This project focuses on science fiction literature of Spain and Argentina produced in the last twenty years (1990-2010). It hypothesizes that in this period a change of perspective substantially modified science fiction productions in both countries and converges into a new model of narrative. As a consequence of this reformulated vision, a new narrative perspective immerses readers in an era of simulation, hyperreality, and post-humanism. When advanced technology is able to modify the basic human anatomy, and persons are trapped between virtual and real universes, simulacra facilitate control of people in an effective and impersonal manner. Simultaneously, fictional scenarios show new post-human beings sharing future worlds with humans. In this regard, the new literary production leads the reader to a redefinition of what it means to be human. With a theoretical framework centered on simulacrum, hyperreality and post-humanism, this study places the use of new technologies and the critique of postmodern society at the epicenter of the discussion as proposed by selected novels.

The present study investigates the verbal strategies of self-presentation that humanist scholars employed in contests of honor during the early fifteenth century. The focus of this study is George of Trebizond (1395-1472/3), a Cretan scholar who emigrated to Italy in 1416, taught in Venice, Vicenza, and elsewhere, served as an apostolic secretary in Rome, and composed the first major humanist treatise on rhetoric, his Rhetoricorum libri quinque, in 1433/34. Trebizond feuded with many prominent humanists during his career, including Guarino of Verona (1374-1460) and Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459). His quarrels with both men illustrate how humanist conflicts were the sites upon which Quattrocento scholars won or lost honor via literary activities designed to appeal to a public audience of peers and patrons. Humanists wrote to denigrate publicly their competitors, casting them as ignorant and morally corrupt, and to praise themselves as eloquent and virtuous. Although Renaissance scholarship has long acknowledged the humanist pursuit of glory, the linguistic means by which humanists contested honor remains understudied. The present study contends that Quattrocento contests of honor were conducted using standard sets of oppositional categories, themes, and literary models. Additionally, I argue that an analysis of the linguistic strategies of self-presentation provides a more complex and complete picture of Quattrocento humanism and of individual humanists as historical figures. Following an introductory discussion of George of Trebizond and Quattrocento humanism in Chapter One, the next three chapters of this dissertation address individual themes evident in Trebizond’s correspondence. Chapter Two examines the anti-Greek language that dominated Trebizond’s dispute with Guarino in 1437. Chapter Three explores the language of restraint and rational self-control in Trebizond’s feud with Poggio between 1452 and 1453. Chapter Four evaluates humanist concepts of masculinity in Trebizond’s feuds with both men. Chapter Five steps back from a deep thematic reading of Trebizond’s correspondence to consider invective as a literary genre that was a preferred vehicle for humanist self-presentation. This final chapter studies two additional feuds, between Guarino and Niccolò Niccoli, and Poggio and Lorenzo Valla, to understand better Trebizond’s experiences as a reflection of the broader culture of which he was a part.

The main objective of this master&rsquo / s thesis is to analyze the place assigned to human subjectivity by French philosophers Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. In order to fulfil the requirements of this objective, what is focused on is their shared critique which is exercised against the traditional conceptions of humanity and subjectivity. Through the thesis, first Foucault&rsquo / s analyses which demonstrate that universal man as a construction emerges as an effect of discursive practices and power relations, and his archaeological method that illustrates knowledge process is not dependent on transcendental consciousness are explained and discussed. Then it is argued that Deleuzian philosophy of becoming which does not submit to any transcendent unity that governs experience is an actual alternative to subject-centered understandings of the world. Throughout the course of arguments it is emphasized that according to both Foucault and Deleuze the human subject is an effect of network type relations that occur in a non-subjective fashion.

&ldquo / New monumentality&rdquo / is a term which was first introduced to architectural discourse by Sigfried Giedion, Jose Luis Sert, and Fernand L&eacute / ger right after the post-World War II in the early forties. The effect of the term comes from the polemical power of reformulation of the accustomed category &ldquo / monument&rdquo / within the field of the modern architecture. In this way, as it is shaped by the three authors, for the first time &ldquo / New Monumentality&rdquo / had been identified as a modern task under the name of Nine Points on Monumentality in 1943. Therefore, this thesis is mainly grounded on this significant text that is a primary manifestation of the need for the new monumentality. On these bases, that the manifesto is stressed an effort to determine the ethics of the post war modern architecture regarding: historicism, functionalism, and representation. This thesis seeks to clarify the self-critical frame which is unfolded by the manifesto within the context of the modern architecture. Thus, the first one of the three objectives of this thesis is to clarify the concept of new monumentality / the second one is to locate its position in the history of modern architecture / and the third one is to differentiate proposed and unintended outcomes of this movement within the contemporary discourses of architecture.

