The dissertation seeks to take account of the implications of Jacques Derrida's deconstructive philosophy for literary theory and criticism through analysis of the work of non-deconstructionists theorists and critics. In particular, the dissertation deals with the attempt by much traditional Anglo-American literary theory to articulate what might be called a lq'logic of criticism' - an attempt evident in the use made by this theory of oppositions such as intrinsic/extrinsic, structural/genetic, essential/contingent, and so on. The attempt is considered with respect to three concerns of modern literary theory: organic form, authorial intention and the question of value. On the first issue, it is argued that the organicist's construal of the relation of form and content in poetry is analogous to Husserl's construal of the relation of signifier and signified in speech, and that Derrida's deconstruction of Husserl's privileging of voice provides the model for the deconstruction of organicism. In the case of intention, it is argued that modern criticism and theory has characteristically relied on a notion of the literary work as saturated by a fully conscious intention, a reliance which marks a succumbing to what Derrida calls 'the structural lure of consciousness'. Concerning the question of value, the target is the attempt to defend value by locating it as the ground, the centre, the telos or origin of the phenomenon to be accounted for. The dissertation concludes by broaching the question of the nature of a properly deconstructive literary criticism. It is argued that so-called deconstructionist criticism involves a neutralization of deconstruction, a defect which Derrida avoids in his own literary criticism.

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My dissertation explores the enabling contributions of love to the practice of ethico-political and cultural critique. Engaging with the work of Alain Badiou, Simone Weil, Erich Fromm, and Roland Barthes, I examine love in terms of the following modalities: waiting, giving, and looking. I place the aforementioned thinkers in dialogue with selected literary and cinematic texts to explicate and interrogate the meaningful possibilities of their discourse on love. In my chapter on Alain Badiou, I discuss his ontology, which I draw upon heavily to set the theoretical parameters of my study. I also discuss the logic of love that he develops in his philosophy. Speaking to the problem of pre-Evental agency that critics of his work identify, I suggest that waiting as attention, as theorized by Simone Weil, might be the closest form of agency that a pre-Evental (amorous) being can experience. In my discussion of Erich Fromm, I reevaluate his “art of loving” within the constellation of late capitalism. Reading his work through a Lacanian lens, I explore the utility of his prescriptions by examining Chuck Palahniuk’s controversial novel Fight Club. In my chapter on Roland Barthes, I theorize the possibility of cinematic looking that does not depend on the antagonism inherent in the binaries masculine/ feminine and (Gazing) spectator/ (to-be-looked-at) image. Towards this objective, I propose the “amorous look,” a mode of viewing occasioned by cinematic punctual encounters, that I contend is beyond the domain of desire and perversion. I deploy the “amorous look” as I reflect on Aureus Solito’s film Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Olivares (The Blossoming of Maximo Olivares) and its representations of love and waiting. / Thesis (Ph.D, English) -- Queen's University, 2011-08-04 13:17:28.779

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Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis is an investigation of the concepts of androgyny used in the work, both theory and fiction, of Virginia Woolf, Angela Carter, Jeanette Winterson and Jacqueline Harpman. Androgyny is an idea which is thousands of years old, and an overview of its presence in religion, mythology and psychology is included as background to its representation in the work of these writers. The basic concept of androgyny in this context, is one in which the psychological aspects of 'masculine' and 'feminine', as generally understood by Western society, are synthesised into a harmonious and balanced whole within each individual. Within a feminist epistemology, it offers an opportunity to escape the power structures and value systems of patriarchy, and to attain individual fulfilment in both writing and identity. Virginia Woolf introduces the idea of androgyny into feminist literary theory in A Room of One's Own and into feminist ontology through the androgynous protagonist of Orlando, although the binary distinction between theory and fiction is deliberately blurred. Angela Carter continues the examination of androgyny with regard to women and writing in The Sadeian Woman and 'Notes from the Front Line', and explores androgyny fictionally in The Passion of New Eve. Jeanette Winterson returns to Woolf's ideas and develops them in Art Objects and creates the ultimate androgynous character in Written on the Body. Jacqueline Harpman revisits and recreates Woolf's fiction from a contemporary perspective in Orlando. Differences are identified in the style and approach of these writers, resulting from their respective historical contexts, starting points, and intentions. However, the commonalities are examined in greater detail, including analogous ideas and tropes, as well as references to and interrelations with each other. The connection between Woolf's work and that of Winterson and Harpman is identified as particularly strong. Through the examination of their work, the four writers are found to have similar feminist beliefs and concerns: there is a common interest in the emancipation of women from the constraints of patriarchy, implemented through a deconstruction of gender essentialism and artificial gendering processes. Furthermore, a utopian concern is identified, in all four writers, with the creation of a new space which exists beyond the confines of patriarchy in which the woman writer is able to create freely, and the woman subject is able to develop freely. Although the writers are dealt with chronologically, the cyclical aspect of their work is emphasised, as well as their cyclical relationship to one another, through their common androgynous vision. The continuing presence of the androgynous ideal is taken as indicative of its strength. The conclusion is drawn that, although the concept of androgyny tends to be highly idealised in the work of these writers, it is a viable option to the transformation of both society and the individual. These writers are creating the awareness of the artificial nature of gender, which is required for the transformation to begin.

