Thesis (Th. M.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1980. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-157).

Thesis (PhD) -- AUT University, 2007. / Primary supervisors: Irena Ateljevic and Candice Harris. Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print ( 301 leaves ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 305.424563 ABR )

The problem of sexual difference remains a priority for feminists working within the continental tradition, with Luce Irigaray leading among those who affirm fundamental differences between masculine and feminine forms of subjectivity. I take up the problem of feminine subjectivity, but my approach is distinct from that of Irigaray in terms of method and focus. Irigaray primarily works to uncover the absence of a place for the expression of feminine subjectivity within Western discourse. Accordingly, she focuses on the critical analysis of major texts in the history of philosophy and psychoanalysis. By contrast, I construct a critique that operates as a positive account of feminine selfhood through a process of historical reflection anchored by an ontological and phenomenological orientation toward the development of culture. I build my critique of spirit through the philosophies of Henri Bergson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Johann Bachofen and especially the classicist Jane Ellen Harrison. With the exception of Bergson, these philosophers of culture are united by a phenomenological attendance to the domains of art, mythology and ritual. Bergson‟s philosophy, which deals more closely with nature than culture, supplies ontological insights which can be used to organize and deepen the phenomenological content available in the thought of the other figures. The dissertation synthesizes and critically expands the work of these individuals in order to produce a critique of spirit and the work of spirit in the genesis of Western patriarchy. I argue that this critique of spirit is the philosophical account of "soul." I argue that soul is a form of order constitutive of the feminine self, which is obscured by the dominance of spirit from classical antiquity forward.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

The thesis examines how images of 'femininity' and the construction of gender-appropriate behaviour are reinforced and potentially challenged by the structure, content and teaching of girls' physical education in secondary schooling. The research involves both historical and contemporary investigation. The qualitative methodology used for the contemporary research focuses on an in-depth case study cf an inner city local education authority. Open-ended interviews were conducted with advisory staff, teaching staff and education committee members involved in secondary school reorganization. This was followed by close observation in four selected case study schools. The research techniques were grounded in a feminist methodology The historical analysis identifies gender ideologies relating to physical ability/capacity, motherhood! domesticity and sexuality which underpinned the development of girls' physical education. The contemporary research concludes that images of femininity continue to find expression in the assumptions of women physical education staff although they are specific to their particular historical location in the 1980s. The case study observations provide evidence cu f the institutionalization of gender ideologies in the policies, priorities and practices of girls' physical education. Three central issues emerge from the research: the significance of ideologies of the physical and the politics of sexuality; the relationship between young women's subcultures, leisure and physical education; the debates surrounding mixed versus single-sex organization. These issues are critically analysed in relation to relevant literature, evidence from the research material and current feminist theoretical debates. The thesis concludes by suggesting future directions for girls' physical education and future research in related areas. The research points to the need for a feminist analysis and approach to girls' physical education in order to initiate debate and anti-sexist policy innovation and also to contribute to wider feminist theoretical analysis particularly in relation to an understanding of physicality, sexuality and patriarchal power relations.

This dissertation is an attempt to explain how listening functions in ethical and political contexts. I put forward a three-fold way of listening that begins in selfishness and ends in empathy. These three ways of listening I refer to as: “listening-for,” “listening-to,” and “listening-with.” I will briefly explain how each of these ways of listening function in lived experience. Listening-for is self-centered, listening-to deals in relations between self and other, and listening-with involves both parties (individuals or groups) working together. These forms of listening are implicitly situated in both Hans-Georg Gadamer and Jane Addams. The bulk of the dissertation is unpacking this general theory of listening based on Gadamer’s and Addams’s thought.

