This study considers the relationship between landscape and the Arcadian funereal imagination in the context of eighteenth century Britain, arguing that the Arcadian landscapes imagined by the British elite were instruments of rituals facilitating the reformation and transformation of socioeconomic, political, and moral structures of the British empire. Drawing upon texts and landscape practices, three case studies are examined: Alexander Pope’s (1688-1744) Twickenham grotto and his descriptive letter to Edward Blount; Sir William Chambers’ (1723-1796) Dissertation on oriental gardening and his design for Kew gardens, Sir John Soane’s (1753-1837) manuscript Crude hints towards an history of my house in LIF and his house-museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London. The landscape itinerary of Pope’s Twickenham villa, in relation to his letter to Blount, suggests that it was structured analogous to the initiatory route of the Eleusinian mysteries as accounted in Pope’s translation of the Odyssey. Noting Pope’s engagement with Freemasonry, associated with the Opposition party, I suggest this implied Odyssean journey not only metaphorically anticipates the restitution of the Stuart dynasty and the reassertion of a political order founded upon aristocratic land ownership, but is also a means by which the ‘initiates’ contest the Enlightenment ideal of a mind of autonomy. In relation to the Burkean sublime, Chambers’ Dissertation, an imaginary travel narrative, is read as a city landscaping theory which aims to shape the morals of British citizens exposed to the erosion of commercial society. Whilst the scenes of luxury in the Chinese gardens imply a double effect of commercial society, the funereal imagery of ‘the surprising,’ built upon the Burkean sublime-effect, is intended as a cure of moral corruption associated with luxury. Stimulated by geological notions (e.g. stratigraphy and catastrophism), Soane’s ruinous text of Crude hints, a mirror of the house-museum as well as the earth, illustrates a parallel between the ‘first principles’ of the movement of the earth and that of the mind, i.e. imagination and signification. The funereal imagination in the text, which itself represents simultaneous creation and destruction, is revealed to be the architect’s construction of an ideal language that can express the being of the nation and the self. This thesis ends with a theoretical discussion of the role of the funereal imagination in eighteenth century landscape and architecture, i.e. how British imperial identity was forged, transmitted, negotiated, and reconstructed constantly within the temporally and spatially extended discursive realm of Arcadian mythology.

This thesis examines the book and archival holdings of the Cottonian Collection – a national designated eighteenth-century collection of fine art and books – between 1791 and 1816, the period of William Cotton II’s custodianship. Prior to this thesis, the Cottonian Collection has not been the subject of a full-length academic study. Whilst the art holdings have received some attention, the book and archival contents have not been examined. This thesis addresses this imbalance by conducting a thorough examination of the archival holdings and the history of the book collection. Taking the actions of the collection’s penultimate private owner, William Cotton II, as its primary focus this thesis examines the curatorial practices of acquisition, preservation and disposal through three key lenses: the presentation of the collection as a symbol of gentlemanly status, the evolution of Enlightenment cosmopolitanism thought, and the rise of Anglican Evangelicalism during this period. In doing so, this thesis considers the effects of the broader societal, political and religion changes on a national designated collection during a period defined by ideological threat and revolutionary warfare. In the process, it seeks to embed the history of the Cottonian Collection within the broader context of late-eighteenth-century book collecting practices.

