Anxiety disorders are some of the most prevalent mental illnesses in the United States, and young adults have developed a variety of coping mechanisms to deal with their symptoms. One of the most common is escapism, or the act of escaping reality by delving into alternate stimuli, fantasies, or media content, but this often leads to social or emotional isolation. Cooperative roleplaying games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, can alleviate symptoms of anxiety disorders while facilitating social interaction through escapism, creative thinking, play, and community building. The companion piece to this paper, Reflections of Fate, is a D&D 5e quest specifically designed with challenges and storylines to further these potentially healing effects.

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate Lucan's profound engagement and conflict with two ancient intellectual and literary traditions that can both be regarded as escapist, that is, as promising or postulating a sanctuary (whether physical or spiritual) from the world's troubles, and that were both active in Lucan's own day: utopian writing about science, exemplified in Latin by Lucan's uncle Seneca the Younger, as well as by the astronomical poet Manilius, and utopian Egyptology, as reflected in a wide variety of texts ranging from Herodotus, through Diodorus Siculus, to Lucan's contemporary, the Alexandrian polymath Chaeremon. To this end, I have examined two closely related sequences in the De Bello Civili that have received little attention from scholars of Lucan, namely Pompey's journey to Egypt in Book Eight and Caesar's Egyptian sojourn in Book Ten, during which Lucan's two main characters are each shown attempting to take refuge from the poem's ubiquitous violence through the double avenue of travel to Egypt (to which the defeated Pompey flees, and where his pursuer Caesar hopes to leave the civil war behind) and the practice of natural science (with Pompey's astronomical inquiry and Caesar's investigation of the Nile). In this context, I have also considered Cato's Libyan adventures, from the intervening Book Nine. Both Pompey and Caesar discover that escape through either method is impossible, for the fabled Egyptian Shangri-La is now embroiled in the political, social, and economic crisis of the outside world, while not only the natural universe but even the very act of inquiry into nature are alike contaminated by the ethos of civil war. The virtuous Cato, on the other hand, does not even make the attempt, maintaining a single-minded focus on his civic duties. By revealing such escape to be both immoral (through Cato's example) and impossible (through the examples of Pompey and Caesar), Lucan signals his decisive rejection of the escapist predilections of many of his contemporaries (including his uncle Seneca and his own father Annaeus Mela), who tried to distance themselves from the vicissitudes of political life under the later Julio-Claudians through retirement into a state of philosophical otium.

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate Lucan's profound engagement and conflict with two ancient intellectual and literary traditions that can both be regarded as escapist, that is, as promising or postulating a sanctuary (whether physical or spiritual) from the world's troubles, and that were both active in Lucan's own day: utopian writing about science, exemplified in Latin by Lucan's uncle Seneca the Younger, as well as by the astronomical poet Manilius, and utopian Egyptology, as reflected in a wide variety of texts ranging from Herodotus, through Diodorus Siculus, to Lucan's contemporary, the Alexandrian polymath Chaeremon. To this end, I have examined two closely related sequences in the De Bello Civili that have received little attention from scholars of Lucan, namely Pompey's journey to Egypt in Book Eight and Caesar's Egyptian sojourn in Book Ten, during which Lucan's two main characters are each shown attempting to take refuge from the poem's ubiquitous violence through the double avenue of travel to Egypt (to which the defeated Pompey flees, and where his pursuer Caesar hopes to leave the civil war behind) and the practice of natural science (with Pompey's astronomical inquiry and Caesar's investigation of the Nile). In this context, I have also considered Cato's Libyan adventures, from the intervening Book Nine. Both Pompey and Caesar discover that escape through either method is impossible, for the fabled Egyptian Shangri-La is now embroiled in the political, social, and economic crisis of the outside world, while not only the natural universe but even the very act of inquiry into nature are alike contaminated by the ethos of civil war. The virtuous Cato, on the other hand, does not even make the attempt, maintaining a single-minded focus on his civic duties. By revealing such escape to be both immoral (through Cato's example) and impossible (through the examples of Pompey and Caesar), Lucan signals his decisive rejection of the escapist predilections of many of his contemporaries (including his uncle Seneca and his own father Annaeus Mela), who tried to distance themselves from the vicissitudes of political life under the later Julio-Claudians through retirement into a state of philosophical otium.

