qu’il ne s’agit pas précisément de représentations tridimensionnelles de la figure humaine mais d’objets constitués physiquement par le lien votif et qui impliquent des interrogations complexes. Une réflexion de nature anthropologique s’est donc imposée en considérant non seulement le procédé qui préside à leur réalisation mais aussi leur utilisation rendue possible grâce à l’ambiguïté de la représentation et au concept de vraisemblance, qui imprègne la société européenne occidentale qui a élaboré une véritable culture du simulacre. Outre les effigies votives, ce travail prend également en compte les autres éléments qui composent le sanctuaire des Grâces : l’architecture scénographique qui accueille les sculptures, la décoration d’ex-voto en cire qui y sont accrochés, les inscriptions en rimes qui accompagnent les effigies, la fresque florale de la voûte. La portée de ce travail est de démontrer comment ce scénario votif présente une dimension qui dépasse la simple illustration du miracle. Ce dispositif nous oblige à réfléchir sur la dimension plurielle et dynamique propre aux images, qui concerne le rôle de la représentation dans les pratiques dévotionnelles de l’époque moderne (XVe-XVIIe siècles), la capacité que ces sculptures ont de susciter des réactions sur l’observateur et leur fonction à l’intérieur d’un réseau complexe de relations sociales et d’échanges symboliques qui renvoient à la famille Gonzague et à l’ordre franciscain qui gérait à l’époque le sanctuaire. / The purpose of my doctoral thesis is to advance understanding of the process of production of votive images through the study of a set of sculptures exposed in the Sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie, that is situated on the bank of the Mincio, some five miles west of Mantua. The extraordinary votive display that we can admire inside, is made up of fifty-three effigies representing the life-size donor, mostly dating from the sixteenth century and equipped with real accessories (clothing, ropes, devotional objects ...). These sculptures are placed into an architectural structure that is completely covered with wax anatomical ex-votos. The documents concerning the votive effigies have been linked with other rare sources of this practice in Italy. The fundamental aim is to show that these full-size sculptures has a conceptual dimension that overtakes the simple notion of offering. The devotional act in the Mantuan sanctuary consists in making the survivor recognisable through the realization of realistic images. In doing so, such act pose anthropological questions regarding the efficacy of this ritual and the effects that these sculptures arise in the devotional community. From a more interdisciplinary perspective, what became interesting was to understand the artistic discourses about resemblance and mimesis and about the meaning of pursuing this likeness to the devotee in the ex-voto ritual. This study is also based on several assumptions concerning the elements that compose the Madonna delle Grazie sanctuary: the scenographic architecture in which the sculptures are displayed, the wax decoration, the rhyming votive inscriptions of the effigies, the floral fresco of the vault. The pourpose of this work is to demonstrate how this "votive scenario" presents a dimension that goes beyond mere illustration of the miracle. This system forces us to reflect on the pluralistic and dynamic dimension of images. This dimension concerns the role of representation in the devotional practices of the modern period (15th-17th centuries), the ability of these sculptures to elicit reactions on the observer and their function within a complex network of social relations and symbolic exchanges which refer to the Gonzaga family, rulers of the city of Mantua, and the Franciscan friars that had the care of the sanctuary.

This thesis expands upon the notion that Thucydides’ plague narrative in his History of the Peloponnesian War punctuates his argument for the unique greatness of the Peloponnesian War. Through the plague, Thucydides displays the collapse of Greek society’s standards and practices. He does this by describing a plague which does not conform to 5th century BCE Greek medical ideas. Balance, human art, and divine intervention all fail in their attempts to restore the health of the individual and society. Thucydides portrays the plague as a narrative aggressor whose intent is to topple Athens and its ideals. Lucretius’ plague narrative, because it narrates the same historical moment but from a different perspective, is then discussed in order to demonstrate how other authors have used Thucydides’ technique.

