This thesis is a study of the boria, a popular form of Malay theatrical entertainment. In it I attempt to distinguish significant elements in the boria and analyse them in the context of modern Malaysia. Central to the study is a description and analysis of the boria as a drama form today, with particular concentration on characters, stories, songs and music, together with the mechanics of performance. An attempt is made by considering the themes, performers and audience, to investigate boria in the society where it is best developed, that is, in the Malay society of Penang. This involves setting the boria in its historical, political and socio-cultural context. It further requires placing it in the wider perspectives of Malaysian national policies for cultural development and the scholarly study of the performing arts of South-East Asia.

The field covered contains the major phases of British socialist theatre between 1930 and 1979. It focuses on the issues raised by the concept of socialist theatre, such as those of class, politics and dramatic form, in order to discuss the relationships between agendas of political tasks, the development of suitable forms for their dramatic expression, and the nature of the audiences which have been attracted. The discussion draws on a range of contemporary sources which include unpublished scripts and other material, together with oral evidence from some practitioners. The historical episodes covered begin with the career of the Workers' Theatre Movement and its successors the Unity Theatres and the Left Book Club Theatre Guild in the 1930s. It then examines how this was continued during the Second World War; and how it was affected by the political and other circumstances of the immediate post-war years. Finally it deals with the revival of socialist theatre in Britain during the 19705. The thesis is intended to contribute to the understanding of the relations between theatre, politics and the labour movement by means of an historical perspective on concrete examples. It examines the extent to which the different examples achieved the objectives they set themselves, and in so doing discusses the circumstances which have made successful socialist theatre possible in Britain during this period.

This thesis is about transnational Turkish football communities and how they come to be imagined through internet technologies. The research is based on an ethnography of one particular group of Turkish football fans in Europe. The team is Beşiktaş, one of Turkey's top teams, and the fans make up Çarşi Berlin, their largest supporters' club in Europe. Founded in 2003 in Berlin, the group has grown to consist of 600 members, with branches from London to Switzerland. The thesis explores the internet and its effects at a specific historic juncture on the fashioning of Çarşi Berlin. I approach the topic via three routes, namely, the effects of internet technologies on: football fandom; the spaces in which it occurs; and the cultural forms and practices by which it is instantiated. In the process I contribute to current scholarly debates across sub-disciplines both within and outside anthropology: those of sport and globalisation, enchantment, publics, personhood and the imagination. I argue that football communities are increasingly imagined in ways that are distracted, ephemeral and playful and that, contrary to common conceptions, fun, affect-laden imaginings can have the power to alter conceptions of concepts such as the nation or family. In the process, I contribute greater appreciation of the experience of being a diasporan football fan and its salience for broader understandings of how we imagine belonging in the twenty-first century.

The childlike character of ideal femininities has long been critiqued in feminist literature, from Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) to Susan Faludi (1992). Yet, despite the partial gains of feminism the ‘woman-child’ continues to be a prominent subject-position in fashion photography of the West. This thesis builds upon earlier feminist critiques of the infantilisation of women by considering the meaning of childlike femininities in the period spanning 1990 to 2015. In particular, it questions whether representations of childlike femininities can shed their dehumanising, ‘second sex’ connotations and be resignified to a more progressive end in the contemporary context. The possible appeal of ‘girly’ subject-positions to women, following several waves of feminism, is explored through reception studies carried out with female participants in focus groups, as well as theory on the ‘female gaze’. Images were principally drawn from three British fashion magazines: Vogue (UK), i-D, and Lula. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, this thesis demonstrates the ways in which discourses on childhood, girlhood and womanhood overlap and intersect to produce the figure of the ‘woman-child’ in the fashion media and beyond. This subject-position is shown not to be singular but rather as appearing in a number of guises. The many permutations of childlike femininity are subsumed into four overarching categories: the Romantic woman-child; the femme-enfant-fatale; Lolita style; and the Parodic woman-child. This thesis thereby contributes to existing debates in fashion studies by considering in greater detail the different discourses on childhood and femininity that come into play when women are positioned as childlike. A multi-faceted visual methodology is employed, combining visual analysis of imagery with experimental reception studies. Reception studies were conducted in focus groups with female participants and provide insight into the way these women made sense of the ‘woman-child’. In addition, they provide an indication as to whether the participants liked or disliked childlike femininities in the fashion media, thus pointing to the possible investments women might have in childlike subject-positions. Finally, including an element of social research served to challenge and/or reinforce the researcher’s own readings of the imagery, pointing to new avenues of research and expanding the discursive field of enquiry. This aspect of the thesis makes a methodological contribution to literature on the reception of still media imagery in fashion studies, magazine studies and feminist media studies.

