The discourse surrounding art in the early 21st century seeks to explain our artistic practices in terms of a radically distinct set of conventions, which many have dubbed ‘metamodern.’ Metamodernism abides neither by modernist aspirations of linear progress, nor by the cynical distrust of narratives familiar to postmodernism. Instead it appears to be based on an entirely different set of premises, relating to betweenness, oscillation, and metaxis, generating art with a dual capacity for irony and sincerity. While metamodernism seeks to break the mold of the conventions that preceded it, it also avoids delimitation and prescription, and this traps it in an impossibility. To truly supplant the postmodern, the metamodern state of betweenness must be equally definite and formally circumscribed. In this project, I argue that metamodernism can be defined as an aesthetic of liminality – a state of thresholds and transitions – and that such a definition opens new avenues for understanding its core axioms. The second goal of the project is to reflect on where the metamodern state of transition might lead, and what future forms it promises. The project relies on literary theory, chiefly that of Northrop Frye, on analysis of the discourse surrounding contemporary aesthetics, as well as on occasional forays into philosophy, anthropology and sociology. The project concludes that metamodernism’s core tenets are best understood as existentialist in nature, abiding by the tradition of existentialist writers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Merleau-Ponty, and others. Identifying an existential underpinning to metamodern art is also to uncover an ethical substrate to what otherwise appears to be a freeform aestheticism. The ties between existentialism and metamodernism provide a case study for a broader look at the relationship between ethics and aesthetics, which might be pursued in future work. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / There is a growing consensus among scholars that early 21st century art can no longer be explained in terms of familiar aesthetic conventions. The term ‘metamodernism’ is catching on as a description of our new era. Metamodernism is understood as an oscillation between two modalities – modernism and postmodernism – generating art that is more idealistic and romantic than what we have seen in previous decades, while retaining its capacity to be ironizing and self-aware. However, the discourse surrounding metamodernism has been tentative, provisional, and difficult to circumscribe. In avoiding any overarching claims or settled positions, metamodernism risks remaining only a radicalisation of previous conventions rather than a genuine evolution. The goal of this project is to come to grips with the core tenets of metamodernism, to present them more clearly and distinctly, and to suggest what the scholarship surrounding metamodernism might need to move beyond its current constraints.

In recent cinematic history, films have often expressed through the experiences of characters an 'existential moment' in which fundamental assumptions about life are questioned and potentially rendered meaningless. The purpose of this project is to follow two accounts of this expressed moment in the 1999 films American Beauty and Fight Club, understanding them as such through particular readings of the philosophical articulations of Albert Camus. I analyze the social climates of liberalism and consumerism that might account for these expressions of discontent and anxiety at the same time I evaluate the validity of existential thought in the contemporary social world. Ultimately, I question what kinds of political qualms absurdity might render, using film experience as a venue to understand and evaluate these questions. / Master of Arts

Existentialism and Darwinism provide a means of viewing the development of personal freedom in a young English gentleman, Charles Smithson. Guided by Sarah Woodruff, a social outcast, Charles approaches freedom through the existential conditions of terror, anguish, and despair; he encounters alienation, human finitude, and the loss of a relationship with God on the way. The realization of his trapped state is aided by the Darwinian analogy present in the novel: the monied leisure class to which Charles belongs is presented as the species approaching extinction because it fails to make the changes necessary to survive changed conditions. The novel's two endings combine existential and Darwinian elements to present to Charles the choice that can help him escape his trapped state and gain freedom.