In this thesis I examine the representation of parents and schoolmasters and the conflicts between them in vernacular drama in Reformation England. This was a period of growth in public schooling and a time when numerous treatises on education and childrearing were in circulation in England. Prevailing pedagogical theory privileged the schoolmaster's authority over that of the parents, and set paternal authority over that of the mother. It sought to limit maternal power to the domestic sphere and the infant years, yet the drama examined here suggests that mothers, not fathers, were usually the parent in control of their children's education. The conflicts inherent in these oppositions are played out in drama dealing with schooling and childrearing; each of the works examined here participates in and contributes to public debate over school education and parenting practices in early modern England. The thesis conducts a close textual and contextual analysis of the representation of schoolmasters and parents and of parent-school relations in seven English plays. A variety of dramatic genres is represented: public drama (Love's Labour's Lost, Patient Grissill, The Winter's Tale), school drama (Nice Wanton, July and Julian, The Disobedient Child), and private royal entertainment (The Lady of May). The plays are explicated in terms of the Tudor school culture and the negotiation of authority between fathers, mothers and schoolmasters. The thesis draws extensively on sixteenth-century school dialogues and vulgaria and on education treatises, which were available in English in Tudor England, in particular the writings of Erasmus, Vives, Ascham, Mulcaster, Elyot, Brinsley and Becon. School records provide information on school conditions and curricula, the duties and qualities of schoolmasters and the role of schools in civic and public performances. The thesis addresses issues of gender, childrearing, public education and parental and pedagogical authority in the second half of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Aristoteleion Panepistēmion Thessalonikēs, 1967. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [xii]-xviii) and indexes.

Ce travail propose une analyse de l’idéalisme absolu, de l’humanisme et de du matérialisme dialectique à travers les pensées respectives de Hegel, Feuerbach et Marx. Il s’agit pour nous d’étudier ici trois doctrines philosophiques qui se suivent chro- logiquement en montrant notamment comment s’est opéré le passage de l’idéalisme absolu de Hegel à l’humanisme philosophique de Feuerbach qui fera l’objet d’une critique assez sévère de la part de Marx qui par la même occasion le rejette après l’avoir intégré comme un moment dans l’élaboration de sa conception matérialiste du monde.Souvent présenté comme un penseur de second plan, dont le seul mérite est d’avoir amorcé les principes d’une critique de la pensée de Hegel dont il n’est jamais parvenu à se départir en tant qu’ancien disciple, Feuerbach occupe dans l’histoire de la philosophie une place pour le moins inconfortable. En effet, face à l’impérialisme marxien et hégélien (deux monuments de la philosophie), la pensée de Feuerbach est souvent présentée comme secondaire par les marxistes. C’est pourquoi l’un des objectifs de ce présent travail est d’étudier la pensée de Feuerbach pour ce qu’elle est et non à travers les grilles d’une lecture marxiste. / This work proposes an analysis of the absolute idealism, the humanism and the dialectical materialism through the respective thoughts of Hegel, Feuerbach and Marx. It is a question for us of studying here three philosophic doctrines which follow each other chro - logically by showing in particular how took place the passage of the idealism absolved from Hegel in the philosophic humanism of Feuerbach which will be the object of a rather severe criticism on behalf of Marx who at the same time rejects him(it) having integrated(joined) him(it) as moment into the elaboration of its materialistic conception(design) of the word.

