abstract: Las personas públicas de mujeres fuertes mexicanas generalmente se definen como desafiantes y contrarias a los roles sociales generalmente aceptados de las mujeres sumisas. Dichas personas públicas exigen atención y buscan incluirse en la cultura popular. Sin embargo, cuando se analizan mediante los rubros de la teoría queer, se revelan arquetipos heternormativos. Esta tesis examina cronológicamente la obra de tres cronistas mexicanos de los siglos XX y XXI, Salvador Novo, Carlos Monsiváis y Sara Sefchovich, analizando su retrato de mujeres fuertes que ocupan sitios urbanos públicos en la Ciudad de México. Se investigan los efectos sociales elitistas de las imágenes públicas de mujeres fuertes, revelando restricciones patriarcales de mujeres en espacios públicos y construcciones subsecuentes de personas públicas como exóticas y cosificadas, asimismo facilitando interacciones con una sociedad sumamente masculinista y machista. La falta de agencialidad social real se revela cuando el patriarcado se reafirma, a pesar de la índole disconforme de las mujeres retratadas. Los constructos de familia y de masculinidad exigen la existencia tanto del padre y del esposo ausentes como del hipermacho y de la acompañante mujer sumisa limitada a sitios privados. El retrato de mujeres fuertes en la obra analizada desnaturaliza la imagen de domesticidad, señalando que las mujeres mexicanas salen del hogar para ocupar sitios públicos en la Ciudad de México. Como la normalización del constructo de familia se cuestiona, la teoría queer se utiliza en una manera innovadora para analizar dichos retratos de mujeres fuertes y agencialidad sociopolítica. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Spanish 2013

O cristianismo originário desenvolveu em seus seguidores um estilo de vida condizente às crenças escatológicas relacionadas à morte e à ressurreição de Cristo. Um estilo de vida resignado, asceta e destituído de qualquer interesse intramundana através do qual se justificava a crença de que o fim do mundo era iminente e que cada crente era chamado a viver segundo esta expectativa. Quinze séculos mais tarde, a Reforma protestante introduz, a partir do conceito de Berut, uma nova concepção de interação do crente com o mundo. A vocação passa a ser compreendida como atividades capitalistas, exercidas com base racional, exercidas como cumprimento da tarefa conforme a vontade de Deus. Sob esta perspectiva está fundada a ética protestante calvinista. A relação do crente calvinista com o mundo ganha um novo significado. A angústia pela confirmação de um indício da salvação leva o crente a desenvolver uma ética sustentada por duas virtudes: espírito de laboriosidade e rigor ascético. O trabalho passa a ser realizado pelo crente calvinista com o fim de acumular riqueza a fim de que através dela a confirmação do indício desejado. A aquisição material da riqueza como finalidade de vida marca de forma indelével a ética calvinista. Dois séculos depois inicia um movimento de inconformismo entre os pietistas que, insatisfeitos com a espiritualidade materialista do protestantismo calvinista, desenvolve uma sistema de crença que reinterpreta a doutrina da salvação e postula a “certeza emocional” como critério de confirmação da certeza da salvação. Esta consciência oriunda do pietismo gerou uma nova disposição religiosa no Movimento da Santidade que acabou favorecendo a formação do pentecostalismo nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil. O pentecostalismo surge como movimento de retorno às crenças escatológicas do cristianismo originário e, a partir delas, o sistema axiológico pentecostal desenvolve uma relação de distanciamento do mundo (santificação) que implica a mortificação da carne e a conservação de um estilo de vida intramundano destituído de interesse pelo progresso material. O pentecostalismo passa por três ondas, mas é o neopentecostalismo brasileiro que se apresenta como um movimento de ruptura com as duas primeiras ondas do pentecostalismo que o antecede. A Teologia da Prosperidade desenvolvida no neopentecostalismo incorpora o ideal de progresso oriundo da globalização, mas não apresenta nenhuma metafísica do sucesso. A prosperidade material passa a ser esperada de forma mágica, sem que o crente neopentecostal empregue qualquer esforço para obtê-la. O trabalho não é valorizado, nem o espírito de laboriosidade e nem o interesse pela qualificação técnica do trabalho profissional. A igreja Sara Nossa Terra nasce deste contexto neopentecostal, mas desenvolve um sistema