This dissertation examines literary modernism as foremost an endeavor that concerns the imagination. Gaston Bachelard, whose studies on material and dynamic imagination provide the theoretical underpinning for the dissertation, defined the imagination as "nothing other than the subject transported inside the things." Reformulation of subject-object relations, clearly suggested in that definition, is indeed an important element in the aesthetics of Bachelard and that of Adorno, another thinker whose thought informs the dissertation. As the principle behind modernist responses to the crisis of the modern world, the crisis Georg Lukács captured in the phrase "transcendental homelessness," reformulation of subject-object relations impels the mobilization of creative energies in the way that may very well be called "the modernist imagination." I first state the premise for the dissertation and situates it in the present landscape of modernist scholarship. Then I examine Adorno and Bachelard at the intersections of their thoughts, in preparation for a theory of the modernist imagination. Next I consider Mrs. Dalloway as a modernist probing of the sensual, in which familiar dualisms – subject vs. object, the external vs. internal, life vs. death, mind vs. body – collapse. Following this, I examine The Magic Mountain as an attempt at what Adorno calls materialist metaphysics. The novel's preoccupation with death in all its aspects, its problematizing of the human body and the imagination of cold are examined in light of Adorno's view on reviving metaphysics in modernity. Then I read in Ulysses water's lyricism, a lyricism learned from water, into which important modernist themes (not least the ones considered previously in the dissertation) converge. Lastly I look at a film – Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris – and a science fiction novel from the 1950s – Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 – in light of what may be called the "philosophy" of modernism. The spirit of modernism – the primacy of the object as a modernist dictum, modernism‘s resistance to identity thinking and its dismantling of dualisms – is shown to continue in genres other than literature and in the period now called "post"-modern.

Este trabalho consiste em uma análise epistemológica do conceito de substância apresentado, direta ou indiretamente, nos livros didáticos de 5a e 8a séries do Ensino Fundamental. O trabalho foi aliçercado na epistemologia de Gaston Bachelard utilizando, principalmente, as noções de obstáculo epistemológico e perfil epistemológico para estabelecer os critérios de análise. A partir destas considerações, procuramos identificar a presença de obstáculos epistemológicos e a existência, ou não, de uma preocupação dos autores com os diferentes momentos epistemológicos relacionados ao conceito de substância ao longo da história da evolução deste conceito. Foram analisados os livros de 5a e 8a séries, das seis coleções aprovadas pelo PNLD/2002, entendendo que estas refletem o ensino de ciências desenvolvido pela maioria dos professores das escolas públicas brasileiras, já que estes são distribuídos gratuitamente pelo governo federal. Pudemos detectar que, na maioria das coleções analisadas, prevalece a presença de obstáculos substancialistas e realistas, não havendo, também, uma preocupação com os diferentes momentos epistemológicos relacionados à evolução do conceito de substância. Enfim, a análise dos resultados indica que as coleções, em sua maioria, não apresentam uma preocupação maior com a construção do conceito de substância e, tão pouco, com as questões epistemológicas relacionadas a este conceito. / This dissertation consists of an epistemologic analysis of the definition of chemical substance given directly or indirectly in school books from 5th to 8th grades in Junior High Schools in Brazil. The dissertation was supported in the epistemology of Gaston Bachelard utilizing, mainly, the notions of epistemologic obstacle and epistemologic profile to establish the criteria for the analysis. Starting from these considerations the study seeks to identify the presence of epistemologic obstacles and whether the book authors are concerned or not about the different epistemologic moments related to the concept of substance through the history of the evolution of this concept. Books from 5th to 8th grades, from six volumes approved by PNLD/2002, were analysed. These books are considered to reflect the scientific studies developed by the majority of Brazilian public High School teachers, considering that the books are complimentarily disgtributed by the federal government. It was possible to detect that, in the majority of the volumes analysed, the presence of substancialistic and realistic obstacle prevails and that there isn''t any concern about the different epistemologic moments related to the evolution of the concept of substance. Finaly, the analysis of the results shows that most of the volumes don''t present any major concern about the construction of the concept of substance, and not even with the epistemologic matters related to this concept.

