More research is needed to be able to fully understand the role that social media plays in elections, specifically in local elections. Candidates need to understand how it works and how they can effectively use this new communication medium. By exploring Diffusion of Innovation Theory, Social Information Processing Theory, and the Two-Way Symmetrical Model of communications this study sought to answer one overarching question: how should a candidate employ social media in a local election? This qualitative, single case study explores the 2014 recall and general election in Yorba Linda, California. Councilman Tom Lindsey and candidate Matt Palmer are the primary subjects of study. Observations were made through analysis of documentation, interviews, and participant and direct observation. The researcher was employed as the campaign manager for both Lindsey's and Palmer's campaigns. The findings support the use of social media in local campaigns on a case by case basis. Determining use depends on the demographics of the voters and the abilities of the candidate. The data suggests that social media needs to be part of comprehensive strategy that includes traditional communication tools. Observations from the case study illustrate the need for candidates to engage in two-way communication that is monitored and regulated. This study begins to establish social media as a tool that candidates can use to inexpensively reach voters in a way that showcases the candidate's personality and allows them to connect on a personal level with constituents. Social media will play a role in politics at all levels.

In 1988, Linda Nicholson and Nancy Fraser published an article entitled "Social Criticism Without Philosophy: An Encounter Between Feminism and Postmodernism," arguing that this essay would provide a jumping point for discussion between feminisms and postmodernisms within academia. Within this essay, Nicholson and Fraser largely disavow a number of second wave feminist theories due to their essentialist and foundationalist underpinnings in favor of a set of postmodernist frameworks that might help feminist theorists overcome these epistemological impediments. A "postmodern feminism," Nicholson and Fraser claim, would become "the theoretical counterpart of a broader, richer, more complex, and multilayered solidarity, the sort of solidarity which is essential for overcoming the oppression of women" (35). Interpreting "Social Criticism" through a feminist cultural studies model in which texts are understood to be simultaneously constituted by and reflective of their own sociopolitical spaces, I argue that the construction of Nicholson and Fraser's "postmodern feminism" is, first and foremost, neither a postmodernist critique nor a means of overcoming the pitfalls of essentialism and foundationalism. Instead, the construction of this theoretical paradigm can be shown to be complicit with postfeminist discourses, wherein an implicitly patriarchal discourse of postmodernism is called upon to repair the deficiencies of feminisms, deficiencies that postmodernisms, in some ways, helped to bring into view. To provide a conceptual backing for these claims, I move toward an examination of mass culture, surveying the similarities between "Social Criticism" and the film What Women Want. Such a comparison, I suggest, facilitates a better understanding of how "Social Criticism" can be shown to be imbedded in a postfeminist narrative structure in which feminisms are relegated to a discursively subordinate gendered position in relation to postmodernisms. Finally, in what I find to be the most important aspect of this thesis' inquiry, I ask what it means to build a "broader, richer, more complex, and multilayered solidarity" by disavowing second wave feminisms in favor of postmodernisms. I conclude that, in using postmodernisms as a panacea for feminist theories, Nicholson and Fraser curtail what might have been a rigorous interrogation of and direct engagement with second wave feminist theories that would also attend to the phallogocentric underpinnings of postmodern theories. To underline the potential consequences, I turn to a set of televisual and filmic texts including Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, and The Devil Wears Prada to gauge what their "postmodern feminism" might represent in practice rather than what it entails as philosophy. This juxtaposition of these two differently defined and yet overwhelmingly similar postmodern feminisms, I propose, underscores the potential that Nicholson and Fraser may have instituted a postmodern feminist methodology in which it is possible that feminisms might emerge not as discourses essential for "overcoming the oppression of women" but rather as discourses that can be critiqued into oblivion.

This study aims to examin how the production of knowledge is intrinsic to the production of power in the New Materialist Process theology of Catherine Keller. The object of critical examination is the theology of Keller and her essay; ”Tingles of Matter, Tangles of Theology: Bodies of the New(ish) Materialism,” from her book Intercarnations: Exercises in Theological Posibility (2017). Keller’s essay will be analyzed through Linda Alcoffs, Alison Baileys and Sara Ahmeds epistemological critical theory of how power produces knowledge and vice versa.  Keller’s theology will be examined based on the study points of analysis on texts of Alcoff, Bailey and Ahmed: subjectivity, making of knowledge, epistemology, making of ignorance, power and authenticity/purity. The study shows that Keller’s notion of apophatic matter has the effect of producing knowledge practices about the object. When the object is obscured from the subject in Keller’s theology, a theological analysis of power and the subject’s position in producing knowledge through theology, is prohibited. By analyzing Keller's notion of entanglement through Ahmed’s thinking, it is shown that the subject is presupposed as free, white and independent. Entanglement among human beings exists as bodily physicality for Keller. Social and economic factors are, thus, made irrelevant for the existence of knowledge and relations between humans. Life situations that are, for example, violent or in position of dependence are incompatible with the reality constituted in entanglement. The subject’s knowledge as socially situated and possibly part of structural power, is also made irrelevant in entanglement-thinking. Thus, the study shows that through the reading of Alcoff, Bailey and Ahmed, theology has the ability to constitute knowledge making practices, that forms the subject’s production of knowledge and ignorance.

