Thèse--Faculté des lettres--Fribourg, Suisse--Université, 1993. / Bibliogr. p. 509-517.

Dissertation--Philosophische Fakultät--Köln--Universität, 1994. / Bibliogr. p. 230-248. Index.

Mémoire de maîtrise--Études théâtrales--Paris 3, 1976. / Bibliogr. f. 111-119.

Inauguraldiss.--Bern. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 147-155.

Thesis--Zürich. / "Curriculum vitae": page at end. "Literature und Quellenverselchnis": p. 5-9.

This thesis examines the model(s) of reading proposed by J. Poulin's novels. On the one hand, a phenomenological analysis enables us to observe textual strategies, such as intertextuality and photographs, which guide the empirical Reader through his readings. On the other hand, the representation of fictional Readers' act of reading, another textual strategy, is also analyzed. / As the phenomenological approach to the act of reading has not often been put into practice, our essay allows us to evaluate the reliability of different contemporary theories of the act of reading, particularly that of Iser in his The Act of Reading.

Often designated as "le poete de la parole parlee", Jacques Brault, author of a substantial and rigourous work dealing with poetry, language, writing and art, is one of the most significant modern writers of Quebec. In our literature, rare are the figurative expressions inventing their own trajectory and rarer still is the emblematic used to evoke simultaneously the essence of a generation, a work, a writer, a style. The expression "la parole parlee" says it all. / This figure of speech, intimately linked to though and writing, has progressed from a rhetorical to a living expression throughout the eleven years on which our study focuses. In the analysis of this period, "la parole parlee" stands out as the obscure leitmotiv which favours a dialogue between the critical and the creative in the act of writing. Finding its own way, the work discovers a refrangible and versatile universe and the unique voice of Jacques Brault.

This thesis analyses the intratextual literary symbols of Jacques Poulin's writings, and illustrates the autorepresentative characteristic of his production. Inspired by the three levels for the analysis of autorepresentation established by Janet M. Paterson, this essay demonstrates how Poulin's writings do, in fact, compose a system. / The author's choice to stage a character writer experiencing difficulties in his creative effort, is representative in itself: Poulin obviously wished to attract the reader's attention to the literary discourse of his writings. The concrete circumstances of the act of creation are therefore revealed by the fictitious writer. This essay suggests that the presence of auctorial figures complexify the text and generate a theory of the act of writing inherent to Poulin's works. If it shows how the author's discourse corresponds to an autotheorisation of the act of writing, it also shows how the reader's discourse works as instruction. The fictitious reader, by revealing his conception of the act of reading, indicates how Poulin's novel's should be read. / Finally, this essay suggests that Poulin's production is not only filled with literary references, but also with numerous references to itself. This network of autoreferences implies that Poulin's writing must be considered and studied as a whole.

Jacques Godbout, writer and filmmaker, always had a critical look over Quebec society in his thirty-five-year career. The object of our study is to analyse the socio-political representation of Quebec through Godbout's essays and novels. / Since the early sixties, with an anticlerical crusade, Godbout asserted himself by promoting many reforms in the education system especially, and endorsing the philosophy of Parti pris: secularism, socialism, and independence. Since then, his articles and essays mostly revolved around secularism, americanization, consumerism, and effects of television. These issues are also part of his novels, which are always linked to Quebec reality, and often serve to express his theses in a different perspective. / Recent critiques reproached Godbout with his laxity in dealing with the Quebec independence issue. Therefore, we decided to propose an analysis which would cover the essays and the novels in order to seize the nature of Godbout's ideas and to see their evolution. In a word, we tried to bridge the universe of the essay writer and that of the novelist.

This thesis falls within the area of systematic theology. It seeks, by examining Jacques Dupuis’s theological concepts and proposals, to evaluate his perspective on a Christian theology of religious pluralism. The concepts which are examined include the idea of a single history of salvation and revelation, God’s revelation in the sacred scriptures of other religions, the universality and uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the church in relation to the Reign of God, and the characteristics of interreligious dialogue. The main theological proposals cover religious pluralism “in principle”, the Trinitarian Christology for understanding God’s saving activity outside of Christianity, and the world religions as “participated” mediations of salvation. A brief characterisation is presented of Dupuis’s life and theology in general, the influences on his thought and its evolution, and his difficulties with the Vatican. The research also covers the historical theological context out of which the theology of “inclusive pluralism” emerges, giving an overview of the main approaches to religions, namely, ecclesiocentrism, Christocentrism and theocentrism in a Christian theology of religions. Dupuis uses the Trinitarian approach to the religious history of humanity to explain the work of the Holy Trinity in the process of salvation of humanity focusing on a distinction between the enduring action of the eternal Word of God, the Word incarnate in Jesus Christ and the saving presence of the Spirit. This Trinitarian Christology becomes the basis for Dupuis’s proposal for perceiving the religious traditions as “paths” to salvation. Dupuis attributes to the religious traditions “participated” mediation on the basis of God’s self-communication which takes place in other religions. Because this dissertation has been written in the South African context, the final question concerns the possible applications of Dupuis’s inclusivist thought to the present situation of dialogue among religions in this country. In this regard, a general background is given of religious diversity in South Africa. Relations among religions during respectively colonial and early apartheid years, the second half of the twentieth century and finally democracy are examined. The research suggests areas of application of Dupuis’s proposals for dialogue among religions in South Africa. The existing relationship between Christianity and Islam is the basis for a case study of the possible application of Dupuis’s proposals. The research indicates areas of convergence between Dupuis’s proposals and dialogue with Muslims. Concrete examples reveal that the most promising forms of dialogue with Muslims in South Africa remain dialogue of life and action that are especially needed in the process of reconstruction and nation-building. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of the “inclusive pluralism” of Jacques Dupuis, its validity and contribution to a Christian theology of religions and to the future of interreligious dialogue. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.