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In Sweden, Bachelard is mostly known for his works about poetry and literature, but he was also very productive in philosophy of science. Having studied engineering and taught physical sciences, his main writings in this field concern contemporary physics. He developed the idea of “epistemological rupture”, closely linked to the concept of “epistemological obstacle”. Those notions show science in its historicity and are linked to the idea of progress: a progress that strives not only towards a better approximation of reality, but that can also be seen as a progress of the scientific mind itself. Epistemological ruptures take place when epistemological obstacles are defeated. It is when an epistemological obstacle is met that the ways of thinking that prevents progress become visible; it needs to become an obstacle before we can get rid of it, which causes not only a more precise knowledge, but also a restructuration of the scientific mind. This way, epistemological rupture do not only refer to a historical process, but also to a psychological one. In The formation of the scientific mind, Bachelard shows, through examples taken from history of science, the path that each “scientific mind” has to travel. He analyses science with the aim of finding in its history a history of thought and of its progress: therefore, in The formation of the scientific mind, he gives the same status to the errors of the high school students, as to the ways of thinking that have impeded or slowed down sciences’ developments. By stressing the importance of history, Bachelard insists on the psychological aspects of the constitution of science: as much as it is absurd to try to understand an answer without knowing the question it replies to, it is not possible to cut knowledge from its context of emergence, or to understand an object of study without referring to the subject that constituted it. Thus, Bachelard emphasises the importance of the subject in science, but without making of science something subjective, or without falling into psychologism. The reference to the scientists’ subjectivity is not, for Bachelard, a way of questioning the validity of the scientific discourse; on the contrary, it is by describing science in terms of the scientist’s mind and psychology that Bachelard will find the grounds for science’s objectivity and its success. Bachelard shows science as a practice, as a training of the mind, as an effort involving a lot more than mere rationality, thereby destroying the myth of a universal reason as an underlying principle in the construction of science. / En Suède, Bachelard est surtout connu pour ses travaux sur la poésie et la littérature, mais il a été tout aussi productif en épistémologie. Ayant étudié et enseigné les sciences physiques, ses principaux écrits dans ce domaine concernent la physique contemporaine. Il a développé le concept de « rupture épistémologique », lié à celui d’ « obstacle épistémologique ». La notion d’obstacle épistémologique montre la science dans son historicité ; elle est liée à l’idée de progrès : un progrès qui recherche non seulement une meilleure approximation de la réalité, mais qui peut aussi être compris comme un progrès de l’esprit scientifique lui-même. Ce progrès est accompli lors de ruptures épistémologiques, c’est-à-dire lorsqu’un obstacle épistémologique est vaincu : c’est à ce moment que ce qui empêche la pensée d’avancer devient visible, ce qui cause non seulement une connaissance plus précise, mais aussi une restructuration de l’esprit scientifique.       De cette manière, le concept de rupture épistémologique ne réfère pas seulement à un processus historique, mais aussi à un processus psychologique. Dans La formation de l’esprit scientifique, Bachelard donne des exemples pris de l’histoire des sciences et montre, à travers elles, le cheminement que chaque « esprit scientifique » doit accomplir. Il analyse la science avec le but  de trouver dans son histoire, une histoire de la pensée et de ses progrès : c’est pour cela que Bachelard, dans son livre La formation de l’esprit scientifique, compare le développement des sciences au niveau historique avec l’apprentissage des sciences au niveau individuel, et fait souvent référence aux erreurs des lycéens autant qu’aux bévues historiques. Ainsi, Bachelard met en lumière l’aspect construit des sciences : pour autant qu’il soit absurde d’essayer de comprendre une réponse sans connaître la question à laquelle celle-ci répond, il est impossible de couper la connaissance de son contexte d’émergence, ou d’essayer de comprendre un objet d’étude sans référer au sujet qui l’a constitué. Il ne s’agit pas pour autant faire de la science quelque chose de subjectif ou de tomber dans le psychologisme. La référence à l’esprit du savant ou à l’intersubjectivité scientifique n’est pas, pour Bachelard, un moyen de questionner la validité du discours scientifique ; au contraire, c’est en décrivant la science grâce à la psychologie du savant que Bachelard montre la science comme une pratique, comme un entrainement de l’esprit, comme un effort impliquant bien plus que la simple rationalité, détruisant de ce fait le mythe d’une raison universelle comme principe sous-jacent de la construction des sciences.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The first section of this thesis aims at creating a reading strategy for the analysis of poetry thematically concerned with habitation and the space of the house. Selected Afrikaans poems, forming part of a newer house-poetry that breaks away from the idyllic, genial representation of the house in earlier Afrikaans poetry, are examined. The theoretical equipment utilised in this examination is the habitation philosophies of Martin Heidegger, Otto Friedrich Bollnow and Gustav Bachelard. Various related insights in the work of these philosophers are developed into a three-tiered model for the interpretation of house poetry. Supplementing the abovementioned framework is the socio-historical work of Joseph Rykwert and Ton Lemaire. Both these theorists explore the close connection between the space of the house and the realisation of mortality and transience. The application of the philosophical model facilitates, on the micro level of image and word choice, a fresh understanding of the selected poems, as well as a wider philosophical contextualisation of their thematic content. The reading strategy and the application thereof could also provide the means with which a new philosophical scrutiny of Afrikaans house-poetry can be achieved. The abovementioned formal essay is presented as coupled with a collection of original Afrikaans poems, entitled Vierluik, the creative section of this thesis. Vierluik examines, among other things, aspects of habitation in city, town and countryside, and reflects on descent, rootedness, displacement and the interconnection of space and identity. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die eerste gedeelte van hierdie tesis het as doel die daarstelling van ’n leesstrategie waarmee poësie wat tematies oor die huisruimte en bewoning handel, ondersoek kan word. Geselekteerde Afrikaanse gedigte, wat deel vorm van ’n nuwer huispoësie wat sedert die sestigerjare wegbreek van die idilliese, gemoedelike uitbeelding van die huis in vroeër Afrikaanse gedigte, word ondersoek. Die teoretiese apparatuur wat in hierdie ondersoek aangewend word, is die bewoningsfilosofieë van Martin Heidegger, Otto Friedrich Bollnow en Gustav Bachelard. Verskeie verbandhoudende insigte in die werk van hierdie denkers word ontwikkel tot ’n drieledige interpretasiemodel vir huispoësie. Hierby dien as aanvulling die kultuur-historiese werk van Joseph Rykwert en Ton Lemaire, waarin die noue band tussen die huisruimte en die doods- of verganklikheidsbesef uitgewerk word. Die toepassing van hierdie filosofiese begripsapparatuur fasiliteer op die mikrovlak van beelde en woordkeuse ’n vars verstaan van die vyf geselekteerde gedigte, asook ’n breër filosofiese kontekstualisering van hulle tematiese inhoud. Die leesstrategie en toepassings sou ook ’n filosofiese oopdek van die huispoësie in Afrikaans kon bemiddel. Hierdie akademiese gedeelte dien verder as ’n verbandhoudende oefening by die kreatiewe gedeelte van die tesis, naamlik ’n digbundel, Vierluik. Die bundel ondersoek, onder andere, aspekte van bewoning in stad, dorp en platteland, en bied ’n besinning aan oor herkoms, geworteldheid, verplasing en die verweefdheid van ruimte en identiteit.