axiológico que a diferencia dele. Ela desenvolve um sistema axiológico neoprotestante estruturado a partir de três componentes: uma metafísica do sucesso, uma espiritualidade do consumo e uma ética hedônica. A globalização é um fenômeno compreendido como revitalizador de crenças e valores protestantes calvinistas que são incorporadas pelo sistema axiológico da igreja Sara Nossa Terra e a torna uma legítima herdeira das crenças e valores fundamentais do protestantismo calvinista. A ética hedônica é um fator que a desfilia do cristianismo originário. Mas a metafísica do sucesso e a espiritualidade do consumo a refilia à genealogia protestante calvinista. O hedônico como ideal de vida plena torna o usufruto da riqueza como componente axiológico de novidade que justifica a utilização do prefixo “neo” do sistema axiológico neoprotestante da igreja Sara Nossa Terra. / The originary Christianity has developed in its followers a lifestyle matching to eschatological beliefs related to death and resurrection of Christ. A resigned, ascetic and devoid of any intramundane interest lifesytle through which justified the belief that the end of the world was imminent and that each believer was called to live according to this expectation. Fifteen centuries later, the Protestant Reformation introduces from the concept of “Berut”, a new conception of interaction between the believer with the world. The vocation becomes to be understood as capitalist activities, carried out with rational basis, as the fulfillment of the task according to the will of God. Under this perspective the calvinist protestant ethics is founded. The relationship of the calvinist believer with the world gains a new meaning. The anguish for confirming a sign of salvation leads the believer to develop an ethics supported by two virtues: spirit of laboriousness and ascetic rigor. The work becomes executed by calvinist believer in order to accumulate wealth so that through it the confirmation of the desired sign. The material acquisition of the wealth as the purpose of life marks indelibly the calvinist ethics. Two centuries later starts a movement of nonconformity among the pietist who dissatisfied with the materialistic spirituality of calvinist protestantism, develops a belief system that reinterprets the doctrine of salvation and posits the “emocional certainty”, as a criterion of confirmation of the certainty of salvation. This awareness arising out of pietism has generated a new religious disposition in the movement of holiness which ended up favoring the formation of pentecostalism in the United States and Brazil. The Pentecostalism arises as a movement of return to the eschathological beliefs of originary Christianity, and from them, the pentecostal axiological system develops a relationship of detachment from the world (sanctification) which implies the mortification of the flesh and the conservation of a intramundane lifestyle devoid of interest in the material progress. The pentecostalism goes through three waves, but it´s the brazilian neopentecostalism that presents itself as a movement of rupture with the two first waves of pentecostalism that procedes it. The prosperity theology developed in the neopentecostalism incorporates the ideal of progress arising from globalizaton, but it does not present no metaphysics of sucess. The material prosperity becomes expected in a magical way, without the pentecostal believer employ any effort to get it. The work is not valued, nor the spirit of laboriousness and the interest in the technical skill of a professsional work. The Sara Nossa Terra church is born from this neopentecostal context, but develops an axiological system that differentiates of it. It develops a structured neoprotestant axiological system from three components: a metaphysics of sucess, a spirituality of consumption, and a hedonic ethics. The globalization is a phenomenon understood as revitalizing of the protestant calvinist beliefs and values that are incorporated by the axiological system of Sara Nossa Terra church and becomes it a legitimate heir of the fundamental beliefs and values of calvinist protestantism. The hedonic ethics is a factor that disaffiliates it of the originary Christianity. But the metaphysics of sucess and the spirituality of consumption refill it to the calvinist protestant genealogy. The hedonic as ideal of life makes the enjoyment of wealth as axiological component of novelty that justifies the use of the prefix “neo” of neoprotestant axiological system of the Sara Nossa Terra church.

