Orientador: Ivan Esperança Rocha / Banca: Andrea Lucia Dorini de Oliveira Carvalho Rossi / Banca: Antonio Brancaglion Júnior / Resumo: Osíris foi um dos deuses mais importantes dentro do panteão da civilização egípcia. Encontramos alusões ao seu mito desde o começo da era dinástica até o período greco-romano, onde temos a síntese realizada por Plutarco (45-120 d.C.) no seu tratado sobre Ísis e Osíris. Através da análise desse mito, tal como narrado por Plutarco, pode-se perceber que sua influência foi muito profunda e marcante na história do Egito abrangendo questões referentes aos aspectos principais dessa sociedade. Seu mito respondia questões e anseios pertinentes a todos os egípcios sendo dessa forma adorado em todo o país. Possuía características e funções como deus relacionado aos ciclos da natureza, como a Lua, o Nilo e o grão, como mantenedor da ordem e da sucessão real e fundamentalmente como aquele que transcendeu a morte e foi reinar no Ultra-Tumba, tornando-se rei e juiz desse mundo. Portanto, nosso objetivo será mostrar que o mito de Osíris estava relacionado com todos os aspectos da vida egípcia, da paz à guerra, da seca à enchente, da peste à abundância, da posição divina do faraó à dureza da servidão e fundamentalmente, da vida à morte. Conseguindo, assim, abarcar em sua personalidade divina todos os atributos necessários para solucionar e satisfazer as necessidades de todos os estratos sociais, do rei ao servo. / Abstract: Osiris was one of the most important divinities inside the panteon of Egyptian civilization. We find hints of this myth since the beginning of the Dynastyc era until the Greco-Roman period, in which we have the syntesis made by Plutarch (45-120 A.D.) in his work about Isis and Osiris. Analyzing the myth of Osiris, as it is narrated by Plutarch, we can realize that its influence was very deep and very important in the history of Egypt, reaching questions concerning the main features of this society. The myth of Osiris answered questions and wishes which were pertinent to all egyptians, so that it was adored in entire country. It possessed characteristics and functions as god related to the cycles of nature, like the Moon, the Nile River and the seed; as keeper of order and of regal succession and, fundamentally, as the one which transcended the death and went to reign in Over-Grave, becoming king and judge of that world. Thus, our purpose will be to show that the myth of Osiris was related to all features of Egyptian life, from peace to war, from dryness to inundation, from plague to plenty, from the divine position of the king to the hardness of servitude, and fundamentally, from life to death. So, the myth of Osiris got to embrace, in its divine personality, all the necessary attributes to resolve and to satisfy the needs of all social classes, from the king to the serf. / Mestre

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Please read the abstract in the section, 10summary / Dissertation (MA (Visual Arts))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Visual Arts / MA / unrestricted

Egyptian women played an integral and important role in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Egypt witnessed different forms of struggles and fights over power since January 25, 2011. The last decade can be understood as episodes of contention. Women played vital roles in each of these episodes. Both the complexity and dynamics of the different roles played by women problematized the various conceptual frameworks that are usually used in analyzing Egyptian women’s various forms of activism. Resultantly, this dissertation suggests a new analytical framework that can be applied to understand Egyptian women’s struggles and ways of expressing their agency. The theory of intersectionality by Collins and Bilge was used to analyze six documentaries produced by either female filmmakers or focused on women’s struggles and activism after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. The Triple C Model (Context, Contradictions, and Commonalities) analytical framework could fill the analytical gap in understanding the complex discourses surrounding Egyptian women’s oppression and activism.

