In this thesis, I expand considerations of diaspora as not only a migration of people and cultures but a migration of thought. Specifically, I demonstrate that literary representations of diaspora produce what I consider to be an epistemological migration, challenging the idea that race and culture are stable and impermeable and offering instead racial and cultural fluidity. I assert that this causal relationship is best exemplified by narratives of racial passing written by diasporic writers. Using Homi Bhabha’s concepts of mimicry, hybridity, and ambivalence, I analyze Helen Oyeyemi’s Boy, Snow, Bird and Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light, arguing that Boy, Snow, Bird’s narrative form is a form of mimicry that repeats European and African literary traditions and subverts Eurocentrism, while Playing in the Light is a “Third Space” in which to accept notions of the non-categorical fluidity of race. Through this analysis, I draw particular attention to Oyeyemi’s and Wicomb’s unique abilities to refract notions of race, rather than presumably reflect a system of strict categories, and, ultimately, I argue that these novels transcend the realm of literature, existing as empowering calls for society’s modifications of its racial perceptions.

The protagonist Martha in Doris Lessing’s Martha Quest is born to white British settler parents and grows up in a British colony in southern Africa in the 1930s. Although officially the coloniser rather than the colonised, Martha tries to reject this role mentally, verbally, and physically. This essay aims to show that a postcolonial reading of Martha in relation to the colonial context helps in understanding her double consciousness and, more specifically, her inability to find a real or lasting sense of home. Using Homi Bhabha’s concept of unhomeliness, the essay argues that Martha does not truly feel at home anywhere, because the “unhomely” always disturbs the “homely.” Through close reading of the text, it shows how Martha tries to find a sense of home in four areas of her life: her physical home, nature, her body, and her mind. This essay finds that despite Martha’s efforts in moving from her family home to rented accommodation, from the bush to the city, from girlhood to womanhood, and from her individual thoughts to the solidarity of others, she still does not feel at home anywhere. Whenever she starts to feel comfortable in a place or situation, unhomely moments, such as reminders of her nationality, race, or class, always disturb the homely feelings of belonging. Ultimately, Martha cannot escape her unhomeliness. / Huvudpersonen Martha i Doris Lessings Martha Quest är dotter till vita brittiska bosättare och växer upp i en brittisk koloni i södra Afrika på 1930-talet. Trots att hon formellt sett är kolonisatören snarare än den koloniserade, försöker Martha att avvisa denna roll mentalt, verbalt och fysiskt. Denna uppsats syftar till att visa att en postkolonial tolkning av Martha i förhållande till det koloniala sammanhanget bidrar till en förståelse av hennes dubbla medvetande och mer specifikt hennes oförmåga att hitta en verklig, eller bestående, känsla av hemma. Med hjälp av Homi Bhabhas koncept gällande o-hemlikhet argumenterar uppsatsen för att Martha inte känner sig riktigt hemma någonstans, eftersom det ”o-hemlika” alltid stör det ”hemlika.” Genom en noggrann läsning av texten visar den hur Martha försöker hitta känslan av ett hem inom fyra områden av sitt liv: sitt fysiska hem, naturen, sin kropp och sitt sinne. Denna uppsats konstaterar att trots Marthas ansträngningar att flytta från sitt familjehem till ett hyresrum, från land till stad, från ung flicka till kvinna och från sina individuella tankar till solidaritet med andra, känner hon sig fortfarande inte hemma någonstans. När hon börjar känna sig bekväm på ett ställe eller i ett läge, stör o-hemlika ögonblick i form av påminnelser om hennes nationalitet, ras eller klass alltid hennes hemlika känslor av tillhörighet. I slutändan kan Martha inte undgå sin o-hemlikhet.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-02-20T12:18:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 tatianadasilvafalcaocosta.pdf: 666906 bytes, checksum: 4e3c3b9e2476393dca49dc15ee9f2665 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-02-20T17:59:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 tatianadasilvafalcaocosta.pdf: 666906 bytes, checksum: 4e3c3b9e2476393dca49dc15ee9f2665 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-02-20T18:08:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 tatianadasilvafalcaocosta.pdf: 666906 bytes, checksum: 4e3c3b9e2476393dca49dc15ee9f2665 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-20T18:08:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tatianadasilvafalcaocosta.pdf: 666906 bytes, checksum: 4e3c3b9e2476393dca49dc15ee9f2665 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-12-08 / Esta pesquisa procura compreender como se dá a percepção do mundo sob a perspectiva contemporânea. A via de acesso a esta percepção é a poesia do mineiro de Pirapetinga, Fernando Fábio Fiorese Furtado. Pretendemos i) ampliar nossos questionamentos sobre a atuação da poesia contemporânea na elaboração identitária individual (a priori) e a coletiva (a posteriori), ii) traçar um perfil da percepção contemporânea do mundo através desta poética do enconto. Para nós a construção identitária se dá sempre em relação. / This research looks for getting a better comprehension about a contemporary perception of the world through Fernando Fiorese’s poetry. He is a contemporary Brazilian poet from Pirapetinga, Minas Gerais. We intend i) to enlarge the possibilities of questions related to contemporary poetry performance in working out both individual identity (a priori) and colletive one (a posteriori); ii) to outline a contemporary perception of the world through this meeting poetry. We believe that the identity construction happens always in relation.