Includes bibliographical references. / The aim of this study is a conceptual and theoretical exploration of literary plagiarism. Chapter One traces various definitions of plagiarism and contrasts plagiarism with copyright infringement. It is argued that plagiarism is a social construct which cannot be defined solely in terms of textual features and must be contextualised. Authorial intention and reader reception play a key role in the discourse of plagiarism, since both reveal the prevailing contemporary textual ethics underlying textual production. The literature review in Chapter Two analyses the ways in which plagiarism has been interpreted in the last fifty years contrasting essentialist definitions of plagiarism with postmodern theories of plagiarism as a discourse of power. Plagiarism is contextualised within modern and postmodern aesthetics. In Chapter Three, the discourse of authorship as a stable and unified category is destabilised and challenged. What counts as plagiarism is argued to be inseparable from changing valorisations of authorship. Paradigms of authorship are then contrasted to illustrate how textual values change from one era to another, affecting dominant representations of authorship and plagiarism. Originality is explored as the pivotal construct on which the Romantic model of individual authorship depends - the model in which our current views of plagiarism have their origin. The plagiarist or 'nonauthor' is commonly viewed as everything the author is not: a copyist, unoriginal and immoral. Chapter Four analyses this construction of the plagiarist in the context of a South African case study in which Stephen Watson, Head of Department of English at the University of Cape Town, accused writer Antjie Krog of plagiarism. An analysis is made of the debate which ensued in a South African online journal, as well as of the press documentation surrounding the case. An interview was also conducted with Watson once the debate subsided. The conclusion reached from this study affirms that plagiarism is not an easily definable phenomenon since it depends on cultural notions that are in flux. Social, economic and technological changes also bring to bear on the literary institution, models of authorship and the consequent treatment of plagiarism. By enlarging the range of motivations for textual practices traditionally labelled as plagiarism, this thesis argues for a new conception of plagiarism, one that engages various discourse participants and contexts.

My thesis investigates the theories·proposed by three popular psychoanalysts-Sigmund Freud, Carl G. Jung, and Jacques Lucan. Their theories are then applied to well-known literary works in the genres of fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. I analyze portions of selected writings to serve as literary microcosms that demonstrate a practical application of psychoanalytic literary theory. The conclusion of my application is an interpretation of the selected literature from a psychoanalytic viewpoint. This thesis not only explains and demonstrates the application of the theories, but also presents various methods and precise directions for any college-level English student to use as a supplemental resource for psychoanalytic textual interpretations. This thesis combines into a single document my studies from all three English degree track options offered at the University of Central Florida-- Technical Documentation, Creative Writing, and Literature. I use first person narration as the voice of my thesis to relate my own experiences as an English major to my audience and to offer. practical solutions tp sp'tcific problems many literary theory students encounter during their studies. Classical and modem literature selections serve as models for my analysis, interpretations, and applications. My research is designed as a "how-to" manual directed towards English majo~s; this format enables me to convert complex theoretical concepts into straightforward e~pressions and easy application guidelines, resulting in a useful and practical psychoana1ytic literary theory guide for college-level literature students.

In 1932 Beatrice Warde delivered to the British Society of Typographic Designers what has since become one of the most recognizable statements about the design of books: The Crystal Goblet, or Printing Should Be Invisible. In it, Warde defines good typography as a crystal goblet, because everything about it is calculated to reveal rather than hide the beautiful thing which it was meant to contain. Her address argues that the true art of designers is the creation of transparent interfaces which allow readers to imbibe deeply of the intellect captured within the pages of the book without external distractions.<p> Wardes Crystal Goblet is fundamentally contradictory. Typographers must strive to make themselves and their work invisible so that only the voice of the absent author speaks through the text; but there is no voice, only words on page produced through a great deal of human labour at a specific moment in history. But, Warde did not create her metaphor; she adopted existing imagery from the Western tradition. Nor was she the first typographer to do so. The writings and work of those involved with the creation of books has, since before the invention of the printing press, revolved around attempts to create perfect communicative interfaces books which allow the reader an unobscured view into the mind of the author. The resultant page is that with which we are most familiar: a block of black Roman-style text on a white or off-white page with blank margins.<p> This study tracks the rise and influence of the crystal goblet motif, the dream of perfect readability, in the discourse of those directly involved with the creation of books: scribes, printers, type-cutters and typographers. It postulates transparency, or perfect readability, to be the primary motive underlying the actions of those making books, but does not assume all printers in all times have been motivated by the same forces or to the same extent. Rather, it traces the thread of transparency through many incarnations and examines the social and political factors underlying each permutation and how new elements are introduced into the discourse without completely erasing all traces of the old.<p> Chapter One studies the Italian Renaissance and how the writing style of a small group of humanist scholars comes to dominate the printed book of the sixteenth century. Chapter Two begins with an examination of the perceived decline in typographic practice in the seventeenth century and the subsequent emergence of both writings about typography and of a new style of Roman typeface: the Modern. Chapter Three deals with similar events in the nineteenth-century first there is a perceived decline in and then a revival of printing standards. Chapter Four discusses the reconciliation of machine- production and traditional practices in the early to mid-twentieth century and the unsuccessful challenge to traditional typography posed by the Bauhaus and other Modernist schools of design.