Communicating the Gospel and Culture to the younger Vietnamese American generations comes with many challenges. There seem to be many Vietnamese parents living in the United States who are concerned with their children losing their distinctive family cultural characteristics while living in another culture. The younger generation themselves find it hard to adapt to the American and Vietnamese cultures where they are living here. How can these young generations adapt to their new culture and not lose some of their distinctive family cultural and Christian religious roots to balance their lives? How can we help to communicate the Gospel and the culture to the young generation of Vietnamese Americans who need to discern what can support and enrich their lives in living in both cultures, Vietnamese and America? This thesis holds that it is important to maintain the Vietnamese culture which defines their identity and expresses who they are but also make use of the divine opportunity to learn the values and the beauty of the American culture. Cultural adaptation helps balance the values of both cultures and enrich knowledge about living within a diverse world. The thesis further proposes that using Vietnamese Christianity as their asset, young Vietnamese Americans are capable of this cultural adaptation. The Church have to put a gospel presentation strategy in place, follow a seven step pastoral strategy plan, and establish less costly centers which will be devoted to training Vietnamese men and women as spiritual directors and religious educators to aid the priests in ministering to the young generation. Parents need to understand the dual cultures of these young people and accompany the young generation mindful of their duality and the centrality of the gospel values. The younger generation of Vietnamese Americans have to open themselves not only to the two cultures but above all to the Gospel message of Christ. Their openness to divine guidance and endowments, in addition to the worthy human direction and church guidance coupled with good structures and programs will produce fruitful integration.

Systemic thought has been utilized to deconstruct various works of literature and art, such as novels, plays, and even sculptures. Even though the Bible is viewed as a work of faith by many, it also combines aspects of mythology and history with prose and poetry. Using four major theories of family therapy, namely structural, contextual, Bowenian, and narrative, the family of King David, as presented in the first and second Books of Samuel and the beginning of the first Book of Kings, is investigated and explored. Using the King James Version of the Bible as the main text, consideration is given to what each theory has to offer in expalining what occurs throughout this narrative, as well as what the David story has to say about each theory. Confirmation of certain aspects of a given theory and possible refinements to these are also given consideration. Reflexivity on the part of the author is also given consideration in the final chapter. / Ph. D.

The narratives of abolitionist thinkers Frederick Douglass - My Bondage and My Freedom - and Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - both include instances of the authors engaging in resistance against their slaveholders that do not free them from slavery. I begin with these narratives of resistance and make the interpretive claim that both Douglass and Jacobs took themselves to be free in their acts of resistance even though they were still in conditions we would not associate with freedom. In doing so, I determine that Douglass takes himself to be free because he is able to regain an internal sense of self-respect. Differently, I argue that Jacobs takes herself to be free because she is able to exert control over her material circumstances by identifying and pursuing her goal of sexual and reproductive autonomy to the best of her ability. This difference in understanding of freedom is surprising since Douglass and Jacobs find themselves in similar situations. I proceed by addressing this surprise and making the claim that the form of freedom Jacobs found in resistance is preferable to the form of freedom found by Douglass. In order to make this claim, I draw on Isaiah Berlin's discussion of freedom in "Two Concepts of Liberty" and find that Douglass achieves a form of freedom that isolates himself from his external desires whereas Jacobs does not. Jacobs' act of resistance is tightly connected to her desires. I demonstrate that connection to desires in resistance is important because it allows an agent to develop a sense of practical agency which allows them to adapt to future circumstances. Jacobs' understanding of freedom is ultimately preferable because it tells us what it is like to find freedom in our immediate circumstances through persistence. / Master of Arts / It might seem unusual to think of ourselves as being free when we are in circumstances where we are clearly dominated, interfered with, and unable to act according to our will. However, in this paper I argue that this occurs in the narratives of abolitionist thinkers Frederick Douglass - My Bondage and My Freedom - and Harriet Jacobs - Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. This paper is - in part - an attempt to understand what Douglass and Jacobs could possibly mean when they say they are free even though they are not in conditions we would typically associate with freedom. I proceed by demonstrating that Douglass finds freedom because he is able to regain his sense of internal self-respect while isolating himself from the consequences of his act of resistance. Jacobs finds freedom in a different way. To Jacobs, freedom means exerting control over her conditions in a way that brings her material circumstances closer to what she desires - even if the result is imperfect. This difference in the meanings of freedom is surprising because it highlights just how rich and complicated freedom found in resistance is. After establishing this, I then transition to addressing if one form of freedom is preferable to another. I argue that the form of freedom Jacobs found in resistance is preferable to the form of freedom found by Douglass. I draw on the literature to demonstrate that the form of freedom found by Douglass is internal, individual, and achieved by Douglass giving up the things he desires. Differently, Jacobs' act of resistance is tightly connected to the things she desires. I demonstrate that connection to desires in resistance is important because it allows an agent to develop a sense of practical agency which is a quality that allows them to adapt their actions to future circumstances by taking both their desires and conditions into account. Jacobs' understanding of freedom is ultimately preferable because it tells us what it is like to find freedom in our immediate circumstances through persistence.

