<p> My dissertation aims to provide a virtue reliabilist account of the epistemic effects of social location. I use a reliabilist theory of virtue epistemology as a framework for understanding the epistemic effects of social marginalization and privilege. </p><p> To do so, I describe how marginalization and privilege affect social cognition. I argue that social cognition is underwritten by various social cognitive capacities, some of which can and do qualify as intellectual virtues. Understanding these capacities as virtues elucidates how epistemic benefits and harms accrue to agents as a result of identity and associated social status. </p><p> Additionally, I argue that drawing on an information economy framework illuminates the epistemic effects of social location on groups. Specifically, I use John Greco&rsquo;s distinction between transmission and generation, two functions of knowledge with distinct epistemic norms, to explain how structural marginalization and privilege work to influence the movement of knowledge into, within, and among marginalized and privileged epistemic communities. </p><p> Finally, I describe the relationship of the virtues to knowledge justification. In simplified terms, I argue that knowledge demands both reliability and responsibility. Responsibility involves those dispositions an agent manifests when sensitive to the reliability of the evidence for her beliefs. Such sensitivity takes environment into account, and for humans, that environment is generally social. So, I argue that responsibility involves sensitivity to the social nature of human knowledge. I explain what the relationship between types of virtues means for the epistemic effects of social location, and how that relationship suggests potential correctives to some epistemic harms.</p><p>

This thesis examines representations of ageing in women‟s magazines. Although ageing is an inevitable part of the human condition, this thesis takes the position that ageing is culturally constructed and that women‟s magazines are a key site in such constructions. It is noticeable that, within the Academy generally, there has been less work into the social construction of the ageing process than there has been into other relations of „difference‟ such as gender or race. That said, in the last two decades, work in this area has started to emerge. Factors which account for this include the influence of the baby boomer generation, a sizeable age cohort, born between 1945-1964 who are now growing older themselves. The thesis presents a textual and semiotic analysis of the way in which getting older is constituted through written, visual and spoken texts. The primary data in the research consists of articles from women‟s magazines, analysed using a range of semiotic and linguistic tools, most notably the theories of Roland Barthes, particularly his concept of „Myth‟. Metonymy and the function of stereotyping are also key theoretical concepts. In addition, I analyse data from transcriptions of informal interviews with women magazine readers drawing on the same theoretical concepts. In this way, I am able to examine how magazine texts are received by their readership and, moreover, how women position themselves in relation to what they are reading. The analysis is underpinned by three Myths of Ageing: firstly, that ageing is a decline scenario: it involves both mental and physical decline; secondly, that ageing is synonymous with loss of power: sexual, economic and social; and lastly that ageing must be resisted. I show how the „new positive‟ images of growing older that are being drawn out and portrayed in media representations are not necessarily positive in terms of the impact they have on contemporary women. These images are presented as „new‟, but I shall demonstrate that they are, in fact, a re-working of the underlying Myths of Ageing, myths which construct ageing as a culturally very negative experience, particularly for women in this historical moment.

