Carlos Morton is a prominent Chicano playwright that has contributed greatly to Chicano theatre, creatively and academically, since in 1970s. This thesis offers a feminist analysis of the gender representation in three of his works: Lilith (1977), La Malinche (1984), and Dreaming on a Sunday in the Alameda (1992). The female characters in these three plays possess a unique agency that allows them to challenge oppressive patriarchal standards imposed on their gender identity. The second chapter explores Morton's Lilith, a play based on a Jewish creation myth. In the play, Lilith possesses agency of her gender identity and forms a bond with Eve to fight the patriarchal gender norms used to restrict women in Chicano culture. La Malinche is an adaptation of Eurpides's Medea set in post-Conquest New Spain. Chapter three focuses on the agency displayed by La Malinche through her indigenous roots to fight for her own form of motherhood and freedom from patriarchy. The final play analyzed in this thesis is Dreaming on a Sunday in the Alameda, a dream-like play that is based on Diego Rivera's mural by the same name. Several female characters in the play demonstrate agency through their androgynous sexual identities as they unite to resist male character's sexualized perceptions and expectations of females within Mexican and Chicano culture.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T17:27:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Francisco Antonio Marques Viana.pdf: 1904124 bytes, checksum: df2ab414fc9475e111c70c9231b2245e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-29 / Ernst Bloch‟s thought is quite broad, and it is usually analyzed in its messianic, utopian, mystical, features; or yet, due to its possible repercussion in Latin America and its hopeful point of view. This Dissertation investigates Bloch‟s philosophy as a source for the renovation of Marxism, in two moments which are interconnected to one sole idea: the Socialist revolution, enlightened by the liberation of man from Capitalism, and the building of a better life. The first moment is to be found in concrete utopia: an equalitarian, humanistic society, without the ill-consciousness of the division of classes and the egotism of profit, having man and his integration with nature as its subject. The second moment, consequence of the first, has its nucleus in the not-yet-conscious concept and it increases in density in man after he has (been) awakened with the transformation of society. Dialectically, the road to concrete utopia is to be found in the conjugation of the cold current of Marxism - the lucidity regarding reality -, with its warm current - revolutionary enthusiasm. There is, however, a starting point for Utopian philosophy, which is the Materialist Dialectics of historical man, the incompleteness of his trajectory, and the exit from obscurity wherein he lives, in search of himself, in the luminosity of the interlacing of theory and praxis. In such process, mediated by the anticipating will, one finds the need to review the ways of philosophy and psychoanalysis. Reviewing means thinking and overcoming difficulties so as to make Socialism the political regime mass-society chooses so that, faced with the imperatives of reality, man does not give up acting and dreaming, he does not, especially, relinquish the values of equality, friendship, and happiness on Earth. With its beginning in Aristotle and in the Aristotelism of the Left, in the Gothic thought of the Middle Ages, and in the philosophy of Renaissance, Bloch‟s hope concentrates in the awakening of rebellious man and in the building upon order starting from liberty, in the convergence of the superstructure with the structure, thus making it possible for one to live true history, so that the estrangement‟ of life does not become permanent repetition. If this happens, if philosophy and psychoanalysis acquire new knowledge, including the rediscovery of fore-knowledge [of the future] in Classical Philosophy, concrete utopia and the not-yet-conscious have the chance to overcome the capitalist illusion, thus generating horizons of hope for the construction of that which man has never experienced, a society wherein he is, at once, subject and object of its construction. What distinguishes Bloch from "Orthodox Marxism" is the open philosophical system, without