John Millar's historical works have not, since the era of their original publication, been viewed as such by their principal commentators. Though Millar's Discourse on the Origin of the Distinction of Ranks (1771) has received acclaim for its perceived sociological value, his intended masterwork, An Historical View of the English Constitution (1803) has been almost completely neglected by contemporary scholarship. The intent of this paper is threefold: first, by viewing Millar in the historiographical context of late Enlightenment Britain, Millar's texts become recognizable as they were when they were first read, that is, as works of history. Restoring Millar to this context, a time when sophisticated new modes of historical writing were being developed to explain the modern world, also reveals the origins and nature of Millar's characteristic "conjectural" or "philosophical" approach to the study of the past. Secondly, a methodological analysis of Millar's major works and his unpublished "Lectures on Government" will provide insight into how Millar's conjecturalism was reconfigured to fit different subjects, purposes, and generic norms. Third, a survey of Millar's reception in the early nineteenth century will illustrate how rapidly and how profoundly the perceptions of Millar's historiographical approach changed from laudatory to dismissive. Millar is thus revealed not only as a historical writer, but one who was dedicated to a sophisticated, systematic program of historical inquiry.

Texte remanié de: Ph. D.--Evanston, Ill.--Northwestern university and Garrett-evangelical theological seminary, 1986.

John Millar's historical works have not, since the era of their original publication, been viewed as such by their principal commentators. Though Millar's Discourse on the Origin of the Distinction of Ranks (1771) has received acclaim for its perceived sociological value, his intended masterwork, An Historical View of the English Constitution (1803) has been almost completely neglected by contemporary scholarship. The intent of this paper is threefold: first, by viewing Millar in the historiographical context of late Enlightenment Britain, Millar's texts become recognizable as they were when they were first read, that is, as works of history. Restoring Millar to this context, a time when sophisticated new modes of historical writing were being developed to explain the modern world, also reveals the origins and nature of Millar's characteristic "conjectural" or "philosophical" approach to the study of the past. Secondly, a methodological analysis of Millar's major works and his unpublished "Lectures on Government" will provide insight into how Millar's conjecturalism was reconfigured to fit different subjects, purposes, and generic norms. Third, a survey of Millar's reception in the early nineteenth century will illustrate how rapidly and how profoundly the perceptions of Millar's historiographical approach changed from laudatory to dismissive. Millar is thus revealed not only as a historical writer, but one who was dedicated to a sophisticated, systematic program of historical inquiry. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This dissertation examines booksellers in multiple roles as cultural agents in the small press field. It proposes various ways of understanding the work of booksellers as actively shaping the production, distribution, reception, and preservation of small press works, arguing that bookselling is a small press act unaccounted for in existing scholarship. It is structured around the idea of “contributive” bookselling from Nicky Drumbolis, wherein the bookseller “adds dimension to the cultural exchange […] participates as user, maker, transistor” (“this fiveyear list”). The questions at the heart of this dissertation are: How does the small press, in its material strategies of production and distribution, reshape the terms of reception for readers? How does the bookseller contribute to these processes? What does independent bookselling look like when it is committed to the cultural and aesthetic goals of the small press? And what is absent from literary and cultural records when the bookseller is not accounted for? This dissertation covers a period from 1952 to the present day. I begin by positing Raymond Souster’s “Contact” labour as an influential model for small press publishing in which the writer must adopt multiple roles in the communications circuit in order to construct and educate a community of readers. I then examine the bookseller catalogue as a bibliographic, critical, and pedagogical genre of publication that mediates productive encounters between readers and books. I next position the material, affective, and effective labour of the bookseller within the small press gift economy. Finally, I theorize the bookstore as a potential small press archive that functions as a viable counterweight to institutional collection and preservation. My reconsideration of the labour of the bookseller realigns relations between production, distribution, reception, documentation, and preservation of small press publications, making possible a more complete accounting of the histories of the book and of the small press in Canada.

