Avec leur entrée en guerre en 1917, les États-Unis s’imposent rapidement comme la principale force économique, industrielle et guerrière au monde. Avec les soldats, ce sont aussi la musique américaine (le rag-time puis le jazz), le cinéma (Charlot en tête, et bientôt les films noirs), ses légendes, ses propres mythes. Alors que la France traverse une crise de civilisation, parler des États-Unis ne saurait être anodin. Les discours sur les États-Unis se chargent alors d’enjeux existentiels, idéologiques mais aussi esthétiques. Aux inquiétudes d’époque qui traversent l’abondante production littéraire sur l’Amérique, se mêlent les sentiments personnels des auteurs. Se font entendre une pluralité de voix et de points de vue qui mettent sérieusement à mal l’idée reçue d’une France unaniment « antiaméricaine ». Rares sont les auteurs qui ne s’expriment pas à un moment ou un autre sur les États-Unis, qu’ils y voient la préfiguration de la vie future, ou l’avant-garde de la décadence, un marqueur de modernité ou l’occasion d’amitiés transatlantiques, un contre-modèle politique ou l’occasion d’une utopie démocratique… Ainsi a lieu l’avènement d’un foisonnant imaginaire français des États-Unis, bien loin d’un prétendu discours monologique, qui est l’occasion d’un formidable élargissement de l’horizon des écrivains, ou au contraire d’un repli européen ou national, parfois même nationaliste. Notre thèse se propose donc de rendre compte de la position centrale des États-Unis dans l’existence et la réflexion des écrivains français de l’entre-deux-guerres à travers les multiples formes de résonances et de déflagrations du mot et de la chose « Amérique » dans leur vie imaginative. On aura compris qu’il n’est pas nécessaire, pour parler d’Amérique, d’avoir traversé l’Atlantique. Les États-Unis apparaissent comme un terrain propice à la fiction entendue dans le sens large de mythologies, fantasmes, clichés, représentations symboliques… Il faudra donc débusquer le stéréotype, le cliché, la projection d’un imaginaire personnel dans les œuvres, sans en sous-estimer la pertinence. Les textes littéraires évoluant dans un rapport ambigu à la réalité, il est possible que la ligne de partage traditionnelle entre le vrai et le faux ne soit pas des plus adéquates. Car il est vrai que l’Amérique des textes semble bien souvent être celle des fantasmes (personnels ou collectifs), ceci n’excluant d’ailleurs pas, par moments, le pressentiment d’une vérité ou la compréhension. La crise succédant au 11 septembre est le moment propice pour restituer dans sa complexité l’histoire plurielle d’un regard sur l’autre, au-delà de l’aversion et de la fascination trop souvent présentées comme les deux seules voies empruntées par les écrivains français / When they entered World War I in 1917, the USA rapidly established themselves as the main economic, industrial and military power in the world. Alongside the soldiers, it was also about American music (rag-time and jazz), cinema (the Tramp to begin with and very soon the film noir), legends and their own myths. While France was undergoing a civilisation crisis, talking about the USA could not be insignificant. Talks about the USA became then full of existential, ideological, but also aesthetic stakes. On the top of the worries of the time going through the abundant literary production about America, came the personal feelings of the authors.The many voices and points of view that could be heard seriously undermined the common idea of France being completely anti-American. The authors not talking at some point or another about the USA were very rare, whether they saw in it the foresight of a future life, the avant-garde of decadence, a landmark of modernity or the opportunity for Franco-American friendship, a countermodel in politics or the occasion to see in it a democratic utopia... It was hence the coming of age of a proliferating French imaginary about the USA, quite far from a monological speech which consisted in an amazing broadening of the writer's horizon, or, on the contrary, in a European withdrawal, sometimes even nationalist. Our thesis offers then to account for the central position of the USA in the being and reflection of French writers of the interwar period through the multiple shapes of resonance and deflagration of the word and the thing « America » in their imaginary life.We have understood by now that it is not necessary, in order to talk about America, to have actually crossed the atlantic. The USA appear as a favorable place to foster fiction-in its broad meaning encompassing mythology, fantasy, clichés, symbolic representations… Our job will be then to hunt down the stereotypes, clichés, the personal projection of the imagination in the works without underestimating its relevance. Since the literary texts evolve with an amibiguous relationship with reality, it is possible that the traditional division between true and false may not be adequate. It is true indeed that the « America » in the texts seems quite often to be the product of fantasies (personal or collective), it does not however exclude, sometimes, the feeling of a truth or understanding. The post 9/11 crisis is the right time to re-establish, within its full complexity, the plural history of a look on the other, beyond the avertion or fascination so often introduced as the only two paths taken by the French writers.