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This thesis examines theories of masculinity produced by feminist activists and intellectuals in France. These theories are situated, firstly, within the context of a history of the French women's movement and the production of feminist theory and, secondly, within the context of a broader debate on masculinity which is currently taking place amongst journalists, men's groups and non-feminist intellectuals. Two specific areas of French feminism, in which a growing interest in men and masculinity can be identified, are examined in detail. These are academic feminist theories of gender and feminist activism around the problem of male violence. The research demonstrates why feminists active in these areas developed an interest in the study of men and masculinity, and analyses the theories which have resulted from these developments. It shows that gender theorists have placed an increasing importance on both terms of the relation between men and women, and on the nature of the relation itself. It explains the growing awarenessin recent years of the necessity to study men as gendered subjects, no longer considering them as a gender-neutral norm from which women are seen to differ. Certain trends are identified in the way French feminists have approached the problem of male violence, including a shift in emphasis from the victim to the perpetrator. The current interest in the prevention of male violence necessitatesa n analysis of its causes, which involves a consideration of the links between violence, masculinity and male power. As well as considering the contributions made by French feminists to the masculinity debate, this thesis argues that, despite media assertions of the 'death of feminism', there is still feminist activity in France; that the term 'French feminism' is attributed very different meanings in and outside France; and that the split between the women's movement and feminist research, as well as the lack of exchange between French and Anglo-American thought, could be hindering the development of feminist theories of men and masculinity.

This thesis proposes that library work, like other occupations, is a cultural practice: that is, it is an activity pursued within contemporary social conventions and power relations. It also proposes that a useful way of exploring the women-dominated cultural practice of library work is through a consideration of gender and of further interconnecting factors. There are two aims: to outline the positioning of women workers in English libraries between 1871-1974; and, to consider the impacts of that positioning on men and women workers in the sector. The theoretical framework is indebted to work by feminist, library and poststructuralist historians and labour market theorists. These theoretical approaches have been used as a resource to inform an historical account of a labour market sector. This thesis demonstrates the extent of women's participation in English libraries between 1871-1974 and explores attempts to constrain that participation. It identifies when those constraints were challenged or complied with and the function of that constraint or compliance. The impact of such developments on men workers in the sector is also discussed. Understandings of femininity and masculinity are critical in an exploration of gender in the labour market and this thesis explores how accepted constructions were variously used to prohibit, discourage or privilege access to parts of the library labour market. In doing so, it discusses how understandings of femininity were questioned in these processes. Thus, this thesis illustrates ways in which paid work in libraries was a site for the establishment, consolidation and negotiation of gendered discourses of employment.

Collectivity, (a non-bureaucratic, non-hierarchical participatory-democratic organizational form) has been developed as an alternative to bureaucracy in some Western industrial societies. Such an organizational form, although existing independently of the feminist movement, is one important tool used by that movement to accomplish its goals. Collectivity has a particularly close relationship with what I have called integrative feminism, which focuses on a synthesis of feminine and masculine polarities both in society and within individuals, on a re-definition and sharing of power, and on an emphasis on the feminine sphere in order to redress the present imbalance between the masculine and the feminine in Western society. Collectivity, with its emphasis on democratization and feminization of the work process, shares many of the goals of integrative feminism. The purpose of the thesis, then, is to demonstrate the masculine nature of traditional bureaucracy and the feminine nature of collectivity, and thus the relationship between integrative feminism and collectivity. The point of view taken in this thesis is that the sexual polarization that exists throughout Western industrial society is not a natural outcome of the biological differences between the sexes, but is socially determined and therefore changeable by social means. The thesis argues that this polarization, manifested in one-sided personality development for both sexes and the division of social life into an over-valued masculine (productive) sphere and an under-valued feminine (maintenance) sphere, which emphasize different functions, characteristics and values, is destructive to human and social growth. It also argues that sexual polarization is a significant factor in the crisis the world is now facing, which involves the domination of the powerless by the powerful, domestic and international conflict, and, in the West, too-rapid growth and over-consumption. While certain limitations restrict the general application of collectivity as a universal organizational form (for example, social demands for productivity and disparity between the ideology of collectivity and the dominant ideology), it may be that elements of collectivity can be effectively combined with elements of bureaucracy in a variety of contexts. The data on which the argument is based includes the literature of feminism, organizations, and social movements; previous research done on the Vancouver Women's Health Collective; and personal experience in social movement activity. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate