The aim of the present study is to analyze and compare the representation of the guerrilla soldier in six contemporary Central American novels. According to Claudio Guillén, the comparison is a dialogue between unity and diversity. It can be defined with the help of two coordinates: a spatial and a temporal. In this study the spatial coordinate includes Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, and the temporal extends from the mid-seventies to the eighties. The novels written in the seventies are Los compañeros (1976) by Marco Antonio Flores, ¿Te dio miedo la sangre? (1977) by Sergio Ramírez and Caperucita en la zona roja (1977) by Manlio Argueta. The ones written in the eighties are La mujer habitada (1988) by Gioconda Belli, La diáspora (1989) by Horacio Castellanos Moya and El hombre de Montserrat (1994) by Dante Liano. The novels are analyzed from a postcolonial perspective following the ideas of Alfonso de Toro and Santiago Castro-Gómez particularly. The method used is the phenomenological hermeneutics, as proposed by Mario J. Valdés. This implies an analysis performed on four levels: historical, formal, phenomenological and hermeneutic. Two of the key aspects in the analysis are the reader's aesthetic identification with the hero and the postcolonial concept subaltern. The main conclusion is that the representation of the guerrilla soldier in the corpus is very heterogeneous and that almost no protagonist can be considered a subaltern. The reader's identification with the guerrilla soldier ranges from admirative to ironic, though the main type is sympathetic. Hence, the representation may be considered a hybrid, using a term borrowed from anthropologist Néstor García Canclini that opposes binary schemes and essentialist thinking. The guerrilla soldier is regarded as an individual and not as an abstract idea, which indicates that the civil wars in Central America were not just a conflict between two ideologies, but above all a human experience.

The Middle East saw much social change in recent tumultuous decades. On one hand, some communities embraced Westernness as part of the inevitable path to development and modernization. On the other hand, there were communities that resisted global trends that were mostly dominated by the West. The latter deemed these trends as a threat to native cultures, religious groups, and local traditions. This made the Arab world a ground for constant redefinition of the meaning of identity. Of the countries in the region undergoing a turbulent debate over what constitutes national identity, Lebanon serves as a good example. Ever since its independence, Lebanon was a nation-state with no sense of nationality to unite its people. As some communities saw themselves more francophone than Arab, others felt a close connection to a pan-Arab nation. Arguably, the Lebanese people found themselves amidst a tension between the two poles. Defining one’s identity required a negotiation between the two extremes. Not only did this negotiation demand a thorough investigation of one’s beliefs, social network, and history, but it also necessitated a diligent ‘performance’ of identity. An individual represented her identity by habits and expressions that she associated with that particular identity. The study at hand is an exploration of the relationship between identity and consumption in the Lebanese society. This project applies a unique approach in that it considers the producers’ agency in the construction of identity. Taking television advertising as a site for inquiry, the study explores how commercial advertisers utilize the tension between the local and the non-local to promote the consumption of the advertised products. Through exploring the values that educate advertising producers’ choices in creating text and meaning, this study applies theories of globalization, postcolonial studies, and consumer behavior through which advertisers manifest an ambivalence of identity. Therefore, by taking Lebanon as an example and focusing on advertising, this study contributes to the debates of globalization and the Arab world by invoking questions of producers’ agency in producing identity references through attitudes, behaviors, and social status associated with the featured products. / text

This master’s report presents an examination of hybridic religious practices, ritual and iconography as depicted in Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters and Ana Castillo's So far from God. In particular, it treats the role of religious hybridity--the imbrication of folkloric, indigenous and secular traditions with orthodox Catholicism--as an important source of cultural, political and social resistance within postcolonial Chicana/o and Filipino communities that are still dealing with, or attempting to escape their colonial pasts. / text

It is commonly held that contradiction and ambivalence are typical of Aboriginal policies, particularly those of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These contradictions, often witnessed between policy and its application, have been recognized as a competition between pragmatic factors and humanitarian concerns. However, as is evidenced by the ‘mix-race discourse’ of the laws and policies that make up Aboriginal policy in Canada, the US, and Australia, these contradictions can in part be explained by a post-Enlightenment science that debated the role and place of mixed-ancestry Natives. While mixed-ancestry Natives were the specific targets of law and policy that aimed to fix their identities in a ‘Native-Newcomer’ racial binary, officials were ambivalent and ambiguous when it came to how they fit into that binary. The question of whether they should be considered ‘Aboriginal’ and if they should therefore be assimilated or segregated remained one of the most enduring questions of Aboriginal policy in the century between 1850 and 1950. This dissertation considers these contradictions and how the role of mixed-ancestry Natives in Aboriginal policies can explain them. Instead of seeing those contradictions as anomalies or as illogical, I posit that they are a logical product of scientific debates over racial hybridity. Fundamentally, I argue that mixed-ancestry Natives were the targets of ambivalent policies that were shaped by debates among nineteenth-century scientists about the implications of racial mixing. These debates were reflected in the inconsistencies and apparent contradictions of the laws and practices that make up Aboriginal policy in Canada, the US, and Australia. In particular, these debates were reflected in the ambiguity and ambivalence of policies that tried to direct how Indigenous peoples of mixed-ancestry should be dealt with, defined, and categorized. The contradictions and ambiguities in law and policy reflect on a larger scale the tension between attempting to apply a hypothetical dichotomized racial hierarchy on the reality of a hybridized society. These tensions were a major influencing factor on the direction and development of Aboriginal policy in these three countries, and produced a consistent albeit ambivalent body of ‘mixed-race’ discourse.