The present licentiate thesis analyses developments in Swedish marine insurance during the interwar period, including both direct marine insurance and marine reinsurance. This is done in order to provide insights on how companies of a highly internationalised and vulnerable line of insurance were affected by and responded to new risks during a period of far-reaching international financial and economic crises. Finally, the consequences of new risks and strategies are assessed. This thesis argues that during the interwar period Swedish maritime trade and Swedish marine insurance greatly depended on each other for marine insurance cover and marine insurance premium incomes. The business results in Swedish marine insurance partly depended on the development of Swedish trade. These business results were also vulnerable to currency risks. Swedish marine insurers faced no similar trade or currency risks during the two decades preceding World War I, and accordingly the returns on Swedish marine insurance were lower during the interwar period than during the last two pre-war decades. These factors probably bore their most severe consequences during the early 1920s when Swedish marine insurance on average induced losses to insurers. The remaining years of the period constituted a long-run recovery, and the Great Depression of the early 1930s caused no difficulties of the same order. This thesis also indicates that interwar Swedish marine insurers responded to new risks by increasing the level of cession to reinsurers. Another response was to increase the level of differentiation among insurance lines. This thesis describes the consequences of new risks and strategies in interwar Swedish marine insurance, focusing on the development of the Swedish marine insurance market structure and on the business results of Swedish marine insurers. Though this market shrunk and grew excessively, the relative importance of stock and mutual insurers showed only minor fluctuations. The importance of specialised marine reinsurance companies, however, fluctuated greatly. Also, cooperation between interwar marine insurers and the formation of insurance groups set new trends of concentration for the future. Finally, even though Swedish marine insurance during some years induced losses the Swedish marine insurers never experienced true losses on their total businesses.

The main aim of the diploma thesis is to analyse selected women's magazines which were published between the years 1918-1938. The analysis of chosen articles published in selected magazines is based on the heuristics and interpretation. First part of the thesis is dedicated to description of the historical and cultural context of the interwar period, the social status of women in the society of First Czechoslovak Republic and to the development of women's emancipation. Second part of the thesis analyses the table of contents of chosen magazines with taking the cultural and social acquisition into the consideration.

La présente étude se focalise sur un des mythes cosmogoniques au fondement de la culture européenne. Mythe de la création et de l’anthropogenèse, le récit biblique du premier couple joue un rôle essentiel pour la compréhension et l’interprétation des rapports entre l’homme et la femme. L’union indissoluble, qui lie Adam et Ève, subit une métamorphose à la suite du péché originel afin de se réhabiliter en tant qu’unité au nom de la famille. Les littératures française, roumaine et bulgare représentent l’objet de l’analyse et nous nous intéressons aux caractéristiques de leur développement pendant la période de l’entre-deux-guerres. Le genre du roman se situe au centre de cette analyse comparative. Il se trouve ainsi saisi au sommet de son épanouissement, il mêle des techniques hétérogènes et traduit l’intérêt renouvelé des écrivains pour des thèmes métaphysiques. Notre entreprise s’appuie sur le modèle du mythe biblique composé de trois phases – création, chute, rédemption – modèle dont l’homme et la femme sont les protagonistes et qui coïncide avec la transition opérée par Adam et Ève du couple à la famille. Nous avons retenu deux représentants de chaque littérature, qui s’insèrent dans les différents courants de pensée de cette époque. Ce sont François Mauriac et Jean Giraudoux (représentants de la littérature française), Liviu Rebreanu et Mircea Eliade (représentants de la littérature roumaine), Tchavdar Moutafov et Anna Kamenova (représentants de la littérature bulgare). La première question, qui se pose devant la lecture comparative de leurs œuvres, concerne les dimensions actuelles, modernes, de l’espace paradisiaque – l’Éden du bonheur absolu et de la plénitude. Des conditions, qui préparent la rupture de la famille éventuelle, se manifestent dès le développement de ce thème. Les écrivains décrivent une nouvelle Ève trouvant difficilement sa place au milieu des conceptions et des attentes traditionnelles. L’étape suivante interroge l’attitude envers les modèles hérités des parents et les caractéristiques de l’image féminine notamment, qui trouble à ce point son créateur – l’auteur. De cette manière, nous nous rapprochons de la réalisation du couple en tant que famille. Nous étudions le discours contemporain sur la position de la famille dans le monde environnant et sur la réconciliation entre les libertés individuelles et la vie ensemble – des thèmes au centre du roman moderne. / The present study focuses on one of the cosmogonic myths аt the heart of European culture. The myth about creation and anthropogenesis, the biblical story of the first couple, plays a fundamental role in understanding and interpreting the relationship between the man and the woman. The inseparable alliance that binds Adam and Eve undergoes a metamorphosis after the Original sin in order to be later restored as a full-fledged unity in the name of the family. The subject of comparison are the French, the Romanian and the Bulgarian literature and we are interested in their development characteristics between the two World Wars. The focal point in the comparative analysis is the novel genre, which is in a stage of development in all three literatures. The genre combines heterogeneous techniques, and is a territory for authors’ renewed interest in metaphysical themes. In this endeavour, adherence to the established structure of the biblical myth as combining three phases is sustained – creation, fall and redemption phases – whose protagonists are the man and the woman, and which coincide with the transition of Adam and Eve from a couple to a family. Two representatives from each of the three regional literatures, belonging to different literary movements during this period, are taken as examples. These are François Mauriac and Jean Giraudoux (representatives of French literature), Liviu Rebreanu and Mircea Eliade (representatives of Romanian literature), Tchavdar Moutafov and Anna Kamenova (representatives of Bulgarian literature). The first question posed in the comparative reading of their works concerns the modern, contemporary dimensions of paradise – the Eden of absolute happiness and completeness. The prerequisites for the break as a transition into a family unit are discernible within this theme. The writers describe a new Eve that hardly fits the traditional perceptions and assumptions for her gender. The next stage of the critical reading examines the attitude towards inherited parental models and the characteristics of the female image as a primary concern to its creator – the author. Thus, a gradual approach towards the realization of the last step in the development of the couple, namely, its conversion to a family unit, is achieved. The present analysis focuses on articulating contemporary discourse on the place of the family unit in the surrounding world and on the reconciliation between individual freedoms and life in a community as central themes of the modern novel.