This essay examines the art and artistry of Tyra Kleen in the years 1919-1921, when she was travelling and lived on the Indonesian islands Java and Bali. In this period of her life, she was dedicated to an artistic and culturally historical project in which she was drawing and painting Balinese ritual court and Temple dances, mudras, the empowered ritual hand poses of Buddha and Shiva priests, the Javanese theatre Wajang and the Javanese ritual court dance called Serimpi. 10 paintings with subjects deriving from these religious rites, traditions and cultural exercises are analyzed in relation to expression, content, and context with the ambition to convey knowledge about technique, proceeding, what the picture represents, and in what social cohesion these rites, dances and dramas are practiced. The paintings were often watercolor with accentuation of gouache and gold. The theoretical basis of the essay is postcolonial and genus theory. Oriental elements are depicted in her art by the forms inspired by art nouveau and the expressive choice of color. It was not only genus but also class that was important for her as a surveyor in another part of the world and in other religions. The androgyne ideal is related to the theosophic movement. Her artistry was anchored in a spiritual belief, involvement in the women´s issue and an interest in anarchism and class issues. Tyra Kleen was a well-travelled woman who was inspired from many other countries and cultures. Her education was European with a strong impact from the genres of fin-de-siecle. In her primary production there are traces from symbolism, art nouveau and spirituality. She shows another side of her artistry in her journey to Java and Bali, when she in a wealth of details paints the colorful and dynamic dances and the graceful movements of the hands and fingers. She had left the symbolic fantasy pictures and become exploring in her scientific project, even though you can see the forms from the art nouveau style and her interest of religion.

[pt] Esta dissertação analisa a primeira temporada da série Coisa mais linda, lançada em 2019 pela Netflix, a fim de compreender como essa obra de ficção constrói imaginários e representações acerca dos anos dourados no Rio de Janeiro. O intuito é discutir de que forma o consumo de narrativas contemporâneas serializadas cria significados e promove idealizações de um período histórico. O passado é elemento estratégico para processos de rememoração e abordagem de temáticas que dialogam com o atual contexto de recepção e suas demandas por protagonismo de personagens femininas e equidade racial. O período de 1955 a 1960 no Brasil foi marcado por inúmeros impactos culturais, políticos e econômicos, como o surgimento da Bossa Nova, cuja influência pode ser estendida para aspectos do vestuário e das visualidades, mantendo-se relevante até hoje. Por meio da metodologia da Análise Textual, o estudo se concentra nas representações orquestradas pela narrativa audiovisual para expressar o espírito de um tempo e sua relação com o presente. / [en] This dissertation analyses the first season of the serie Girls from Ipanema (in portuguese Coisa Mais Linda), released in 2019 by Netflix, in order to understand how the work of this ficction builts imagineries and representation about the brazilian golden age in Rio de Janeiro. The aim is to discuss how the consumption of the contemporary narratives serialized create meanings and promote idealizations of a historic period. The past is a strategic element to remembrances and approach themes that dialogues with the current context of reception and the demands of female protagonist and racial equity. The period of 1955 to 1960 in Brazil was marked by countless cultural, political and economic impacts, such as the emergence of Bossa Nova, whose influence can be extended to clothing and visuals aspects, remaining relevant until nowadays. Through the methodology of Textual Analysis, the study focuses on the representations orchestrated by the audiovisual narrative to express the spirit of a time and your relationship with the present.

<p>Syftena med denna uppsats har varit flera. Dels att genomföra en undersökande genrediskussion av svensk chick-lit i stort där det som uppfattats som den huvudsakliga kritiken av genren omformulerats till frågeställningar. Huvudfrågan har därmed varit att ta reda på om svensk chick-lit är intressant, men också om den har några litterära kvaliteter och om den är en feministisk backlash. I uppsatsen arbetas även en definition av svensk chick-lit fram, samt empiriskt grundad teori ur materialet. Avsikten är att detta arbete ska kunna verka som förebild för andra utredningar av nya och marginaliserade genrer. En undersökning av vilka principer biblioteken, här representerade av Umeåregionens bibliotek, utgår från vid inköp av skönlitteratur i stort och chick-lit i synnerhet har också genomförts.</p> / <p>The aims of this paper have been more than one. One aim is to conduct an investigative genre discussion of Swedish chick lit as a whole, where what is conceived as the main critique of the genre is reformulated into questions. The main questions here are if Swedish chick lit is of interest, if it possesses any literary qualities and if it constitutes a feminist backlash. This paper also draws up a definition of Swedish chick lit and empirically grounded theory from the material. The intent is for this paper to serve as a model for other analyses of new and marginalized genres. A study of the principles adopted by libraries, here represented by libraries in the Umeå district, in fiction purchases as a whole and purchases of chick lit in particular, has also been carried out.</p>