Denne avhandlingen studerer de litterære verkene til den samiske forfatteren Matti Aikio, samt det nedslag hans verk hadde i samtidens Norge. Aikios romaner, artikler, skuespill og billedkunst ble skapt i tidsrommet 1904-29, en periode da Norge som ny selvstendig nasjonalstat hadde begrenset toleranse med sin samiske minoritet. En slik etnisk kultur-forståelse var i samsvar med samtidens rådende sosial-darwinisme, på overgangen fra kolonialisme til imperialisme. I slike omgivelser fremsto Matti Aikio som norsk forfatter med bøker skrevet på norsk – men med et selvvalgt samisk-lydende kunstnernavn. Det er avhandlingens mål å avdekke en mulig notsetningen mellom storsamfunnets forventning om assimilasjon og Aikios diskrete presentasjon av samiske verdier i sitt verk og virke. Det blir diskutert om nettopp valg av virkemidler førte til mistenkeliggjøring fra samtidens samiske talsmenn, men at ettertiden har vist at Aikios insistering på samarbeidslinje ville gi bedre langsiktige resultater for samisk språk og kultur. Samtidig søker analysen å underbygge at Aikio selv fikk en økt forståelse for den samiske kulturens mangfold i løpet av sin karriere – samtidig som taktikken endret seg i forfatterens langsiktige strategi om full likestilling for den samiske minoriteten. Fra å hevde at den ekte samiske kulturen bare fantes i Karasjok, endte han med en mer moderne og inkluderende forståelse av en samisk folkegruppe med et mangfold av språk og kulturuttrykk. / This dissertation is a study of the literary works by the Sami author Matti Aikio, and of the impact his work had in Norway in his time. Aikio’s novels, articles, dramas and paintings were produced in the time period 1904−1929, a period when Norway as an independent nation state had limited tolerance for its Sami minority. Such an ethnic cultural understanding corresponded with the prevailing sentiment of social Darwinism of the time, in the transition from colonialism to imperialism. In this context Matti Aikio emerged as a Norwegian author with books written in Norwegian – but under a personally chosen, Sami sounding nom de plume. The objective of the dissertation is to disclose a possible contradiction between greater society’s expect­ations regarding assimilation and Aikio’s discreet presentation of Sami values in his literary works and professional activity. It has been discussed whether precisely the choice of tools at hand served to undermine his credibility with the Sami spokesmen of the time, but after the fact it has become evident that Aikio’s insistence on a collaborative line would have far better long-term results for the Sami language and culture. The analysis simultaneously seeks to substantiate that Aikio personally acquired a greater understanding of the diversity of the Sami culture in the course of his career – while simultaneously the tactics of the author’s long-term strategy for full equality for the Sami minority changed. From maintaining that the true Sami culture was found only in Karasjok, he ended up with a more modern and inclusive understanding of a Sami ethnic group with a multitude of languages and cultural expressions.

El problema a tratar o la reflexión sobre una redefinición o reestructuración de la ciencia literaria (crítica académica literaria, estudios literarios, CL) y estudios culturales (EC) es un fenómeno global obvio cuando, por ejemplo, en la propuesta para este volumen de reflexiones conjuntas, se pregunta "¿cómo reaccionar frente a la disminución de estudiantes subgraduados y graduados de literatura y al incremento de los abocados a los estudios culturales?" Esta pregunta revela un fenómeno que se está dando masivamente en todos aquellos países en cuyas universidades se han introducido los estudios culturales, así en Alemania, así en el Instituto de Romanística y en el Centro de Investigación Iberoamericana de la Universidad de Leipzig.

Mein Thema – zu dem ich heute nur einige wenige Überlegungen anstellen und eine Reihe von Fragen formulieren möchte – hat erstens mit dem Versuch zu tun, den in der postkolonialen Debatte bis heute zentralen und weitverbreiteten Begriff der Hybridität zeitlich zu entgrenzen und diesen somit zu historisieren, um aus bestehenden Polarisierungen innerhalb der Chronikforschung herauszukommen und neue Perspektiven zu eröffnen. Ich betrachte die von mir im Rahmen der Sektion "Hybriditätsdiskurse in Lateinamerika: Von der Eroberung bis zum 21. Jahrhundert" auf dem 14. Deutschen Hispanistentag (6.-9. März 2003 in Regensburg) vorgeschlagene und mittlerweile auf breite Zustimmung gestoßene zeitliche Entgrenzung und Historisierung der Hybridität deshalb als einen zentralen Aspekt, weil gleich zu Beginn von Entdeckung und Eroberung eine neue Konstruktion des Fremden und des Eigenen bzw. der Andersheit begann, die bisher mehr oder weniger – mit Ausnahme von Todorov – nur am Rande oder gar nicht beschrieben worden ist, insofern das Faktische (die Zerstörung der amerikanischen Kulturen) alles andere überdeckte.

