This dissertation brings two recent strands of research together and attempts to contribute to two areas of study: (1) apocalyptic Paul studies and (2) the discipline of intertextuality. When apocalyptic Paul is concerned, many works utilize comparative literature approaches. The present study, however, is different in two respects. First, this study sees intertextuality and apocalyptic as a cultural semiotic that is a meaning potential in culture. Whereas many intertextual studies focus on how later texts employ earlier texts for literary and theological purposes, the present study views culture as a matrix of intertextuality. In addition, this study deems apocalyptic as a cultural discourse that society and culture share to understand transcendent phenomena and events. The second distinctiveness of this study is its analytic method. Instead of word-to-word comparison, we investigate whether Paul’s letters present similar patterns of semantic relations between apocalyptic thematic items. After identifying recurrent thematic formations throughout multiple texts, this study explores Paul’s heteroglossia (different voices) in the thematic formations. As such, the meaning of Paul’s apocalyptic can be construed, when we scrutinize, first, how the apocalyptic languages or themes are used in culture, and second, how Paul differently employs them from others. To paraphrase, the meaning of Paul’s apocalyptic language can be vivid when the same apocalyptic thematic formations in Paul’s letters present different linguistic features from other writings. Through this procedure, the present study argues that though Paul shares similar thematic formations with other texts in the Greco-Roman world, the apostle’s apocalyptic thought is significantly distinctive from others. In Paul’s apocalyptic discourse, Jesus is the primary participant that interacts with other thematic items. Also, the apostle’s peculiar linguistic features in the shared apocalyptic formations converge around one figure that is Christ. In other words, Christ takes the central role in his apocalyptic discourse. Christ, therefore, is the apocalyptic lens for Paul to shape his understandings of transcendent phenomena (i.e., otherworldly journey, resurrection, sin and evil, and the two-age apocalyptic eschatology) through Christ.

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This thesis attempts to take seriously the claims made by many postapocalyptic zombie narratives to represent the world as it truly is, analyzing and then assessing the theological value of their depictions of the human predicament. The approach is both formal and what Gary Wolfe calls transmedial, examining the recurring narrative structures and themes of texts across several media and eras as part of 'a popular aesthetic movement and not just a body of works of fiction on similar themes', with special attention given to the films and television of the new millennium. The aim is twofold: to extend the relevance of postapocalyptic zombie fictions beyond the relatively narrow vogue of a cultural moment, and to prompt a richer appreciation of the significance of the Christian faith within contemporary society. To this end, Chapter One contextualizes the complexity of these texts' relationship to Christianity by examining first the most prominent obstacles and then the implicit promise of these texts for theological reflection. It places special emphasis on the interior tension in many of these fictions between, on the one hand, aggressively emphasizing the apparent absence of the supernatural, while on the other, frequently claiming to disclose a dimension of human experience in excess of what can be ordinarily perceived by the senses. Chapters Two and Three extend this analysis to the complex content of what these stories depict. Chapter Two considers the multilayered symbolism of decline in their conspicuous spectacles of disaster, disintegration, and death. Chapter Three examines the countervailing symbolic motifs of residual integrity and regeneration that are exhibited most prominently by characters who attempt to live genuinely human lives in spite of these circumstances. The first half of the thesis concludes by proposing a composite postapocalyptic view of the human predicament, which represents the world as ambiguous, dramatic and quite possibly, although not certainly, absurd. Chapter Four begins the theological reflection upon this kind of postapocalyptic perspective, proposing how such depictions might be illuminated by Christian theological descriptions, particularly the absurd existential circumstances brought about by the original sin. Chapter Five, reciprocally, suggests some of the ways the dramatic images of these texts might enrich theological reflection by eliciting fresh insights into the significance of the central mysteries of Christianity, especially the paradoxical already-and-not-yet of eschatological expectation. The thesis concludes by offering a final evaluation of whether, all told, the world can be truly considered postapocalyptic from a Christian perspective, arguing that although there are significant differences, postapocalyptic fictions and Christianity put forward strikingly similar pictures of the deeply self-conflicted circumstances of the common human predicament.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:16:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5120.pdf: 2852465 bytes, checksum: 77f35893f4551cd3f6537435f6b45bf1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-07 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / This paper seeks indications of how discourses of science are transmitted to society and even to find ideological confrontations between these two discursive forces. For this the chosen corpus was constituted from the texts of the Superinteressante magazine, and the main concepts used to support this work were the dialogical theory, memories of the future, the incompleteness and the valuation of aesthetic Bakhtin. We will also use Leon (1999), who shows us the ways and history of scientific discourse. Thus we have as hypotheses of how this discourse is constructed, how it is valued and how it also serves to entertain and inform. We also use old speeches about the apocalypse, as the Holy Bible, the Mayan prophecies and the prophecies of Nostradamus to turn the discourse of the magazine historical discourses, seeking thereby modeling common to apocalyptic discourse. Thus, it seeks to relate all these concepts with the main problem: how language mediates to change the perception of science and society. / Este trabalho busca indícios de como os discursos da ciência são transmitidos para a sociedade e, inclusive como nesse jogo também encontramos embates ideológicos entre essas duas forças discursivas. Para isso o corpus escolhido foi constituído a partir das textualizações da revista Superinteressante, e os principais conceitos utilizados para embasar este trabalho foram a teoria dialógica, as memórias de futuro, o inacabamento e a valoração do estético de Bakhtin. Também utilizaremos Leon (1999), que nos mostra os caminhos e a história dos discursos de divulgação científica. Desta maneira temos como hipóteses de como esse discurso é construído, como ele é valorado e como ele também serve para entreter, além de informar. Utilizaremos também discursos antigos sobre o apocalipse, como a Bíblia Sagrada, as profecias Maias e as profecias de Nostradamus para ligar os discursos da revista com os discursos históricos, buscando assim, modelações comuns aos discursos apocalípticos. Desta forma, busca-se relacionar todos esses conceitos com o problema principal: como a língua serve de mediação para mudar a percepção de ciência e de sociedade.