O século XVIII foi um período de grandes mudanças na estrutura social e econômica vigente. Como conseqüência, a forma de organização do espaço de moradia também se alterou. Houve uma reordenação do espaço doméstico com a criação de lugares privados dentro e fora da casa e a valorização dos jardins ao redor das grandes propriedades rurais inglesas. A ascensão da nova classe média e um crescente interesse pela introspecção e privacidade propiciaram a formação destes espaços reservados ao isolamento. A partir do surgimento do romance na primeira metade do século XVIII, o espaço doméstico viu-se valorizado e descrito com mais atenção na narrativa literária. Este cuidado em retratar a vida doméstica na literatura surgiu a partir do desejo de representar a vida dos homens comuns de modo mais autêntico. Em Pamela, romance do escritor inglês Samuel Richardson publicado pela primeira vez na Inglaterra em 1740, observamos esta ênfase no espaço interior do recolhimento e da introspecção. A relação que se estabelece entre as personagens e o espaço dentro do romance é vital para a construção do enredo. / Great social and economic changes were brought about in the eighteenth-century causing, among other alterations, the rearrangement of the living spaces in the houses. This reorganization of the domestic space was responsible for the creation of private spaces inside and outside the great English country houses together with an improvement in the surrounding gardens. At that time the new middle classes were gaining more and more political and economic power and developing a taste for privacy, which required the creation of specific places inside and outside the houses for the enjoyment of the pleasures of isolation and introspection. With the rise of the novel in the first half of the eighteenth century, this domestic space was also valued, pictured and described with more attention in literature. This increasing interest in the domestic life is associated with a wish to portray the everyday lives of ordinary men with greater authenticity. In Pamela, a novel by Samuel Richardson published for the first time in England in 1740, this emphasis in the private space of isolation and introspection is clearly depicted. The deep correlation between space and characters in the novel is vital for the development of the plot.

Vathek, primeiro romance do escritor inglês William Beckford publicado em 1786, é considerado por muitos uma obra singular. Combinando certos elementos dos chamados romances góticos com uma ambientação oriental, a narrativa coloca diversos problemas a respeito de sua complexa natureza estilística. Muitos estudiosos já tentaram associar a obra a alguma dessas tradições de forma definitiva. Neste trabalho, realizaremos uma nova leitura do romance para, então, confrontarmos nossos achados com a fortuna crítica. O intuito desse procedimento é o de verificar se, diante das questões suscitadas pela própria obra, termos como gótico ou orientalista podem descrever Vathek de maneira precisa. / Vathek, English writer William Beckfords first novel published in 1786, is considered by many a singular work. By combining certain elements of the so-called gothic novels with an Oriental setting, it poses many problems deriving from its complex stylistic nature. Several critics have already tried to conclusively link the work to some of the aforementioned traditions. The aim of our work is to propose a new reading of the novel and compare our findings with previous critical assessments. The reason behind this procedure is to verify if terms like gothic or orientalist can still precisely describe Vathek when confronted with problems evoked by the work itself.

This thesis focuses on a long-misunderstood person - Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1582-1648), a diplomat, philosopher, and historian. He has been labelled 'the father of English deism', a title invented by John Leland (1691-1766) more than a hundred years after his death. Although this label has recently been challenged, modern scholarship continues to pay disproportionate attention to Herbert's religious ideas, while research on political and historical aspects of his thought remains quite underdeveloped. This thesis places Herbert in the context of contemporary issues of religion and politics, including the controversy over the royal supremacy, the relationship between King and Parliament, and debates over the lawfulness of resistance to tyrants in the Early English Civil War. It argues that his viewpoints on these issues reflected his deep concern for the freedom and authority of individual conscience. Herbert held that laws enacted in the name of the royal supremacy should not force individuals to accept anything contrary to the judgement of their consciences. He also suggested that the safety and liberty of the people took priority over the prerogatives of the King, and that Parliament, as the highest court in the kingdom, had the authority to protect the people's consciences from the oppression of the King's unlawful commands. Finally, Herbert held that resistance to tyrants was indeed lawful and that conscience granted that a tyrant's misdeeds could lawfully be bridled. The thesis is based on a close analysis of Herbert's religious treatises, his manuscript collections deposited in the National Library of Wales, and his historical works, including 'On the King's Supremacy in the Church' and The Life and Raigne of King Henry the Eighth. His manuscript collections and historical treatises in particular have never been properly examined. The main contributions of the thesis are to restore Herbert's thought to its seventeenth-century context, broaden the research on Herbert to include his political thought, and reveal that the common purpose of his works of philosophy, religion, and history was to save the people from unjust religious coercion. This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding and a more complete picture of Herbert's thought, and challenges several commonly held views of Herbert: that Herbert's thought was a precursor to eighteenth-century deism, that his theory of common notions represented the whole picture of his thought, and that his historical works were of little value and aimed only at gaining royal recognition.