ideologism, far from the delusive fetish of merchandise, next to the man who transforms and awakens to a better life. He dreams awake with a philosophy of a classless society in opposition to the philosophy of a class society / O pensamento de Ernst Bloch é complexo, sua obra é extensa e, em geral, tem sido analisado pelas suas feições messiânicas, utópicas, místicas ou ainda pela sua possível repercussão na América Latina e pelo ângulo da esperança. Esta tese, investiga a filosofia blochiana como fonte de renovação e extensão do marxismo, em dois momentos interligados a uma mesma ideia: a revolução socialista, iluminada pela libertação do homem do modo de produção capitalista e a construção da vida melhor. O primeiro momento encontra-se na utopia concreta: uma sociedade igualitária, humanística, sem a má consciência da divisão de classes e o egoísmo da expropriação da mais-valia, tendo como sujeito o homem e a sua integração com a natureza. O segundo momento, consequência do primeiro, tem o seu núcleo no conceito do ainda-não-consciente e se adensa no homem a partir do sonho acordado com a transformação da sociedade. Dialeticamente, o caminho para a utopia concreta encontra-se na conjugação da corrente fria do marxismo, a lucidez em realçar a realidade quanto à submissão ao capital, com a corrente quente , o entusiasmo revolucionário com o ainda-não-consciente. Há, contudo, um ponto de partida para a filosofia utópica que é o sonhar acordado com a saída da obscuridade em que vive o homem, na procura de encontrar a si mesmo, na luminosidade do entrelaçamento da teoria e da prática. Nesse processo dialético-materialista, mediado pela vontade antecipadora, encontra-se a necessidade de rever os caminhos da filosofia e da psicanálise. Rever significa pensar e transpor as dificuldades para transformar o socialismo no regime de escolha da sociedade de massas e que, diante dos imperativos do cotidiano, o homem não deixe de agir e sonhar, jamais abdique, principalmente, dos valores da igualdade, da fraternidade e da felicidade na Terra. Com seu início em Aristóteles e no chamado aristotelismo de esquerda, no pensamento gótico do medievo e na filosofia do Renascimento, a esperança em Bloch concentra-se no acordar do homem rebelde e na construção da ordem fundada na liberdade, na convergência da superestrutura com a estrutura e que, dessa forma, passe-se a viver a verdadeira história, sem que o estranhamento da vida se torne repetição permanente. Se assim ocorrer, a filosofia e a psicanálise irão adquirir novos saberes, inclusive redescobrindo ensinamentos antecipatórios do futuro na filosofia anterior a Marx. A utopia concreta e o ainda-não-consciente, nesse ambiente, terão possibilidades de superar a ilusão dos valores do capitalismo, criando horizontes de esperança para a construção daquilo que o homem jamais viveu, a sociedade em que ele será, a um só tempo, sujeito e objeto da construção. O que distingue Bloch do marxismo ortodoxo é o sistema filosófico aberto, de elucidação da essência humana, sem ideologismo, de mediação com a realidade, sem vínculos com o jogo ilusório do fetiche das mercadorias, identificado com o homem que transforma as relações entre os homens e com a natureza, despertando para uma vida melhor. Bloch sonha acordado com a filosofia da sociedade sem classes em oposição à filosofia da sociedade de classes

Bibliography: leaves 273-284. This thesis examines the autobiographical texts of the Aboriginal women writers, Oodgeroo, Margaret Tusker and Monica Clare, in light of the 'community of commitment' which supported their publications. It considers how and why the Aboriginal women elicted outside support and how the ideology of the group informed the epistemology of the text.The role of collaborating white editors and professional editors are examined as crucial in influencing the style and content of the finished piece. The original manuscripts are compared against the published editions and the changes implemented by the editor are described. Following Frantz Fanon and Homi Bhaba, the adoption of the white ideological lattice by the Aboriginal author is characterised as the white mask of colonial mimicry. The outcomes of cross-cultural impersonation of the white editor are discussed, with the editorial collaboration viewed as the imposition of stereotyped representations of Aboriginality.