In his account of the intellectual cognition of singulars, Aquinas claims that the intellect cognizes singulars by way of mental images. Some recent commentators have claimed that Aquinas' appeal to mental images is inadequate to account for the intellectual cognition of singulars because mental images considered in terms of their qualitative character alone have content that is general and are, therefore, insufficient to determine reference to a singular. That is, if Aquinas takes mental images to refer to singulars because those singulars perfectly resemble the mental images, then his account is deficient. In my paper, I argue that the critical interpretation above is predicated on a misunderstanding of Aquinas regarding the intentionality of images. I investigate Aquinas' account of the intentionality of images in order to show that Aquinas understands the reference of mental images to be determined not by their qualitative character alone but also by the causal relation that obtains between the cognizer and a singular. / Master of Arts

In this dissertation, I disentangle the Cynical figure – one who is capable of confronting structures of power by speaking truth to power – within a Westernized, Euro-centric discourse that authorizes the Cynic as an exceptionally powerful political subjectivity. Heeding the words of Sylvia Wynter, "…the Jester's role in the pursuit of human knowledge alternates with the Priest's role—transforming heresies into new orthodoxies, the contingent into modes of the Absolute." I recover the Cynic, once sutured to a distinctly Foucauldian discursive tradition to argue Black and Brown women function as contemporary Cynics using largely a Black Feminist theoretical framework. Drawing on biomythographies written by Black and Brown women, I future a Cynical discursive tradition in which the cynic is known by a different name. / Doctor of Philosophy / In this dissertation, I explore the practice of telling the truth as a political discourse that is reserved only for a select group of people. I look at the Ancient Greek philosophical school of Cynicism to understand how someone is given permission speak truth to power and its effects. Throughout this work, I argue that the Cynical practice of speaking truth to power is exclusive and that it is not worth making space for others to speak their truth in this same practice. Using a Black feminist theoretical framework, through the works of Sylvia Wynter, Katherine McKittrick, Christina Sharpe and others, I disrupt the status quo of how the truth must be spoken in order to be heard in the political realm. Moreover, I develop a different practice of speaking truth to power by contextualizing this practice from the family kitchen table. I think about how Black and Brown women, those who are violently elided from the political realm altogether, develop their own practice of speaking truth to power from the family kitchen table space. From this context, I think about how a person develops a critical consciousness in which they are given permission to speak their truth to power. I propose that Black and Brown women embody a radical political consciousness that has the ability to disrupt the status quo, that they are not only seen and heard, but their disruption leads to political change.

The purpose of this problem is to make a comparative study of the philosophy of the formal discipline concept of the traditional school of thought and the modern progressive movement in order to determine their relative contributions to our present educational system.

This master's thesis focuses on the deposition of the king Wenceslas (1361-1419) from the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. The dethronement act was realised in August 1400 by four Rhenish electors (Count Palatine and archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Trier) after years- long preparations. The first chapter briefly questions the possibility of king's deposition in medieval political thought. The second chapter describes long political fights in the Holy Roman Empire before 1400 and highlights the most important events which finally led to the king's deposition, such as the fight for the controll over the archbishopric of Mainz. The third chapter analyses the legal dimension of the dethronement act and puts forward possible interpretation of its role in the constitutional history of the Holy Roman Empire. The elector's activity can be understood as a part of long-term growth of political power of the electoral college, as it was codified in the Golden Bull of Charles IV.

[pt] O pensamento social brasileiro procurou, ao longo do século passado, compreender os processos de mudança no país, especialmente na relação entre o Estado e a sociedade. Nesse sentido, o fenômeno do populismo ganhou destaque por conta de suas implicações no processo eleitoral, na renovação de lideranças políticas, ou mesmo nas finanças públicas. Este trabalho procurou discutir as interpretações sobre as manifestações populistas no período de 1945 a 1964, oferecidas pela Escola de Sociologia da Universidade de São Paulo, pelo Instituto Superior de Estudos Brasileiros, e por representantes do pensamento econômico liberal. Foi possível verificar que as contribuições estudadas afirmaram a relevância dos estudos sobre o populismo para a compreensão da política brasileira no período de 1945 a 1964, como também ajudaram na propagação do debate sobre o fenômeno do populismo no mundo público. Entretanto, em razão dos pressupostos teóricos diferentes que fundamentavam suas análises, não foram capazes de contribuir para uma definição precisa do fenômeno aqui estudado. Na Escola de Sociologia da USP destacaram-se o conceito de estado de compromisso, desenvolvido por Weffort, e a busca do entendimento da diminuição da importância da luta de classes no período populista. Por outro lado, os intelectuais do ISEB, que trabalharam sob influência do pensamento cepalino, viam o populismo como uma passagem na evolução da modernização do país, e davam ênfase à preocupação com o nacional desenvolvimentismo. Já os pensadores econômicos liberais se mantinham fiéis ao liberalismo econômico, marcando suas críticas aos governos que não priorizavam o equilíbrio fiscal. / [en] The Brazilian social thought sought, throughout the past century, to understand the processes of change in the country, especially the relation between the State and the society. In that sense, the phenomenon of populism gained prominence, due to its implications in the electoral process, the renewal of political leadership, and even in the area of public finance. This work tried to discuss the interpretations on the populist manifestations during the period from 1945 to 1964, proposed by the School of Sociology of the University of São Paulo, by the Superior Institute of Brazilian Studies, and by representatives of the liberal economic thought. It was possible to verify that the studied contributions pointed out the relevance of populism studies for better understanding Brazilian politics during the period from 1945 to 1964, as well as helped to spread the discussion about the phenomenon of populism in the public sphere. However, as a consequence of the distinct fundamentals through which different theoreticians based their analyses, they had not been able to accomplish to a precise definition of the phenomenon. In the School of Sociology of the USP relevant concepts were state of commitment developed by Weffort and the search for understanding the decrease of the importance of class struggle during the populist period. On the other hand, the intellectuals of the ISEB had worked under guidance of CEPAL`s thought. They saw Populism as a phase in the evolution of the country, and emphasized the concern with national development. The liberal economic thinkers were loyal to economic liberalism, criticizing governments that did not give priority to fiscal balance.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Chained Thoughts Broken by Chains of Thought</p><p>An Analysis of the Narrative Style Used in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to analyse the narrative style used in Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own in order to show in which ways it supports and reinforces the author’s arguments in her quest for a more equal society. One of the most prominent stylistic means applied by Woolf is her ‘train of thought’, linking one reflection to another like wagons in a railway convoy or like loops in a chain (therefore also sometimes referred to as ‘chain of thought’ in dictionaries). By examining how different rhetorical devices are applied within this train or chain of thought and in which ways these strategies are linked to the main elements of persuasion (ethos, pathos and logos) in Aristotelian Rhetoric, I have found that one of Woolf’s central themes - the resentment against confinement and the advocacy of androgyny or mixed-gendered thinking - is mirrored in her style. It reflects the author’s call to resist society’s restrictions by its unrestricted combination of different rhetorical strategies; this mixture of stylistic, partly gender-neutral devices helps her to create a common ground where she can reach and appeal to both genders in a very effective and innovative way, thus enabling her chain of thoughts to break some of our chained thoughts.</p><p>Ellen Johansson</p><p>Engelska C</p>

Devrions-nous nous fier à notre inconscient pour l’achat de notre maison ou de notre prochaine voiture ? Dijksterhuis, Bos, Nordgren et van Baaren, (2006), répondent par l’affirmative à cette question. En effet, d’après ces chercheurs, effectuer une tâche de distraction, comme résoudre des anagrammes pendant quelques minutes, permettrait de « penser inconsciemment » et d’améliorer la qualité des décisions complexes. Avant de prendre une décision complexe, il faudrait donc s'abstenir de réfléchir à l'ensemble des avantages et inconvénients que présenterait chaque option. Etant donné les implications de ces résultats dans divers domaines tels que le management, la politique ou encore la justice, l’objet de cette thèse consistera à réexaminer et passer au crible la méthodologie des expériences relatives à la « théorie de la pensée inconsciente » (Diksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). Les sept études menées suggèrent que l’apparente supériorité des décisions prises après une période de distraction n'est pas le fruit de la "pensée inconsciente" mais résulte en fait d'un effet néfaste de la réflexion consciente pouvant survenir lorsqu’une première impression de bonne qualité a été formée au préalable. Les résultats indiquent également qu’en l’absence de première impression, la réflexion s’avère bénéfique. / Should we trust our unconscious when buying a house or a new car? That is exactly what Dijksterhuis, Bos, Nordgren and van Baaren, (2006) have been recommending. Indeed, according to these researchers, performing a distraction task such as solving anagrams would allow to think unconsciously and therefore enhance the quality of complex decisions. Before making a complex decision, we should thus avoid thinking consciously about the advantages and drawbacks of each alternative. Given the implications of these findings in various areas such as management, politics, or justice, this thesis will thoroughly reexamine the method of experiments relative to the unconscious thought theory (Diksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). The seven experiments suggest that the apparent superiority of decisions made after distraction does not result from unconscious thought but rather from the fact that further conscious deliberation can deteriorate high quality first impressions. The results also suggest that thinking consciously enhances the quality of decisions in the absence of such prior first impressions.