Il blog ha compiuto un percorso di rapido sviluppo, diventando spesso nei discorsi sociali l'emblema di un modo di intendere la rete che ha preso oggi l'etichetta di “Web 2.0”. La sua diffusione non è solo l'esito di una particolare configurazione tecnologica, ma anche di un intreccio di dinamiche economiche, sociali e culturali che hanno mutato la loro forma nel tempo. Lo scopo del presente lavoro è quello di seguire la traiettoria di questo sviluppo, individuandone gli snodi critici attraverso gli strumenti concettuali forniti dal paradigma del Social Shaping of Technology applicato, in questo caso, ad un oggetto che combina la duplice natura di artefatto culturale e strumento di Comunicazione Mediata da Computer. A questo scopo si è, in primo luogo, ricostruita l'evoluzione storica del blog, rileggendola poi alla luce delle quattro dimensioni istituzionale, economica, tecnologica e culturale, da cui è emersa la centralità della figura dell'autore del blog. Su questa base si è articolato un percorso di ricerca sul campo, condotto con una metodologia qualitativa e multi-situata, al fine di evidenziare le dinamiche di appropriazione microsociale del blog, in cui sono stati individuati gli aspetti cruciali del suo modellamento sociale. / Weblogs developed very rapidly during the last years, by often becoming the symbol of the recognition of the Web as “Web 2.0” in the social discourses. Not only is its diffusion the outcome of a particular technological configuration, but also of a network of economical, social, cultural factors that have changed their shape in the course of time. The goal of this research is to follow the path of this development through the conceptual frame provided by the Social Shaping of Technology applied, in this case, to an object that is both an artefact and a form of Computer Mediated Communication. Firstly, to the purpose, the historical evolution of blog has been reconstructed; then, the trend of the institutional, economical, technological, cultural dimensions has been outlined whereas the author's central role in blog's dynamics emerged. On this basis a field research was carried out and accomplished with a qualitative, multi-sited methodology, in order to highlight the microsocial blog processes of appropriation, in which the main aspects of social shaping has been identified.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1983. / Thesis statement with abstract and errata slip inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-240).

Exploration empirique et théorique des diverses contraintes sociales agissant sur la pratique de la critique musicale dans les médias montréalais en contexte de compétition marchande. Pour ce faire, une enquête sociologique qualitative fut menée auprès d’un échantillon de dix animateurs et journalistes musicaux de Montréal. L’auteur développe une théorie selon laquelle critiquer esthétiquement consiste à trier et à choisir en fonction du goût au moyen d’un concept appelé « dynamique EGC », soit le processus par lequel les expériences esthétiques sont filtrées par le goût, qui commande une réponse actée sous forme de critique d’art. Sa recherche s’intéresse d’abord aux impératifs (obstacles) du métier d’animateur et de journaliste musical et montre que c’est la compétition marchande qui prédomine dans un tel travail parce qu’elle surplombe tout le reste. Le mémoire s’attarde ensuite à étudier les déterminismes sociaux poussant certains individus à vouloir pratiquer ce métier. Il est montré que les déterminismes particuliers incitant à la pratique du métier d’animateur musical ne sont pas les mêmes que ceux incitant à la pratique du journalisme musical. Les animateurs sont des « conservateurs esthétiques » qui aiment constamment partager implicitement leur passion, tandis que les journalistes sont des « progressistes esthétiques » préférant donner leur avis explicitement lorsque nécessaire, mais pas nécessairement tout le temps. Dans tous les cas, animateurs et journalistes musicaux sont à comprendre comme des « militants esthétiques », des gens qui tentent de convaincre en même temps qu’ils tentent d’acquérir de la notoriété critique. / Empirical and theoretical exploration of the constraints acting on the professionnal practice of music criticism in the Montreal’s media industry and in the context of market competition. To do so, the author conducted a qualitative sociological fieldwork with a sample of ten musical hosts and journalists from Montreal. The author develops a theory that to criticize is to sort and to select according to taste using a concept called the “ETC dynamic“. In this process, aesthetic experiences are filtered by taste, which produces answers that become art critiques. The study begins by exploring the way the market economy shapes the media culture and influences the journalistic critical work. Then the author studies the social factors that drive some people to speak about music in the media as music hosts and journalists. It is shown that the factors inciting the practice of musical hosting are not the same as the factors inciting the practice of musical journalism. Musical hosts are “asthetic conservatives” who constantly like to share their passion, while musical journalists are « aesthetic progressive » who prefer to give their opinion explicitly when necessary but not all the time. In all cases, musical hosts and journalists are to be understood as « aesthetic militants »: people who try to convince as well as acquire critical prestige and authority.