The future of our world will largely be determined by our willingness and ability to address practices and beliefs that threaten human dignity, promote violence, and impoverish communities. This dissertation develops an African humanist theology as a basis for concrete engagement with social problems (dehumanization, violence, and poverty) by drawing from Kenneth Kaunda’s concept of Christian humanism. Relying on writings by Kenneth Kaunda housed at Boston University library (books, pamphlets, and unpublished speeches), this dissertation argues that his concept of Christian humanism is a valuable, multidimensional concept that, properly understood can serve as a critical resource for addressing the ethical challenges related to human dignity, nonviolence, and economic justice. This dissertation undertakes four main tasks. First, the dissertation’s critical examination of Christian humanism and African humanism exposes shared yet distinctive emphases on human dignity. Second, the dissertation studies Kaunda’s biography to explore the contextual influences on his life and the development of his thought. Kaunda was deeply influenced by his missionary parents and, later in life, by thinkers such as Mahatma Gandhi. Third, the dissertation analyzes the theoretical bases of Kaunda’s Christian humanism with regard to the main themes of human dignity, nonviolence, and economic egalitarianism. Fourth, the dissertation proposes an African Christian humanist approach embodying the ideas espoused by Kaunda as a framework for addressing the ethical challenges in Africa related to violence and poverty. This study concludes that African Christian humanism in the sense proposed should be an important component of social ethics.

Este trabalho tem por finalidade apresentar uma leitura contrastiva entre os escritos de cunho religioso do escritor português José Saramago, O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo e Caim, e os escritos tidos como sagrados pela cultura judaico-cristã: a Bíblia. A pesquisa visa, dessa forma, contribuir com uma leitura inovadora às análises já existentes das obras do autor. Além disso, procura evidenciar a relação entre Literatura e Religião, fazendo uso das teorias da Teopoética. A análise feita partiu do pensamento do próprio autor acerca do Romance, Literatura, História e Religião, mas também se remete à infância do autor em busca da compreensão do ambiente vivido por ele, bem como da educação por ele recebida. Logo, constata-se a ocorrência do sagrado em sua obra, mediante a aplicação do ateísmo ético e a associação ao conceito de apocrifia frente aos escritos religiosos. Em seguida, traça-se a evolução histórica da Bíblia, bem como sua relação com as teorias de Tradução e as possíveis ocorrências de desvios doutrinológicos sob o ponto de vista religioso, sob a observação de conceitos hermenêuticos e exegéticos. Na obtenção dos resultados, ressalta-se que alguns já eram esperados devido às leituras prévias realizadas; contudo, a maior parte deles é surpreendente do ponto de vista histórico-tradicional. Enfim, acredita-se na validade desta pesquisa, pois ela possibilita ao leitor, além de um comparativo, uma reflexão em busca da sua verdade pessoal. / This thesis intends to present a contrastive reading among the writings with religious nature of the Portuguese writer José Saramago, The Gospel according to Jesus Christ and Cain with the writings consider sacred by the Jewish and Christian cultures: the Bible. The search aims, in this way, to contribute with an innovative reading to the analysis previous done about the author’s books. Besides, let us seek to point the relation between Literature and Religion, using the theories of Theo-poetic. The analysis done started by the author’s thoughts about Novel, Literature, History and Religion, but it also comes back into the author’s childhood trying to comprehend his family environment, as well as the education received by him. Next, let us find the occurrence of the sacred in his work by applying the ethical atheism influenced by the humanistic philosophies and the association to the concept of apocryphal books in front of religious writings. After, let us present the historic evolution of the Bible, as well as, its relation with the Translation theories and the possible occurrence of doctrinal deviations from the religious point of view, under the observation of hermeneutical and exegetical concepts. In achieving the results, let us highlight that, some of them were expected due to the previous readings performed, however, most of them are surprising under the historical and traditional point of view. Finally, we believe in the validity of this research because it allows the reader, in addition to a comparison, a reflection in search of his personal truth.

This diploma thesis deals with the role of biblical themes in the collection of poems The Legend of the Centuries by Victor Hugo. First chapter pursues selected aspects of the collection (humanistic values, conception of history, character and time aspects). The aim of the second chapter is to put the collection into the literary context of the concerned period (romantism, symbolism) and into the context of the author's philosophical and religious ideas. This part considers the relation among the collection, the myth and the psychoanalysis. Focus of the thesis lies in the third part that analyzes selected poems of the collection. These are classified according to the role of biblical aspects. The first type of Hugo's application of the biblical elements is represented by an opening poem of the collection "La Vision d'ou est sorti ce livre", which refers to the biblical stories, characters and themes via different poetic techniques. The second group of poems represents a direct updating of the biblical stories. The last type unifies the author's convictions with the biblical elements and recreates the so-called biblical poems. The aim of the thesis is to research this new type of myths that Victor Hugo creates throughout the biblical themes.