In 1963, M.H. Abrams suggested that the ultimate source of Wordsworth's poetry is the Bible, and, in particular, the New Testament. This thesis, however, demonstrates the importance of the Old Testament and offers the first extended analysis of Wordsworth's use of Old Testament rhetoric. It examines both his affectionate perceptions of the natural world, and the Biblical recollections that saturate his writing. The purpose is to align two critical discourses - on Scripture and topography - and in doing so, situate Wordsworth's sense of himself as a poet-prophet in both Britain and America. The four chapters are structured topographically (Dwelling, Vales, Mountains, Rivers), and organised around a phenomenological experience of lived space, as expressed in key poems. Close analysis of Wordsworth's poetic language from Descriptive Sketches to Yarrow Revisited reveals the influence of the Bible (and the recent analysis of sacred Hebrew poetry undertaken by Lowth), while the theories of Heidegger and Bachelard provide a conceptual approach to Wordsworth's investment in nature. The epilogue opens questions of Wordsworth's reception in America by exploring the awareness of cultural and physical geography and sense of Wordsworth's prophetic ministry amongst his heirs. The thesis concludes that Wordsworth's extensive recourse to scriptural language and the physical landscape strengthened his claim to be a Prophet of Nature. His poetry self-consciously adopted the universal 'language of men' - that of the King James Bible.