For long the discipline of peace studies have investigated causes of war, rather than causes of peace, in an African context. In the northern peripheries of Somalia, a nation ravaged by civil war and conflict, two apparent peace zones have emerged following the complete state collapse of 1991: Somaliland and Puntland. The study explores whether or not these two realities of peace can be defined and characterised as Zones of Peace, or sanctuaries, amidst a civil war. Utilising the analytical tools of Zones of Peace – hitherto applied on conflictual contexts elsewhere but the Horn of Africa – this study suggests that both Somaliland and Puntland are, despite the territorial conflict between them, peace zones granting shelter from the civil war. Suggestively, peace has prevailed in both Puntland and Somaliland due to Somalia’s deteriorated situation, not in spite of it. The study concludes that in order to optimise research concerning Somaliland’s and Puntland’s peace(s), the framework of Zones of Peace can offer in-depth insights on local everyday milieus. The framework partially explains why these local peace(s) has lasted despite lacking external attention and allow for thorough comparison between two homogenous cases. Lastly, both Puntland’s and Somaliland’s inviolability and durability remain unchallenged and rigorous, possibly because of the civil war’s status quo, and since the international community’s foci on south- and central Somalia persists.

Central American leadership in the 1980s Philadelphia Sanctuary Movement was cultivated through long experiences with social injustice, along with deeply political religious sensibilities rooted in Latin American labor organizing and the base Christian community movement. While it is sometimes assumed that they carried with them only an undifferentiated past of victimization and violence, Central American sanctuary activists and collaborators brought refined community organizing skills, which they intentionally employed to expand solidarity and sanctuary coalitions across Northern America. This dissertation explores some of the ways in which displaced Central American human rights workers moved within this international, interreligious context to further their liberationist goals. In a religious environment steeped in long histories of racialized missionary intervention and human exploitation, Guatemalans and Salvadorans asserted a different vision of sanctuary not only concerned with personal safety, but also with the opportunity to educate the U.S. public while they transformed the practice of sanctuary from the inside out. Harnessing the resources of their own cultural and religious histories and experiences, Central American human rights workers gained access to certain critical segments of the human, social, and political capital of the Philadelphia region to advance the cause of their own survival and flourishing. / Religion

In designing an Audubon Society Building, I sought to explore procession and its properties in relation to architecture. A structure of hint, pause, and reveal is set up as a shared condition to control movement. This anticipation, movement through, and discovery of space contributes spatial drama to the procession. In addition to the drama created, a continuous dialogue with man is opened up by giving meaning and depth to each space. Their focus on the context of the natural surroundings, as a critical element in the procession, reinforces the educational purpose of the building by bringing man closer to nature. Together, the establishment of these complex moments and the architectural choreography comprise the dual components of architectural procession. / Master of Architecture

This paper seeks to understand policy in the City of New York which limits cooperation with federal authorities for purposes of immigration control. It does so by qualitatively analyzing a set of legal-administrative documents. The key, policy features are identified along with the interests and forces which shaped those features over time. An arsenal of supplemental, legal material as well as the findings of legal scholars are consulted for interpretation in hermeneutic fashion. Using a theoretical framework consisting of the structure of the legal system of the United States and it norms, plus certain immigration-related, national trends, this research concludes this policy is the legacy of an unbroken, bi-partisan lineage of administrations dating back to the 1980s – an evolving product of the tensions between the legal norms and the national trends. The policy reinforces sovereignty from the federal government, and it does so largely for purposes of constitutionality, administrative functionality and civil rights.

For nearly 40 years, Sister Karin and the nuns at Alsike Kloster have been giving sanctuary to refugees while also taking political, social and legal action to advocate for their rights. Every day they share their home with 60 men, women and children who are fleeing violence, persecution, looming threats and even death. Unlike many activists, the sisters of Alsike Kloster have turned spiritual activism into daily life. In this thesis, I immerse myself in the process of how the community of nuns and refugees do what they do. The purpose of this thesis is to paint an ethnographic portrait and open a window of understanding into the spiritual activism that this community lives as daily life. As I participate in this community of many faiths, many languages, and people from all over the world, I hope to gain an understanding of how they manage to share meals, chores, immigration hearings, birthday parties, fears, joys and sufferings with such cohesion and acceptance. Seeing how these sisters and refugees all live together gives me hope that we can all work for social change in our own small ways. Learning from these sisters how their faith translates into direct loving action for their neighbors from many countries gives me hope that something else is possible. Spiritual activism entails a worldview that resacralizes life which has implications for every aspect of our interconnected global world: not only religions, but also politics, economics, international relations, social awareness and our global responsibility for everything from climate justice to the refugee crisis.

