Si l’historiographie de l’EPS est manifestement riche de travaux sur la parole d’autorité (textes officiels) et sur la parole sacrée (les conceptions de l’EPS), en revanche, il existe moins de recherches sur la réalité des pratiques pédagogiques passées à partir de l’investigation de la parole des acteurs ordinaires de l’EPS. Selon nous, ce manque de données historiques sur ce qui s’est réellement enseigné en EPS au cours du XXe siècle tient d’une part, à l’opacité et au caractère privé de l’acte pédagogique révolu et, d’autre part, à la difficulté de trouver des témoins, relativement âgés, pour nous faire part de leurs pratiques pédagogiques à l’aune de leur histoire de vie. Cette thèse porte donc sur l’analyse croisée (témoignages, archives privées, rapports d‘inspection) de l’évolution de curricula réels liés à l’enseignement de la natation en EPS (1945-1995, second degré) chez une population « hétérogène » d’enseignant(e)s d’EPS (n=143) ayant vécu différentes trajectoires biographiques personnelles et professionnelles. Pour recueillir des données sur leur histoire de vie (savoirs aquatiques) et leurs pratiques pédagogues passées, nous avons eu recours à la méthodologie du questionnaire et de témoignage écrit complétée par des sources indiciaires privées ou semi-officielles ainsi que des rapports d’inspection. Ces outils nous ont offert la possibilité de pouvoir circonscrire d’un côté, ce qui a été réellement appris comme savoirs aquatiques avant (socialisation primaire), pendant, et après leurs études en EPS (socialisation secondaire) et, de l’autre côté, ce qui a été concrètement enseigné à des élèves durant des séances de natation dans diverses académies et dans différents contextes scolaires (collèges, lycées) entre 1945 et 1995. Au-delà de la formalisation de pratiques pédagogiques passées à l’endroit de l’enseignement de la natation en EPS ; une natation de la débrouillardise 1945-1960, une natation à l’ombre du sport 1960-1986, une natation autotélique ou « épsienne » (1986-1995) ; nous avons également pu mettre en lumière que la temporalité des réformes scolaires (instructions officielles, programmes, évaluations certificatives) ne se superpose pas mécaniquement à celle des changements observés au niveau du terrain, non pas tant que chaque acteur de terrain soit systématiquement opposé à toute réforme scolaire ou au contraire en accord avec elle. Mais, qu’en fonction de son parcours biographique personnel et professionnel (niveau micro), de la contingence des contextes locaux d’enseignement rencontrés et des publics cibles enseignés au cours de la carrière (niveau méso), de la réception des réformes et des conceptions de l’EPS et de l’enseignement de la natation portés (niveau macro), l’acteur est et demeure, comme l’a par ailleurs souligné Antoine Prost (1996), « un facteur décisif » dans la mise en place ou non des réformes scolaires. Enfin, cette étude aura permis de mettre en exergue une histoire culturelle de l’agir professionnel à l’endroit de l’enseignement de la natation en EPS et une épistémologie des savoirs aquatiques acquis et transmis tant du côté des enseignants d’EPS que de celui des élèves entre 1945-1995. Il va de soi que nos résultats sont liés au corpus, à la méthodologie employée et aux caractéristiques identitaires de la population ici étudiée / If the historiography of EPS is clearly rich in works on the word of authority (official documents) and the sacred word (Designs EPS), however, there is less research on actual learning practices from the past investigation of the speech of ordinary players EPS. We believe this lack of historical data on what is actually taught in EPS during the twentieth century is partly due to the opacity and private act of teaching revolution and, secondly to the difficulty of finding witnesses, relatively old for us to share their teaching practices in terms of their life story. This thesis therefore focuses on the cross-analysis (testimonies, private records, inspection reports) of the evolution of actual curricula related to teaching swimming in EPS (1945-1995, second degree) in a "heterogeneous population of "teacher (s) EPS (n = 143) who experienced various personal and professional life histories. To collect data on their life story (aquatic knowledge) and their past practices educators, we used the methodology of the survey and written testimony supplemented by private sources circumstantial or semi-official and inspection reports. These tools have given us the possibility to define on the one hand, which was actually taught as aquatic knowledge before (primary socialization), during and after their studies in EPS (secondary socialization) and, on the other hand, what was actually taught to students during swimming sessions in various academies and in different school contexts (schools, colleges) between 1945 and 1995. Beyond the formalization of past teaching practices at the point of teaching swimming in EPS, a swimming resourcefulness 1945-1960, swimming in the shadow of the 1960-1986 sports, swimming