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Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Recent years were marked by a major transformation in human and social communication, owing to the advances in ICT and thus social media technologies. Social media have introduced new communication practices, provided newfound interaction patterns, created new forms of expressions, stimulated a wide civic participation, and so forth. They are rapidly evolving and their significance is increasing while their role is changing in social and political processes. Moreover, they are increasingly becoming an instrumental approach to, and power for, social change due to their potential in bringing new dynamics to its underlying processes such as public mobilization. Indeed, more recently, they played an important role in what has come to be known as the Arab Spring. Particularly, in the recent Egyptian revolt, social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, have been transformed into effective means to fuel revolt and bring about political transformation. This marked a victory for social media and corroborates that they are an enduring resource for the successful mobilization of bottom-up, grassroots movements and leaderless collective actions. This, in turn, has stimulated discussions about their impact on political change, giving rise to a new discourse, what might be identified as ‘social media for social change’. This discourse is gaining an increased attention in the media and the academia: many journalists and authors talk and write about it. Particularly, research and publications by journalists emphasize the fundamental role the online media play in the reproduction of the role of social media in the Egyptian revolution and political change. The aim of this study is to establish, by means of a discourse analysis, how and with what purpose in mind, the online media report on – represent – the relationship between social media and the Egyptian uprising and political transformation, a social relationship that seems to be overstated and constructed in various ways by different journalists. This critical reading reveals what is undervalued, overvalued and excluded, as well as the intersection between the media discourse, subjects and ideology. To achieve this aim, the discourse analysis approach was used to examine the set of selected media texts. The media representation is deterministic as to the role of social media in the Egyptian revolution and political transformation, i.e. it exaggeratedly depicts the power of social media by describing the Egyptian revolution as a Facebook revolution. It also tends to be rhetorical and exclusionary. The event of the revolution and the reality of political change in Egypt are far more complicated than how it is reconstructed by most journalists. Further, it plays a role in constructing a positive image of different corporate players, namely Facebook, Twitter and media companies, as well as in constituting their identities. A great highlight is given to represent these actors. In addition, the media representation does ideological work. It sustains and serves corporate power as well as advances ideological claims. This discursive research enhances the current understanding of the phenomenon of social media in relation to revolution and political change, although the findings may not be generalizable.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The rise of Ancient Egyptian civilization by the end of the fourth millennium BC was essentially a religious process. The civilization developed from a religious core that was formed by and in the Nile valley. Metaphors were drawn from the context of the Nile to represent deities. In different epochs and at different places, creation myths attempted explaining the mystery of the origin of god and man. According to these myths, both god and man were created by a primal being after it had brought itself into being. In an attempt to depict different facets of deities, various metaphors were used. One and the same god could be represented as a human and as an animal. Nonetheless, all deities possessed human features and all functioned in human structures. In the primal state mankind and the gods coexisted in harmony. When man rebelled this harmony was shattered, and the gods left the world of man. After the gods had left earth they could be approached only by a mediator. The role of mediator was played by the pharaoh. It was the pharaoh's mission to maintain the order on earth that had been present since creation. Inthe office as high priest of all cults it was incumbent on the pharaoh to keep the gods satisfied by ensuring them of the maintenance of Ma'at. In this the pharaoh as god-king was assisted by a hierarchy of priests who performed cult rituals in temples and sacrificed to the gods. To a great extent, ordinary people were excluded from formal religion and resorted to popular or demotic religion. The dominant role of artefacts in death and grave rituals does not signify an obsession with death. All rituals and artefacts were involved in maintaining life after death, and the afterlife was something that Ancient Egyptians implicitly believed in. Admission to life after death required a morally sound and just life, which was determined in the judgement ceremony when the deeds of the deceased were placed on a scale weighted with the feather of Ma'at. Religion, with the pharaoh at its centre, permeated every aspect of daily life in Ancient Egypt. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die opkoms van die Antieke Egiptiese beskawing teen die einde van die vierde millennium vC was essensieel 'n godsdienstige proses. Die beskawing het rondom 'n godsdiens ontwikkel wat sy skering en inslag in die vrugbare Nylvallei gehad het. Metafore uit die Nylkonteks is gebruik om die godedom te vergestalt. Skeppingsmites het op verskillende tye en op verskillende plekke 'n verklaring van die ontstaansgeheim van gode en mense probeer gee. Hiervolgens is alle gode en mense deur 'n oerwese geskape nadat hierdie oerwese homself tot stand gebring het. In 'n poging om die verskillende fasette van gode uit te beeld, is verskillende metafore gebruik; dieselfde god kon vergestalt word as mens en/of dier. Tog het alle gode menslike eienskappe gehad en het hulle almal in menslike strukture gefunksioneer. In die oerstaat sou mense en gode in harmonie saamleef. Toe die mens in opstand gekom het, is hierdie harmonie versteur, en die gode het die wêreld van die mensdom verlaat. Nadat die gode die aarde verlaat het, kon hulle net deur 'n middelaar bereik word. Die rol van middelaar is ingeneem deur die farao. Dit was die opdrag van die farao om die orde wat van die skepping af teenwoordig was, op aarde te handhaaf. In sy amp as hoëpriester van alle kultusse moes die farao daagliks die gode tevrede hou deur hulle van die instandhouding van Ma'at te verseker. Hierin is hy as godkoning bygestaan deur 'n hiërargie van priesters wat in tempels kultusrituele uitgevoer en offers aan die gode gebring het. Die gewone mens is in 'n groot mate uitgesluit van formele godsdiens en het 'n heenkome in volksgodsdiens gevind. Die dominante rol wat artefakte rondom die dood en grafrituele speel, het geensins gedui op 'n beheptheid met die dood nie. Alle rituele en toerusting is gerig op die instandhouding van die lewe na die dood, waaraan die Antieke Egiptenaar onwrikbaar geglo het. Toetrede tot die lewe na die dood het 'n moreel regverdige lewe vereis en is bepaal by die oordeelseremonie wanneer die afgestorwene se dade op 'n skaal teenoor die veer van Ma'at geweeg is. Elke aspek van die daaglikse lewe in Antieke Egipte is geraak en bepaal deur die besondere rol van die godsdiens en die farao as hoofrolspeler in die godsdiens.

The works I examine in this thesis for Egyptian women’s narrative liberation strategies span from the nationalist-feminist works of the 1920s in Egypt throughout the twentieth century. I include works by Huda Shaarawi, Zainab al-Ghazali, Nawal El Saadawi, Latifa al-Zayyat, the post-1970s generation such as Ibtihal Salem, Alifa Rifaat and Salwa Bakr and finally, Ahdaf Soueif. The works for examination are organised chronologically and surround anti-colonial independence struggles in Egypt. I argue that writing corporeality for contemporary Egyptian women complicates the modern national space and histories. Qasim Amin (1863-1908) is deemed Egypt’s feminist founding father. His modernist reformist discourse is one of the attempts to create the interstitial space for Egyptian women’s liberation in Homi Bhabha’s concept. Amin’s ‘imitative’ Western gender equality discourse renders the heterosexual relationship complex within Egyptian nationalist heteronormative discourses. It kindles numerous debates about Islamic definitions of womanhood. Not only does this cause the tension between Islam and Egyptian feminism but it also makes Islamic culture open to changes and a plethora of discourses. This thesis aims at assessing narrative strategies through female bodies, which form an interstitial space in Egypt’s histories. Romantic love narratives in contemporary Egyptian women’s writing re-signify national space. Re-writing heterosexual relationships in El Saadawi’s (1931-) secular gender politics unsettles heterosexual constitution in Egyptian modern fiction, which disrupts a sense of a linear time in inventing national identities. Writing against Freudian masculine discursive power, El Saadawi distinguishes her feminist stance from Western feminist colonialist discursive hegemony. Her strategy renders an instantaneous frame of time, to use Bhabha’s concept. It targets the assumption of tradition as a nationalist discourse. Latifa al-Zayyat (1923-1996), through the creation of Layla in The Open Door, suggests that female sexuality can articulate historical perspectives of Egyptian modernity which has been dominated by male-centred views. The central space conferred on female sexuality in The Open Door reveals the symbolic representation of female sexuality in the male-led nationalist and nationalist-feminist debates. In Return of the Pharaoh, al-Ghazali (1917-2005) demonstrates her body to be able to endure tortures better than men; it involves a complication of the nationalist invention revolving around feminine ‘spirituality’, dependent on women’s roles of respectability. Her autobiographical writing is fluid between the personal and political and it becomes a vehicle for negotiating the national and female selves. Therefore, writing corporeality constitutes strategies for creating