In Northern Ireland, the Good Friday Agreement brought with it a great deal of attention and initiatives to construct and increase intergroup contact and shared spaces in an effort to reconcile divided nationalist/Catholic and unionist/Protestant communities. In the time following this peace agreement, the Belfast Giants ice hockey team was established, and in their 16 years as a team they have become one of the most attended spectator activities in Belfast, trending away from the tribalism, single-space, single-class, and single-gender dynamics of modern sport in Northern Ireland. This thesis research followed the supporters of the Belfast Giants throughout the 2015-2016 ice hockey season to better understand the encounters across historical divisions that are occurring in the Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) Arena. The research of this PhD thesis is directed by the concepts of social capital, intergroup contact, and civility. These concepts, when placed within the context of divided society, contribute to the thesis' guiding analytical framework, which offers thematic guideposts in areas of prejudice and anxiety, tolerance and trust, space and identity. Influenced by in-depth qualitative research that seeks to access local voices, this research takes the conceptual and analytical guidance into the stands of the SSE Arena. In this way, the unique 'side-by-side' methodology, which involved conducting interviews with the person in the seat to my left or right at Belfast Giants ice hockey games while immersing myself in the supporter community, emerged as not only a contribution to unearthing new voices in this oft-studied region, but also as an innovative contribution to qualitative methodological literatures. Beyond the methodological contribution, this thesis makes two further contributions to existing academic literatures on post-peace agreement relationships. The first of these is through the clear relationship between identity and space that are evident in its findings. Between the poles of conflict and reconciliation are the complex and simple interactions, which when placed in the SSE Arena at a Belfast Giants game illustrate the multi-layered and fluid nature of identity. The thesis finds the hockey arena is a space where a shared identity, 'the hockey family', materialises and includes nationalist and unionist populations. This shared identity is deeply connected to a physical place and activity that are situated outside the all-encompassing nature of division in present-day Belfast. However, within the unusual setting of an ice hockey arena in Northern Ireland there emerges ordinariness in encounter across historical cleavage, and from these mundane interactions comes the final contribution 'side-by-sidedness'. Influenced by supporters' willingness to sit side-by-side those on the opposite side of a historical division who they may not be willing to live beside, this theme is framed as a lightened encounter that challenges assumptions inherent in post-peace agreement settings. The research findings frame the SSE Arena as a site of sanctuary from polarised sectarian identities and activities, as well as a site of resistance from overarching peace agendas that push shared space and seek reconciliation. Side-by-sidedness exists in the everyday between these two poles. In highlighting this space between, this theme challenges the assumptions of 'face-to-faceness' that are inherent across the three concepts informing this thesis and through utilising notions of everyday peace and everyday division to include the relational, the spatial and the metaphorical, this thesis' meta-theme frames a new way of 'getting on with it' in the shadows of conflict.

Le moulage en terre cuite est un procédé de fabrication qui permet de reproduire mécaniquement des objets, à l’aide de matrices. Aussi, en tant que procédé technique, la coroplathie est un exemple de fabrication et de diffusion d’images en nombre.Ma recherche est centrée sur la construction d’une typologie des statuettes en terre cuite de l’époque hellénistique, et principalement celles qui datent des IIIe et IIe siècles av. n.è. en Italie.Celles-ci se caractérisent par un renouvellement iconographique des figurines génériques, sans attribut, dont les plus emblématiques sont les représentations de femmes drapées, appelées aussi « tanagréennes ». En effet, à partir du milieu du XIXe siècle, avec l’apparition sur le marché de l’art des figurines de Tanagra (vers 1870) et de Myrina (vers 1880), le sujet a commencé à attirer l’attention des amateurs d’antiquités puis des scientifiques. Longtemps collectionnées pour elles-mêmes, ces statuettes ont souvent été désolidarisées de leurs environnements archéologiques. En Italie, c’est en grande partie par des études rétrospectives des statuettes conservées dans les musées qu’on parvient aujourd’hui à reconstituer des assemblages et des contextes de découverte (votif ou funéraire). La documentation ayant servi de matière première à cette thèse est disparate. Elle est constituée de catalogues d’objets et de notices de sites éparses dans lesquelles les statuettes sont souvent sous-exploitées. C’est toute la difficulté de cette démarche : ces figurines en terre cuite, à la fois nombreuses, répétitives et souvent fragmentaires suscitent peu d’engouement ; la dynamique de recherche s’attardant davantage sur des lots d’objets mieux conservés ou identifiés. Dans un certain sens, mon travail tente de revaloriser le multiple tant du point de vue de l’artisanat que des usages de ces statuettes dans leurs matérialités religieuses.Le terrain d’enquête de cette étude est celui de l’Italie hellénistique, indépendamment des contextes culturels (italiques, grecs, étrusques, romains) dans lesquels l’historiographie a parfois eu tendance à enfermer la petite plastique en terre cuite. En dépit de leur nombre et de leur diversité, ou plus exactement en raison de ces facteurs, ces figurines restent assez mal connues.Dans ma démarche, j’ai tenté d’échapper aux classements iconographiques et techniques habituels. Ces types tanagréens, largement constitués de figurines féminines drapées mais aussi de quelques sujets mythologiques (Eros, Aphrodite, Athéna, Hermès…) qui par des jeux d’attributs superposés personnalisent ces figurines, ont été observés et analysés en fonction de leur forme et présentés selon une typologie morphologique. Celle-ci a été conçue dans la perspective de proposer une nouvelle grille de lecture et d’interprétation afin de construire des instruments de recherche mieux à même de s’adapter à ces objets dépourvus d’apparentes significations, enchevêtrés dans une sérialité des formes d’où émergent des singularités. La forme et ses variations sont au cœur du sujet, donnant lieu à des développements sur les principales échelles de production de ces figurines et sur l’interprétation des images qu’elles ont véhiculées en fonction de leur environnement topographique, historique et culturel. / Terracotta casting is a process of manufacturing that allows the mass production of objects with the help of molds. As a technical process, coroplasty is an example of mass production and diffusion of images.My research is focusing on building a typology for terracotta figurines of the Hellenistic era, more specifically the ones dating back to the 3rd and 2nd Centuries BC in Italy. These generic figurines, with no specific characteristics, feature a renewal in statuette iconography. The most emblematic ones usually represent women wrapped in veils, also called Tanagra figurines.Around the middle of the 19th century, with the apparition of figurines from Tanagra (circa 1870) and Myrina (circa 1880) on the art market, the statuettes began to catch the attention of connoisseurs, then scientists. Collected for themselves for a long time, these figurines have often been torn apart from their archeological environment. In Italy, thanks in great part to a retrospective study of the figurines preserved in museums, we are able to re-establish connections with groups and contexts of discoveries (votive or funerary figurines).The materials gathered for the documentation of this thesis are heterogeneous. It consists of artwork catalogues and notes from various sites where the figurines are often underexposed. The main complexity of this research follows thus: the terracotta figurines, both abundant and repetitive, often incomplete, arouse little enthusiasm; all the energy in research usually focuses mostly on the group of objects best preserved or identified. In a way, my work tries to reassert the value of numbers, as much from the point of view of handicraft as from the different religious functions of the figurines.Italy during the Hellenistic era is the field of investigation for this research, irrespective of cultural context (Italic, Greek, Etruscan or Roman) from which sometimes historiography has a tendency to confine small terracotta figures. Despite their number and variety, or rather because of them, these figurines remain largely ignored. My approach tries to break free from the usual iconographic typologies and technical classifications. I tried to observe and analyze the Tanagra figurines – mostly consisting of veiled feminine silhouettes, but also including some mythologicaltopics (Eros, Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes…) personalized through an array of superimposed attributes – taking into account their shape, and presenting them according to a morphological typology. This typology has been created in the prospect of offering a new frame of reference and interpretation, in order to build tools of research better fitted to these figurines, all lacking in apparent meaning, entangled in the serialization of its shapes, from which sometimes uniqueness emerge. The form and its variations are at the heart of the topic, leading to developments on main production scales, or on the interpretation of the images they conveyed depending on their topographical, historical and cultural environment.