or a autotelic "épsienne "(1986-1995), we were also able to highlight that the temporality of school reforms (official instructions, programs, certification evaluation) does not overlap with that of the mechanical changes observed in the field, not so much that every actor field is systematically opposed to any school reform or otherwise in accordance with it. But, in terms of its life story and professional staff (micro level), contingency local educational contexts encountered and taught in the career (meso level), the receipt of reforms and target audiences conceptions of EPS and teaching swimming worn (macro level), the actor is and remains, as also stressed Antoine Prost (1996), "a decisive factor" in the establishment or non-school reforms. Finally, this study has helped to highlight a cultural history of professional acting in the place of the teaching of swimming in EPS and epistemology aquatic knowledge acquired and transmitted as the side of the PE teachers that the students between 1945-1995. It goes without saying that our results are related to the body, the methodology and identifying characteristics of the population studied here

In the theory part of the Diploma work I deal with students´ interest activities and factors that influence them. In the empirical part of the Diploma work I tried to find out the information about the students´activities in their free time, satisfaction with the interest activities organised by nursing colleges and students´participation in these activities. The objective of my work was to find out which of the interest activities are popular and unpopular. I formulated three hypotheses. I chose the questionnaire as a research technique. The research was taken in nursing colleges. The objectives of my Diploma work were fulfilled. The three stated hypotheses were confirmed.

Esta dissertação tem um propósito ambicioso: procura repensar o modelo de integração econômica na América do Sul. O método escolhido para tanto foi o de analisar e extrair lições de outras experiências de integração econômica para balizar uma reflexão sobre este processo na região. Neste sentido, dividiu-se a dissertação em três capítulos, além de um breve capítulo introdutório e das considerações finais. No capítulo 2, “Considerações Gerais e Teorias sobre Integração Econômica Regional”, realiza-se apenas algumas definições conceituais e uma breve revisão das teorias sobre integração econômica regional. O intuito deste capítulo inicial é tão somente de “limpar o terreno” para a análise dos capítulos posteriores. Feito isso, no capítulo 3, “Lições das Experiências Internacionais Recentes: União Monetária Europeia, NAFTA e Cooperação Financeira no Leste Asiático”, analisa-se as principais experiências internacionais de integração, apresentando basicamente a racionalidade, a lógica básica de funcionamento e os resultados alcançados por cada uma delas, de tal forma a depreender algumas lições para a América do Sul. No capítulo 4, “Lições das Iniciativas Pretéritas de Integração na América do Sul: Uma Breve Análise do Caminho Percorrido da ALALC à UNASUL”, apresenta-se um apanhado histórico das iniciativas de integração econômica na América do Sul, seguindo essencialmente a mesma estrutura do capítulo anterior. Por fim, nas considerações finais, à luz das lições extraídas nos capítulos anteriores, são tecidos alguns comentários sobre as iniciativas integracionistas vigentes na região. / The dissertation has an ambitious intention: it aims at rethinking the model of economic integration in South America. The method chosen for such task was to analyze and extract lessons of other experiences of economic integration to define a reflection regarding this process in the region. In this direction, the dissertation was divided into three chapters, along with a brief introductory chapter and the final considerations. Chapter 2, “General Considerations and Theories on Regional Economic Integration”, presents some conceptual definitions and a brief revision of the theories on regional economic integration. The intention of this initial chapter is mainly to “clear the ground” for the analysis of the subsequent chapters. Once this is done, in chapter 3, “Lessons of the Recent International Experiences: European Monetary Union, NAFTA and Financial Cooperation in the East Asian”, the main international experiences of integration are analyzed, presenting basically the rationality, the basic logic of functioning and the results reached by each one of them, in such way to infer in the end some lessons for South America. Chapter 4, “Lessons of the Past Initiatives of Integration in South America: a Concise Analysis of the Way from ALALC to UNASUL”, presents a historical summary of the initiatives of economic integration in South America, following, essentially, the same structure of the previous chapter. Finally, in the final considerations, in light of the lessons extracted in the previous chapters, some comments are made on the effective integrationist initiatives in the region.