O presente trabalho analisa a emergência da ideia de direitos do homem na obra de Rousseau, procurando compreendê-la como parte de uma nova sensibilidade em relação ao homem. Entendemos que essa nova disposição foi o fundamento sobre o qual se pôde assentar a Declaration des droits de lhomme et du citoyen de 1789. Procuramos mostrar como esse novo sentimento em relação aos direitos dos homens está ligado a um processo mais amplo de ressignificação da religião cristã. Rousseau fará uma nova leitura do cristianismo, procurando enfrentar temas tradicionais como pecado original, divindade de Cristo, milagres e revelação, polemizando em seus escritos com os materialistas e os integrantes das ortodoxias religiosas do Antigo Regime, seja o arcebispo de Paris, sejam os protestantes do Conselho da República de Genebra. Ao longo desses debates, Jean-Jacques procurará defender um cristianismo mais próximo da mensagem original dos Evangelhos, por um lado criticando o modelo religioso hegemônico e seu recorrente apelo ao mistério, e por outro, postulando por uma religião favorável à causa do homem e de seus direitos. / This paper analyzes the emergence of the idea of human rights in Rousseau\'s work, trying to understand it as part of a new sensibility about the man. We believe that this new provision was the basis on which might become the Declaration des droits de l\'homme et du citoyen, 1789. We show how this new feeling about the rights of men is linked to a broader process of reinterpretation of the Christian religion. Rousseau will make a new reading of Christianity, looking face traditional subjects as original sin, divinity of Christ, miracles and revelation, discussing in his writings with the materialist and members of religious orthodoxies of the Old Regime, be the archbishop of Paris or the Protestants of the Council of the Republic of Geneva. Throughout these discussions, Jean-Jacques seek to defend Christianity closer to an original message of the Gospels, first criticizing the hegemonic religious model and its recurring appeal to mystery, and second, by positing a religion helpful to the cause of man and their rights.

Anarchism is a political and socioeconomic force that has driven violent methods of social and political change for centuries. Relating Anarchism to these violent acts demonstrates a deep-seeded link to terrorism. Anarchism is one of the main forces behind modern day terrorism due to its long history alongside the ever evolving term terrorism. By connecting these two concepts, domestic terror groups can be better analyzed and understood, and future attacks from within the United States may be prevented.

In recent decades, the art and life of Jacques-Louis David have sparked a renewed surge of interest in the academic community. It is startling, however, that the often prevalent and imposing elements of architecture found in David's paintings have received little scholarly attention. This study fills a lacuna in David studies by providing a new perspective on his passionate engagement with architecture and its impact on his art. I begin by demonstrating that, following his trips to Rome early in his career, architecture became central to many of the artist's most celebrated compositions. Focusing chronologically on an approximately thirty-year period of the artist's career, I explore key paintings by David that serve as principal examples of the emphasis he placed on architecture and its ability to reaffirm, complement, intensify, and contribute layers of meaning to the central themes of his paintings. Throughout the dissertation, I identify principal architectural elements contained within these works and seek to determine their significance. David's engagement with architecture began at a young age. He was born into a family of architects and throughout his adolescence was surrounded by some of the most important thinkers, artists, and architects of the eighteenth-century. This unique upbringing and inclusion within Paris's elite cultural milieu had a tremendous impact on how David would come to understand architecture as an aesthetic vehicle capable of enhancing his works with added narrative and metaphorical meanings. The dissertation takes as its starting point an investigation into David's period as a pensionnaire at the French Academy in Rome where he became profoundly inspired by the Antique. David recorded the impact of the Roman experience on his artistic development within the pages of a dozen albums, which contain a vast number of drawings depicting the Italian landscape, ancient buildings and monuments, and antique sculpture. The Roman albums reveal the importance David placed on architecture during this period and mark the beginning of the transformative effect the medium would have on his subsequent work. David's obsession with the art and architecture of ancient Rome revealed in his Roman albums, for example, combined with his fascination for the popular vedute genre exemplified in compositions by Robert, Panini, and Piranesi, inspired him to reconsider how architecture could be used in new and significant ways in representations of historical subjects. This study investigates the multiple sources of architectural inspiration that served David throughout his career and inspired him to create a powerful architectural language. Comparisons between painting and architecture, including representations of architecture in painting, are fully explored for in the art of David, painting and architecture are not dichotomous. Rather, the two mediums are inextricably linked and together can be understood to embody the thoughts, pursuits, and passions of an epoch.