Heather Metcalfe Doctoral Abstract, Ph.D. program, 2009 Department of History, University of Toronto “It’s All About War: Canadian Opinion and the Canadian Approach to International Relations, 1935-1939.” Canadians in the 1930s did not appear eager to focus on foreign affairs. The social and economic difficulties caused by the dislocation of the Great Depression meant that international developments often seemed remote and irrelevant. However, despite this focus on domestic issues, many Canadians were concerned with the trend of international events. As a result, the debate regarding the appropriate Canadian response remained an ongoing, if underlying, factor. In addition, the political issues raised by Canadian foreign policy, particularly through the Canadian involvement in the British Commonwealth and the League of Nations, meant the issue could not simply be ignored. During the later part of the decade, as the possibility of international conflict became ever more likely, increasing numbers of Canadians turned their attention to Canada’s international role. They also turned their attention to what this debate meant in terms of the Canadian sense of identity. These individuals were concerned as well with the response of Canadian public opinion to involvement overseas. This question, of the nature and susceptibility of Canadian public opinion to attempts to direct it, remains an intriguing one. The nature of this response remained open to question, and was the subject of significant debate among Canadian intellectuals, politicians and public figures. In response, a number of individuals and groups, including members of the Canadian press, attempted to influence Canadian public opinion. Many also pressured the Canadian government, led by William Lyon Mackenzie King’s administration, to play a more active role in shaping public opinion. Canadian intellectuals, for instance, influenced by contemporary writings on public opinion, seemed convinced of their natural role as ‘shapers’ of public opinion, particularly in a time of domestic and international crisis. These assumptions, and the ways in which Canadian public opinion both responded to, and rejected these attempts at direction, provide an interesting window into the question of public opinion, particularly in regards to international events. The debate regarding the Canadian response to the crises of the late 1930s can thus aid in gaining a greater appreciation of how public opinion shifts in response to outside challenges and the attempts to influence its course.

Heather Metcalfe Doctoral Abstract, Ph.D. program, 2009 Department of History, University of Toronto “It’s All About War: Canadian Opinion and the Canadian Approach to International Relations, 1935-1939.” Canadians in the 1930s did not appear eager to focus on foreign affairs. The social and economic difficulties caused by the dislocation of the Great Depression meant that international developments often seemed remote and irrelevant. However, despite this focus on domestic issues, many Canadians were concerned with the trend of international events. As a result, the debate regarding the appropriate Canadian response remained an ongoing, if underlying, factor. In addition, the political issues raised by Canadian foreign policy, particularly through the Canadian involvement in the British Commonwealth and the League of Nations, meant the issue could not simply be ignored. During the later part of the decade, as the possibility of international conflict became ever more likely, increasing numbers of Canadians turned their attention to Canada’s international role. They also turned their attention to what this debate meant in terms of the Canadian sense of identity. These individuals were concerned as well with the response of Canadian public opinion to involvement overseas. This question, of the nature and susceptibility of Canadian public opinion to attempts to direct it, remains an intriguing one. The nature of this response remained open to question, and was the subject of significant debate among Canadian intellectuals, politicians and public figures. In response, a number of individuals and groups, including members of the Canadian press, attempted to influence Canadian public opinion. Many also pressured the Canadian government, led by William Lyon Mackenzie King’s administration, to play a more active role in shaping public opinion. Canadian intellectuals, for instance, influenced by contemporary writings on public opinion, seemed convinced of their natural role as ‘shapers’ of public opinion, particularly in a time of domestic and international crisis. These assumptions, and the ways in which Canadian public opinion both responded to, and rejected these attempts at direction, provide an interesting window into the question of public opinion, particularly in regards to international events. The debate regarding the Canadian response to the crises of the late 1930s can thus aid in gaining a greater appreciation of how public opinion shifts in response to outside challenges and the attempts to influence its course.