Bibliography: leaves 273-284. / 284 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis examines the autobiographical texts of the Aboriginal women writers, Oodgeroo, Margaret Tusker and Monica Clare, in light of the 'community of commitment' which supported their publications. It considers how and why the Aboriginal women elicted outside support and how the ideology of the group informed the epistemology of the text.The role of collaborating white editors and professional editors are examined as crucial in influencing the style and content of the finished piece. The original manuscripts are compared against the published editions and the changes implemented by the editor are described. Following Frantz Fanon and Homi Bhaba, the adoption of the white ideological lattice by the Aboriginal author is characterised as the white mask of colonial mimicry. The outcomes of cross-cultural impersonation of the white editor are discussed, with the editorial collaboration viewed as the imposition of stereotyped representations of Aboriginality. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Social Inquiry, 2001

La présente thèse examine les liens entre le sommeil, la mémoire épisodique et les rêves. Dans une première étude, nous utilisons les technologies de la réalité virtuelle (RV) en liaison avec un paradigme de privation de sommeil paradoxal et de collecte de rêve en vue d'examiner l'hypothèse que le sommeil paradoxal et le rêve sont impliqués dans la consolidation de la mémoire épisodique. Le sommeil paradoxal a été associé au rappel des aspects spatiaux des éléments émotionnels de la tâche RV. De la même façon, l'incorporation de la tâche RV dans les rêves a été associée au rappel des aspects spatiaux de la tâche. De plus, le rappel des aspects factuels et perceptuels de la mémoire épisodique, formé lors de la tâche VR, a été associé au sommeil aux ondes lentes. Une deuxième étude examine l'hypothèse selon laquelle une fonction possible du rêve pourrait être de créer de nouvelles associations entre les éléments de divers souvenirs épisodiques. Un participant a été réveillé 43 fois lors de l'endormissement pour fournir des rapports détaillés de rêves. Les résultats suggèrent qu'un seul rêve peut comporter, dans un même contexte spatiotemporel, divers éléments appartenant aux multiples souvenirs épisodiques. Une troisième étude aborde la question de la cognition lors du sommeil paradoxal, notamment comment les aspects bizarres des rêves, qui sont formés grâce aux nouvelles combinaisons d'éléments de la mémoire épisodique, sont perçus par le rêveur. Les résultats démontrent une dissociation dans les capacités cognitives en sommeil paradoxal caractérisée par un déficit sélectif dans l'appréciation des éléments bizarres des rêves. Les résultats des quatre études suggèrent que le sommeil aux ondes lentes et le sommeil paradoxal sont différemment impliqués dans le traitement de la mémoire épisodique. Le sommeil aux ondes lentes pourrait être implique dans la consolidation de la mémoire épisodique, et le sommeil paradoxal, par l'entremise du rêve, pourrais avoir le rôle d'introduire de la flexibilité dans ce système mnémonique. / The present dissertation examines relationships between sleep, episodic memory and dreaming. In Articles I and II we use a novel virtual reality (VR) task in conjunction with a rapid eye movement (REM) sleep deprivation (REMD) paradigm and dream sampling to examine the hypothesis that REM sleep and dreaming are involved in the consolidation of episodic memory. REM sleep was associated with the successful recall of the spatial aspects of emotionally charged elements of the VR task. Similarly, dreaming was associated with improved performance on the spatial aspects of the recall task. Recall of the factual and perceptual aspects of episodic memories formed with the VR task was associated with increased slow wave sleep (SWS) during the post-exposure night. Overall, the results suggest that SWS is associated with the perceptual and factual aspects of episodic memories while REM sleep is not, a finding which may relate to observations that REM sleep dreaming is composed of deconstructed fragments of loosely associated episodic memories. Study II examines the hypothesis that a function of dreaming may be to create new associations between previously unrelated memory items. A participant, highly trained in introspection and mentation reporting, was awakened 43 times during theta bursts at sleep onset and provided detailed reports of resulting imagery and associated memory sources. This technique provided evidence that elements of distally related memory sources are brought together in temporal and spatial proximity within a novel context provided by the dream, suggesting a role for dreaming in memory processing. To allow for this possibility, we speculate that dreaming experiences may be functionally equivalent to waking experiences in their ability to induce neural plasticity. Study III addresses an aspect of this functional equivalence by examining if dream bizarreness is incompatible with behavioral and cognitive features associated with waking state experience-driven plasticity, i.e., whether the dreamer can act upon, emote and be motivated towards an element of the dream that is bizarre and that violates basic assumptions of physical reality. The results demonstrate a dissociation in cognitive ability during dreaming characterized by a selective deficiency in appreciating bizarreness in face of a maintained ability for logical thought. This finding thus addresses the problem of the wake-like mind reflecting upon dream bizarreness and suggests that dreaming is a state in which the cognitive aspects associated with synaptic plasticity (attention, emotion and motivation associated with believing a situation to be reality) are present while allowing for the presentation of memory item combinations which may transcend the limits of physical reality. The results of the four studies are discussed in light of how REM and SWS sleep stages are differentially involved in specific aspects of episodic memory (episodic replay vs. episodic novelty) and the possible role that dreaming, as a driver of synaptic plasticity, may have in these relationships.

Thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney 2006. / Title from electronic thesis (viewed 31/5/10)

A dream can impact a person so profoundly that it may permanently alter his or her life, beliefs, or behaviour. Most of the time, these gifts of insight happen to only a rare few and usually occur without intention. These life-altering dreams are spontaneous and unpredictable. While most studies focus on the content or meaning of dreams after they occur, this study explores the possibility of using dreams to influence behavioural changes in the waking world. This study examined three of the dream elements associated with profound dreams that could potentially be used to develop a systematic method of using dreams to create behavioural changes. The three elements are (a) Emotion: the ability to generate high-emotion states within a dream; (b) Narrative: the formation of narratives within a dream; and (c) Reality: the ability of the dreamer to perceive and accept the dream as reality. This study was conducted using a qualitative research design with a narrative analysis approach in order to explore and understand the subjective experiences of two participants. Data were collected through the participants‘ interviews and dream journals to help determine themes emerging from each of the participants‘ individual experiences. The themes were then analysed for any information regarding the three elements of dreaming as well as the dreams‘ personal significance to the dreamer. Further analysis explored whether lucid or non-lucid dreaming was able to intentionally produce an experientially-based shift in a specific target behaviour. The results of this research study suggest that there is potential for using dreams to induce behavioural change. The research provided a preliminary inquiry into this new field of dream therapy. This exploration of key elements to a potential dream method may prove essential to defining a basic framework and the tools that may be required to implement a new dream method. Future studies are necessary to uncover the correct combination of elements that will produce profound dream experiences at will. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:36:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SergioAMR_TESE_1-152.pdf: 4687573 bytes, checksum: d13791598d6a440077f9a5703901fe3b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-19 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Lucid dreaming (LD) is a mental state in which the subject is aware of being dreaming while dreaming. The prevalence of LD among Europeans, North Americans and Asians is quite variable (between 26 and 92%) (Stepansky et al., 1998; Schredl & Erlacher, 2011; Yu, 2008); in Latin Americans it is yet to be investigated. Furthermore, the neural bases of LD remain controversial. Different studies have observed that LD presents power increases in the alpha frequency band (Tyson et al., 1984), in beta oscillations recorded from the parietal cortex (Holzinger et al., 2006) and in gamma rhythm recorded from the frontal cortex (Voss et al., 2009), in comparison with non-lucid dreaming. In this thesis we report epidemiological and neurophysiological investigations of LD. To investigate the epidemiology of LD (Study 1), we developed an online questionnaire about dreams that was answered by 3,427 volunteers. In this sample, 56% were women, 24% were men and 20% did not inform their gender (the median age was 25 years). A total of 76.5% of the subjects reported recalling dreams at least once a week, and about two-thirds of them reported dreaming always in the first person, i.e. when the dreamer observes the dream from within itself, not as another dream character. Dream reports typically depicted actions (93.3%), known people (92.9%), sounds/voices (78.5%), and colored images (76.3%). The oneiric content was related to plans for upcoming days (37.8%), and memories of the previous day (13.8%). Nightmares were characterized by general anxiety/fear (65.5%), feeling of