Syftena med denna uppsats har varit flera. Dels att genomföra en undersökande genrediskussion av svensk chick-lit i stort där det som uppfattats som den huvudsakliga kritiken av genren omformulerats till frågeställningar. Huvudfrågan har därmed varit att ta reda på om svensk chick-lit är intressant, men också om den har några litterära kvaliteter och om den är en feministisk backlash. I uppsatsen arbetas även en definition av svensk chick-lit fram, samt empiriskt grundad teori ur materialet. Avsikten är att detta arbete ska kunna verka som förebild för andra utredningar av nya och marginaliserade genrer. En undersökning av vilka principer biblioteken, här representerade av Umeåregionens bibliotek, utgår från vid inköp av skönlitteratur i stort och chick-lit i synnerhet har också genomförts. / The aims of this paper have been more than one. One aim is to conduct an investigative genre discussion of Swedish chick lit as a whole, where what is conceived as the main critique of the genre is reformulated into questions. The main questions here are if Swedish chick lit is of interest, if it possesses any literary qualities and if it constitutes a feminist backlash. This paper also draws up a definition of Swedish chick lit and empirically grounded theory from the material. The intent is for this paper to serve as a model for other analyses of new and marginalized genres. A study of the principles adopted by libraries, here represented by libraries in the Umeå district, in fiction purchases as a whole and purchases of chick lit in particular, has also been carried out.

Kabīr stands as one of the most, if not the most, influential nirguṇbhakti poet of the so-called Sant movement in northern India during the 15th century. Even though his fame is far and widely spread, there is no extensive historical evidence regarding his own life. The understanding one might have surrounding Kabīr is mostly inspired by his poems, or following the information which is available through the rich traditions regarding Kabīr, mostly authored by his followers in the Kabīr Panth. His critical view on high caste society, and rough rhetoric regarding the institutionalized religious traditions of his era, made him a victim of hate and violence during his lifetime. After his death, this rough rhetoric and critical view, ignited a full on dispute between Hindus and Muslims on the subject of which group he belonged to. The teachings of Kabīr has not only sparked an interest in the field of academia but also in movies, literature and theater alike. The latter is the main subject of interest for this paper. The renowned Indian writer Bhisham Sahni has during his life been recognized as one of the most influential writers in the so-called Nayī Kahānī movement, which sprung from a new found vision of the future after Indian independence 1947. Sahnis is mostly famous for his novels and short stories, with such titles as Tamas and Amṛtsar ā gayā hai. But in this paper we shall instead take a closer look into his play Kabirā khaḍā bazār meṃ and how Kabīr is portrayed and understood by Sahni, as well as, if and how Sahni’s Kabīr can be understood within a comparative analysis with how he is portrayed in the introduction to Rabindranath Tagore’s One hundred poems of Kabir by Evelyn Underhill and in Linda Hess’s The Bījak of Kabīr.

This thesis is about two Swedish artists named Julia Beck (1852–1935) and Maj Bring (1880–1971). The idea was to see what kind of differences there were between these two Swedish female artists. They both studied at the Swedish Art academy and both had very successful careers, though they belong to different generations of artist. The first question to be answered, was is if you could see any similarities or differences in their education and career. The other question in this thesis was how the female art was perceived during the different art exhibitions which Julia Beck or Maj Bring participated in. Could you see if the art were perceived and judged differently due to, they being female artist? And could you see if there were any kind of resistance towards them as artists or towards their art and if so, how did it express itself? To answer that question the analysis is based on art exhibit reviews with a theory based on a gender perspective and of Linda Nochlins essay Why have there been no great women artists? This to help with looking after what kind of social barriers or resistance is visible in these art critics reviews.                                                                  The results of the biographical comparison showed many similarities and some differences. Such as them both studying in Paris after their education in the Swedish Art academy and both frequently traveled back and forth to stay in France for as long as possible. Eventually Julia Beck moved to France and stayed there until her death. While Maj Bring lived her entire life in Sweden and started an art school in Stockholm and paused her artist career for a while. Meanwhile Julia Beck dedicated her entire life to her artistic career. In the results of the analysis, you could clearly see several kinds of resistance to both the female art and the female artists. They were very much treated differently than their male colleagues. For example, in Paris there were specific places where the female artists showed their art. The critique reviews often explained the female art with female qualities and said that female artist had specific characteristics that made them more qualified in specific areas that was thought women belonged too.

En adaptionsanalys som utforskar relationen mellan romanen Cloud Atlas av David Mitchell och dess filmatisering (2012) av Tom Tykwer och syskonen Wachowski. Fokuset ligger på skillnader och likheter i narrativ och vilka visuella möjligheter som kunnat tillföras när romanens handlingen gjordes om till filmformat.