This thesis investigates representations of masculinities and the father figure in the Swedish painter Carl Larsson’s (1864-1919) self-portraits from 1895. The paintings are analysed through the concepts authority, a term closely connected to the father figure, and idyll, a term often used to describe Larsson’s art. Sara Ahmed’s theory to see beyond what is taken for granted, in Queer Phenomenology, is theoretical starting point for the thesis. The analytical method is adopted from Tamar Garb’s Bodies of Modernity. Figures and Flesh in Fin-de-Siécle France. The conclusion is that the masculinities in Larssons’s father figure are coherent with the paterfamilias in the late 1900s, consisting of the provider, the authority figure, and the husband/lover. Furthermore, that the idyll is constructed by those with the authority to construct it, and that the authority thereby is defined by the idyll it constructs. / Uppsatsen undersöker maskuliniteter genom bildanalyser av två självporträtt av Carl Larsson där han framställer sig som både far och konstnär. Bilderna har analyserats med hjälp av begreppen auktoritet, som traditionellt har varit sammankopplat med fadern, och idyll, som har blivit i det närmaste synonymt med Larssons konst. Sara Ahmeds queera fenomenologi har använts som teoretisk utgångspunkt för att undersöka det som kan ses som det förgivettaga, här formulerat som idyllen. Bildanalyserna har gjorts med utgångspunkt i Tamar Garbs metod för bildanalys i Bodies of Modernity. Figures and Flesh in Fin-de-Siécle France. Undersökningen visar att det i Larssons fadersgestalt går att utläsa samtliga aspekter av 1800-talets paterfamiliaskonstruktion, såsom den formuleras av Joseph A Kestner; familjeförsörjaren, auktoritetsfiguren och maken/älskaren. Undersökningen visar också att den idyllen konstrueras av den som har auktoritet att göra det och att auktoriteten därmed definieras av den idyll den konstruerar. Carl Larssons idyllkonstruktion är därigenom resultatet av ett utövande av den auktoritet han har i egenskap av man, make, far och konstnär.

L. T. Meade's Avaricious Anomaly: Madame Sara, British Imperialism, and Greedy Wolves in The Sorceress of the Strand. Laurie Langlois Denning, Department of English, BYU Master of Arts. Critics interested in the prolific late Victorian author L.T. Meade have primarily focused on her work as an author of girls' stories and novels for young people, which enjoyed fantastic commercial success in her lifetime but fell into obscurity after her death. Recent scholarship on her detective fiction shows Meade's significant contributions to the genre as well as her engagement with social and political discourse. Scholars have noted ways that Meade's popular series, The Sorceress of the Strand, contributes to the New Woman debate and expresses anxiety over the British imperial project. This project examines Meade's villain in the series as a social anomaly that functions to interrogate the greed at the heart of imperialism. Examining the series' conclusion and the unusual nature of its ending sheds new light on Meade's contribution to debate over empire at the fin de siécle. Meade's fascinating villain, Madame Sara, is doggedly pursued by two detective figures--one is considered the top forensic specialist in the British police force and the other is the head of a business fraud agency--but the detectives are never able to bring Madam Sara to justice. Instead, it is a wolf that finally defeats the brilliant criminal mastermind. Why a wolf? Madam Sara's unusual demise serves as a deus ex machina that invites the reader to consider the Dante symbolism embedded in the text. Other critics see Meade's ending as reinforcing the empire; however, given the Dante imagery that has Madam Sara symbolizing a greedy imperial force, Meade's series indicts imperial greed and warns British citizens about failure to apprehend the evil in empire.

In this essay, I go through the stories that are about Sara, or Saraj, from Genesis 11 through Genesis 23 with the goal of finding out what theology we can read from the character Sara. The central elements of the theology conveyed through Sarah are how God relates to Sarah and Sarahs role in the promise of a people and a land, the promise that Abraham receives in Genesis 12. Sarah has only lines in three stories; Genesis 16, 18 and 21 so these chapters form the basis of most of the study. Other stories where Sara is included will only be treated briefly. In Genesis 16, which is about the conflict with Hagar, I come to the conclusion that the story intends to answer the question why Abraham does not have children through another woman. Furthermore, I argue that Sara is the character who initiates the story and despite her hesitant actions is a positive character from God's perspective. In Genesis 18, which is about when Sarah meets God, she is at the center of the story and is portrayed as a person considered by God. In Genesis 21, Sara is both the character at the center of the story and the one who initiates the conflict in the second part of the story. Here, too, she is portrayed as a person considered by God. Common to all the stories is that the consequences of the stories always mean that Sara is the chosen one to give birth to the promised son. Furthermore, Sara is portrayed as a person with human reactions and feelings that God understands and takes into account. Through her, the promise of a people is fulfilled and the promise of a land also begins with her.

This essay examines the nature of Sara Lidmans novel Bära mistel by drawing on theories of Kate Soper and Greg Garrard. The analysis examines the culture surrounding the characters Linda Ståhl and Björn Ceder in relation to the nature of the north. It considers concepts such as the imminent presence of nature versus a distance to it, the idealization of nature, the connection between nature and God, and the problems that follow society’s way of looking at Norrland as wilderness. Simultaneously I analyze how nature and culture tend to overlap and thus one often becomes a product of the other.