This study focuses on Black Metal and Death Metal music as complimentary forms of commodified evil, which, in contrast to most other forms of commodified evil, provide an alternative form of modern escapism. In particular, it demonstrates that in glorifying evil their respective natures and essences effectively suggest to us that the ability to overcome our problems, and cope with the world's atrocities, lies not in the vain hope that justice will prevail, but rather, in embracing evil and actively cultivating a desensitizing ethos of utter indifference to the plight and suffering of others. In addition, because Black Metal and Death Metal have both generated their own distinct sub-cultures, which are predominantly populated by marginalized youths, this study simultaneous begs the question: What is it that motivates them to produce and/or endorse forms of music, and thereby become members of sub-cultures, which ostensibly promote such a negative world view? Consequently, it also demonstrates some of the important ways in which they can serve to help their proponents regain a sense of power and control over their lives. It then concludes by looking at Black Metal and Death Metal's (potential) social effects - both negative and positive.

The aim of this study was to explore ways in which ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers introduce different forms of literary writing such as poems, plays, fiction, genres and fantasy in the ESL classroom. The main method used was semi-structured interviews with six upper secondary ESL teachers in the South of Sweden. The interview questions were analyzed taking into account current research within the area, and further based on our own experience. The benefits of using the fantasy genre in teaching was one of the main focuses for this study. The compiled results showed varying strategies to teaching fiction in general. Only fifty percent of the interviewed teachers would actively have chosen the fantasy genre in their teaching practice. However, the interviewees saw potential beneficial outcomes from using the fantasy genre. All but one would consider incorporating the fantasy genre in their future teaching. Despite the negative view on fantasy being an unhealthy escapism, the positive effects outweigh the negative. In conclusion, the results and the analysis are in line with the established author Lloyd Alexander who states the following: “Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.”

During the normalization period, the topic of countryside life in literature started to reappear. Many prosaic works depicted character's departure from the city to the countryside and his/her beginning of their new life in unknown surroundings. This thesis focuses on such works of art, published between the 1970s and 1980s. It compares four officially published examples of countryside novels containing any mark of escapism (in novels written by Jan Otčenášek, Bohumil Říha, Jiří Medek, Jan Kostrhun) with examples of prose published in samizdat or exile (Mojmír Klánský, Milan Kundera). Through intertextual as well as thematic and compositional analysis, the thesis investigates common features contained in this "escapist" literature. The analysis is inspired by the poetics of space and by the concept of the countryside as an idyllic space.

To seek the essence of architecture in the provision of physical control would be to reduce architecture to mere building1. This dissertation questions the accepted pre-eminence of the rational over the intuitive in architectural design. Further investigation into the question forms a themed theoretical discourse around the origins of architecture, or enclosure and the escapism provided by ornamentation. The question is not restricted to the current architectural context and is discussed and ordered by the title trilogy. The investigation departs from a mythical scale gradually focussing to the macro and micro theories, ending on a site contextual level. Anima is the feminine Latin root for ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’, also ‘animal life’ (related to a creature’s breath); Technic is from the Latin technicus which means ‘details’ and ‘methods’. Combined, the words anima and technic refer to an imaginative creative ability, mediation between the unconscious and conscious mind2. Animatechnic becomes a mythological state of process and becoming in which the art of making or representation blurs the boundary between the emotional artisan and the technician; it is further viewed as a simile to the origins of architecture and the art of enclosure. Architecture as Escapism presents the post-modern theoretical debate regarding representation in the current age of production and consumerism, where the authenticity of product and experience plays a vital role. Ornamentation and representation provides objects with narrative lines and places objects in a metaphorical position against each other. The relevance of this understanding to the dissertation is in a possible neo-archaic approach to inventiveness and meaning in an age of production devoid or illusive of sacred being or awareness. ZOO becomes the metaphysical space where the situations of enclosure and escapism accumulate in multiple forms, a place where man’s perceptions of authenticity and reality is challenged. The concepts within the ZOO situation crystallises in the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG). ZOO is regarded as a collective, a world within a world, a representation in itself of the post modern situation, a microcosm. NZG is the place where, the situations and conditions of the mythical and further theoretical discourse are staged. It is a place where contemporary Animal and Man meets; a landscape of enclosure, cages or artificially copied habitats and representations to provide escapism. ZOO is a space where the collection of Animal and Man can be observed on a global spectrum; the mythical tempus of Paradise, of primordial plenitude. The dissertation aims to communicate the interconnectedness of the trilogy and investigates, interprets and gives form to the discourse and the metaphors or analogies surrounding the theme on various theoretical scales. The project hopes to inform intuitive design approaches by documenting and illustrating the design process involved. The building is redesigned and reinterpreted throughout the process. The investigation should therefore, be seen as the near final synthesis of method or the becoming of a structure and not the rationalised drive to a product. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Architecture / unrestricted