Cauldron Calling is a compilation of poems ranging in poetic forms from the sonnet to free verse to lyric prose that incorporates a number of processes including: hypnopompic texting, hypnagogic automatic writing, and direct observation. The purpose of this myriad of poetic forms is to peer through the psychic shells we create and examine the workings of the mind so as to give form to the nebulousness found within while most closely recreating physical experiences of pain. In the collection, domestic spaces, particularly kitchens, serve as filters and lenses through which to process anxiety and pain. Conversely, domestic spaces are viewed as areas of both liberation and confinement and the voices of the various speakers throughout the manuscript struggle with this duality/plurality and whether there is a choice to participate in the intergenerational recycling and handing down of these beliefs and behaviors or not. Through sound sense, enjambment, deep image, and the elevation of the mundane, these poems are meant to give insight into the feminine experience as it relates to ritualistic acts of release as opposed to product-driven enterprises for mass consumption.

Dans ce travail la stratigraphie et la tectonique de la région entre le Var et le Verdon sont décrites et étudiées.

Though born a century apart, American poets Emily Dickinson and Sylvia Plath share several similarities: Both were born in New England, both fought for their rights by writing, and both broke new poetic ground.          In this thesis, I look at their poetry through a movement in space, which begins with the poets’ precarious position as societal outliers and ends with ascension. I examine what crossing the threshold meant to them, physically and metaphorically, and how it is mirrored in their poems, I look at how the physical space in which they wrote color their poetry, I examine windows as a space of transit, and finally I take a closer look at the shape ascension takes in selected poems. I propose this road, this movement in space, is mirrored in both Dickinson’s and Plath’s poetry.      I use as my method deconstruction, to uncover hints and possibilities. I scan letters and journals, biographies and memoirs. As my theoretical framework, I use Walter Benjamin’s ideas about the threshold as a place of transit, as well as his thoughts about the flaneur as the observer of the crowd, both of which are presented in The Arcades Project. To further examine the threshold as a space for pause, reconsideration, retreat, or advance, I rely on Subha Mukheriji and her book Thinking on Thresholds: The Poetics of Transitive Spaces. I further use Gaston Bachelard’s seminal The Poetics of Spaceto investigate the poets’ response to the physical space in which they wrote. I look at ascension through the prism offered by the ideas of Mircea Eliade as presented in Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries: The Encounter Between Contemporary Faiths and Archaic Realities.

My thesis proposes a theory of relational identity development in Chicana literature. Gloria Anzaldua's Borderlands/La Frontera offers an interpretation of Chicana identity that is largely based on historical models and mythology, which many scholars have found useful in interpreting Chicana literature. However, I contend that another text, Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, not only illustrates the need for an alternative paradigm for considering identity development, but in fact offers such an alternative. I argue that Cisneros shows a model for relational identity development, wherein the individual develops in the context of her community and is not determined solely by elements of myth or genealogy. In questioning the historical paradigm of identity development, I examine three key aspects associated with Chicana identity development: gender, home, and language. Employing the theories of Édouard Glissant, I discuss how individual identity development is better understood in terms of relationships and experience rather than historical models. For Chicanas, the roles of women have largely been interpreted as predetermined, set by the mythic figures La Malinche and La Virgen de Guadalupe. However, Cisneros's work shows that this historical tradition is less fruitful in understanding identity than recognizing individuals' experience in context of their relationships. With this communal understanding established, I question the common associations of home and Chicana identity. I argue that Cisneros challenges our very concept of home as she engages and counters the notions of theorist Gaston Bachelard. The idea of a house is metaphorical, becoming a space of communal belonging rather than a physical structure to separate individuals. Finally, I consider how both spoken and written language contribute to relational identity development. I argue that Cisneros's use of language demonstrates that not only does language provide the means for development within a community, but also the means for creation within that society. The theoretical implications of such a relational identity construct are not only an expansion of what is entailed in Chicana identity, but an invitation for broadening the community of theoretical discussion surrounding Chicana literature.