Eighteenth-century opéras comiques often turn around moments of sympathy--moral and affective bonds through which the Enlightenment imagined a natural basis for the social order as well as the pleasures and transformative potential of art. Through musico-literary analysis informed by models of moral and aesthetic relationality that I derive from Dubos, Marivaux, Rousseau and Diderot, I argue that opéras comiques written and performed between 1835and the Revolution feature three distinct forms of sympathy: 1) a worldly-sensuous sympathy most typically found in the common subgenre of the sentimental pastorale and characterized by a happy blending of moral and sensual connections; 2) an amorous intersubjectivity found occasionally in sentimental comedies and characterized by a sometimes empowering, sometimes trying encounter with an other experienced as a site of subjective freedom; and finally 3) a sacrificial sympathy found most frequently in Michel-Jean Sedaine's sometimes pointedly anti-worldly, morally sober lyric dramas and characterized by an obstacle-triggered leap into an identificatory, affective imagination. Although there is much that distinguishes these forms of sympathy, they are all shaped by eighteenth-century empiricist assumptions as to the existence of a basic relationality between the self and his or her social environment and thus resist a standard critical model that sees such emotional ties as merely the effect of some more fundamental separation between self and other.

Cette étude a pour ambition d’expliquer les mécanismes qui informent la représentation du corps du "non-civilisé" dans les Îles Britanniques entre 1776 et 1815. Elle s’appuie sur un corpus de périodiques et de romans cités dans le titre et, de manière adventice, sur quelques documents iconographiques. Elle démontre, dans un premier temps, l’existence d’un lien, sinon paradoxal, du moins inattendu entre le degré de "civilisation" que l’observateur britannique prête à un individu ou à un groupe et la manière dont il représente son corps. Elle explique ensuite comment cette représentation est largement conditionnée par la théorie des climats, défendue, sous sa forme la plus aboutie, par Buffon, mais prolongée par d’autres observateurs sous des formes révélatrices d’une transition alors en cours. Cette transition voit l’essor de théories raciales fondées sur l’idée que le corps est un matériau à la fois mesurable et signifiant, dont on cherchera à prouver qu’elles s’opposent moins à la logique "climatique" que la doxa universitaire ne le laisse croire. C’est que le corps du "non civilisé" contribue lui-même à la formation d’un "corps impérial" en pleine formation, dont il devient un organe tantôt malade, tantôt vital. Ce n’est ainsi, précisément, qu’en tant que représentation que cette figure protéiforme acquiert un certain degré d’existence. / Abstract This study aims at explaining the mechanisms that inform the way ‘uncivilized’ peoples’ bodies are represented in the British Isles between 1776 and 1815. It is based on a corpus of periodicals and novels cited in its title and, to a lesser extent, on some illustrations. It first demonstrates that there exists an unexpected if paradoxical link between the degree of ‘civilization’ that the British observer attributes to a given individual or group and the way this observer represents their bodies. It then explains how such a representation is largely conditioned by the theory of climates (aka ‘environmentalism’), the most sophisticated version of which was put forward by Buffon, but was then elaborated upon by other observers, in ways that turn out to disclose a transition that was then taking place. The transition in question is that by which racial theories, based on the idea that the body constitutes both a measurable and meaningful material, came to prevail. As this study seeks to prove, such theories are much less opposed to the previous ‘climatic’ ones than what academic doxa on the subject might lead us to believe. The reason is that ‘uncivilized’ peoples’ bodies contribute to shaping an ‘imperial body’ that is itself in progress and of which they become organs that are either perceived as unhealthy or vital. So it is precisely as a representation–and as nothing else–that the protean figure of the ‘uncivilized’ comes to life.