Competitive video gaming has become one of the fastest-growing sporting disciplines. Aspiring esporters face many challenges that can threaten their prospective career timespan, and lead to post-career difficulties. The objectives was to explore the career narratives of Swedish esports athletes. Three professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players were interviewed. Two of the participants were no longer active competitors yet still worked fulltime within the esports community. Narrative analysis was applied with the holistic-form structural analysis used. The analysis resulted in three types of narratives that are represented within the sink or swim typology: risk and gain, descent and gain, and slowly ascending. The findings revealed that all participants had, at times, disregarded important aspects of life, such as school, social relationships, and physical activity, to further their esporting careers. The esporters also indicated that they were, to an extent, cognizant of these inactions and sacrifices. The participants periodically used gaming to break away from stressors that took place in real-life, and they had all navigated through their careers unsupervised. Although the career pathways were unique to the individuals, it was possible to relate them to traditional sports career frameworks. Even though the three esporters endured many hardships throughout their careers, they were all happy as to how their lives developed and found their esporting careers to be meaningful life experiences.

This study examines how pop culture fandoms are formed, based on five communications theories: Escapism, Mood Management, Parasocial Relationships, Identification, and Social Capital. The researcher examined the Harry Potter fandom specifically because of its global pervasiveness. Using Q Methodology, 47 respondents fell into one of four categories: Relationship Experts, Happy Introverts, Identifying Isolationists, and Isolated Self-regulators. Relationship Experts like Harry Potter because of parasocial relationships with the characters as well as the story's capacity for escapism, and Happy Introverts focus on liking Harry Potter for their own enjoyment (not that of others) and mood management. Identifying Isolationists like Harry Potter because they identify with the characters and enjoy discussing the books with those around them, while Isolated Self-regulators do not have any parasocial relationships and focus on the books' mood management capacity. It is interesting to note that Escapism played a supporting (but never leading) role in each of these Factors. All respondents agree that Harry Potter has been, and will continue to be, an important part of their lives. It is hoped that this conclusion can form the foundation of future popular culture studies.

Reality and fantasy fiction have often been seen as opposites. Fantasy fiction is many times seen as childish, with escapism as its sole purpose. However, is this actually the case?  The aim of this paper is to make the connection between fantasy fiction and reality clearer since we believe that fantasy fiction could reflect the problems in our everyday life and in a way help us see the issues in our world through a new perspective. The connections will be made possible through research from previous scholars, critical perspectives of psychoanalysis and the guidelines of the Swedish National Agency of Education.  Due to the new 2021 syllabus for English in upper secondary school, the topic of this paper is highly relevant as the syllabi calls for students to discuss both ethical and existential questions, as well as reading fiction. Since there is a belief that fantasy fiction can be read and understood as a genre reflecting our reality and our everyday problems, fantasy fiction could assist in discussions about for instance race, discrimination, and sexuality. Since the topic of this paper is highly relevant in connection to the new syllabi, we will therefore write this following literature review and demonstrate how fantasy fiction reflects our reality and how it can be used in the English classroom.