Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of History of Art, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0005. Adviser: Bruce Cole. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Dec. 13, 2006)."

Revision of author's doctoral thesis, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2007. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 264-270)

This thesis aims to interrogate the notion that biography is a 'traditional, old-fashioned' genre immune to change through an investigation of the work of contemporary female biographers. Whilst biography is constrained by what could be defined as an historicist definition of fact, evidence that is immutable and cannot be altered to make a psychological or artistic point, the genre has been transformed because women's life writing has taught us that conventional biography is inadequate for telling the narratives of women's lives. Women writing biography have made experiments. Whilst some have failed, female biographers have demonstrated that the form can be adapted to incorporate a post-modern understanding of the self and the role of the author, and act as a valuable medium for telling the stories of the lives of women who have been hidden or ignored by history. The first two chapters provide a theoretical and historical framework for the writing of individual female biographers. Today a feminist epistemology has emerged- a more sophisticated post-modern form that is concerned with the theories or grounds of Knowledge rather than with the politics of feminism that dominated the biographies of the seventies. Chapters Three to Seven are devoted to contemporary female biographers who have made a significant contribution to the genre and thus helped to redefine the form. The final chapter is a synthesis of the conversations undertaken with women biographers for this thesis in order to provide a conceptual framework for my conclusions.

Peter Bercovitch est le premier député juif à siéger à l'Assemblée législative du Québec. Épris de politique depuis les années 1900 et 1910, cet homme désire donner une voix démocratique aux Juifs montréalais, et ceci en se présentant en 1916 comme candidat libéral dans la circonscription de Montréal-Saint-Louis; il s'agit d'une circonscription dans laquelle se retrouve une bonne partie de la collectivité juive. À la suite de son élection, le jeune député entame une longue carrière politique à l'Assemblée législative. Il se fait réélire à six reprises, ce qui lui permet d'être député libéral pendant 22 années consécutives. L'élection d'un membre de la minorité juive du Québec est considérée comme une réalisation importante au début du XXe siècle, compte tenu du fait que ce sont surtout les Canadiens français et les Canadiens anglais qui réussissent à se faire élire à la Législature québécoise. Bien qu'il soit d'origine juive, Bercovitch parvient à se tailler une place au sein du Parti libéral du Québec. Ainsi, la présente étude tente de comprendre la participation politique d'un membre de la minorité juive du Québec à compter de 1916. En examinant attentivement les principales interventions de Bercovitch à l'Assemblée législative, il est possible de démontrer que son orientation politique évolue au cours de sa carrière de deputé. Bercovitch est d'abord reconnu pour ses interventions qui préconisent la justice sociale. Il plaide en faveur du respect des droits de tous les Québécois, peu importe leur origine ou leur religion. Cependant, le député devient par la suite un ardent défenseur des droits de la minorité juive au Québec. Les prises de position de Bercovitch lors des différents débats démontrent d'ailleurs que le députe est plus sensible que ses confrères face à des enjeux qui touchent à la justice sociale et aux droits de la minorité juive. Étant donné qu'il défend les droits de ses coreligionnaires durant une bonne partie de sa carrière politique provinciale, Bercovitch est associé de près à la communauté juive durant les années 1920 et 1930, ce qui le prive sans doute d'un poste de ministre au sein du cabinet de Louis-Alexandre Taschereau en 1931.

