Este trabalho se propõe como um breve tratado sobre as relações entre os discursos vigentes da arte contemporânea e o pensamento mágico ocidental. No cruzamento entre o ensaio poético, a antropologia da arte, a estética e a bruxaria, desenha-se um círculo no qual se desenvolve a pesquisa sob o signo da \"besta\" acadêmica: a interdisciplinaridade. A partir disso, estudam-se uma série de projetos curatoriais recentes que lidam com magia, ocultismo, xamanismo ou animismo, prestando atenção aos preconceitos que se manifestam em alguns desses discursos curatoriais. Entretece-se esta reflexão com referências históricas que servem de marco explicativo para a queda em desgraça do pensamento mágico ocidental e, junto com ele, do status da imaginação e da imagem como formas de conhecimento. Uma vez definida a situação em que ficou esta tradição depois de sucessivas campanhas de desprestígio, introduzem- -se uma série de figuras que serviram depois à construção de uma nova (mas talvez sobretudo velha) teoria mágico-estética. Seguindo a esteira de pensadores contemporâneos ligados ao realismo especulativo e à ontologia objetual, o trabalho se reconecta com uma esquecida tradição mágico-estética (ocidental) não isenta de uma dimensão mítica e animista (ou vitalista, se se prefere). Faz-se questão de colocar a \"palavra do artista\" no mesmo nível que a \"palavra do filósofo\", mas evitando converter os artistas citados em objeto de pesquisa. O trabalho defende que existam - apesar dos séculos em que a elite intelectual ocidental vem predicando contra a possibilidade de uma ontologia mágico-estética - indíviduos e coletivos que desenvolvem sua atividade à margem dos preconceitos dicotômicos que hoje alguns pensadores acadêmicos de vanguarda se empenham, não sem dificuldades, em transcender. Nesse sentido, o trabalho argumenta que muitos artistas eram já materialistas vibrantes e realistas especulativos antes da valorização, em voga hoje, dessas correntes filosóficas. / This work intends to be a brief treatise on the relations between contemporary art and western magical thinking. At the crossroads between poetic essay, anthropology of art, aesthetics and witchcraft, a circle is drawn under the sign of the academic \"beast\": interdisciplinarity. From this point of departure, we study a series of recent curatorial projects that deal with magic, occultism, shamanism or animism, paying close attention to the prejudices that surface in some of these curatorial discourses. This reflection is intertwined with historical references that serve as an explanatory framework for the fall of western magical thinking and, along with it, the loss of status of both imagination and image as respected sources of knowledge. After having defined the state of neglect this (magical) tradition was left in after successive smear campaigns, we introduce a series of figures that will serve to construct a new (but perhaps rather ancient) magical-aesthetic theory. Following the trail of contemporary thinkers linked to speculative realism and object-oriented ontology, the work reconnects with a forgotten magical-aesthetic (western) tradition with a mythical and animistic (or vitalist, if you prefer) dimension. We also emphasize the importance of put-ting the \"artist\'s word\" on the same level as the \"philosopher\'s word\", whilst at the same time carefully avoiding to turn the cited artists into an object of study. We claim that - in spite of the centuries in which the Western intellectual elite has been preaching against the possibility of a magical-aesthetic ontology - there are individuals and groups that are active in the margins of the dichotomous prejudices that today some avant-garde academic thinkers are trying to transcend with much difficulty. In this sense, the work argues that many artists were already vibrant materialists and speculative realists much before the new on-to-materialistic philosophical currents which are very much in vogue nowadays.

Mermaid Rumspringa is a short story collection that focuses primarily on female protagonists at different stages in their lives. It is an exploration into the effects society has on young people, the way in which mental health issues manifest in young minds, and the way the people who are closest to the individuals dealing with these issues try to adapt and understand them, and in some cases, completely ignore them. This collection utilizes magical elements to try and soften the blow of the serious issues that are being explored both internally and externally within each of the individual stories. These stories present as allegories, as well as classic story tropes with intricate twists and subversions, to make the readers uncomfortable within their comfort zones. As a whole, these stories fit in nicely within the speculative fiction spectrum, and they draw the attention of the average millennial.

