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This dissertation consists of a collection of sixty pages of poetry of various styles and forms, predominately in free verse. Subject matter includes family and relationships, especially between women of different generations; history, both personal/family and public; language; means of handling grief and death; travel and return; and sense of place/home. As a writer, I often find myself taking moments from my own life and transforming them into poems. All language fascinates me, especially words that are closely tied to the culture from which they emerge. Several poems in the collection rely on unusual, untranslatable, or forgotten words. These poems explore the relationships between place, history, culture, and language. All of these are intertwined, and it is often difficult to extract one element and study it discretely from the rest. Additionally, history, both collective and personal, often provides a stimulus for my poems and is useful in bridging the gap between personal memories and associations and those of the reading audience. I often approach the past through photographs, physical objects, or landscapes, or share stories of my own family’s history. Many of these poems are about questioning one’s own ancestry. I create myths about myself and others, often my own family and ancestors, building a story around a particular truth. In these poems, I rewrite my own history and experiences.

This study examines the term beur as well as the category it defines, both in terms of individuals who identify as beur, and the genre of literature that stems from the beur population in contemporary France. I begin by first suggesting that the notion of beur as a category and label serves as a third space in the binary of French culture and Maghrebi culture. This third space is necessary as the children of Maghrebi immigrants in France find themselves in between each culture and the sphere of influence that follows. The term is then problematized. The theme of binaries and the third spaces that emerge because of the problematic nature of the binaries is recurring throughout my study. I explore what these third spaces are by examining four contemporary French novels: Faïza Guène’s Kiffe kiffe demain and Un homme ça ne pleure pas, Ahmed Djouder’s Désintégration, and Brahim Metiba’s Ma mère et moi. The characters in each of these works struggle with their identity as they forge their own third spaces as solutions to various binaries that they discover they cannot fit into. In my study, I demonstrate this in three realms: integration and engaged citizenship; familial relationships, primarily parent-child relationships and the generational difference that further complicates pre-existing cultural difference; and gender roles. Each of the narratives and the main characters conveys the problematic nature of viewing French and Maghrebi culture in a binary. In my explication of the text, I argue that each narrative works towards the creation of a new third space in varying ways. / Master of Arts / In the 1980s, a new population in France, labeled <i>beur</i>, defined as the French born children of North African immigrants in France, emerged. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and continuing into the present time, this population has contributed to the canon of French literature. This literature is comprised of engaged sociopolitical issues that beur individuals and their immigrant family members face as French residents and citizens, as the political climate of France pushes for cultural and social integration and assimilation. In this study, I examine four contemporary French novels: Faïza Guène’s <i>Kiffe kiffe demain</i> and <i>Un homme ça ne pleure pas</i>, Ahmed Djouder’s <i>Désintégration</i>, and Brahim Metiba’s <i>Ma mère et moi</i>. These texts, which engage issues faced by <i>beur</i> communities, explore the cultural binaries that emerge from growing up in France with immigrant parents, as well as the spaces between each end of the binary. I explore issues of identity in the realms of citizenship, familial relationships, and gender roles. The characters in these novels demonstrate the problematic nature of viewing French culture and North African culture as existing in a binary, as such a binary raises questions concerning identity for individuals who identify as <i>beur</i>. This research sheds light on current social issues that are active in contemporary France and conveys the marginalized position that <i>beur</i> individuals tend to occupy. My study of these four works of literature focuses on the idea of engaged citizenship and exercising agency on the part of <i>beur</i> individuals, and the relationship between this notion and each of the works.

