This dissertation conducts a genealogy of freedom of the seas discourse in United States foreign policy in order to problematize the contemporary representation lying at the heart of American political-military strategy in the Western Pacific. This project aims to accomplish two goals. First, this project aims to show that freedom of the seas is not an enduring historical principle consistently championed by the United States, as is often claimed in contemporary governmental publications. Rather, it shows that the current understanding is a recent phenomenon that emerged after the Second World War. By highlighting the contingency of the contemporary understanding of freedom of the seas, this work seeks to show that such discourse is not a necessary foundation on which to place American political-military strategy. The second objective of this genealogical analysis is to show that the contemporary freedom of the seas discourse in U.S. foreign policy is not an altruistic principle championed on behalf of the global community, but rather facilitates American control over the global ocean space. By showing that freedom of the seas is a mechanism of sea control, this work aims to show that in an era of maritime great power competition, strategies predicated upon the discourse are more dangerous than would otherwise appear. Together, this genealogical analysis, and the two goals that are made possible by it, will make a substantive contribution to the critical strategic studies literature, in conjunction with the wider critical security studies literature, by showing that American political-military strategy in the South China Sea can and should be reconceptualized. / Doctor of Philosophy / Currently, the United States is locked in a fierce competition with China in the South China Sea. The United States believes that Chinese actions in the region, such as claiming large swaths of maritime territory, constructing militarized artificial islands, and deploying weaponry designed to endanger American forces operating in the region, violates the principle of freedom of the seas. The United States asserts that it has consistently championed the principle freedom of the seas because it is the essential foundation of international peace and prosperity. Due to this, the U.S. claims that it will continue to defend the principle of freedom of the seas against Chinese depredations. However, this dissertation argues that the United States' political-military strategy in the Western Pacific is misrepresenting the concept of freedom of the seas and therefore failing to see the dangers at stake in the regional confrontation. To show this, this work writes a history of how the concept of freedom of the seas has been used in U.S. foreign policy over the course of American history. Such a history shows that the concept of freedom of the seas has not been consistently championed by the United States and is not an altruistic principle defended on behalf of international peace and prosperity. Instead, this project shows that the concept of freedom of the seas is used by the United States to facilitate control over the world's oceans on behalf of U.S. interests. It is problematic to portray the pursuit of American national interests as a universal altruistic good because it does not leave room open for compromise. In a time where China is rapidly developing their military forces to control sea themselves, basing American political-military strategy on the concept of freedom of the seas is increasingly dangerous.

This thesis evaluates metafictional self-reflexivity, and presents it within the scope of certain structuralist and post-structuralist approaches especially by referring to William Gass&rsquo / definition of metafiction and Raymond Federman&rsquo / s theories on the devices of metafiction. Then aspects of the works of William Gass&rsquo / Willie Master&rsquo / s Lonesome Wife and Laurence Sterne&rsquo / s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy are discussed within this framework.

Ce travail tente de prendre la mesure de certaines des évolutions les plus significatives qui, sous le nom de «post-structuralisme», ont pu affecter la philosophie et la culture contemporaine dans son ensemble. Pour surmonter les difficultés liées à la trop grande généralité de la dénomination, on a choisi de privilégier des lectures suivies d'oeuvres de Deleuze, Derrida et Lyotard, qui servent de fil directeur tout au long de l'étude. Non que nous pensions que ces auteurs suffisent à résumer entièrement le mouvement de pensée dans lequel ils s'inscrivent. Mais ils présentent du moins l'avantage de le traverser très largement, et d'en avoir réfléchi la plupart des composantes. Suivre leurs trajectoires permet donc aussi de revenir sur ces composantes, de la réception post-phénoménologique du structuralisme «méthodologique» aux principaux travaux philosophiques qui en assument un certain héritage (particulièrement dans les oeuvres d'Althusser, Foucault et Lacan), et jusqu'aux gestes de démarcations par lesquels Deleuze, Derrida et Lyotard eux-mêmes en viennent à déterminer ce qu'on pourrait appeler l'originalité «supplémentaire» de leurs orientations. Dans la mesure où ce mouvement de pensée est communément caractérisé comme «français», ce travail tente aussi de rendre compte de la situation d'échanges philosophiques internationaux dans laquelle il s'élabore, et de la position singulière qu'il y occupe, qui conduit souvent à souligner son potentiel critique, sur les terrains de l'art, des moeurs ou de la politique. / This work tries to report and estimate some of the most significant evolutions that, under the name of «post-structuralism», have affected contemporary philosophy and culture. But, as the «post-structuralist» appellation seems obviously too general, Deleuze's, Derrida's ans Lyotard's texts are actually, all along this work, more specifically studied. Those texts don't indeed sum up by themselves the whole cultural mouvement. But they widely pass through it, and reflect on most of its components.Consequently, following their trajectories can be a way to come back to those components, from the post-phenomenological receipt of «methodological structuralism», to the most important philosophical works that assume a portion of its inheritance (especially Althusser, Foucault and Lacan), up to the assertion of Deleuze's, Derrida's and Lyotard's own originalities. As this mouvement is frequently said «french», this work also tries to report the international cultural and philosophical context in which it spreads out, and the particular position that it holds. This can lead to underline and estimate the value of its critical dimensions, in the spheres of art, morals or politics.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In Vonnegut's second novel, the author sets up distinct character-based binaries that represent methods of looking for meaning in the universe. This paper attempts to show that outward-focused searches for purpose, i.e. those that are directed toward a "higher power," bring only division and harm into the world. As the novel's characters operate within their assigned binaries, most of them are able to abandon their nocuous philosophies in favor of an inward-focused search for meaning, which allows them to embrace a radically humbled humanistic perspective that places equal importance upon all creatures.