being chased (48.5%), and non-painful unpleasant sensations (47.6%). With regard to LD, 77.2% of the subjects reported having experienced LD at least once in their lifetime (44.9% reported up to 10 episodes ever). LD frequency was weakly correlated with dream recall frequency (r = 0.20, p <0.001) and was higher in men (?2=10.2, p=0.001). The control of LD was rare (29.7%) and inversely correlated with LD duration (r=-0.38, p <0.001), which is usually short: to 48.5% of the subjects, LD takes less than 1 minute. LD occurrence is mainly associated with having sleep without a fixed time to wake up (38.3%), which increases the chance of having REM sleep (REMS). LD is also associated with stress (30.1%), which increases REMS transitions into wakefulness. Overall, the data suggest that dreams and nightmares can be evolutionarily understood as a simulation of the common situations that happen in life, and that are related to our social, psychological and biological integrity. The results also indicate that LD is a relatively common experience (but not recurrent), often elusive and difficult to control, suggesting that LD is an incomplete stationary stage (or phase transition) between REMS and wake state. Moreover, despite the variability of LD prevalence among North Americans, Europeans and Asians, our data from Latin Americans strengthens the notion that LD is a general phenomenon of the human species. To further investigate the neural bases of LD (Study 2), we performed sleep recordings of 32 non-frequent lucid dreamers (sample 1) and 6 frequent lucid dreamers (sample 2). In sample 1, we applied two cognitive-behavioral techniques to induce LD: presleep LD suggestion (n=8) and light pulses applied during REMS (n=8); in a control group we made no attempt to influence dreaming (n=16). The results indicate that it is quite difficult but still possible to induce LD, since we could induce LD in a single subject, using the suggestion technique. EEG signals from this one subject exhibited alpha (7-14 Hz) bursts prior to LD. These bursts were brief (about 3s), without significant change in muscle tone, and independent of the presence of rapid eye movements. No such bursts were observed in the remaining 31 subjects. In addition, LD exhibited significantly higher occipital alpha and right temporo-parietal gamma (30-50 Hz) power, in comparison with non-lucid REMS. In sample 2, LD presented increased frontal high-gamma (50-100 Hz) power on average, in comparison with non-lucid REMS; however, this was not consistent across all subjects, being a clear phenomenon in just one subject. We also observed that four of these volunteers showed an increase in alpha rhythm power over the occipital region, immediately before or during LD. Altogether, our preliminary results suggest that LD presents neurophysiological characteristics that make it different from both waking and the typical REMS. To the extent that the right temporo-parietal and frontal regions are related to the formation of selfconsciousness and body internal image, we suggest that an increased activity in these regions during sleep may be the neurobiological mechanism underlying LD. The alpha rhythm bursts, as well as the alpha power increase over the occipital region, may represent micro-arousals, which facilitate the contact of the brain during sleep with the external environment, favoring the occurrence of LD. This also strengthens the notion that LD is an intermediary state between sleep and wakefulness / O sonho l?cido (SL) ? um estado mental no qual o sujeito est? consciente de estar sonhando durante o sonho. A preval?ncia do SL em Europeus, Norte-Americanos e Asi?ticos ? bastante vari?vel (entre 26 e 92%) (Stepansky et al., 1998; Erlacher & Schredl, 2011; Yu, 2008) e em Latino-Americanos ainda n?o foi investigada. Al?m disso, as bases neurais do SL permanecem controversas. Diferentes estudos observaram um aumento da pot?ncia na frequ?ncia alfa (Tyson et al., 1984), na oscila??o beta na ?rea parietal (Holzinger et al., 2006) e no ritmo