Punch-Drunk, a collection of 43 poems, deals with themes involving masculinity, violence, family, religion, and the apocalypse. As such, the collection shows an array of relationships the speaker has with various men, family members, religious figures, and forces of nature, thereby revealing the ways in which humans navigate loss and come to accept hard truths. Therefore, this collection shows the ways in which humans are not static creatures, but instead beings that are continually changing and achieving some kind of growth. By the end, the speakers have gone on personal journeys in which they learn the fact that love is not always constant, figuring out and coming to terms with your gay identity is a complicated ordeal, familial relationships are not always stable, and the world will sometimes crumble at your feet. / MFA

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-03-24T11:45:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Irene Ferreira Lima Neta.pdf: 6047924 bytes, checksum: 46e5ed53c0d01c2fb4b2c1eaf521b0d8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-24T11:45:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Irene Ferreira Lima Neta.pdf: 6047924 bytes, checksum: 46e5ed53c0d01c2fb4b2c1eaf521b0d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-17 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Talking about family today means encountering several historically and socially changed issues regarding this institution. These changes, which are both structural and functional, have taken place over its existence, which dates from thousands of years ago. In relation to family, there must be taken into consideration the experiences lived and the affectional bonds formed by an individual within the familial relationship. In this aspect, familial relationships may be constructive or destructive or, in some families, both constructive and destructive. These family patterns must be taken into consideration when discussing and studying families. We observe that all changes in families are influenced by social, legal and work-related events, in addition to health and illness factors. Slightly over three decades ago, society learned of a new disease which is sexually transmissible through the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This disease is the cause of changes, not only to the lives of persons living with HIV, but also to the lives of their relatives as they learn of the lived experiences of a seropositive family member. Since an HIV diagnosis is associated with strong prejudice and, in many cases, reveals a person’s sexual practices and/or betrayal by a spouse or partner, few people disclose their HIV seropositive status to their families. Among those who do, there are criteria for telling one family member and not telling another one. Therefore, studies show that an HIV diagnosis causes changes in family functioning and in the relationships between family members. At times, these relationships become so deteriorated that what is considered as family, family experiences and family patterns changes in a different manner for each family member. With the increase in the number of elderly seropositive persons and considering that they are the oldest representatives and the depositaries of family traditions, the objective of our study was to unveil the family structures of elderly people living with HIV. We worked with both extended and nuclear families. The study was carried out at the Outpatient Clinic for Infection-Contagious and Parasitic Diseases of the Federal University of Sao Paulo, state of Sao Paulo. Participants were 37 elderly people (24 men and 13 women) aged between 60 and 82 years, in addition to 19 family members aged between 17 and 79 years. All participants signed the Free and Informed Consent Form, and individually provided responses, which were audio-recorded, to questions about familial relationships, sexuality, the influence of HIV on familial relationships, and secrecy. Finally, family-of-origin and currentfamily genograms were built. Results show that the family structures of elderly people living with HIV are the constructive ones, with behaviors of care, shelter and union, whereas destructive family structures are those of isolation, prejudice and discrimination. In most cases, gender is represented by unequal gender practices, where the hegemonic roles are those of caregivers for women and providers for men. For most participants, HIV plays a secondary role in familial relationships, since other family issues prove to be of greater importance than living with the virus, and the condition does not interfere with familial relationships. For those families where HIV is a determining factor, this causes family members to live under constant alert and limits familial relationships. Secrecy is protective when it safeguards familial relationships and shields family members against prejudice. It is destructive when it causes suffering to those family members who know, and when it limits their behaviors. Our conclusion is that for both groups, i.e. families and participants without family members, family structures involve constructive patterns with care, shelter and union, where HIV plays a secondary role in familial relationships and secrecy has a protective function. In turn, also for both groups, destructive family patterns are formed with isolation, prejudice and discrimination, where HIV is a determining factor and secrecy plays a destructive role / Falar de família atualmente é se deparar com várias questões