This thesis examines the historical problem of determining the relationship between a government's perception of public opinion and the decisions it takes. We introduce evidence for the social habits of the Cabinet in order to suggest new formulations of 'élite' and 'mass' public opinion. We argue that parliamentary opinion was generally more important in decision-making for the Cabinet, except at moments of extreme crisis when a conception of 'mass' opinion became equally significant. These characterization of mass opinion were drawn from a set of stereotypes about public opinion which academic and political theorization had produced. It is argued that this theorization was stimulated by ongoing debates about mass communication, the importance of the ordinary man in democracy and the outbreak of the first world war during the inter-war period. The thesis begins with an introduction to the methodological problems involved, followed by one chapter on theorization about public opinion in the inter-war period. Three diplomatic crises are considered in the case study chapters: the withdrawal of Germany from the Disarmament Conference in 1933, the German reoccuption of the Rhineland in 1936 and the threat of invasion of the Sudetenland in 1938. Two further chapters examine the role of public opinion in protests to Germany about the treatment of the Jews in 1933 and in 1938. It is argued that perceptions of public opinion played a much more important role in decision-making than has hiterto been thought. The most significant argument posits that perceptions of public opinion were equally as important as military considerations in the decision to refuse the Godesberg terms in 1938. More generally, the way in which politicians used public opinion rhetorically is described and the limits of the usefulness of the term for historians are suggested.

Thesis In the Light of Kabbalah: Jewish Mystique in Polish Literature in the Interwar Period deals with different models of reflection of Jewish religious and mystical tradition in the Polish interwar literature (on the example of three authors representing different ways of perceiving their own Jewish roots as well as the processing of themes based on the tradition of Jewish mysticism). Aleksander Wat, originally a futurist, was critical of the Jewish religious tradition - but still cannot his own "Jewishness" escape; prose writer Bruno Schulz offers an unique vision of cosmogony and eschatology reminiscent of - besides other things - selected concepts of Kabbalah; Bolesław Leśmianʼs relationship to this tradition is the looses, but on the other hand his method of working with motives which can interpreted in the context of the Jewish religious tradition is very original. Literary work of all three - as the heirs to the "people of the Book" - is marked by a specific relationship to language and the written word. In addition to this theme we deal with e.g. the Golem motive, the idea of the creation of the world or the idea of God. These analytical chapters are preceded by a theoretical and methodological introduction based on the traditions of literary hermeneutics, but also on selected concepts of...

The thesis focuses on the creation and functioning of the State statistical office and its contribution to the statistical science and theory development. The main goal of the thesis is to make the readers acquainted with the first period of the czechoslovak state statistics and enable them to get a thorough look into the institution's publication activities. In this concept the thesis is divided into three parts. In the first one the "modus operandi" of the statistical office itself is described, the second part comes up with the State statistical office's most influential personalities' biografical data. The third part brings the description and analysis ot books, magasines and other pieces publication. At the conclusion of the third section the key works of the statistical theory are analysed. The enclosure of the thesis implies the attachment with published laws and regulations of the Czechoslovak republic, which are directly tied to the statistical office's activities, and also the list of pieces published int the two key editions of the publication system. The contribution of the thesis is in the complex insight on the topic of the czechoslovak statistics in the interwar period. By now only some fragments have been compiled and described.

The topic of this diploma thesis is to prove the author's deep roots in the Romanian literary tradition (Urmuz, I. L.Caragiale), to try to prove that the poetics of his famous plays is actually contained in his work from the 30's and echoes of his personal and artistic experience from Romania can be also found in his French mature creative period. Therefore, Ionesco's writings will be compiled for the first time in our country in its wholeness since Czech and Occidental interpreters and comentators have mostly ignored the author's Romanian period of creation. Key Words Eugen Ionescu, Eugène Ionesco, Romanian literature 20th century, French literature 20th century, The Theatre of the Absurd, Romanian literaly exile