narrative time and space in Egypt as a nation. Also, Egyptian women’s writing techniques bring forth narratives of the lower class in Egyptian women’s movement. In the writing of the post-1970s generation, Ibtihal Salem’s (1949-) daily description of women’s lives disrupts the masculine national linear time. For Salem, sexual life expresses disillusionment toward Jamal Abdel Nasser’s socialist nationalism, lament for neo-colonialism and the fundamentalist revival. Alifa Rifaat’s (1930-1996) representation of female genital mutilation integrates suturing, i.e. healing, and infibulations. Rifaat’s writing renders nationalist discourse split by demonstrating this practice as a sense of belonging and a wound, and thus, she creates an alternative space for nationalist discourses. The short story genre is a strategy of conveying Egyptian women’s culturally mixed daily life. Salwa Bakr (1949-) devises female madness as a strategy to create new space within the domestic sphere. Her approach is based on revisiting Islam. She describes female psychological problems and carves out a representational possibility for Third World urban female subalterns. The zar ritual and psychoanalytic institutions introduce feminine circular time in Bakr’s works. Ahdaf Soueif (1950-) adopts the feminine romance genre to seek narrative possibility for female sexuality and for formulating space for historical subalterns. I suggest that women’s corporeality in Egyptian modern fiction articulates a series of performative ever-changing national identities.

Thesis advisor: Matilda Tomaryn Bruckner / This study demonstrates the essential connection between literature and history by examining the way selected saints’ lives were read and rewritten in Latin and Old French from the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. Building on the concept of the horizon of expectations developed by Hans Robert Jauss, it argues against both the model of literature as a series of timeless classics whose meaning is apparent to the intelligent reader of any age and the tendency to reduce literature to the more or less successful imitation of historical realities. Not only does the interpretation of a saint’s life change over time as the text is read in different religious and cultural contexts, but the narrative is in turn capable of influencing the way its readers understand themselves and the world in which they live. By comparing different versions of each saint’s life, I am able to isolate variations in form, tone, characterization, and action, and relate them to the experiences of specific historical figures whose lives illustrate the important religious and cultural issues of their time. In order to do this, I examine three saints’ lives in light of the sometimes troubled relationship between the clerical order of the church and the laity. Two Latin and two Old French versions of the Life of Saint Alexis are read along with the life of Christina of Markyate, an English woman who fled from her husband to become a recluse. Alexis’s and Christina’s refusal of marriage illustrates the tension between the monastic model of fleeing from the world to save one’s self and the pastoral ideal of working for the salvation of others. I compare the figure of the mother in two very similar Old French versions of the Life of Pope Saint Gregory, a story of incest, penance, and redemption, to Ermengarde of Anjou, a countess who could never commit herself to life in a convent. Like Ermengarde and countless other lay men and women, Gregory’s mother faces the question of whether she can live a sufficiently holy life as a lay person or needs to enter a convent to expiate her sins. Finally, I read Latin and Old French verse and prose versions of the Life of Saint Mary the Egyptian in light of the similar yet opposing experiences of Valdes of Lyon and Francis of Assisi in relation to the question of heresy and orthodoxy. My understanding of the medieval religious historical context, particularly the history of the laity in the Church, builds on the foundational work of Raoul Manselli, Etienne Delaruelle, and André Vauchez, as well as more recent work by Michel Grandjean, who compares the different visions of the laity held by Peter Damien, Anselm of Canterbury, and Yves of Chartres. My dissertation shows that the different versions of saints’ lives not only reflect the evolution of attitudes about human relationships, salvation, and orthodoxy that characterize the time and place in which they were written, but also question the practices of later readers and offer solutions to new problems in new contexts. As my study demonstrates, ideals like the monastic identification of holiness with asceticism shape the way people understand and direct their lives, and the source for these ideals can often be found in literary texts like saints’ lives. These texts do not communicate these ideals transparently. The juxtapositions, tensions, and conflicts they depict can lead the reader to come to a more nuanced understanding or even a total reconsideration of his or her beliefs. The study of rewriting and medieval saints’ lives can help us better understand this interplay between narrative, ideal, and lived experience. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Romance Languages and Literatures.