Scattered Sandpipers is a Young Adult novel excerpt. Seventeen-year-old Bee, lost her mother two years ago in a car crash. As she denies and represses her grief, strange and magical things begin to happen.

BL Lacertae objects belong to the most luminous sources in the Universe. They represent a subclass of active galactic nuclei with a spectrum that is dominated by non-thermal emission, extending from radio wavelengths to tera electronvolt (TeV) energies. The emission is strongly variable on time scales of years down to minutes, and arises from relativistic jets pointing at small angles to the line of sight of the observer, which is the reason for naming them “blazars”. Blazars are the dominant extragalactic source class in the radio, microwave and gamma-ray regime, are prime candidates for the origin of the Cosmic Rays and excellent laboratories to study black hole and jet physics as well as relativistic effects. Despite more than 20 years of observational efforts, the physical mechanisms driving their emission are not yet fully understood. So far, studies of their broad-band continuum emission were mostly concentrated on bright, flaring states. However, for a better understanding of the central engine powering the jets, the bias from flux-limited observations of the past must be overcome and their long-term average continuum spectral energy distributions (SEDs) must be determined. This work presents the first simultaneous multi-wavelength campaigns from the radio to the TeV regime of two high-frequency peaked BL Lacertae objects known to emit at TeV energies. The first source, 1ES 1011+496, was observed between February and May 2008, the second one, 1ES 2344+514, between September 2008 and February 2009. The extensive observational campaigns were organised independently from an external trigger for the presence of a flaring state. Since the duty cycle of major flux outbursts is known to be rather low, the campaigns were expected to yield SEDs representative of the long-term average emission. Central for this thesis is the analysis of data obtained with the MAGIC Cherenkov telescope, measuring energy spectra and light curves from ~0.1 to ~10 TeV. For the remaining instruments, observation time was proposed and additional data was organised by collaboration with the instrument teams by the author of this work. Such data was obtained mostly in a fully reduced state. Individual light curves are investigated as well as combined in a search for inter-band correlations. The data of both sources reveal a notable lack of a correlation between the emission at radio and optical wavelengths, indicating that the radio and short-wavelength emission arise in different regions of the jet. Quasi-simultaneous SEDs of two different flux states are observationally determined and described by a one-zone as well as a self-consistent two-zone synchrotron self-Compton model. First approaches to model the SEDs by means of a Chi2 minimisation technique are briefly discussed. The SEDs and the resulting model parameters, characterising the physical conditions in the emission regions, are compared to archival data. Though the models can describe the data well, for 1ES 1011+496 the model parameters indicate that in addition to the synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission of relativistic electrons, emission due to accelerated protons seems to be required. The SEDs of 1ES 2344+514 reveal one of the lowest activity states ever detected from the source. Despite that, the model parameters are not indicative of a distinct quiescent state, which may be caused by the degeneracy of the different parameters in one-zone models. Moreover, indications accumulate that the radiation can not be attributed to a single emission region. The results disfavour some of the current blazar classification schemes and the so-called “blazar sequence”, emphasising the need for a more realistic explanation of the systematics of the blazar SEDs in terms of fundamental parameters. / BL Lacertae-Objekte sind mit die leuchtkräftigsten Quellen im Universum. Sie stellen eine Unterklasse der Galaxien mit aktiven Kernen