Thesis (PH. D.)--University of Virginia, 1922. / Autographed on one side of leaf only from type-written copy. Bibliography: [25] leaves at end.

Thesis--Copenhagen. / At head of title: Paul V. Rubow.

Revision of the the author's thesis (doctoral)--Cambridge University. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-178) and index.

Thesis (M.A.) in English--University of Maine, 2007. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-93).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Robert Bone. Dissertation Committee: Lucy Calkins. Bibliography: leaves 167-173.

Revision of the the author's thesis (doctoral)--Cambridge University. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-178) and index. Electronic text and image data Mode of access: Intranet.

Diss.--Heidelberg. / Lebenslauf. "Only part of the dissertation is printed here. The whole thesis ... published as vol. 35 of 'Anglistische forschungen'." Includes bibliographical references.

Through an analysis of, and novel comparison between, the thought of Jacqes Lacan and Paulo Freire, this thesis endevours to rethink subjective agency in a way which takes into account the determinate influence of socio-symbolic structures. It argues for a reconceptualisation of subjecthood such that it might once again (subsequent to postmodernism and poststructuralism) become a basis of a system of ethics. The project examines the ways in which Lacan and Freire innovatively chart the dialectic between being and meaning which, they posit, is a universal human phenomenon. Within their conceptions of this dialectic a subject not only has the ability to make fundamental choices but can also ground trans-subjective truth. The thesis addresses what it percieves as a need to re-emphasize subjecthood as a symbolic existence required of all human beings. Such an existence, it maintains, is the object of Lacan and Freire's work. It, furthermore, posits that the impetus behind their interventions concerning subjectivity is primarily an ethical one. Both thinkers cite engagement with and humility before the project of meaning (as shared human activity) as an essential component of an authentic subjective act. Literacy operates in this thesis as a unifying motif between the thought of Freire and Lacan.Understood in light of their work, literacy suggests a pedagogical practice that prompts individuals to realise their capacity and responsibility as subjects. The project aims to outline the central features and tactics of such practice. The thesis also draws on examples from literature, particularly that of J.M. Coetzee, in an attempt to explicate the dynamics with which both Freire and Lacan are preoccupied. Coetzee is particularly suited to this end because his novels are largely concerned with how subjects confront the necessity as well as the difficulty of making ethical interventions in meaning.

<p> Play is a manifestation of overflowing excess. When applied to the study of discourse, this bounty can be understood in terms of figurativeness and depth. If &ldquo;degree-zero&rdquo; discourse is the almost entirely unfigured language of an instruction manual, then verse lies near the other extreme: highly figured and elaborate language open to rich interpretive possibilities. I posit a further pole yet on this continuum: the hyperabundant texts of the Renaissance, when ludics were at a height partially quashed by the Enlightenment preference for the plain style. These ludic texts are not merely decorative but rather reflect the incarnational impulse of Renaissance Christian thought; they attempt to praise and to imitate the power of Divine language, in which Word is made Flesh in the West&rsquo;s master model of superabundance, grace through Christ&rsquo;s Incarnation and Sacrifice.</p><p> This project conducts three case studies of playfully incarnational discourses during the Renaissance: in speech, in imagery, and in verse. First, it analyzes sermons by John Donne that reflect candidly on the power of Donne&rsquo;s own ludic speech, concluding that his transgressive, gamelike rhetoric was oriented toward stimulating responsive action. Next, it examines period images through the lens of contemporary popular works that conceive of images as puzzles to be decoded, solved, and read, concluding that period anamorphoses and similar works were efforts to infuse images with lively presence in a way that helps to account for iconophobic and iconophilic strains in English Reformation thought. Finally, it reads George Herbert&rsquo;s deceptively simple poem, &ldquo;The Altar,&rdquo; examining how the piece may be understood as an intervention into the shaped-verse tradition and how it reflects on period debates about Church fabric, concluding that the toylike or tricklike construction evokes the Eucharistic presence of the Divine in Herbert&rsquo;s worshipful meditation.</p><p> At stake are a greater appreciation for Renaissance artistry, a fuller understanding of the complexityof the English Reformation, and a richer vocabularyfor play theorists working with ludic discourses. A conclusion considers these implications and explains whyRenaissance thinkers might have chosen a ludic mode of imitative worship&mdash;God&rsquo;s grace and creation are themselves forms of play.</p>

"This study ... was undertaken as a thesis for the degree of master of arts in the University of London. It was successfully presented in June 1938"--Prefatory note.