gama na regi?o frontal (Voss et al., 2009) durante o SL em rela??o ao n?o l?cido. Assim, para investigar a quest?o epidemiol?gica (Estudo 1), elaboramos um question?rio online sobre sonhos que foi respondido por 3427 volunt?rios. Em nossa amostra, 56% s?o mulheres, 24% s?o homens e 20% n?o responderam o g?nero; a mediana de idade foi de 25 anos. Um total de 76,5% dos indiv?duos refere que lembra dos sonhos pelo menos uma vez por semana. Cerca de dois ter?os dos sujeitos observam o sonho em primeira pessoa, ou seja, vendo o sonho da pr?pria perspectiva e n?o como mais um dos personagens do sonho. Os elementos mais comuns nos sonhos s?o movimentos/a??es (93,3%), pessoas conhecidas (92,9%), sons/vozes (78,5%) e imagens coloridas (76,3%). O conte?do on?rico se relaciona principalmente com planos para o dia seguinte (37,8%) e mem?rias do dia anterior (13,8%). Os pesadelos apresentam principalmente ansiedade/medo (65,5%), ser perseguido (48,5%) e sensa??es desagrad?veis que n?o envolvem dor (47,6%). Assim, sonhos e pesadelos podem ser evolutivamente entendidos como uma simula??o das situa??es frequentes que acontecem na vida e que se relacionam com a nossa integridade social, psicol?gica e biol?gica. Observamos tamb?m que a maioria dos indiv?duos (77,2%) relata ter tido pelo menos um SL, tendo experimentado na sua maior parte at? 10 epis?dios (44,9%). A frequ?ncia do SL foi fracamente correlacionada com a frequ?ncia de lembran?a dos sonhos (r=0,20, p<0,001) e foi tamb?m maior em homens (?2=10,2, p= 0,001). O controle do SL ? raro (29,7%) e inversamente correlacionado com o tempo de dura??o do SL (r=- 0,38, p<0,001), que normalmente ? curto: para 48,5% dos sujeitos o SL dura menos que 1 minuto. A ocorr?ncia do SL ? principalmente facilitada pela possibilidade de dormir sem hora para acordar (38,3%) que aumenta a chance de ter sono REM (SREM), e estresse (30,1%) que aumenta tamb?m as transi??es do SREM para a vig?lia. Como conclus?o, nossos resultados indicam que o SL ? uma experi?ncia relativamente comum (mas n?o recorrente), geralmente fugaz e dif?cil de controlar, o que sugere que o SL ? um est?gio intermedi?rio, incompleto e estacion?rio (ou fase de transi??o) entre o SREM e a vig?lia. Al?m disso, apesar das popula??es Europeias, Norte-Americanas e Asi?ticas terem uma preval?ncia de SL bastante vari?vel, nossos dados de uma amostra de Latino-Americanos fortalecem a no??o de que o SL ? um fen?meno universal da esp?cie humana. Para investigar as bases neurais do SL (Estudo 2), realizamos registros de sono em 32 sujeitos que n?o apresentam SL de forma frequente, e investigamos 6 sujeitos que apresentam SL recorrentemente. A primeira amostra foi submetida a duas t?cnicas cognitivo-comportamentais para induzir o SL: sugest?o pr?- sono (n = 8) e incuba??o de est?mulos do ambiente (pulsos de luz) no sonho durante o SREM (n = 8). Um grupo controle n?o foi submetido a nenhuma das duas t?cnicas (n = 16). Os resultados indicam que ? muito dif?cil induzir SL em laborat?rio, uma vez que conseguimos obter apenas um SL em um sujeito, que era do grupo em que aplicamos a t?cnica de sugest?o pr?-sono. O sinal eletroencefalogr?fico deste volunt?rio apresentou pulsos de ritmo alfa (7-14Hz) anteriores ao SL, de forma breve (aproximadamente 3s), sem altera??o significativa do t?nus muscular e independente da presen?a de movimentos oculares r?pidos. O SL desse sujeito apresentou tamb?m uma maior pot?ncia do ritmo alfa (7-14Hz) na regi?o occipital e um aumento de atividade gama (20- 50Hz) na regi?o temporo-parietal direita. Nos 6 sujeitos que frequentemente t?m SL, o mesmo apresentou em m?dia um aumento de pot?ncia em gama alto (50-100Hz) na regi?o frontal em compara??o com o SREM n?o-l?cido; no entanto, isso aconteceu de forma clara para apenas um dos indiv?duos. Observamos tamb?m que quatro desses volunt?rios apresentaram um aumento da pot?ncia do ritmo alfa na regi?o occipital, pouco antes do SL, ou durante o mesmo. Dessa forma, nossos resultados preliminares sugerem que o SL apresenta diferentes