dar. Ihr Spektrum erstreckt sich von Radio-Wellenlängen bis in den Tera-Elektronvolt (TeV)-Bereich und ist dominiert durch nicht-thermische Strahlung. Ihre Emission is stark variabel, auf Zeitskalen von Jahren bis Minuten, und entsteht in relativistischen Jets, welche mit einem geringen Winkel zur Sichtlinie beobachtet werden. Daher werden diese Objekte “Blazare” genannt. Blazare sind die dominierende extragalaktische Quellpopulation im Radio-, Mikrowellen- und Gamma-Regime, gehören zu den favorisierten Quellen der Kosmischen Strahlung und bieten ausgezeichnete Bedingungen, um die Physik schwarzer Löcher, Jets sowie relativistische Effekte zu untersuchen. Trotz mehr als 20 Jahre andauernder Beobachtungen sind die physikalischen Mechanismen, welche für die Emission verantwortlich sind, noch nicht völlig verstanden. Bisher konzentrierten sich die Untersuchungen der Breitband-Kontinuumsstrahlung der Quellen hauptsächlich auf deren helle Ausbrüche. Um jedoch die zentrale Komponente der Jetenergetik zu verstehen, muss die in der Vergangenheit aufgebaute Tendenz zu flusslimitierten Beobachtungen überwunden werden, und die über lange Zeiträume gemittelten spektralen Energieverteilungen bestimmt werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit präsentiert die ersten simultanen Multiwellenlängenkampagnen vom Radio- bis in den TeV-Bereich für zwei BL Lacertaue Objekte, welche als TeV-Emitter bekannt sind. Die erste der beiden Quellen, 1ES 1011+496, wurde zwischen Februar und Mai 2008 beobachtet, 1ES 2344+514, die zweite Quelle, von September 2008 bis Februar 2009. Die umfangreichen Beobachtungskampagnen wurden unabhängig von externen Benachrichtigungen über hohe Flusszustände organisiert. Da starke Ausbrüche der Quellen relativ selten sind, wurde von den Kampagnen erwartet, dass eine spektrale Energieverteilung erbringen würden, welche repräsentativ für ein Langzeitmittel der Emission wäre. Die Analyse der Daten des MAGIC-Cherenkov-Teleskops, welches im Bereich von ~0.1 – 10 TeV beobachtet, nahm in dieser Arbeit ein zentrale Rolle ein. Daten der übrigen Instrumente wurde entweder über Anträge auf Beobachtungszeit oder Kooperationen mit den Instrumententeams vom Autor dieser Arbeit eingeworben. Entsprechende Daten wurden hauptsächlich in einer finalen Form übermittelt. In dieser Arbeit werden die individuellen Lichtkurven untersucht sowie für die Suche nach Korrelationen zwischen den verschiedenen Bändern verwendet. Für beide Quellen konnte keine Korrelation zwischen dem Radio- und optischen Bereich gefunden werden, was darauf hindeutet, dass deren Strahlung in unterschiedlichen Regionen des Jets produziert wird. Mit Hilfe der gewonnenen Daten wurden quasi-simultane spektrale Energieverteilungen in je zwei unterschiedlichen Flusszuständen ermittelt und mit Hilfe eines Ein-Zonen sowie eines selbst-konsistenten Zwei-Zonen-Synchrotron-Selbst-Compton-Modells beschrieben. Erste Versuche, die Energieverteilungen mit Hilfe einer Chi2-Minimisierungsstrategie zu untersuchen werden kurz erläutert. Die gewonnen Modellparameter, welche die physikalischen Eigenschaften der Emissionsregionen charakterisieren, werden mit Archivdaten verglichen. Obwohl die Modelle die spektralen Energieverteilungen gut beschreiben können, deuten die Modellparameter darauf hin, dass neben der Synchrotron- und invers-Compton-Strahlung relativistischer Elektronen auch Protonen zur Emission beitragen. Im Fall von 1ES 2344+514 konnte einer der niedrigsten jemals gemessenen Flusszustände beobachtet werden, welcher jedoch nicht durch Modellparameter gegeben ist, die auf einen Grundzustand der Quelle hindeuten würden. Eine Ursache hierfür könnte in der Entartung der Modellparameter der ein-Zonen-Modelle liegen. Zusätzlich zeichnet sich ab, dass mehrere Regionen für die beobachtete Emission verantwortlich sind. Die gewonnenen Ergebnisse sind schwer mit aktuellen Szenarien der Klassifikation der Blazare sowie der sogenannten “Blazar-Sequenz” vereinbar. Diese Erkenntnisse verdeutlichen, dass eine realistischere, auf grundlegenden Parametern basierende Interpretation der Systematiken der spektralen Energieverteilungen von Nöten ist.

