Movement and storytelling are the links between past and present; both dance and literature have the same artistic and primal origins. We began to dance to express and communicate, to worship and feel. We tell stories for the same reasons: to learn from the past and to be able to communicate in the present. This work explores the many connections between literature and dance through examinations of six dance forms: Native American, Bharatanatyam, West African, Ballet, Modern, and Post-Modern dance.

Gabriel Astruc (1864-1938), a French impresario of Jewish background, is mostly known for his collaborative work as an impresario with Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes. His role within Parisian musical culture at the fin de siècle, however, was much broader. He was a critic, creator of a leading periodical, producer of musical and circus events, music publisher, and associate of many important cultural figures of his day. Although Astruc has been mentioned in scholarly literature, his multifaceted activities have never been carefully studied. Following the revisionist initiatives of previous scholars (e.g., Pasler, Huebner, Garafola, Fauser), this project offers a new understanding of Parisian cultural life between 1880 and 1913. Rather than focusing on valued composers such as Debussy or selected avant-garde repertoire, this dissertation considers the panoramic perspective of the Parisian cultural milieu as understood by a well-positioned impresario who participated in diverse, but often intersecting, music circles. It reveals rich interconnections between Astruc’s entrepreneurial, managerial, and publishing endeavors that linked private fêtes and soirées that he produced in elite homes with his ambitious concert series, La Grande Saison de Paris, 1905-1913 – organized through his firm La Sociéte Musicale – and with compositions and contents published in Musica, the magazine he co-founded in 1902. It questions Astruc’s aesthetic preferences and argues that he helped to shape Parisian culture through the promotion, publication, and programming of balanced, eclectic repertoire of new and old, national and international, and light as well as weighty works. This study also chronicles the development of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Astruc’s culminating project that was intended to embrace symphonic, operatic, and chamber performance and to experiment with new juxtapositions and integrations of the arts. Research for this dissertation centered on a compilation and a comparative analysis of wide-ranging materials found in Astruc’s collections at the Archives Nationales and New York Public Library. Unlike earlier studies of fin-de-siècle Paris, this project utilizes previously unexamined publications, musical criticism, published literature, and manuscript material, all originating from or related to Astruc’s diverse activities and observations.

British imperialism of the Ottoman Empire is analyzed in terms of power and influence. Changes in gender roles, nationalism, and culture are all examined through the lens of imperialism. The discourse flows thematically and discusses brief histories of both Britain and the Ottoman Empire. The construction of the Imperial Museum created a unified image of the nation through the collection of material items. As a result of European imperialism, the Ottoman Empire developed a sense of national culture.

Using the lives of impaired individuals catalogued in the Íslendingasögur as a narrative framework, this study examines medieval Scandinavian social views regarding impairment from the ninth to the thirteenth century. Beginning with the myths and legends of the eddic poetry and prose of Iceland, it investigates impairment in Norse pre-Christian belief; demonstrating how myth and memory informed medieval conceptualizations of the body. This thesis counters scholarly assumptions that the impaired were universally marginalized across medieval Europe. It argues that bodily difference, in the Norse world, was only viewed as a limitation when it prevented an individual from fulfilling roles that contributed to their community. As Christianity’s influence spread and northern European powers became more focused on state-building aims, Scandinavian societies also slowly began to transform. Less importance was placed on the community in favor of the individual and policies regarding bodily difference likewise changed; becoming less inclusive toward the impaired.

Disertační práce Porovnávání středoevropských jazyků: za horizont strukturních rysů a lexikálních přejímek se soustředí na zhodnocení a přehodnocení přístupu k výzkumu jazyků střední Evropy. Hlavním cílem předkládané práce je (1) podat přehled dosavadních poznatků o porovnávání středoevropských jazyků, (2) na jeho základě naznačit možné nové směřování němu přispět. Druhá kapitola práce se věnuje areálové lingvistice, jakožto disciplíně zaměřené na výzkum podobnosti a konvergence geograficky blízkých jazyků, a zejména jejímu ústřednímu pojmu . Představuje okolnosti jeho vzniku, jeho různé definice a jeho kritické (pře)hodnocení pracích současných areálových lingvistů. Třetí kapitola sumarizuje výzkum středoevropských jazyků: různé koncepce středoevropského (popř. dunajského) jazykového svazu vzájemné vlivy lexika a frazeologie těchto jazyků a popisy situací jazykového kontaktu v areálu. Tento přehled ukázal, že hlavními doménami porovnávání jazyků areálu dosud byly strukturní rysy a lexikální přejímky a kalky. Novější vývoj lingvistiky, jak je naznačeno ve čtvrté kapitole, však operuje rovněž s jazykovými jednotkami, které překlenují a relativizují -lexikon. Nabízí se tedy, aby se rovněž komparativní výzkum středoevropských jazyků soustředil na tyto jevy zahrnutelné pod pojem idiomatičnosti. Pátá kapitola...