caracter?sticas neurofisiol?gicas dos estados t?picos de SREM e vig?lia: 1) Os pulsos de ritmo alfa, bem como o aumento da pot?ncia dessa oscila??o na regi?o occipital, podem ser micro-despertares. Estes facilitam o contato do c?rebro durante o sono com o meio externo, favorecendo a ocorr?ncia do SL e fortalecendo a ideia de que o SL seria um estado intermedi?rio entre o sono e a vig?lia. 2) Como as regi?es temporoparietal direita e frontal se relacionam com a forma??o da auto-consci?ncia e da imagem corporal, sugerimos que um aumento de atividade nessas regi?es durante o sono pode ser o mecanismo neurobiol?gico subjacente ao SL

This research emerges from an observation that Douglas Adams’s Hitch Hiker Series is not merely characterised by light-hearted comedy, but is underpinned by intricate philosophical ideas, especially those of twentieth century Existentialism and the related notion of absurdity. The study also investigates the interlaced functions of Adams’s fantasy and landscapes of alterity. Paradoxically, Adams’s fantastical creatures serve to illuminate the human condition and the follies and monstrosities that lurk at the heart of humanity. Not only does Adams’s fantasy mirror the maladies of twentieth century society, thus serving a satirical function, but it is also a mechanism for constructing meaning in the shape of alternative realities. Concepts related to alterity, such as simulation (Baudrillard), the structure of ‘reality’, dreaming (Descartes) and parallel universes are investigated as building blocks of Adams’s fantastic story space. Furthermore, the ideas of Sartre, Camus and other originators of Existentialism, a philosophy which considers the futility of existence and the compulsion to construct subjective meaning, are elucidated and explored in relation to Adams’s work. Existentialist concepts such as facticity and angst, as well as the Beckettian universe and the Theatre of the Absurd, are also discussed in the light of the Hitch Hiker series. Adams’s extensive satirical comment is also emphasised in this study. Adams’s satire does not merely castigate the evils of twentieth century society such as capitalism and bureaucracy, it also unmasks universal human vices such as pomposity and grandiosity, vices that are rooted in the rejection of objective morality. Although Adams comments on the folly at the heart of society, he also presents the reader with an alternative: the subjective reconstruction of one’s inner world in an attempt to spin individual webs of meaning from the nothingness at the world’s core. This study also investigates the ambiguous concept of madness as a subjective reality born of the necessity to construct meaning, and analyses Adams’s alternative landscapes based on the suggestion that ‘much madness is divinest sense’ (Emily Dickenson, in Ferguson et al., 1996: 1015). / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / English / MA / unrestricted

La présente thèse examine les liens entre le sommeil, la mémoire épisodique et les rêves. Dans une première étude, nous utilisons les technologies de la réalité virtuelle (RV) en liaison avec un paradigme de privation de sommeil paradoxal et de collecte de rêve en vue d'examiner l'hypothèse que le sommeil paradoxal et le rêve sont impliqués dans la consolidation de la mémoire épisodique. Le sommeil paradoxal a été associé au rappel des aspects spatiaux des éléments émotionnels de la tâche RV. De la même façon, l'incorporation de la tâche RV dans les rêves a été associée au rappel des aspects spatiaux de la tâche. De plus, le rappel des aspects factuels et perceptuels de la mémoire épisodique, formé lors de la tâche VR, a été associé au sommeil aux ondes lentes. Une deuxième étude examine l'hypothèse selon laquelle une fonction possible du rêve pourrait être de créer de nouvelles associations entre les éléments de divers souvenirs épisodiques. Un participant a été réveillé 43 fois lors de l'endormissement pour fournir des rapports détaillés de rêves. Les résultats suggèrent qu'un