Thesis (doctoral)--Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 31, 2007) Vita. Leaves 196-242 are blank. No reproduction of photographs available due to copyright issues. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

No description available.

The current study contemplates the relationship between narrative structure and memory in five contemporary Spanish novels. Since the Spanish Transition to Democracy literary critics have been quick to discuss the resurgence of historical memory in narrative. In particular, there has been an abundance of work that seeks to vindicate those who supported the Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War, but whose voices were silenced upon the republic's fall to Franco's army in 1939. Nevertheless, despite the wide critical recognition of a movement to recuperate Spanish historical memory, critics have largely ignored the role played by narrative structure in the construction of said memory during the 1990's and the first decade of the 21st century. Contemplating what Hayden White calls "the content of the form" at the stylistic level as well as at the level of each novel's macrostructure, this study demonstrates that the narrative techniques utilized by Juan Marsé, Manual Rivas, Dulce Chacón, Javier Cercas and Bernardo Atxaga cast a particularly postmodern light onto the darker mnemonic shadows of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's dictatorship. Through a series of typically postmodern mechanisms, such as the use of multiple narrators, mediated texts and constant dialog between varying levels of fiction and metafiction, these narratives transcend mere historic reflection and nostalgia in order to contemplate the subjective nature of the very mnemonic processes through which they are ostensibly created. The narrative structures of the works discussed in this study emphasize the fact that objective truth cannot be attained by means of present, postmodern remembering, much less when said remembering is linguistically mediated through narration. Thus, rather than seeking in vain to recuperate an unascertainable historical truth, these authors create highly structured, though purely esthetic, fictional representations of history, representations whose narrative forms are a prescription for the epistemic ills of the disillusioned, fragmented and uprooted postmodern implicit reader.

Modern architectural theory was a product of the encounter between the classical tradition, formed on Greek and Roman ideas in the Italian Renaissance, and the subjective aesthetics of eighteenth century Britain. Resulting ideas and buildings of the early nineteenth century were the precursors of the architecture and theories of the 1920's and 30's. The development of classical architectural theory is studied in the writings of the philosophers and architects who contributed its leading ideas. The relative importance of the two basic themes, 'reason' and 'experience', was established by Plato and Aristotle. The consequences of their ideas and priorities for architecture can be seen in the treatises of Vitruvius and Alberti. 'Reason' as the way to absolute beauty became the cornerstone of Renaissance theory, while 'experience', subjective and therefore relative, was rejected as leading only to inconsistent and erroneous opinion. In the seventeenth century the critical heritage of the Greeks bore new fruit in the rationalism of Descartes and his successors, and particularly the British 'empirical' philosophers of the eighteenth century. Criticism of classical theory by Perrault, Cordemoy and Laugier in France led to a more rigorous 'rational' theory, still essentially classical in its emphasis on the absolute qualities of building forms. In Britain rational analysis of subjective 'experience' led to a comprehensive aesthetic theory based on the association of ideas and most expounded by Archibald Alison in 1790. Further consequences of the rationalism of this period were the revolutionary economic and political changes which shook France and Britain and had far-reaching consequences for architecture. Most advanced in Britain, these changes together with the new aesthetic theories had their most direct architectural effects on the design of smaller houses. The many books of cottage and villa designs published around 1800 record both the architecture of the period and the ideas on which it was based. Particular attention is given to the writings of J.C. Loudon as the most comprehensive exposition of advanced pre-Victorian theory. The development of architectural ideas in Victorian and modern times shows both continuity with earlier streams of thought, and significant changes in particular as the failure of traditional theory to cope with social change became critical. The writings of Pugin, Ruskin, Fergusson, and Morris reveal the scope of Victorian theory and its contribution to modern thought. The transition from Victorian to modern architecture is shown in a comparison of Lethaby and Muthesius that also exposes a significant divergence in the tendency of their ideas. Their ideas led directly to the architecture of the early modern period. A final comparison of early modern and pre-Victorian ideas and buildings exposes the limitations of modern architectural theory.

This thesis has concentrated on one period of the historical relations which began over three centuries ago. Great Britain, or rather Englan~ during the 1620s when the Portuguese were still the lords of Muscat, was trying to explore the eastern coast of Oman. They made friends in the Masseera Island, but their relationship with the Portuguese was not a friendly one. They were welcome, indeed, by the local powers as rivals to the Portuguese in India and in Persia as well as in Oman. But despite the generosity of their help, they tried to strike a balance between the ambitions of the local powers and those of the Europeans. The English, for example, were reluctant to assist the Persian projects in Muscat against the Portuguese. In fact, if the Portuguese were expelled from there by the Persians, then it would be too difficult for the Omanis to occupy it. At the same time they offered evacuation for the wounded and the surrendered Portuguese garrison with their women and children. The English observed that, after all the people of South Persia and of Hunnuz, Arabs or Persians alike, revolted. against Shah Abbas and wanted. the Portuguese back, having discovered. them to be the lesser evil. English interest in Oman and the Persian Gulf during the seventeenth century seems to have been purely commercial. For example, during the sixteen thirties and forties stable relations with the Portuguese were maintained., partly no doubt a reflection of the marriage between their two royal families, but also because the English saw commercial value in establishing good relations with both the Omanis and the Portuguese. After the expulsion of the Portuguese, the English witnessed the establishment of the first known Omani sovereign in the modem world, and the establishment of an Omani Afro-Asian Empire. They established good relations with the Ya,aarribeh family; but for some reason they were reluctant to establish themselves in Muscat. Probably the Dutch were seen to be in a better position while the English were ~stracted. by civil war. But during the first half of the eighteenth century English policy seems to have changed, probably due to the struggle between various local and European powers which took the form of piratical activities on the seas, in which the Omani Ya,aaribeh took part. By the second half of the eighteenth century the English had witnessed the downfall of the Ya,aaribeh and Greater Oman, and the establishment of another dynasty in the interior of Oman under Albu Sa,eed with the Omani Coast in the Gulf ruled by EI-Qawaasem, highlighting the division of Oman. The English found it in their interest to support Ahmed bin Sa,eed in East Africa, against El-Mazaree,a, and to keep East Africa under the Yal-bu-Sa,eed rule. They found a mutual interest in challenging the Qawaasem of Rasel-khaymeh in the Gulf, and their allies the EI-Wahabyeen in Arabia., during the first half of the nineteenth century.

This PhD explores the notion of learner participation within the context of online language learning in virtual world platforms. Participation is discussed as learner interaction in the target language with reference, in particular, to Breen (2001) and Lantolf (2000) and as online learner activity as discussed by Bento and Schuster (2003) and Hrastinski (2007). In addition, the study builds more specifically on existing research into learner participation in virtual worlds by Deutschmann, Panichi and Molka-Danielsen (2009) and Peterson (2010). Data was collected through a case study of a Business English course within a European telecollaboration project at tertiary level. The course at the centre of the case study comes under the umbrella of the EUfunded Euroversity Network (www.euroversity.eu). The study makes use of Reflexivity (e.g. Alvesson and Sköldberg, 2009) and Exploratory Practice as its core methodological approach to the building of the case. The virtual world data is analysed from a multimodal perspective within CMCL (e.g. Lamy, 2004) and makes use of visualisation (Mason, 2002) as the primary analytical tool. The study provides an expanded definition of learner participation which reflects the learning dynamics of virtual worlds within the specific teaching and learning context. The study evaluates the role played by designer beliefs in determining learner participatory outcomes and makes recommendations for teaching and future course design. The study also illustrates the use of virtual world platforms as a research tool.

No description available.

No description available.