This is a conceptual historical study on the dialectic meaning of the concept of freedom. The purpose of this study is to examine John Stuart Mill’s and Jean-Paul Sartre’s usage of the concept of freedom, and to examine its dialectical meaning. This is done by examining concepts such as the nature of man, moral philosophy, political thinking and the meaning and usage of the concept of freedom itself. Using the method of conceptual history and the theoretical framework of Hegelian dialectics, I have studied Mill’sOn Liberty and Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism. In my research, I have found that the two thinkers share some similarities in what they mean by freedom, but I have also found that there are striking differences. These differences are most notable in how Mill discusses freedom primarily in political and societal terms, whereas Sartre discusses freedom as being the natural human condition and in what ways it is linked to action and morals. I also note how Mill’s thinking is centered around man as an individual, whereas Sartre’s thinking is centered around man as a subject. Finally, I discuss the importance of liberal hegemony in the expected meaning of the term freedom. / Detta är en studie av dialektiken inom frihetsbegreppet. Syftet med denna undersökning är att med begreppshistorisk ansats undersöka John Stuart Mills och Jean-Paul Sartres användande av begreppet frihet, och att undersöka hur begreppets dialektiska innebörd yttrar sig genom en komparativ de bägge tänkarna. Detta görs genom att undersöka respektive tänkares syn på människans natur såväl som deras moralfilosofi, politiska tänkande samt deras användning av frihetsbegreppet som sådant. Med en begreppshistoriskt präglad metod och ett hegelianskt dialektiskt teoretiskt ramverk har jag studerat Mills Om friheten och Sartres Existentialismen är en humanism. I min undersökning har jag funnit att de två tänkarna har vissa likheter i vad de menar med frihet, men jag har även funnit slående skillnader. Dessa skillnader framträder som tydligast i hur Mill diskuterar frihet främst i politiska och samhällsenliga termer, medan Sartre betraktar frihet som människans naturtillstånd och diskuterar frihet som kopplat till handling och moral. Jag noterar även att Mills tänkande kretsar kring människan som individ, medan Sartres tänkande kretsar kring människan som subjekt. Slutligen diskuterar jag betydelsen av liberal hegemoni i utformandet av frihetsbegreppets erfarenhetsrum.