The current vast sociocultural shift from Modernism to PostModernism forms the backdrop to this study. Whenever paradigm shifts occur, the metaphors which depict human experience and identity also change. The mechanistic metaphors of Modernism are giving way to metaphors derived from art and literature, in particular narrative theory. Self, as one of the most pivotal notions in philosophy, literature, and psychology, should not be excluded from this process of reconceptualisation. As the point of intersection between the personal and the cultural, the notion of Self now needs to bereformulated to become more coherent with Post-Modernist ideas. Within this framework the Modernist notion of a Self which is unified, substantial, and stable across all contexts, is deconstructed in this study to reveal the linguistic and ideological codes and conventions which are used in its construction. It is proposed that the Self can be viewed as embedded in relationship with others and as inscribed by the prevailing cultural ideologies regarding personhood. As such the Self can be regarded as held together reflexively by narrative codes and conventions. These ideas are demonstrated in an analysis of two written self-narratives and applied to the conventions and practices in psychotherapy. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The current vast sociocultural shift from Modernism to PostModernism forms the backdrop to this study. Whenever paradigm shifts occur, the metaphors which depict human experience and identity also change. The mechanistic metaphors of Modernism are giving way to metaphors derived from art and literature, in particular narrative theory. Self, as one of the most pivotal notions in philosophy, literature, and psychology, should not be excluded from this process of reconceptualisation. As the point of intersection between the personal and the cultural, the notion of Self now needs to bereformulated to become more coherent with Post-Modernist ideas. Within this framework the Modernist notion of a Self which is unified, substantial, and stable across all contexts, is deconstructed in this study to reveal the linguistic and ideological codes and conventions which are used in its construction. It is proposed that the Self can be viewed as embedded in relationship with others and as inscribed by the prevailing cultural ideologies regarding personhood. As such the Self can be regarded as held together reflexively by narrative codes and conventions. These ideas are demonstrated in an analysis of two written self-narratives and applied to the conventions and practices in psychotherapy. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This study examines the ways in which museums and memorials within South African society commemorate events of the past. Various examples of museums and memorials are chosen and identified according to the ways in which they embody postmodern or modern thought. Postmodern and modern museums are deconstructed according to various post-structural tenets so as to arrive at a broader understanding on how they are able to remain a continuously relevant and vital part of contemporary society. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Art History)

This research project explores the creative and critical functions of editing in art, film and writing. The written component analyses the histories and discourses of 'cutting and splicing' to examine their various roles in processes of signification. The artistic practice uses more speculative and open-ended methods to explore the social 'languages' that inform our inter-subjective experiences. This project argues that editing is a creative methodology for making meaning, because it allows existing symbolic systems to be appropriated, revised and rewritten. By emphasising the operations of spacing, questioning and play, it also identifies editing as an essential tool for critically engaging with the potentials of art and theory.

This study examines the ways in which museums and memorials within South African society commemorate events of the past. Various examples of museums and memorials are chosen and identified according to the ways in which they embody postmodern or modern thought. Postmodern and modern museums are deconstructed according to various post-structural tenets so as to arrive at a broader understanding on how they are able to remain a continuously relevant and vital part of contemporary society. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Art History)

The central question of this thesis is: what is mathematics about? The answer arrived at by the thesis is an unsettling and unsatisfying one. By examining two of the most promising contemporary accounts of the nature of mathematics, I conclude that neither is as yet capable of giving us a conclusive answer to our question. The conclusion is arrived at by a combination of historical and conceptual analysis. It begins with the historical fact that, since the middle of the nineteenth century, mathematics has undergone a radical transformation. This transformation occurred in most branches of mathematics, but was perhaps most apparent in geometry. Earlier images of geometry understood it as the science of space. In the wake of the emergence of multiple distinct geometries and the realization that non-Euclidean geometries might lay claim to the description of physical space, the old picture of Euclidean geometry as the sole correct description of physical space was no longer tenable. The first chapter of the dissertation provides an historical account of some of the forces which led to the destabilization of the traditional picture of geometry. The second chapter examines the debate between Gottlob Frege and David Hilbert regarding the nature of geometry and axiomatics, ending with an argument suggesting that Hilbert’s views are ultimately unsatisfying. The third chapter continues to probe the work of Frege and, again, finds his explanations of the nature of mathematics troublingly unsatisfying. The end result of the first three chapters is that the Frege-Hilbert debate leaves us with an impasse: the traditional understanding of mathematics cannot hold, but neither can the two most promising modern accounts. The fourth and final chapter of the thesis investigates mathematical structuralism—a more recent development in the philosophy of mathematics—in order to see whether it can move us beyond the impasse of the Frege-Hilbert debate. Ultimately, it is argued that the contemporary debate between ‘assertoric’ structuralists and ‘algebraic’ structuralists recapitulates a form of the Frege-Hilbert impasse. The ultimate claim of the thesis, then, is that neither of the two most promising contemporary accounts can offer us a satisfying philosophical answer to the question ‘what is mathematics about?’.