Uppsatsen undersöker och jämför den tematiska och språkliga gestaltningen av den instabila identiteten i Johannes Anyurus roman En storm kom från paradiset och Sami Saids roman Väldigt sällan fin. De frågeställningar som behandlas är: Hur gestaltas den postkoloniala identitetens problematik i de båda romanerna? Hur tematiseras den instabila identiteten? Hur kan språket synliggöra en instabil identitet? För att undersöka den tematiska gestaltningen av det instabila subjektet utgår analysen från postkoloniala teorier vars grund finns i den poststrukturalistiska synen på verkligheten som en konstruktion styrd av makt och språk. Flera postkoloniala teoretiker utgår också från psykoanalytikern Jacques Lacans spegelteori i analysen av hur identiteten skapas i ett postkolonialt sammanhang. I diskussionen av det instabila subjektets språkliga gestaltning utgår uppsatsen från psykoanalytikern och litteraturvetaren Julia Kristevas teori om utanförskap som det poetiska språkets grund samt dess uttryck i vår tids skönlitteratur.

This study intends to investigate British artist Anish Kapoor’s stylistic formation in relationship to globalization, positing its history as a multiplicity, comprised of several competing localisms, including: minimalism; the traditions of modern painting; and the artist’s own personal diasporic narrative. It will demonstrate how Kapoor is a transgressive global artist, concerned not only with rethinking the longstanding question of artistic form, but also with the enduring process central to the cultural formation of subjects. Overall, this thesis will propose that Kapoor’s art in particular can be comprehended by the special liminal position it occupies between such polarities as modern and postmodern art, painting and sculpture, East and West, national and trans-national, and local and global. By transgressing the borders that demarcate these discourses, Kapoor’s art enters an in-between state; through both formal and thematic strategies, his sculptural forms orchestrate viewers so they are able to move beyond distinct, fixed, and stabile meanings and view the works as eminently open to the different perspectives and radically diverse discourses they engage, making them truly global works of art.

No description available.

abstract: Implementing an assimilative agenda within the traditional U.S. education system has prevented the authentic inclusion, validation, and development of American Indian students. The enduring ramifications, including the loss of cultural identity, underscored the critical need to decolonize, or challenge, the historic assimilative agenda of the school space. The purpose of this action research study was to examine the connection between the cultural exploration activities of Culture Club, cultural identity, and the creation of a Third Space to serve as a decolonizing framework for this Indigenous program conducted within a school space. The epistemological perspective guiding this study was that of constructionism. The theoretical frameworks were post-colonial theory, Indigenous methodology, and, most prominently, Third Space theory. A thorough review of Third Space theory resulted in deduction of four criteria deemed to be necessary for creating a Third Space. These four theoretically-deduced criteria were (a) creating new knowledge, (b) reclaiming and reinscribing hegemonic notions of identity and school, (c) creating new or hybrid identities, and (d) developing more inclusive perspectives. The criteria were employed to create the Culture Club innovation and to determine whether a Third Space was effectively created within Culture Club. This qualitative action research study focused on the Culture Club innovation, an after-school, cultural exploration, extracurricular program for sixth-grade American Indian students, at a Title I school in a large southwest metropolitan area. The participants were five, sixth-grade American Indian students. The role of the researcher was to facilitate a Third Space within Culture Club, as well as collect and analyze data. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews; recorded Culture Club sessions; phase 3, and research journal entries. Once the data were transcribed, eclectic coding methodology, consisting of open, descriptive, and in vivo coding was employed and interpretive analysis procedures followed. Findings showed modest changes in participants’ cultural identities but confirmed the creation of a Third Space within Culture Club. Findings have important implications for both practice and future research. Recommendations for improving and sustaining the decolonizing framework of Culture Club to create safe spaces for American Indian students and their explorations of their Indigeneity are also proposed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2017

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur samerna respektive den nordamerikanska ursprungsbefolkningen framställs i samtida historieläroböcker för gymnasiets senare historiekurser. Det som undersökts är hur de två ursprungsfolkens historia och kulturmöten framställs i relation till vad som står i Gy11:s läroplan. Den använda metoden är Norman Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys integrerat med Homi Bhabhas postkoloniala teori. Faircloughs metod belyser maktförhållanden i texten och Bhabhas teori klarlägger hur dessa maktförhållanden ter sig. Resultatet visar att det förekommer maktdiskurser i samtliga undersökta läroböcker. I vissa av böckerna finns ett tydligt ”vi och dem” perspektiv, där de två ursprungsfolken framställs som ”dem”. När urfolken väl nämns i läroböckerna nämns de kort och utan vidare problematisering, vilket gör att eleverna inte ges den kunskap om ursprungsfolk som läroplanen uttrycker. Dessutom nämns de alltid i relation eller åtskillnad från nationalstaten, aldrig enskilt. Resultatet överensstämmer med tidigare forskning inom området, vilket tyder på att varken samernas eller den nordamerikanska ursprungsbefolkningen ges något vidare utrymme i den svenska historieskrivningen på gymnasiet.