Afrikaans text / Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om lewenssin soos dit binne die leefwereld van die gesitueerde Suid-Afrikaanse sakepersoon van toepassing is, teoreties te omlyn, te operasionaliseer en die belewenis daarvan op fenomenologiese wyse te beskryf. Lewenssin, met lewenssinvolheid en lewenssinloosheid as twee pole op 'n kontinuum, is ondersoek deur te fokus op lewensorientasie, lokus van gedrag, waardes, spiritualiteit, groei, ontwikkeling, transendering, vervreemding, 'n kortstondige en fatalistiese ingesteldheid, konformisme, kollektivisme, fanatisme, en die strewe na mitiese sukses. In die literatuurondersoek, wat die eksistensiele, humanistiese en holistiese paradigmas as vertrekpunte neem, is operasionele definisies van lewenssinvolheid en lewenssinloosheid gekonstrueer. Die profiel van die Suid-Afrikaanse sakepersoon met so 'n belewenis is aan die hand van sy/haar paradigma, kenmerke en gedrag gekonstrueer. 'n Proses van meaning making word voorgehou, terwyl lewenssin as integrasie van teenoorgesteldes gekonstrueer word. Daar word gepostuleer dat die sakepersoon met 'n belewenis van lewenssinvolheid die landskap van sy/haar psige relasioneel bewoon. Daarteenoor openbaar 'n belewenis van Jewenssinloosheid 'n nie-relasionele orientasie, paradigma en bewoning van die wereld. In die fenomenologiese ondersoek is gebruik gemaak van die onderhoud om die fenomeen, lewenssin, te laat ontvou. Die steekproef het bestaan uit getroude sakelui, dertig jaar en ouer, en woonagtig in Gauteng. Heterogeniteit in terme van geslag, geloofsoortuigings en korporatiewe opset is ook verreken. Uit die ondersoek ontvou ses temas wat sentreer om ruimtelikheid, basiese stemming, beliggaming en bewoning, asook die teenwoordigheid van die psige, andere en die wereld (wat die aarde en 'n transpersoonlike entiteit insluit). Dit blyk dat die Suid-Afrikaanse sakepersoon sy/haar landskap vera! nie-relasioneel bewoon. Elemente van relasionele bestaan is wei aanwesig. Tog word die begeerte aan 'n meer relasionele bestaan in die behoeftes en versugtinge van die betrokke sakelui verwoord. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat gebrekkige relasies in verband gebring kan word met 'n nie-relasionele paradigma wat lewenssinloosheid tot gevolg het. Op 'n kontinuum van lewenssin word bevind dat Suid-Afrikaanse sakelui nader aan die pool van lewenssinloosheid le, met 'n behoefte aan 'n beweging na die teenoorgestelde pool, naamlik lewenssinvolheid. Om lewenssinvolheid, lewenskwaliteit, en optimaliteit te bevorder, word aanbeveel dat die relasionele paradigma as vertrekpunt dien by remedierende ingrepe. / The purpose of this research is to theoretically outline and operationalise meaning in life as it applies to the life-world of situated South African businesspersons, and to describe phenomenologically their experience of that phenomenon. integration of opposites. It is posited that the businessperson experiencing life as meaningful, inhabits the landscape of his/her psyche in a relational way. In contrast, the person experiencing life as meaningless, displays a non-relational orientation, paradigm and being-in-the­ world. The phenomenological investigation made use of interviews to allow the phenomenon, meaning in life, to unfold. The sample consisted of married business persons, thirty years and older, and residing in Gauteng. Heterogeneity (in terms of gender, religious convictions and corporate circumstances) was also taken into account. Meaning, with meaningfulness and meaninglessness as its two extremes on a continuum, was examined, focusing on life orientation, engagement style, values, spirituality, growth, development, transcending, alienation, transitoriness and fatalism, conformism, collectivism, fanaticism, and aspiring to mythical success. In the literature investigation, which was based on existential, humanistic and holistic paradigms, operational definitions of meaningfulness and meaninglessness were construed. The profile of the South African businessperson experiencing the phenomenon, was construed with reference to his/her paradigm, characteristics and conduct. A meaning making process is proffered, while meaning is construed as an Six themes unfold from the investigation, centring around spatiality, basic mood, human bodiliness and being-in-the-world, as well as the presence of the psyche, other people and the world (including the earth and a transpersonal entity). The South African businessperson appears to inhabit his/her landscape in a mainly non­ relational manner. There are some elements of relational existence, but the needs and heart's desires voiced by the businesspersons concerned point to a longing for a more relational existence. In conclusion: Deficient relations can be associated with a non-relational paradigm, which causes an experience of life as meaningless. A meaning continuum shows South African businesspersons as figuring closer to meaninglessness, and needing to move towards the opposite pole, namely meaningfulness. To promote meaningfulness, quality of life and optimal functioning, the relational paradigm is recommended as point of departure in remedial intervention. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / DCom (Bedryfsielkunde)

The artist uses herself as the object of study. Her subjective position is validated within a theoretical framework provided by feminism, existentialism and Freudian theory. The three world views provide the context for an analysis of sculpture produced between the years 1988 and 1997. Three one-person exhibitions held in 1990, 1993 and 1996, are examined in terms of their iconographic emphasis and their theoretical bias. The role of the unconscious in the genesis of the sculptures and the problem of author/reader dichotomies in interpretation are dealt with as thematic threads throughout the dissertation. / Department of History of Art and Fine Arts / M.A. (Fine Arts)

Afrikaans text / Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om lewenssin soos dit binne die leefwereld van die gesitueerde Suid-Afrikaanse sakepersoon van toepassing is, teoreties te omlyn, te operasionaliseer en die belewenis daarvan op fenomenologiese wyse te beskryf. Lewenssin, met lewenssinvolheid en lewenssinloosheid as twee pole op 'n kontinuum, is ondersoek deur te fokus op lewensorientasie, lokus van gedrag, waardes, spiritualiteit, groei, ontwikkeling, transendering, vervreemding, 'n kortstondige en fatalistiese ingesteldheid, konformisme, kollektivisme, fanatisme, en die strewe na mitiese sukses. In die literatuurondersoek, wat die eksistensiele, humanistiese en holistiese paradigmas as vertrekpunte neem, is operasionele definisies van lewenssinvolheid en lewenssinloosheid gekonstrueer. Die profiel van die Suid-Afrikaanse sakepersoon met so 'n belewenis is aan die hand van sy/haar paradigma, kenmerke en gedrag gekonstrueer. 'n Proses van meaning making word voorgehou, terwyl lewenssin as integrasie van teenoorgesteldes gekonstrueer word. Daar word gepostuleer dat die sakepersoon met 'n belewenis van lewenssinvolheid die landskap van sy/haar psige relasioneel bewoon. Daarteenoor openbaar 'n belewenis van Jewenssinloosheid 'n nie-relasionele orientasie, paradigma en bewoning van die wereld. In die fenomenologiese ondersoek is gebruik gemaak van die onderhoud om die fenomeen, lewenssin, te laat ontvou. Die steekproef het bestaan uit getroude sakelui, dertig jaar en ouer, en woonagtig in Gauteng. Heterogeniteit in terme van geslag, geloofsoortuigings en korporatiewe opset is ook verreken. Uit die ondersoek ontvou ses temas wat sentreer om ruimtelikheid, basiese stemming, beliggaming en bewoning, asook die teenwoordigheid van die psige, andere en die wereld (wat die aarde en 'n transpersoonlike entiteit insluit). Dit blyk dat die Suid-Afrikaanse sakepersoon sy/haar landskap vera! nie-relasioneel bewoon. Elemente van relasionele bestaan is wei aanwesig. Tog word die begeerte aan 'n meer relasionele bestaan in die behoeftes en versugtinge van die betrokke sakelui verwoord. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat gebrekkige relasies in verband gebring kan word met 'n nie-relasionele paradigma wat lewenssinloosheid tot gevolg het. Op 'n kontinuum van lewenssin word bevind dat Suid-Afrikaanse sakelui nader aan die pool van lewenssinloosheid le, met 'n behoefte aan 'n beweging na die teenoorgestelde pool, naamlik lewenssinvolheid. Om lewenssinvolheid, lewenskwaliteit, en optimaliteit te bevorder, word aanbeveel dat die relasionele paradigma as vertrekpunt dien by remedierende ingrepe. / The purpose of this research is to theoretically outline and operationalise meaning in life as it applies to the life-world of situated South African businesspersons, and to describe phenomenologically their experience of that phenomenon. integration of opposites. It is posited that the businessperson experiencing life as meaningful, inhabits the landscape of his/her psyche in a relational way. In contrast, the person experiencing life as meaningless, displays a non-relational orientation, paradigm and being-in-the­ world. The phenomenological investigation made use of interviews to allow the phenomenon, meaning in life, to unfold. The sample consisted of married business persons, thirty years and older, and residing in Gauteng. Heterogeneity (in terms of gender, religious convictions and corporate circumstances) was also taken into account. Meaning, with meaningfulness and meaninglessness as its two extremes on a continuum, was examined, focusing on life orientation, engagement style, values, spirituality, growth, development, transcending, alienation, transitoriness and fatalism, conformism, collectivism, fanaticism, and aspiring to mythical success. In the literature investigation, which was based on existential, humanistic and holistic paradigms, operational definitions of meaningfulness and meaninglessness were construed. The profile of the South African businessperson experiencing the phenomenon, was construed with reference to his/her paradigm, characteristics and conduct. A meaning making process is proffered, while meaning is construed as an Six themes unfold from the investigation, centring around spatiality, basic mood, human bodiliness and being-in-the-world, as well as the presence of the psyche, other people and the world (including the earth and a transpersonal entity). The South African businessperson appears to inhabit his/her landscape in a mainly non­ relational manner. There are some elements of relational existence, but the needs and heart's desires voiced by the businesspersons concerned point to a longing for a more relational existence. In conclusion: Deficient relations can be associated with a non-relational paradigm, which causes an experience of life as meaningless. A meaning continuum shows South African businesspersons as figuring closer to meaninglessness, and needing to move towards the opposite pole, namely meaningfulness. To promote meaningfulness, quality of life and optimal functioning, the relational paradigm is recommended as point of departure in remedial intervention. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / DCom (Bedryfsielkunde)