Résumé : Ce mémoire propose d’étudier les représentations de la masculinité dans les productions cinématographiques post-apocalyptiques. Il consiste plus précisément en une analyse qualitative de contenu qui cible six films et trois séries télévisées, tous réalisés depuis les événements du 11 septembre 2001. Partant du principe que la masculinité hégémonique peut être définie comme le modèle actuel de masculinité idéalisée et imposée, ce mémoire cherche à dégager quels traits de personnalité sont valorisés et lesquels sont dévalués. Les résultats montrent que les représentations de la masculinité sont encore conservatrices : les personnages masculins occupent des rôles plus importants que les personnages féminins et les leaders des groupes restreints sont généralement des hommes blancs, hétérosexuels et âgés de 35 à 44 ans. Cependant, les personnages masculins possèdent une grande variété de traits de personnalités, un changement considérable par rapport aux caractéristiques stéréotypées du Action Hero. / Abstract : The following study pursue an analysis of the various representations of masculinity in post-apocalyptic movies and TV-series. It consists more precisely of a qualitative content analysis, which focus on six movies and three TV-Series pilots, all produced since September 11th 2001. Assuming that hegemonic masculinity can be defined as the current model of imposed and idealized masculinity, this paper seeks to identify which personality traits are valued and which ones are devalued. The results show that the representations of masculinity are still conservative: the male characters occupy more important roles than female characters and leaders of small groups are usually white, heterosexual men aged 35 to 44 years. However, the male characters have a variety of personality traits, a considerable change from the stereotypical characteristics of the Action Hero.

Often we see examples of what makes a great leader, yet overlook examples of dark leaders. This thesis explores how dark leaders don’t necessarily draw in blind followers, but rather abuse their power in order to build their vision. In my study of Jonestown I show that followers were genuine in their feelings about Jones as a person and the Peoples Temple’s mission. They should not be dismissed just because they “drank the Kool-Aid.” This thesis explores and evaluates various religious studies theories and their interpretation of the events, popular perceptions, and personal statements from the deceased or surviving members. I conclude that Jones was a revolutionary leader during his time. He tried to achieve equality in the U.S. on multiple platforms, but was ultimately too attracted by power and control. In the end, this matters because given the state of the world today and the rise of dark leaders both through political offices, terrorist groups and other places, we need to have a way to not only protect ourselves from joining them, but also preventing them.