seul rêve peut comporter, dans un même contexte spatiotemporel, divers éléments appartenant aux multiples souvenirs épisodiques. Une troisième étude aborde la question de la cognition lors du sommeil paradoxal, notamment comment les aspects bizarres des rêves, qui sont formés grâce aux nouvelles combinaisons d'éléments de la mémoire épisodique, sont perçus par le rêveur. Les résultats démontrent une dissociation dans les capacités cognitives en sommeil paradoxal caractérisée par un déficit sélectif dans l'appréciation des éléments bizarres des rêves. Les résultats des quatre études suggèrent que le sommeil aux ondes lentes et le sommeil paradoxal sont différemment impliqués dans le traitement de la mémoire épisodique. Le sommeil aux ondes lentes pourrait être implique dans la consolidation de la mémoire épisodique, et le sommeil paradoxal, par l'entremise du rêve, pourrais avoir le rôle d'introduire de la flexibilité dans ce système mnémonique. / The present dissertation examines relationships between sleep, episodic memory and dreaming. In Articles I and II we use a novel virtual reality (VR) task in conjunction with a rapid eye movement (REM) sleep deprivation (REMD) paradigm and dream sampling to examine the hypothesis that REM sleep and dreaming are involved in the consolidation of episodic memory. REM sleep was associated with the successful recall of the spatial aspects of emotionally charged elements of the VR task. Similarly, dreaming was associated with improved performance on the spatial aspects of the recall task. Recall of the factual and perceptual aspects of episodic memories formed with the VR task was associated with increased slow wave sleep (SWS) during the post-exposure night. Overall, the results suggest that SWS is associated with the perceptual and factual aspects of episodic memories while REM sleep is not, a finding which may relate to observations that REM sleep dreaming is composed of deconstructed fragments of loosely associated episodic memories. Study II examines the hypothesis that a function of dreaming may be to create new associations between previously unrelated memory items. A participant, highly trained in introspection and mentation reporting, was awakened 43 times during theta bursts at sleep onset and provided detailed reports of resulting imagery and associated memory sources. This technique provided evidence that elements of distally related memory sources are brought together in temporal and spatial proximity within a novel context provided by the dream, suggesting a role for dreaming in memory processing. To allow for this possibility, we speculate that dreaming experiences may be functionally equivalent to waking experiences in their ability to induce neural plasticity. Study III addresses an aspect of this functional equivalence by examining if dream bizarreness is incompatible with behavioral and cognitive features associated with waking state experience-driven plasticity, i.e., whether the dreamer can act upon, emote and be motivated towards an element of the dream that is bizarre and that violates basic assumptions of physical reality. The results demonstrate a dissociation in cognitive ability during dreaming characterized by a selective deficiency in appreciating bizarreness in face of a maintained ability for logical thought. This finding thus addresses the problem of the wake-like mind reflecting upon dream bizarreness and suggests that dreaming is a state in which the cognitive aspects associated with synaptic plasticity (attention, emotion and motivation associated with believing a situation to be reality) are present while allowing for the presentation of memory item combinations which may transcend the limits of physical reality. The results of the four studies are discussed in light of how REM and SWS sleep stages are differentially involved in specific aspects of episodic memory (episodic replay vs. episodic novelty) and the possible role that dreaming, as a driver of synaptic plasticity, may have in these relationships.