The artist uses herself as the object of study. Her subjective position is validated within a theoretical framework provided by feminism, existentialism and Freudian theory. The three world views provide the context for an analysis of sculpture produced between the years 1988 and 1997. Three one-person exhibitions held in 1990, 1993 and 1996, are examined in terms of their iconographic emphasis and their theoretical bias. The role of the unconscious in the genesis of the sculptures and the problem of author/reader dichotomies in interpretation are dealt with as thematic threads throughout the dissertation. / Department of History of Art and Fine Arts / M.A. (Fine Arts)

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur känsla av sammanhang (KASAM) påverkas i vuxenlivet hos individer som farit illa i barndomen. Tidigare forskning tydliggör vilken omfattande problematik det kan vara. Vidare undersöker studien betydelsen av vändpunkter och motståndskraft för posttraumatiskt växande. Den kvalitativa metoden består av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. Den kvantitativa metoden innefattar en webbenkät där 101 respondenter deltog. Antonovskys KASAM tillsammans med Mays existentialism och Honneths erkännandeteori lägger grunden för studiens teoretiska ansats. Resultatet visar att en förlust av grundtillit och egenvärde i barndomen leder till en svag känsla av sammanhang. Urvalsgruppens KASAM-värden var avsevärt lägre än normalbefolkningens, dock med hög meningsfullhet. I vuxenlivet tycks det viktigt att ta igen barndomens förluster. Samtalsstöd med ett salutogent synsätt kan kompensera för denna förlust. Det tillsammans med meningsskapande processer kan leda till posttraumatiskt växande. / The aim of this study was to examine how sense of coherence (SOC) is affected in adulthood in people who have suffered from adverse childhood experiences. Previous research indicate on how comprehensive of a problem this is. We also wanted to examine the impact of turning points and resilience for posttraumatic growth. The qualitative method consists of six semi- structured interviews. The quantitative method is composed of a web survey in which 101 respondents participated. Antonovsky's SOC together with May's existentialism and Honneth's theory of recognition lays the foundation for the study's theoretical approach. The result shows that a loss of basic trust and intrinsic value in childhood leads to a low sense of coherence. Participants SOC values was significantly lower than the normal population, however they scored high on meaningfulness. In adulthood it seems important to reclaim these losses from childhood. Different types of counseling with a salutogenic approach can make up for that loss. This, together with meaning-making, can lead to posttraumatic growth.

The aim of this essay is to deepen the philosophical feminist discussion of the concepts sex and gender by doing a new reading of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex. The analysis takes its point of departure from Judith Butler's "Sex and gender in Simone de Beauvoir's Second Sex" (1986) and Moira Gatens' "On Beauvoir and biology: a second look" (2003). This means that my overall inquiry is opened up by the question if, and in that case how, The Second Sex can be said to offer other interpretations than those presented by Butler and Gatens. I analyze Butler and Gatens' interpretations in terms of how their arguments are built up, in order to lay out the ground for my own, alternative reading. I formulate two questions, related to my initial analysis of Butler and Gatens: Does Beauvoir make a distinction between nature and culture which effects the understanding of the existent as a sexed, situated being? What implication does her existential-phenomenological perspective have for the image of the body and the creation of meaning? My reading suggests that Beauvoir's existential-phenomenological perspective can illuminate the concept of gender through pointing out how the beings of woman and man are rooted in, and develop out of, humanity's quest for being. This is a theme I find rather undeveloped in Butler and Gatens' articles. The sexed, bodily being of the subject is actualized as the source of meaning in this primary quest. Body and sexuality make up the expression of the existent, and therefore must be studied with regards to how meaning is created and carried out by them. I argue that Beauvoir's ideas of corporeality, disclosing of being and transcendence deepen the concept of gender in giving an ontological context to the beings of woman and man. I also claim that gender, in itself, is a useful concept in designating the dynamic, contingent and culturally dependent quality of these beings. This does not support, however, the view that Beauvoir makes a sex/gender distinction along the lines of a separation of nature and culture. The relevance of gender lies in its ability to highlight that the beings of woman and man manifest certain characters.