Studien undersöker relationen mellan skapandet av arpilleras och erfarenheten av exil utifrån konstnären Cecilia Valdés och den politiska och konstnärliga organisationen Salvador Allende-kommitténs ateljé. I relation till exil behandlar frågeställningarna följande ämnen: motivval, skapandets syfte för individen i exil och exilens påverkan på den skapande erfarenheten. I uppsatsens inledning presenteras undersökningens syfte och frågeställningar, centrala teoretiska perspektiv och metod. Sedan introduceras material och tidigare forskning, följt av en beskrivning av uppsatsens disposition. Uppsatsens undersökande del består av två kapitel vilka behandlar centrala motiv och känslotillstånd i ateljéns verksamhet. Undersökningen avrundas med en avslutande diskussion samt förslag på framtida forskning. Utifrån Sara Ahmeds affektteori, Edward W. Saids begrepp kontrapunktiskt perspektiv, Wendy Browns teori om samtida politiserade identiteter och sårade anknytningar och semiotisk bildanalys, har följande slutsatser nåtts: Den traditionella symboliken inom arpilleras skiftade i innebörd genom erfarenheten av exil. Ateljéns kollektiva verksamhet omvandlade exilen till en emanciperande erfarenhet snarare än att grunda den i förbittring. Slutligen skiljer sig anledningarna till ateljéns grundande från motiven bakom liknande verksamheter i Chile under militärdiktaturen.

Studien undersöker relationen mellan skapandet av arpilleras och erfarenheten av exil utifrån konstnären Cecilia Valdés och den politiska och konstnärliga organisationen Salvador Allende-kommitténs ateljé. I relation till exil behandlar frågeställningarna följande ämnen: mottival, skapandets syfte för individen i exil och exilens påverkan på den skapande erfarenheten. I uppsatsens inledning presenteras undersökningens syfte och frågeställningar, centrala teoretiska perspektiv och metod. Sedan introduceras material och tidigare forskning, följt av en beskrivning av uppsatsens disposition. Uppsatsens undersökande del består av två kapitel vilka behandlar centrala motiv och känslotillstånd i ateljéns verksamhet. Undersökningen avrundas med en avslutande diskussion samt förslag på framtida forskning. Utifrån Sara Ahmeds affektteori, Edward W. Saids begrepp kontrapunktiskt perspektiv, Wendy Browns teori om samtida politiserade identiteter och sårade anknytningar och semiotisk bildanalys, har följande slutsatser nåtts: Den traditionella symboliken inom arpilleras skiftade i innebörd genom erfarenheten av exil. Ateljéns kollektiva verksamhet omvandlade exilen till en emanciperande erfarenhet snarare än att grunda den i förbittring. Slutligen skiljer sig anledningarna till ateljéns grundande från motiven bakom liknande verksamheter i Chile under militärdiktaturen.

Agriculture is the backbone of the Haitian economy and provides employment 80% employment to the Haitian population (Lundahl, 1992). Also 85% of people in rural areas generate money from agricultural activities (IFAD, 2008). In the rural areas, men and women participate in agricultural production. However, the women play a vital role in the whole process starting from land preparation to crop sale (Gaspard, 2013). The Haitian women, despite of their function in crop productions (Dor, 2016), face different health issues, which have influence over Haitian agricultural system. Therefore, the research purposed was to investigate the impact of women heath issues on agricultural production Fondwa. A qualitative case study was used to investigate ten women farmers in the community of Fondwa, which is a small farming area in southwest part of Haiti. An interview questionnaire was used for data collection. Findings of the study showed that the women's contribution to farming is vital for promoting agricultural production, and they face different health issues that are linked to the environment and water pollution. Lastly, the women health problems influence agricultural production in the Fondwa area by preventing them from doing their daily agricultural activities, which have a direct impact over family and country's income. / MSLFS / Fondwa is a small mountainous community village in the Southwest department of Haiti with a population of approximately 10,000 people. Corn, beans, and vegetables are the dominant crops in the area of Fondwa. In Fondwa, women play an important role in crop production and agricultural sale. However, these women, despite of their role in farming, face many health issues due to the lack of health infrastructure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of women’s health issues on agricultural production in Fondwa. For this study, a sample of ten women from nine areas were selected for this study and these participants live in Fondwa. A qualitative method was used to conduct the research and interview questionnaire was used to gather information from the participants. The interview process was done via Skype meetings with the women. Results of the study showed that the 1) Fondwa women farmers play an important role in crop production in the community of Fondwa because they plant, harvest, and sale crops, which helps take care of their family. 