Thesis (MPhil (Ancient Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / This thesis seeks to investigate the possible influence of Iranian apocalyptic on the Judaean apocalyptic literature, which was widely disseminated in the Near East during the Hellenistic and Roman phases of the Second Temple Period (c. 539 BCE- 70 CE). The similarities between Zoroastrianism and Judaism have been the object of scholarly study for more than a century. Iranologists such as Zaehner, Widengren and Boyce were particularly partial to the notion that Zoroastrianism influenced Judaism. They felt such influences were an inevitable consequence of the Judaeans living under Achaemenian rule for almost two centuries, and in close proximity of Persian communities for some centuries after the demise of the Achaemenid Empire. They based their conclusions on literary parallels between some key biblical passages and Persian literature, linguistic evidence and the obviously dualistic nature of both religions. Recently, however, this point of view has come in for criticism from biblical scholars like Barr and Hanson, who have pointed out that many seemingly Iranian concepts could as easily have emanated from other Near Eastern influences or evolved from within the Judaean tradition. The similarities between the Iranian and Judaean world-view are particularly apparent when considering the apocalyptic traditions from Zoroastrianism and Judaism: Both traditions view the course of history as a pre-determined, linear process in which good and evil are in constant conflict on both a physical and metaphysical level, until a great eschatological battle, introduced by a “messiah” figure, will rid all creation of evil. A judgment of all humanity and resurrection are envisaged in both traditions, as well as an utopian eternal life free of evil. However, it is very difficult to prove that these two apocalyptic traditions are in any way related, as most of the apocalyptic works from Iran are dated considerably later than the Judaean apocalypses, which mostly originated during the Hellenistic period. The apocalyptic phenomena within the two traditions are also not always entirely similar, raising the possibility that they are indeed not the result of cultural interaction between the Iranians and Judaeans. Furthermore, one must also consider that many phenomena constituting apocalyptic occurred widely during the Second Temple Period in the Ancient Near East, on account of the general state of powerlessness and disillusionment brought about by the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire and the resulting political unrest. This study investigates the relations between Judaeans and Iranians under Achaemenian rule, the political and religious background and apocalyptic traditions of both these peoples in an attempt to ascertain whether Iranian beliefs did indeed influence Judaean apocalypticism. These investigations will show that, given the cultural milieu of the Ancient Near East in the Second Temple period, contemporary Greek evidence of Zoroastrian beliefs and the interpretative bent of Judaean scribal and priestly classes, there is a strong likelihood that seemingly Iranian concepts in Judaean apocalypticism were indeed of Iranian origin.

Les bergères de l'Apocalypse est le récit de la protagoniste Ariane qui projette de réécrire, en marge du discours officiel, les événements qui ont conduit à la création d'une société gynocentrique. À la diversité des préoccupations qui alimentent cette vision utopiste de la société répond une indétermination générique qui rend le récit difficile à classer. Mettant en scène une société idéale qui n'en est pas une (puisque les femmes, après l'extermination des hommes, ont reproduit certaines structures de pouvoir patriarcales), l’ouvrage ne peut pas être identifié uniquement comme un roman de science-fiction puisqu'il emprunte à la fois à l'essai, à l’utopie féministe et au récit apocalyptique. Cette hybridation apparaît comme l’un des traits de cet ouvrage éclaté qui multiplie les techniques narratives et les récits dans un cadre où l’intertextualité joue un rôle important. L'hypothèse que je propose pour expliquer une telle variation générique est que le roman représente ici une forme modulable qui marie à la complexité des propositions apportées au discours féministe ambiant. Grâce au mélange des genres et des discours, l'auteure, à travers Ariane, parvient à dialoguer avec une panoplie d'intertextes dont le contrepoint original et touffu ne peut que déconcerter la lectrice. Afin d'analyser le roman, j'observerai comment l’oeuvre exploite les potentiels de généricité dans la forme, les techniques narratives, leur liens avec les motifs écoféministes, ainsi que le mode d'inscription des différents discours. / Les Bergères de l'apocalypse is the story of the protagonist Ariane who plans to rewrite, in the sidelines of the official discourse, the events that led to the creation of a gynocentric society. In the variety of concerns that fuel this utopian vision of society meets a generic indeterminacy that makes it difficult to classify. Featuring an ideal society which turns out no to be one (as women after the extermination of men have reproduced some structures of patriarchal power), the book can't be identified solely as a science fiction novel since it borrows both the essay, the feminist utopia and the apocalyptic narrative. This hybridization appears as one of the features of this book that multiplies the narrative techniques and narratives in a setting where intertextuality plays an important role. The hypothesis that I propose to explain such generic explosion is that the novel represents a shape conforming to the complexity of the proposals made to the feminist discourse of the seventies. With the mix of genres and discourses, the author, through Ariane, manages to communicate with a variety variety of intertexts whose original and dense counterpoint could only confuse the reader. To analyze the novel, I will observe how the book exploits the potential of generic in his form, narrative techniques, their links with ecofeminists motifs, as well as the inscription of different discourses.