In this thesis, the broad band emission, especially in the gamma-ray and radio band, of the active galaxy IC 310 located in the Perseus cluster of galaxies was investigated. The main experimental methods were Cherenkov astronomy using the MAGIC telescopes and high resolution very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) at radio frequencies (MOJAVE, EVN). Additionally, data of the object in different energy bands were studied and a multi-wavelength campaign has been organized and conducted. During the campaign, an exceptional bright gamma-ray flare at TeV energies was found with the MAGIC telescopes. The results were compared to theoretical acceleration and emission models for explaining the high energy radiation of active galactic nuclei. Many open questions regarding the particle acceleration to very high energies in the jets of active galactic nuclei, the particle content of the jets, or how the jets are launched, were addressed in this thesis by investigating the variability of IC 310 in the very high energy band. It is argued that IC310 was originally mis-classified as a head-tail radio galaxy. Instead, it shows a variability behavior in the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray band similar to the one found for blazars. These are active galactic nuclei that are characterized by flux variability in all observed energy bands and at all observed time scales. They are viewed at a small angle between the jet axis and the line-of-sight. Thus, strong relativistic beaming influences the variability properties of blazars. Observations of IC 310 with the European VLBI Network helped to find limits for the angle between the jet axis and the line-of-sight, namely 10 deg - 20 deg. This places IC 310 at the borderline between radio galaxies (larger angles) and blazars (smaller angles). During the gamma-ray outburst detected at the beginning of the multi-wavelength campaign, flux variability as short as minutes was measured. The spectrum during the flare can be described by a simple power-law function over two orders of magnitude in energy up to ~10 TeV. Compared to previous observations, no significant variability of the spectral shape was found. Together with the constraint on the viewing angle, this challenges the currently accepted models for particle acceleration at shock waves in the jets. Alternative models, such as stars moving through the jets, mini-jets in the jet caused, e.g., by reconnection events, or gap acceleration in a pulsar-like magnetosphere around the black hole were investigated. It was found that only the latter can explain all observational findings, which at least suggests that it could even be worthwhile to reconsider published investigations of AGN with this new knowledge in mind. The first multi-wavelength campaign was successfully been conducted in 2012/2013, including ground-based as well as space-based telescopes in the radio, optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy range. No pronounced variability was found after the TeV flare in any energy band. The X-ray data showed a slightly harder spectrum when the emission was brighter. The long-term radio light curve indicated a flickering flux variability, but no strong hint for a new jet component was found from VLBI images of the radio jet. In any case, further analysis of the existing multi-wavelength data as well as complimentary measurements could provide further exciting insights, e.g., about the broad band spectral energy distribution. Overall, it can be stated that IC 310 is a key object for research of active galactic nuclei in the high-energy band due to its proximity and its peculiar properties regarding flux variability and spectral behavior. Such objects are ideally suited for studying particle acceleration, jet formation, and other physical effects and models which are far from being fully understood. / Für diese Arbeit wurde die Breitbandemission des Aktiven Galaxienkerns IC 130, der sich im Perseus Galaxienhaufen befindet, speziell im Gammastrahlen- und Radiobereich untersucht. Die experiementellen Methoden, die dabei verwendet wurden, sind Tscherenkow Astronomie mit den MAGIC Teleskopen, und hochauflösende Interferometrie (englisch: very long baseline interferometry, kurz VLBI) bei Frequenzen im Radiobereich (MOJAVE, EVN). Zusätzlich wurden Daten des Objektes in verschiedenen Energiebändern studiert und eine Multiwellenlängen-Kampagne organisiert und durchgeführt. Während der Kampagne wurde ein außergewöhnlicher, heller Gammastrahlenausbruch bei TeV-Energien mit den MAGIC Teleskopen gefunden. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit theoretischen Beschleunigungs- und Emissionsmodellen verglichen, die zur Erklärung von Hochenergiestrahlung in Aktiven Galaxienkernen herangezogen werden. Viele offene Fragen bezüglich der Teilchenbeschleunigung zu sehr hohen Energien in Jets von Aktiven Galaxienkernen, den Teilcheninhalt der Jets, und der Jetentstehung, wurden in dieser Arbeit anhand der Variabilitätseigenschaften von IC 310 im sehr hohen Energiebereich diskutiert. Es stellt sich heraus, dass IC 310 bisher fälschlicherweise als sog. “head-tail” Radiogalaxie klassifiziert wurde. Stattdessen zeigt sich, dass das Variabilitätsverhalten im Radio-, Röntgen-, und Gammastrahlenbereich demjenigen von Blazaren ähnelt. Diese Objekte sind Aktive Galaxienkerne, bei denen Variabilität des Flusses in allen beobachteten Energiebändern und auf allen beobachteten Zeitskalen gemessen werden kann. Bei Blazaren wird ein kleiner Winkel zwischen Jetachse und Sichtlinie vermutet. Die dadurch enstehenden relativistische Aberration und Verstärkung nehmen Einfluß auf die Variabilitätseigenschaften. Beobachtungen von IC 310 mit dem Europäischen VLBI Netzwerk halfen, den Winkel zwischen der Jetachse und der Sichtline auf 10 −20 Grad einzuschränken. Damit ist IC 310 ein Objekt, das sich nicht klar als Radiogalaxie (größere Winkel) oder Blazar (kleinere Winkel) definieren lässt. Während des Gammastrahlenausbruchs, der zu Beginn der Multiwellenlängen-Kampagne detektiert wurde, konnten Flussveränderungen auf Zeitskalen von wenigen Minuten gemessen werden. Das während diesem Ausbruchs gemessene Spektrum kann beschreiben werden mit einem einfachen Potenzgesetz über zwei Dekaden in Energie bis ~10 TeV, ohne dabei Hinweise auf ein Abbrechen zu zeigen. Beim Vergleich mit früheren Beobachtungen konnten keine signifikanten Veränderungen der spektralen Form festgestellt werden. Zusammen mit der Einschränkung des Winkels stellt diese Beobachtung die derzeit weit verbreiteten Modelle der Teilchenbeschleunigung durch Stoßwellen in den Jets grundlegend in Frage. Alternative Modelle, die auf Einflüssen von Sternen, die sich durch den Jet bewegen, oder auf sogenannten Mini-Jets im Jet, die z.B. durch Rekonnektion entstehen, beruhen, wurden diskutiert. Außerdem wurde die Gap-Beschleunigung in einer pulsarähnlichen Magnetosphäre um ein Schwarzes Loch herum studiert. Es zeigte sich, dass nur das letztgenannte Modell alle beobachteten Eigenschaften erklären kann, was mindestens nahelegt, dass es sich lohnen könnte, selbst bereits veröffentlichte Untersuchungen von Aktiven Galaxienkernen unter diesem Wissen neu zu beleuchten. Die erste Multiwellenlängen-Kampagne mit erd- sowie weltraumgebundenen Teleskopen im Radio, optischen, Ultraviolett, Röntgen und Gammastrahlenbereich wurde 2012/2013 erfolgreich durchgeführt. Keine signifikant ausgeprägten zeitlichen Flussveränderungen in den beobachteten Energiebändern konnten nach dem Gammastrahlenausbruch gefunden werden. Die Röntgendaten zeigten ein geringfügig härteres Spektrum mit zunehmenden Fluss. Die Langzeitlichtkurve im Radiobereich wies ein Flackern des Flusses auf, allerdings wurde kein starker Hinweis auf eine neue Jetkomponente in dem VLBI-Radiojet gefunden. In jedem Fall könnten eine weitere Analyse der vorhandenen Daten genauso wie ergänzende Messungen weitere, spannende Einblicke zum Beispiel in die spektrale Energieverteilung auf breiter Skala liefern. Insgesamt lässt sich sagen, dass IC 310 durch sein Nähe und durch besondere Eigenschaften bezogen auf Flussänderungen und spektrales Verhalten ein Schlüsselobjekt für die Erforschung von Aktiven Galaxienkernen im Hochenergiebereich ist. Solche Objekte sind ideale Kandidaten, um Teilchenbeschleunigung, Jetentstehung und andere physikalische Prozesse zu studieren, die noch nicht vollständig verstanden sind.