Anna of Denmark (12 December 1574 - 2 March 1619), the wife of King James VI/I of Scotland, England, and Ireland, was an intelligent and interesting woman who has, up until recently, been largely ignored by history. It has only been within the past two decades that any in-depth analysis of Anna has been done, and most of that analysis has focused on Anna's work with the Stuart court masque. The intent of this thesis has been to expand upon current scholarship regarding Anna, as well as to synthesize the various facets of Anna's life in order to put together a more comprehensive understanding of who Anna was and the various ways in which she expressed personal agency and autonomy as a queen consort as opposed to a queen regnant, and how she used the roles of royal wife and mother to further her own goals and interests. The work is divided into an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction offers a brief analysis of the primary and secondary sources, and details how these sources were used within the broader scope of the paper. This introductory section also examines Anna's early life in Denmark, her wedding, and her initial journey to Scotland. The second chapter focuses on Anna's relationships with her husband and children, and particularly how Anna established a niche for herself within first the Scottish, and later the English courts. By studying these relationships it is possible to study the ways in which Anna, as a queen consort, was able to create a court presence for herself. Chapter three analyzes Anna's relationships with other courtiers and, more specifically, what these relationships tell modern scholars about how Anna was able to exercise political influence and power both directly and indirectly. Anna's interactions with her courtiers illustrate how well she understood not only human nature, but the nature of court culture and politics. The fourth chapter presents an in-depth study of Anna's masquing career, and looks at how Anna used the court masque to not only establish a female presence on the stage, but also to fashion a public image for herself. Anna used the Stuart court masque in a way that no one had previously: she used it to express her social and political opinions, and through the court masque Anna was able to portray both who she was and how she wanted to be perceived. The final chapter covers Anna's final days and her lasting impact on English history. Anna of Denmark deserves to be brought out of the shadows of history, and this thesis has attempted to do just that. She was a bright, engaging young woman who, unfortunately, has largely been overshadowed by her husband and children. By studying Anna's various roles as wife, mother, friend, benefactor, and patron, it has been possible to bring forth a much more complete understanding of who this queen consort was and why she is important to a broader understanding of early modern English history.

The following thesis will examine the links between popular culture and tourism, and their impact on collective memory. The discussed material will include films produced in modern Germany and Poland, and other cultural phenomena related to the war and post-war reality. The analysis will also address the issue of Dark Tourism, strongly associated with modern tourism. Furthermore this work will explore the strategies implied by travel agencies and museums to meet the needs of modern tourists and their potential in promoting new touristic attractions.

Fifteenth-century diplomatic protocol required the city of Florence to send diplomats to congratulate both new and militarily victorious rulers. Diplomats on such missions poured praise on their triumphant allies and new rulers at friendly locations. However, political realities also meant that these diplomats would sometimes have to praise rulers whose accession or victory opposed Florentine interests. Moreover, different allies and enemies required different levels of praise. Jealous rulers compared the gifts, status, and oratory that they received from Florence to the Florentine entourages sent to their neighbors. Sending diplomats with too little or too much social status and eloquence could spell diplomatic disaster. Diplomats met these challenges by varying the style, structure, and content of their speeches. Far from formulaic pronouncements of goodwill, diplomatic orations varied from one speech to the next in order to meet the demands of the complex diplomatic world into which they fit. Contextualizing these orations reveals the subtle reservations of diplomats praising a hostile ruler, the insertion of specific citations to flatter specific audiences, and the changing intellectual and stylistic interests of humanists throughout the fifteenth century. This essay will examine the different shades of flattery practiced by Florentine diplomats and the contexts that explain these variations.

Cette thèse en linguistique théorique s’inscrit dans un cadre comparatiste. La première partie de notre thèse est un essai de théorisation de la mesure de la complexité linguistique. Nous y proposons une redéfinition de la théorie de la marque, socle de notre recherche transversale, qui prend en compte (1) les différentes définitions qu’elle a reçues au cours de son développement, (2) les apports que peuvent représenter d’autres modèles théoriques et (3) les critiques qui lui ont été faites jusqu’à notre présente étude. La seconde partie de notre thèse est un essai d’application de la théorie de la marque qui a pour objectif de tester son degré de validité dans plusieurs composantes du langage et dans des analyses intra- et intersystémiques de quelques langues indo-européennes et de l’océan Indien. Il s’agit aussi de cerner ses limites et de présenter les principes fonctionnels avec lesquels elle est en concurrence. / This thesis in theoretical linguistics is set within a comparative framework. The first part is an attempt to theorize the measurement of linguistic complexity. We endeavour to redefine markedness theory – on which our cross-disciplinary research is based – while taking into account (i) the different definitions given to the theory since its creation, (ii) the benefits other theoretical models can bring to this theory, and (iii) the criticisms the theory has received. The second part of our thesis is an attempt to apply markedness theory in order to test its degree of validity in several components of language and in intraand inter-systemic analyses of some Indo-European and Indian Ocean languages. We also aim at identifying the limits of this theory and presenting other competing functional principles.

Abstract This thesis sets out to explore the cultural differences between Sweden and the United States by examining the substantial changes made to Men Who Hate Women, including the change in the book’s title in English to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. My thesis focuses in particular on changes in the depiction of the female protagonist: Lisbeth Salander. Unfortunately we do not have access to translator Steven T. Murray’s original translation, though we know that the English publisher and rights holder Christopher MacLehose chose to enhance Larsson’s work in order to make the novel more interesting for English-speaking readers, which resulted in Murray translating under the pseudonym Reg Keeland as he did not agree to the translation made by MacLehose and Knopf. Furthermore, this thesis touches on the ethics of translation, and will likewise argue the importance of facilitating a dialog concerning misogyny and rape culture.