Notre thèse a pour objet les temps du passé de l’indicatif en français (en particulier le passé simple, l’imparfait et le passé composé). Les approches sur le temps sont multiples et elles utilisent des concepts variés qui tentent d’expliquer le fonctionnement de ces formes à travers de nombreux paradigmes. Ainsi, la grammaire scolaire se contente de stipuler que les temps du passé de l’indicatif ont pour rôle de situer les événements dans l’époque passée. Mais, si l’on confronte les théories traditionnelles avec les approches linguistiques plus récentes sur la sémantique des temps verbaux, on observe que l’emploi de ces temps implique à la fois une référence temporelle, une visée illocutoire et discursive ainsi qu’une attitude psychologique et pragmatique. Nous étudions donc dans ce travail les usages en discours des temps du passé à partir de leurs valeurs en langue en essayant de montrer de quelle manière les contenus temporel, aspectuel et modal interfèrent et se complètent dans l’expression verbale du passé. Nous mettons en évidence le fait que le choix des temps du passé est motivé également par la manière de se représenter les événements et par le type d’information que veut faire passer le locuteur à son interlocuteur. L’emploi des temps du passé caractérise également des types particuliers de discours et participe à la cohérence informationnelle du texte. Enfin, le traitement d’approches aspectuo-temporelles, textuelles et pragmatiques nous conduira à adopter le modèle essentiellement praxématique pour une étude du fonctionnement des temps du passé en langue et en discours dans un texte littéraire, Thérèse Desqueyroux de François Mauriac. / Our work has for object the times of the past in French (in particular the simple past, the imperfect and the present perfect). The approaches at the time are multiple and they use varied concepts which try to explain the functioning of these forms through of many paradigms. So, the grammar contents with stipulating that the times of the past have for role to place the events in the past time. But, if we confront the traditional theories with the more recent linguistic approaches on semantics of the tenses of the verb, we observe that the use of these times implies at the same time a temporal reference, an aim illocutoire and discursive as well as a psychological and pragmatic attitude. We study in this work the uses in speech of the past time from their values in language by trying to show, first of all, how temporal, aspectual and modal contents interfere and complement each other in the verbal expression of past. We highlight the fact that the choice of the past times is motivated by the way of representing itself the events and by the type of information that the speaker wants to introduce to his interlocutor. The employment of the past times also characterizes particular types of speech and participates in the informative coherence of the text. The treatment of aspectuo-temporal, textual and pragmatic approcaches leads us to adopt the model primarily praxematic for a study of the use of the past times in language and speech in a literary text, Thérèse Desqueyroux of François Mauriac.

Cette thèse a pour but de mettre en scène le sens et l'évolution de la quête identitaire qui partirait d'une perte initiale, voir l'absence de tout (la non-vie) inaugurant alors un besoin urgent de se (re)trouver. Cette quête paradoxale est à l'origine d'un mouvement à la fois centripète et centrifuge. Ce mouvement se manifeste par le biais du désir de construire une identité et parallèlement un souhait d'effacer à jamais toute identité. L'analyse se fonde et se développe sur une logique dialectique qui donne forme à la conscience de soi suite à un long apprentissage romanesque. En examinant les fondements mêmes de cette crispation identitaire d'un point de vue historique nous tentons de répondre à cette question : en quoi l'identité se révèle-t-elle inaccessible dans la première trilogie de l'écrivain ? Tant que la thèse porte sur la quête identitaire tiraillée entre fiction et histoire on se demande si la notion de l'identité que Modiano soulève correspond à une identité conflictuelle et problématique selon le point de vue des sciences humaines. Nous avons concentré notre étude sur ce parcours tourmenté des narrateurs placés dans un paysage fictif menaçant où se réunit les composantes d'une géographie romanesque exclusivement parisienne. Au sein de l'ambiguïté de l'Histoire et des désordres de la mémoire, l'écriture constitue le seul moyen efficace pour forger une identité narrative au narrateur modianesque afin de combattre contre l'anéantissement et la non existence. Même si le narrateur n'arrive pas à se retrouver, par l'écriture, et grâce à la mémoire des autres, il lui arrive néanmoins d'approcher son identité par ce qu'on appelle