The Torch Collector is a Magical Realist novel set in Sydney. It is a story of non conformity, history, hope. The story moves between three recognisable but not clearly identifiable spheres. A past, a present and the non identified other, which could be called the unreal, magical, other-worldly or third-dimensional The genderless protagonist collects torches which enable him/her to transgress the boundaries between the spheres of existence. S/he moves freely across filling the gaps in her/his identity created by her/his cross-cultural background. The novel examines life on the fringe of contemporary Australian society. The Torch Collector's position appears to be voluntary, defined by his/her relationship to the torches. This vital relationship prevents the protagonist from fully engaging in conventional life. It is also a story of Sydney. A city which hides its cross-cultural spirituality underneath a highly urban and technological facade. / Master of Arts (Writing)

[No Abstract]

Representations of SO(4,2;R) are constructed using 4 x 4 and 2 x 2 matrices with elements in H' ��� C . Using 2 x 2 matrix representations of C and H', the 4 x 4 representation is interpreted in terms of 16 x 16 real matrices. Finally, the known isomorphism between the conformal group and SO(4,2;R) is written explicitly in terms of the 4 x 4 representation. The 4 x 4 construction should generalize to matrices with elements in K' ��� K for K any normed division algebra over the reals and K' any split algebra over the reals. / Graduation date: 2013

In Orientalism, Edward Said identified how the Westerner “spoke for” and represented the silent Orient. Today with the burgeoning call-center business with India, it seems that the West now wants the Orient to speak for it. But is the voice that Western business requires in India a truly Indian voice? Or is it a manipulation which is a new form of the silencing of the Indian voice? This dissertation identifies how several Postcolonial Indian writers challenge the silence of Orientalism and the power issues of the West through various “speaking voices” of narratives representative of Indian life. Using Julie Kristeva’s abjection theory as a lens, this dissertation reveals Arundhati Roy as “speaking abjection” in The God of Small Things. Even Roy’s novelistic setting suffers abjection through neocolonialism. Salman Rushdie’s narrative method of magic realism allows “speaking trauma” as his character Saleem in Midnight’s Children suffers the traumas of Partition and Emergency as an allegorical representation of India. Using magic realism Saleem is able to speak the unspeakable. Other Indian voices, Bapsi Sidhwa, Khushwant Singh, and Rohinton Mistry “speak history” as their novels carry the weight of conveying an often-absent official history of Partition and the Emergency, history verified by Partition surviror interviews. In Such a Long Journey, Mistry uses an anthrozoological theme in portraying issues of power over innocence. Recognizing the choices and negotiations of immigrant life through the coining of the word (dis)assimilation, Jhumpa Lahiri’s writings are analyzed in terms of a “speaking voice” of (dis)assimilation for Indian immigrants in the United States, while Zadie Smith’s White Teeth “speaks (dis)assimilation” as a voice of multiple ethnicites negotiating immigrant life in the United Kingdom. Together these various “speaking voices” show the power of Indian writers in challenging the silence of Orientalism through narrative.

This thesis seeks to define how Francis Barrett’s The Magus, Or Celestial Intelligencer is indicative of a transitional period (1800–1830) of English Magic. The intention and transmission of Barrett’s The Magus is linked to the revival of occultism and its use as a textbook for occult philosophy. This thesis provides a historical background preceding this revival. The aim of the thesis is to establish Barrett’s text as a hybrid interpretation of Renaissance magic for a modern audience. It is primarily by this hybridization that a series of feedback loops would begin to create the foundation for modern occultism. This study utilizes a careful study of primary sources, including a systematic examination of The Magus within its intellectual and social contexts.