Research on analogies in science education has focussed on student interpretation of teacher and textbook analogies, psychological aspects of learning with analogies and structured approaches for teaching with analogies. Few studies have investigated how analogies might be pivotal in students’ growing participation in chemical discourse. To study analogies in this way requires a sociocultural perspective on learning that focuses on ways in which language, signs, symbols and practices mediate participation in chemical discourse. This study reports research findings from a teacher-research study of two analogy-writing activities in a chemistry class. The study began with a theoretical model, Third Space, which informed analyses and interpretation of data. Third Space was operationalized into two sub-constructs called Dialogical Interactions and Hybrid Discourses. The aims of this study were to investigate sociocultural aspects of learning chemistry with analogies in order to identify classroom activities where students generate Dialogical Interactions and Hybrid Discourses, and to refine the operationalization of Third Space. These aims were addressed through three research questions. The research questions were studied through an instrumental case study design. The study was conducted in my Year 11 chemistry class at City State High School for the duration of one Semester. Data were generated through a range of data collection methods and analysed through discourse analysis using the Dialogical Interactions and Hybrid Discourse sub-constructs as coding categories. Results indicated that student interactions differed between analogical activities and mathematical problem-solving activities. Specifically, students drew on discourses other than school chemical discourse to construct analogies and their growing participation in chemical discourse was tracked using the Third Space model as an interpretive lens. Results of this study led to modification of the theoretical model adopted at the beginning of the study to a new model called Merged Discourse. Merged Discourse represents the mutual relationship that formed during analogical activities between the Analog Discourse and the Target Discourse. This model can be used for interpreting and analysing classroom discourse centred on analogical activities from sociocultural perspectives. That is, it can be used to code classroom discourse to reveal students’ growing participation with chemical (or scientific) discourse consistent with sociocultural perspectives on learning.

This thesis develops, applies and evaluates the concept of everyday hybridity in the analysis of interviews with a multiethnic sample of Hong Kong Muslim youth. The research asks if the lives of young Muslims in Hong Kong can be discussed through the concept of ‘everyday hybridity’ in response to existing sociological debate on hybrid identities and culture. The thesis critiques the existing debate on cultural hybridity and argues for a broader discussion on multicultural youth that moves beyond the existing focus on multiculturalism in the West. It offers an account of Muslim youth in a non-Western context and challenges a number of popular assumptions about them in the post 9/11 era. Everyday hybridity is proposed as a concept to discuss mundane themes of cultural hybridity that are often overlooked in the celebration of hybrid styles in youth research. It is developed through an analysis of works on cultural hybridity and everyday life sociology and operationalises the theory of cultural hybridity. Work on youth, multiculturalism, and Muslims as political minorities are used to identify key themes of everyday hybridity relevant for the research. The themes, language, space, and religious practice provide the focus for the discussion and analysis of the participant interviews. The analysis of the participant testimonies is used to argue that hybridity can be palpably represented in research and that it is a common and normal facet of life in multicultural communities. It demonstrates that young Muslims in Hong Kong value the freedom and safety they have despite the fact that many experience racism and are subject to government education policies that limit their employment prospects. As a result everyday hybridity provides a new way to understand Muslim youth in Hong Kong. This thesis concludes by assessing the contribution of the research to discussions on cultural hybridity, Muslim youth in Hong Kong, and the global focus on youth studies. The closing discussion outlines a number of policy suggestions; it argues that the everyday focus of the research provides a model to think broadly and sensitively about what young Muslims truly value about life in Hong Kong when striving to improve circumstances for them.

Submitted by Viviane Lima da Cunha (viviane@biblioteca.ufpb.br) on 2018-02-05T13:41:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1771570 bytes, checksum: 361225809ac81af634cc692fb737c706 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-05T13:41:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1771570 bytes, checksum: 361225809ac81af634cc692fb737c706 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-09 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / This work aims to show the growth strategies of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God as well as cultural hybridization processes that lead to adapt to different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. Also addresses the ritualistic processes that promote the construction of a typical Pentecostal identity and their way of being in the world, specifically their sense of work and vocation, in Weberian terms, which lead them to increase the faithful quota year after year. This said "way of being" brings the peculiarity of inserting the individual as part of the world and, even more, its transformer, contradicting thus the historical perspective of evangelical denominations that precede it. / Esta dissertação tem por objetivo mostrar as estratégias de crescimento da Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus bem como os processos de hibridização cultural que a levam a adaptar-se a diferentes culturas e contextos socioeconômicos. Aborda também os processos ritualísticos que promovem a construção de uma identidade tipicamente pentecostal e seu modo de ser no mundo, mais especificamente seu sentido de trabalho e vocação, nos termos weberianos, os quais os levam a aumentar o contingente de fieis ano após ano. Esse referido “modo de ser” traz a peculiaridade de inserir o indivíduo como parte do mundo e, mais ainda, transformador dele, contrariando, desse modo, a perspectiva histórica das denominações evangélicas que a precedem.