<p> While women entrepreneurs have significantly contributed to the U.S. economy, their enterprises have been depicted as being smaller, having less profits, concentrating in low-profit sectors, and generating fewer jobs than their male counterparts (Blank et al., 2010; Hughes, Jennings, Brush, Carter, &amp; Welter, 2012; Marlow, 2014; Minniti &amp; Naude, 2010; U.S. Department of Commerce Economic and Statistics Administration, 2010). Thus, the portrayal of women and their ventures as disadvantage is prevalent in the women entrepreneurship literature and there is a need for research that presents a perspective that does not perpetuate this discourse (Marlow, 2014). </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative portraiture study is to understand the essence of U.S.-based, growth-oriented women entrepreneurs&rsquo; experiences in growing their businesses by centering women&rsquo;s ways of knowing in the male normative environment of entrepreneurship. The study explores the following research question with two sub-questions: How do growth-oriented women entrepreneurs understand their experiences in growing their organizations within a male-normative environment of entrepreneurship? How do women entrepreneurs identify and use facilitators to grow their businesses? How do women entrepreneurs describe the experience of acquiring knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to grow their businesses? </p><p> An appreciative inquiry perspective, a key tenet of portraiture methodology that was selected for this study which is a blending of art and science (Lawrence-Lightfoot &amp; Davis, 1997), guided the examination of growth-oriented women entrepreneurs&rsquo; experiences in this study. Rather than looking for the deficiency in the women entrepreneurs&rsquo; experiences, this perspective allowed a search for &lsquo;the good&rsquo; (Lawrence-Lightfoot &amp; Davis, 1997; Lawrence-Lightfoot, 2008). The ontology that guided this study was social constructivism (Creswell, 2013; Crotty, 1998; Guba &amp; Lincoln, 1989) and the epistemology was based on women&rsquo;s way of knowing (Belenky, Clinchy, Golbert, &amp; Tarale, 1986). </p><p> The portraits of the three women entrepreneurs selected for this study were assembled into a gallery with their artifacts and stories organized and presented in a consistent way. My interpretation of each participant&rsquo;s story was presented in a poetic form which depicted the essence of each woman entrepreneur&rsquo;s experience in growing her businesses. </p><p> The findings of this study revealed the following six themes: women&rsquo;s entrepreneurial experiences, perception of their entrepreneurial characteristics, entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial reflections on gender, entrepreneurial knowing, and entrepreneurial self as knower. Conclusions are presented on the experiences of women entrepreneurs&rsquo; growth within the normative environment of entrepreneurship, facilitators that women entrepreneurs use to grow their businesses, women entrepreneurs knowing along with implications for research and practice.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation is a mythological analysis written from a feminist perspective, on the emergence of the theme of rescue stories, and specifically plots where a female heroine saves a male character, which arose in German-language opera during the roughly one hundred years that spanned the lifetimes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Richard Wagner. </p><p> This paper begins with a survey of the origins of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, in which Orpheus descends to Hades in an effort to bring his beloved back to the world of the living. It then describes the creation of opera in the city-states of Italy at the turn of the seventeenth century, based on the understanding scholars of that time had of ancient Greek tragedies. It next explores how the Orpheus and Eurydice narrative was used frequently as the source material for the still nascent genre, focusing on Monteverdi&rsquo;s <i> Orfeo</i> and Gluck&rsquo;s <i>Orfeo ed Eurydice</i>. Following this, it considers the parallel development of the artform in the German-speaking territories of Europe. Finally, it analyzes the German-language compositions of Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner using the Orpheus and Eurydice myth to interpret them from Eurydice&rsquo;s perspective, or the <i>Vox Eurydice</i>. </p><p> This writing explores how the German-language works of these three musical giants grew out of the rescue story paradigm, as an extension of Italian <i> opera buffa</i> and French <i>op&eacute;ra comique</i>. This is reflected in Mozart&rsquo;s <i>Singspiele</i> and Beethoven&rsquo;s one completed opera, <i>Fidelio</i>, considered the epitome of the German-language rescue opera. It then goes on to examine Wagner&rsquo;s oeuvre, not only his ten mature masterpieces, but also three earlier operas and his unfinished pieces. This writing also suggests that the need for the ascent of the female rescuer in German-language opera was unconsciously tied into the desire of the people of the German-speaking territories for a homeland, and how the presence of the Orpheus-Eurydice archetype subsided soon after a German nation was established in 1871.</p><p>

<p> Concerned with the unconscious, embodied experience of heterosexual women affected by female sexual objectification (FSO), this research takes a depth psychological, somatic approach to addressing the Western cultural split between mind and body. This study explores the archetypal, thematic material constellating in the dynamics of FSO, its traumatogenic effects, and women&rsquo;s internalization of FSO as a psychosocial survival strategy. It asks the question: How can FSO be ameliorated, bringing the rejected body and sacred feminine sexuality out of the shadow and back into consciousness? Using a co-operative inquiry methodology six women explored the inquiry questions using Open Floor movement to access the somatic unconscious followed by journaling, group dialogue, and art production. Findings validated women&rsquo;s ways of knowing; revealed ways that FSO shapes women&rsquo;s relationship with their bodies, sexuality, and subjectivity; substantiated FSO as a cultural complex; advanced the critique surrounding the normalization and personal burden associated with FSO as a cultural trauma; and illuminated the archetypal plurality of psyche, evidenced in women&rsquo;s embodied experience with the transpersonal feminine, the self, others, and world. Findings also illustrated the strength, efficacy, and importance of using a body-oriented approach to inquiry and discovered archetypal energies of the feminine that emerged from the unconscious in and through the women&rsquo;s bodies, bringing forward previously split-off potential for self-efficacy and agency. </p><p>

<p> The popularity of the iPhone generated a barrage of digital comments, complaints, and articles about how the trendy phone didn&rsquo;t fit in women&rsquo;s pockets, from articles like the one in <i>the Atlantic</i> titled &ldquo;The Gender Politics of Pockets&rdquo; to a vlog called &ldquo;Girl Pockets&rdquo; by popular vlogger Hank Green. Why are women protesting about the inadequacy of their pockets, and how is this indicative of sexism and inequality? An examination of the gendered history of pockets answers this question, and is rooted in the literature of the Victorian era. I use thing theory to reveal how the pocket was both an agent and a symbol of economic change in this period. This dissertation considers the importance of the pocket, not only as an item of fashion, but also as an object that carried symbolic and representative meanings in Victorian society.</p><p> Much like women&rsquo;s fashion in general, pockets in the Victorian period were used as disciplinary forces. The increase in technology and the rise in consumerism meant that women were leaving the house, and a female buying force became immensely important to the British economy. Part of the effort to counter this threat was to make women&rsquo;s fashion debilitating and limiting. As the receptacle of money and object of convenience to a mobile shopper, the pocket was an important part of the effort to curtail feminine power, and this can be seen in Victorian literature. A fashionable woman was forced to use separate tie-pockets, which were exposed to theft or ransacking, and were also inconvenient. This meant that women&rsquo;s pockets were more vulnerable, and in economic and psychological terms, women suffered for this. The comparison with men&rsquo;s easily accessible and secure pockets worked to reassert the traditional hierarchy in the Victorian patriarchal system. Consequently a tension was created: the female shopper represented a much-needed potential economic force, but because of the threat to patriarchy that she represented, this force was constantly being constrained and controlled.</p><p> Through an examination of Victorian literature, art, and advertisements, we can see that women&rsquo;s pockets, then as now, were unsatisfactory.</p><p>