« Comic book » est un terme anglo-saxon, plus spécifiquement américain, employé pour désigner les fascicules de bande dessinée. Il a trouvé son autonomie en 1938 avec la création de « Superman » qui a amorcé l'hégémonie de la figure du « super-héros » dans la production. Au cours du vingtième siècle, éditeurs et auteurs ont eu recours à des stratégies de conquête et de fidélisation du lectorat dont le procédé de la réécriture est le plus significatif. Le super-héros fut alors soumis à l'interprétation de nombreux créateurs et devint le témoin à multiples facettes de l'Histoire des États-Unis. Il s'est dessiné à partir des années quatre-vingt une tendance réflexive qui prend cette figure comme objet critique et qui a donné naissance à ce qu'on appelle ici le « metacomic ». À partir d'un corpus représentatif, cette thèse est consacrée aux stratégies qui fondent cette réflexivité et aux discours qu'elle véhicule dans les œuvres. Elle se divise en quatre chapitres. Le premier est un descriptif de l'industrie du comic book qui explique ses particularités et l'hégémonie en son sein du genre « superhéroïque ». Le second est dédié aux processus formels qui permettent de justifier la constitution du corpus en définissant la réflexivité des œuvres. Le troisième est voué à une analyse du caractère idéologique de cette métafiction, afin de montrer en quoi la mise en crise du super-héros sert un discours sur l'Histoire et la politique américaines. Le dernier s'intéresse à la manière dont les œuvres consacrent le super-héros comme figure de l'imagination : adoptant une approche fictionnaliste, on y démontre comment transfictionnalité et univers fictionnels sont utilisés pour revisiter / “Comic Book” is the Anglo-Saxon, more specifically American term employed to describe a specific material medium for comics. The epochal moment in the history of the comic book was the 1938 publication of « Superman », which marked the starting point of the hegemony of the figure of the superhero in comic production. Over the course of the twentieth century, authors and publishers have used various strategies for winning over readers and securing their loyalty. Among these, the technique of rewriting is the most significant. Thus, the superhero has been the subject of many reinterpretations, and consequently, has born witness to many facets of the United States’ history. The publications of the 1980s have seen the rise of a reflexive approach in which the superhero becomes an object of critique himself. This new genre is here referred to as Metacomic. Drawing on a representative body of works, the doctoral thesis at hand examines the strategies that constitute this reflexivity, as well as the multiple discourses that it gives rise to. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter gives an account of the comic book industry and explains its particularities, as well as the hegemonic position of the superhero genre in the industry. The second chapter attempts a definition of reflexivity in comic books, which permits to establish a body of works to be examined. The third chapter attempts an analysis of the ideological aspects of this metafiction in order to show how the crisis of the superhero reflects on a certain discourse on American history and politics. The fourth and last chapter examines how the analysed comics establish the superhero as an agent of imag

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This thesis examines the Citizen Military Forces (CMF) from 1947 until it ceased to exist under that name with the release of the report of the Millar Inquiry in 1974. This thesis examines three broad areas: the organizational changes that the CMF adopted or had imposed upon it; the political decision-making surrounding the CMF; and a social analysis of the CMF which questions the viability and validity of a number of the CMF???s long held precepts. The thesis will show that the majority of circumstances and decisions surrounding the CMF were beyond its control. For example, the CMF could not change the prevailing military thought of the post-war period which emphasized increasingly the role of smaller, professional, readily-available armies. The first three chapters recount the CMF???s ???heyday??? in which the Army, assisted by National Service after 1950, was based around it and its influence at the highest levels was strongest. The next two chapters chronicle the background to Australia???s adoption of the ???Pentropic??? organization and the repercussions this had on the CMF. Chapters Six and Seven examine the consequences of the introduction of a second compulsory service scheme and the concomitant result which precluded the CMF from operational service in Vietnam. Chapters Eight and Nine deal with the Millar Inquiry, which offered the CMF a new hope, but in some regards, brought forth little beneficial gains for the CMF. The final chapters analyze some of the characteristics unique to the CMF, such as territorial affiliation, high turnover rates amongst the rank and file and the concept of the ???brilliant amateur???. This thesis concludes that, despite the mixed performance of the CMF, there is still a place for the citizen soldier in contemporary warfare, but far more consideration at the highest political and military levels must be given to the peculiar and difficult, but by no means insurmountable, problems citizen soldiering encounters in Australia.

This thesis examines the Citizen Military Forces (CMF) from 1947 until it ceased to exist under that name with the release of the report of the Millar Inquiry in 1974. This thesis examines three broad areas: the organizational changes that the CMF adopted or had imposed upon it; the political decision-making surrounding the CMF; and a social analysis of the CMF which questions the viability and validity of a number of the CMF???s long held precepts. The thesis will show that the majority of circumstances and decisions surrounding the CMF were beyond its control. For example, the CMF could not change the prevailing military thought of the post-war period which emphasized increasingly the role of smaller, professional, readily-available armies. The first three chapters recount the CMF???s ???heyday??? in which the Army, assisted by National Service after 1950, was based around it and its influence at the highest levels was strongest. The next two chapters chronicle the background to Australia???s adoption of the ???Pentropic??? organization and the repercussions this had on the CMF. Chapters Six and Seven examine the consequences of the introduction of a second compulsory service scheme and the concomitant result which precluded the CMF from operational service in Vietnam. Chapters Eight and Nine deal with the Millar Inquiry, which offered the CMF a new hope, but in some regards, brought forth little beneficial gains for the CMF. The final chapters analyze some of the characteristics unique to the CMF, such as territorial affiliation, high turnover rates amongst the rank and file and the concept of the ???brilliant amateur???. This thesis concludes that, despite the mixed performance of the CMF, there is still a place for the citizen soldier in contemporary warfare, but far more consideration at the highest political and military levels must be given to the peculiar and difficult, but by no means insurmountable, problems citizen soldiering encounters in Australia.