In this dissertation I explore the dynamics of how the definition of the human is established and subsequently challenged in both H.G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) and R.L. Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). Late nineteenth-century Europe was a time and place where an exploration of the definition of what it means to be human was particularly uncomfortable. The structures that upheld the then accepted conceptions of the human were under assault by new scientific discourses such as Darwinist theories of evolution, criminal anthropology and degenerationism. I show how the anxieties that these discourses inspired are reflected in the texts, and also examine how the communities in the texts act to reinforce the collapsing definition of what it means to be human. Victorian efforts to resolve this crisis of identity were mainly rooted in attempts to classify the natural world and to find or create some form of stable categorical distinction between the ‘human’ and the Other, or the not-human. The nature of the Other varied widely but manifested in terms of species, race, gender and class, to name but a few categories. The mechanisms through which humans, both as individuals and as communities, created and maintained their ‘humanity’ is examined through the use of theories of the liminal, from Anton van Gennep ([1909] 1960) to Homi Bhabha (1994). The reasons for the fear of the liminal characters are explored through Julia Kristeva’s (1982) notion of the abject – a phenomenon which arises in a confusion of the boundaries and distinctions between the subject and the object, the Self and the Other. Using Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s (1996) ‘Monster Theory’, I examine what the texts reveal about the society in which the authors were writing and what the appeal or horror of each monster’s particular type of liminality might have been for contemporary readers. In my conclusion I show that the fears and anxieties in Wells’s and Stevenson’s texts are still extant today. The monsters in the texts reflect changing conceptions of what it means to be human. By examining the nature of the fear that these monsters inspire, one can better understand both the readers of the time and the origins of the modern understanding of what it means to be human, what it means to be Other, and the realisation that, ultimately, perhaps we all exist somewhere betwixt and between. / Dissertation (MA--University of Pretoria, 2017. / English / MA (English) / Unrestricted

Cette thèse étudie le thème du mariage interculturel et des identités hybrides de personnages dans The Pickup (2001) de Nadine Gordimer, The Translator (1999) de Leila Aboulela et A Mighty Collision of Two Worlds (2002) de Safi Abdi. L’étude cherche à explorer comment les identités culturelles des protagonistes changent lorsqu’ils se marient avec une personne d’une culture différente des leurs et qu’ils rencontrent de nouvelles traditions et de nouvelles croyances. La théorie de l’hybridité développée par Homi Bhabha et par d’autres théoriciens de l’hybridité peut être un outil pertinent pour analyser l’identité des personnages. Bhabha soutient que ceux qui traversent les cultures vivent dans un “in-between space” ou un “third space,” fluctuant entre leur culture d’origine et leur culture d’accueil. Cependant, les conclusions de l’étude montrent que ces personnages de fiction présentent des cas qui n’ont pas été explorés par les théoriciens de l’hybridité. On s’aperçoit d’autre part, que plusieurs facteurs de nature culturelle, religieuse, personnelle ou sociale influencent les protagonistes dans les romans : soit ils leur identité hybride s’affirme, soit ils conservent la façon de vivre de leur pays d’origine. On remarque aussi que les mariages interculturels et l’identité hybride sont liés entre eux. Le mariage interculturel peut être à la fois la manifestation de l’hybridité, et dans ce cas il est perçu comme une affirmation du vécu hybride servant du même coup de moyen d’aller vers l’hybridité. Contrairement à ce à quoi on pourrait s’attendre, on observe que parfois les relations interculturelles entraînent une réaction anti-hybride / This dissertation studies the subject of cross-cultural marriage and hybrid identities of characters in Nadine Gordimer’s The Pickup (2001), Leila Aboulela’s The Translator (1999), and Safi Abdi’s A Mighty Collision of two Worlds (2002). The study seeks to find out how the cultural identities of the protagonists in the novels change when they marry across cultures and face new traditions and beliefs. Hybridity theory, which is developed by Homi Bhabha and other hybridity theorists, can be a relevant tool for analysis of the characters’ identities. Bhabha contends that those who cross cultures live in an “in-between space” or “third space” in which they oscillate between their native culture and the host culture. However, results show that fictional characters present cases which have not been explored by hybridity theorists. In addition, it is stressed that various factors of a cultural, religious, personal, and social nature affect the protagonists in the novels to either develop a hybrid identity or maintain their native way of life. It is also found that cross-cultural marriage and hybridity are correlated. The former can be both a manifestation of hybridity, where the protagonists’ cross-cultural marriage is seen as an assertion of their hybrid experience, and as a means to hybridity. Contrary to expectations, it is observed that cross-cultural relationships lead to an anti-hybrid reaction