<p> Researchers have noted that African American women are a triple jeopardy. They are discriminated against because of three aspects: class, race, and gender (Sanchez-Hucles &amp; Davis, 2010). In terms of education, African American women have a long history of educating other individuals, even those outside of their race (Perkins, 2015), as well as being engaged in numerous organizations to build foundations in higher education (Mosley, 1980). Additionally, African American women are leading statistics in college and university enrollment, as well as graduation rates (Howard-Vital, 1989; In Higher Education Black Women, 1997). However, African American women suffer from disadvantages of the glass ceiling in reference to obtaining leadership positions at higher education institutions (Ransby, 2000). This research has explored the disadvantages for African American women in leadership. It has been guided by the overarching research question: what are the influences, barriers, and challenges for African American women in higher education leadership positions? The study will also explore the impact of support and empowerment in guiding the success of women of color in academe.</p><p>

<p> This study utilizes interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and derives meaning from the lived experiences of 5 alcoholic women with over 20 years sober from alcohol and attending Alcoholics Anonymous. Semi-structured interview questions are coded to expose themes detailing early childhood experiences, consequences related to drinking, the sense of self, and the search for wholeness. A psychoanalytic perspective informs the underlying developmental aspects of alcoholism. The interviews reveal significant emotional, physical, and sexual trauma that produced a repetition compulsion and lack of groundedness within the self. The lack of an internal structure to modulate or process anxiety, frustration, and disappointment reinforces a false sense of self. This includes implosive and explosive primary and secondary defenses: childhood tantrums, thoughts of suicide, sexual promiscuity, compulsive lying, a lack of internal wholeness, eating disorders, impulsivity, and severe loneliness. Due to the lack of a healthy mother-infant unit, participants report an inability to internalize and create autonomy. Research indicates pervasive dependent personality problems, domestic violence, and socio-economic considerations affecting a women&rsquo;s ability to seek treatment and remain sober. Language and gender biases in Alcoholics Anonymous and in treatment centers further hinders recovery. Research indicates that professionals working with alcoholic women need advanced training to best assist alcoholic women in creating wholeness. Research indicates the need for a recovery model that includes socioeconomic factors, cultural norms, trauma and women&rsquo;s stories. </p><p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the social construction of authenticity and how this is experienced throughout the stages of adult development, with the specific intent of augmenting women&rsquo;s leadership development programs, and thus preventing further entrenchment of stereotypes. In a culture that is deeply conflicted by women&rsquo;s authority, where men and women, along with the gendered structure of most organizations, hold unconscious biases and stereotypes, a developmental understanding for women&rsquo;s leadership development is necessary. The research question was: How do women develop and experience authentic leading and leadership throughout the adult stages of development? </p><p> This qualitative study used Moustakas&rsquo;s (1994) transcendental phenomenological approach. The sources of data were women participants who had previously completed a developmental StAGES assessment. There were 33 women who completed an initial survey and, utilizing stratified sampling, 10 women were selected for interviews, spread evenly across different developmental levels. The interviews were coded to determine <i>what</i> and <i>how</i> leading authentically is experienced, summarized, and analyzed, creating 4 distinct developmental syntheses: the socialized mind, the self-authoring mind, the self-transforming mind, and the self-transcending mind. </p><p> The results indicate women experience and understand authentic leading and leadership differently throughout the stages of development. They follow a path toward wholeness, a developmental process that can be described as the heroine&rsquo;s journey, where their definitions of authenticity, authentic leaders and leadership, and their experience of leading authentically becomes more complex with ever widening perspectives and understanding, initially intellectual and then embodied. The socialized mind has a theoretical understanding with momentary experiences of the phenomenon, the embodied experience of authentic leading arose in the self-authoring mind, and the awareness of gender and leader biases emerged within the self-transforming mind, thus indicating the very subtle nature of these stereotypes, and the correlation between later developmental levels and greater awareness. </p><p> This study contributes to understanding authenticity as a developmental journey and the pervasiveness of gender and leader biases. This study can augment women&rsquo;s authentic leadership development programs to facilitate authentic leading and vertical development. Deeper inquiry into understanding and preventing the entrenchment of these stereotypes is necessary.</p><p>

<p> This essay attempts to formulate a phenomenological conception of the subaltern historical figure that has been absented from archives of state violence. In order to do so, a reading of the myth of Echo is placed alongside Saidiya Hartman's work on Venus' presence in the archive of the Atlantic Slave Trade to argue for a shift to consider "echo" as a notion of subjectivity that encompasses the dilemmas that Hartman lays out. In shifting to read the lost subaltern historical figure through this mythos, this essay argues that we revisit and expand on the concerns of speaking for others by understanding the articulation of subjectivity at the moment of disarticulation, or in the break. Through this framework, the essay turns to consider the productivity of grief as a politic and applies the considerations to the Brazilian National Truth Commission.</p><p>