2) The women have difficulty to receive healthcare service due to infrastructure problems in the community. 3) The women’s health issues are related to water and environmental issues. 4) The agricultural production in Fondwa will slow down without the women’s presence. The participants showed passion and dedication for agriculture despite of their health problems.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This is a study about the inner workings of an illuminated poem – about the dialogue that develops between poetry and illustration when they encounter each other on the page. However, the illuminated poem is more than just a relation between words and images, it is also a composite art in its own right. This study explores the dynamic of this particular type of imagetext by firstly claiming that the illuminated poem embodies a moment of indiscipline and secondly, by positing that illustration should contribute to this pairing by acting as a manifestation of illumination, instead of posturing as merely ‘illustrative’ or decorative. The inherent indisciplinarity of the illuminated poem as an imagetext is dissected – it is simultaneously two independent art forms and an integrated one; it can therefore be seen as both an interdisciplinary concern and a new art form. The illuminated poem as a visual art blurs the boundaries between words and images, upending the traditional, rigid boundaries of image-­‐text discourse. Additionally, a meandering narrative is set in motion when poetry and illustration engage in an illuminated poem – a slower, involved, cross-­‐pollinating reading that results in the activation of a reader’s imagination. The idea of Illumination is thus examined as both an orchestrated, visual choice and an active, conjuring process. Various strategies of illumination – with which illustration can open up a poem to new conceptual and narrative possibilities – are also discussed. These theories of interplay and interaction are then applied to an analysis of And all men kill the thing they love, an illuminated poem by Sara Fanelli and Oscar Wilde, revealing some of the ways in which illustration and poetry act as co-­‐conspirators and collaborators when they engage in a moment of indiscipline. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie is ‘n ondersoekende studie na die dieperliggende werking van ‘n “illuminated” gedig. Die studie fokus op die dialoog wat ontstaan wanneer ‘n gedig en illustrasies mekaar op papier ontmoet. Die “illuminated” gedig is egter soveel meer as net die saamgestelde som van woord en beeld – dit is ook ‘n verstrengelde nuwe kunswerk in eie reg. Hierdie studie verken die dinamiek van dié besondere soort beeldteks deur, eerstens, te verklaar dat “illumination” ‘n moment van ongedissiplineerdheid behels en, tweedens, deur te verwag dat die illustrasies bydra tot hierdie verhoudingsdinamika deur ‘n manifestasie van “illumination”, pleks van net ‘illustrerend’ of dekoratief, te wees. Die inherente ongedissiplineerdheid van die “open-­‐ended” gedig as beeldteks word ondersoek – dit vorm tegelykertyd twee onafhanklike kunsvorms en ‘n geïntegreerde geheel; dit kan dus beskou word as beide ‘n interdissiplinêre kunswerk en ‘n nuwe kunsvorm. Die ‘mengsel’-­‐gedig as visuele kunsvorm oorskry die bekende grense tussen woorde en beelde en gooi alle rigiede, streng-­‐tradisionele riglyne van die beeldteks-­‐geding omver. Die verhaaltrant volg kronkelpaaie wanneer digkuns en illustrasie slaags raak op papier of meedoen aan die “open-­‐ended” gedig – ‘n stadiger, meer betrokke, kruisbestuiwende leestempo word afgedwing, wat sodoende die leser se verbeelding aktiveer. Die idee van “illumination” word dus ondersoek as beide ‘n georkestreerde, visuele keuse en ‘n meelewende (verwonderings)proses. Verskeie verhelderings-­‐ moontlikhede – waardeur illustrasie ‘n gedig kan ontsluit om nuwe konseptuele en vertellingsmoontlikhede te ontgin – word ook bespreek. Hierdie teoretiese benadering van ‘n heen-­‐en-­‐weer-­‐spel se wisselwerkende interaksie word dan toegepas op ‘n analise van And all men kill the thing they love, ‘n “illuminated” gedig deur Sara Fanelli en Oscar Wilde. Verskeie wyses waarop illustrasie en digkuns as samesweerders en samewerkers kan optree wanneer hulle hulself in ‘n oomblik van ongedissiplineerdheid bevind, word aangetoon.