This thesis analyses Anglo-American criticism of biography, during the late twentieth century from within and outside the academy. It moves on to discuss the work of three contemporary British biographers, Claire Tomalin, Richard Holmes and Hermione Lee, in the context of recent debate about the genre. Claire Tomalin, is an independent freelance biographer; Hermione Lee, is a lifelong academic who writes biography for the general and academic reader; and Richard Holmes has had a foot in both camps in his experience both as an independent biographer and an academic. The aim is to make the case that contemporary British biography since 1970, literary biography in particular, has not only responded to objections from some academics critics but, at least in the biographies by Tomalin, Holmes and Lee, embraces aspects of recent academic literary theory, New Historicism and Feminism in particular. It is not within the remit of my thesis to provide an overview of literary theory or weigh up its arguments. It is rather the intention to argue that objections to the genre have been influenced by aspects of recent theory, and that critics have not acknowledged the extent to which biographers have also been aware of, and have responded to comparable influences. I will also consider the extent to which objections to the genre are reflected in reviews of biographies by Tomalin, Holmes and Lee, as well as recent developments in the academic study of the genre. The first chapter will identify major objections to biography influenced by academic theory, drawing on both British and American sources. The next chapter will discuss how biographers, within and outside the academy, have responded to these objections. A study of Claire Tomalin’s biographies in Chapter Three will explore the extent to which she considers ‘truth’ as mediated and provisional; how she approaches autobiographical evidence; her use of anecdotes and chronology; and the use she makes of speculation. Richard Holmes, the subject of Chapter Four, is often associated with debates about identification in biography and the chapter devoted to him will explore the extent to which his approach can be seen as ‘Romantic’ in its treatment of the subject as an isolated individual, a great i man or autonomous genius; the extent to which he places his biographical subjects within their social, political and cultural contexts; and his approach to historiography, influenced by the ontological and fictional focus important to Ira Nadel. Hermione Lee, the subject of Chapter Five, is a distinguished academic whose biographical writing negotiates the balance between fact and fiction and ontological and historical knowledge differently from that of Holmes, in ways more congruent with academic practice. Chapter Six will consider the critical reception of biographies by Hermione Lee, Claire Tomalin, and Richard Holmes in academic journals and the reviews of academics in the quality press. Chapter Seven will discusses the extent to which biography as a written narrative has been subsumed within the academy into the wider field of life-writing, and how this subsuming has affected its status and character as a literary genre.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The main aim of my dissertation is to re-evaluate the poetry of the South African writer Dennis Brutus (1924-2009). Even though he produced a substantial number of poems over more than half a century, his work continues to receive limited attention in South African literary criticism. One of the main reasons is the perception that he was primarily a political activist who wrote poetry with the purpose of advancing his political objectives. However, even though he wrote extensively on political issues, his themes include a wide range of subjects. In addition, he paid close attention to the craft of poetry. Due to the tendency to foreground the political content of his writing, the complexity and diversity in the language and style of his poetry are seldom examined. Refocusing attention on the aesthetic features of his work is a key aspect of my dissertation. I also contend that, despite the political content of much of his poetry, Brutus remains, first and foremost, a writer of lyric poetry. What makes his writing different from the conventional lyric, though, is his quest to find ways of using a very personal mode of poetic expression to make statements on public matters. How he pursues this objective is a major focus of my dissertation. I examine various literary influences on his writing as well. Brutus initially drew extensively on the traditional English literary canon he was taught at school and at university. Later, in order to communicate more directly and accessibly, he drew on traditional Chinese poetry. For the same reason, he subsequently wrote some poems with the specific objective of public performance. My re-evaluation of Brutus’ poetry is primarily based on a contextual reading of his work. Such an approach is based on the notion that the context within which a writer lives and writes is vital in order to gain a more informed understanding of his or her writing. In addition, my dissertation draws on Homi K. Bhabha’s elaboration of Freud’s notion of the “unheimlich” (“unhomely”) to examine Brutus’ life and poetry. Bhabha pays particular attention to the sense of estrangement which is embedded in Freud’s theory. His elaboration provides an important conceptual tool with which to analyse Brutus’ writing, and makes it possible to identify links among his various poetic personae and to identify common features in the themes of his poetry. I argue that Brutus’ unhomelineness lies at the centre of his poetic personae – the troubadour, the exile and the cosmopolitan – and of most of the themes of his poetry. Another important focus of my dissertation is how Brutus responds to this state of unhomeliness. The central aspect of my argument is that he redefines his sense of self during different periods of his life: he evolves from initially being a patriot in South Africa into a rooted cosmopolitan in exile; he then, finally, becomes a rootless cosmopolitan. I explore the reasons behind this evolution, and contend that these shifts were essentially attempts to regain agency over his life.

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