modificadas histórica e socialmente com relação a esta instituição. Tais modificações, tanto estruturais quanto funcionais, ocorreram ao longo de sua existência, há milhares de anos. Com relação à família, devem-se levar em consideração as vivências e vínculos protagonizados pelo indivíduo nesta relação. Neste aspecto, pode haver relações de construtividade, de destrutividade ou ainda famílias que possuem ambas as características. São padrões familiares que devem ser levados em consideração ao se falar de família e ao estudá-la. Notamos que todas as mudanças na família sofrem influência de acontecimentos sociais, jurídicos, profissionais, bem como de saúde e doença. Há pouco mais de três décadas, a sociedade tomou conhecimento de uma nova doença sexualmente transmissível por meio do vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV). Esta é causadora de alterações não apenas na vida de quem vive com HIV, mas também na de familiares que tomam conhecimento da vivência de um familiar soropositivo. Sendo uma doença que carrega grandes preconceitos e por seu diagnóstico, em muitos casos, revelar a traição de um dos membros do casal e/ou práticas sexuais, são poucas as pessoas que falam para a família sobre sua soropositividade do HIV. Dentre as que falam, há critérios para contar a um familiar e não contar a outro; desta forma, estudos mostram que este diagnóstico provoca uma mudança no funcionamento familiar, bem como na relação existente entre seus membros. E estas relações por vezes ficam tão desqualificadas que o que se assume como família, vivência e padrões familiares se modificam de forma diferenciada para cada um. Com o aumento do número de idosos soropositivos, e sendo estes os representantes mais antigos da família, depositários das tradições familiares, objetivamos desvendar as formas constitutivas de família de pessoas idosas vivendo com HIV. Trabalhamos tanto com a família extensa quanto com a família nuclear. Este trabalho foi realizado no Ambulatório de Moléstias Infectocontagiosas e Parasitárias da Universidade Federal de São Paulo/SP. Participaram 37 idosos, sendo 24 homens e 13 mulheres, com idades entre 60 e 82 anos, e 19 familiares, na faixa etária de 17 a 79 anos. Todos assinaram o Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido e, de forma individual e gravada, responderam a questões sobre relações familiares, sexualidade, HIV nas relações familiares e segredo. Por fim, foi feito o genograma da família de origem e da atual. Os resultados mostram que as formas constitutivas de família para a vida com HIV são as construtivas com comportamentos de cuidado, acolhimento e união, enquanto as formas destrutivas de família são as isoladas, preconceituosas e discriminatórias. Para a maioria, a sexualidade é representada por práticas sexuais de desigualdade em que os papéis hegemônicos são de cuidadora para a mulher e de provedor para o homem. O HIV nas relações familiares torna-se coadjuvante para a maioria, pois os demais problemas familiares mostram-se maiores que a vida com o vírus, e este não interfere nas relações familiares. Já para as famílias em que o HIV é determinante, assim se configura por viver em alerta constante e por limitar as relações familiares. O segredo se torna protetor quando preserva as relações familiares e protege do preconceito. E é destruidor quando gera sofrimento aos familiares que sabem, e quando limita seus comportamentos. Concluímos que as formas constitutivas de família para ambos os grupos, famílias e participantes sem familiares, foram os padrões de construtividade com cuidado, acolhimento e união, tendo o HIV nas relações familiares como coadjuvante e o segredo como protetivo. Enquanto os padrões familiares de destrutividade, também para ambos os grupos, se configuram com isolamento, preconceito e discriminação, tendo o HIV nas relações familiares como determinante e o segredo como destruidor

Dementia is an interminable disorder characterized by a decrease in cognitive functioning behavioral and emotional changes, and an overall diminishment in quality of life that usually affects the older population. In the coming decades, scientists estimate that the number of sufferers will reach over 100 million worldwide. Though there is currently no cure for any form of dementia, the theory of cognitive reserve posits certain lifestyle characteristics (i.e., educational attainment, SES, and/or career path) can mitigate the risk of dementia by improving cognitive resilience over an individual’s lifetime. The current study sought to discover what, if any, effects familial relationships, leisure activities, and volunteer service have on an individual’s level of cognitive impairment and ability to remember in his or her later years. Independent sample t-tests and hierarchical linear regression were used to analyze data from Wave 2 (1989, n = 2,867) and Wave 5 (2011, n = 1,319) of the Americans’ Changing Lives (ACL) survey. The study found that marital status, spending time with friends, and having pets, volunteer service, and time spent reading were associated with lower levels of cognitive impairment at the time of Wave 2, while marital status, spending time with friends, and spending time reading was associated with lower levels of cognitive impairment at the time of Wave 5, controlling for cognitive impairment at Wave 2. Furthermore, marital status, time spent reading, and visiting with friends was associated with less difficult remembering at the time of Wave 2.

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