l'écriture asymptotique comme une seul garant de l'identité. A partir de l'aspect fragmentaire de l'écriture, on passe à la question liée au développement du narrateur. Ce dernier reflète l'identité de l'écrivain qui prend forme progressivement en remontant le temps. Enfin, il est possible de dire que le protagoniste est sorti de l'époque des désordres, qui lui était une fatalité depuis longtemps, pour atteindre la lucidité la plus grande dans sa quête identitaire à travers l'écriture. / This thesis’ aim is to expose the meaning and evolution of a search for identity which stems from an original loss, or the absence of all things (absence of life) which provokes an urgent need to find oneself. This paradoxical quest initiates a movement that is both centripetal and centrifugal. That movement is apparent through the desire of building an identity as well as through the will to permanently erase all identity. The study draws and dwells upon a dialectical logic which shapes the conscience of the self throughout a long fictional initiation. While analysing the roots of that identity tension from a historical standpoint, we aim at answering the following question: to what extent identity proves unattainable in Modiano’s first trilogy ? Since the thesis explores a search for identity torn between fiction and history, we ask if the question of identity as posed by the author points to conflictual and problematic identity on scientific grounds.We built our study around the turbulent journey of narrators situated in a fictional and threatening context where components of an all-Parisian fictional geography come together. In front of history’s ambiguities and memory’s disorders, writing proves the only means capable of giving Modiano’s narrators a writer’s identity, thus enabling them to fight annihilation and non-existence. Though narrators do not succeed in finding themselves through writing and through other people’s memory, they sometimes manage to get closer to their identity through asymptotic writing which warrants somewhat identity. From the fragmentary nature of the texts, we explore the evolution of narrators. The latter reflect the author’s identity which progressively takes shape as they go back in time. Last, it can be said that the protagonist manages to get out of the disorderly times, which for a long period seemed inevitable, and thus attains a greater lucidity in his literary search for identity.

nÃo hà / This research aims to analyze variation in the use of the imperfect of indicative and imperfective periphrases the past, literary memories produced in 2010 and 2012, by students of the 7th and 8th years, finalists of the Portuguese Language Olympiad Writing the Future. Accordingly, it intends to investigate factors (linguistic and extra-linguistic) motivate the choice of one form or another. Therefore, is based on the Sociofuncionalism the postulates defended by Tavares (2003), resulting theoretical wedding between Sociolinguistics variational (Weinreich, Labov And HERZOG, 1968; Labov, 1972, 1978, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2010) and the US shed functionalism (cf. Givon, 1995, 2001; HOPPER, 1991; HOPPER & TRAUGOTT, 1993; TRAUGOTT, 1995. the corpus consists of 2205 data imperfective forms of past collected from 76 of literary texts memories , and in 1926 these data imperfect indicative past tense, for a total of 87.3% of the total, and 279 forms of imperfective periphrases past, totaling a percentage of 12.7% of the total incidence. The outcomes of the rounds statistics done using the software GoldVarb revealed that the phenomenon under study is motivated by linguistic factors, as imperfective function (episodic, habitual, iterative and progressive), semantic-discursive kind of verb (process culminated, culmination, activity and state), type prayer (coordinated asyndetic, subordinate adverbial, adjectival subordinate, coordinated syndetic, principal, absolute and conditional substantive), aspectual modifier (quantifier, durative, punctual and without modifier) and polarity (positive and negative), having been discarded by the statistics rounds factors narrative of the plan: figure and ground and geographic regions for failing to submit the relevant motivation of the imperfective forms under review. Thus, the results obtained and analyzed showed us how prototypical contexts for each form under the following analysis: the imperfect codes, prototypically, episodic role, culminating with process verb in affirmative prayer coordinated asyndetic with quantifier modifier; the periphrasis, in turn, presents, prototypically, progressive encoding function, with state verbs in negative substantive subordinate clauses, in the presence of aspectual point modifier. / Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar variaÃÃo no uso do imperfeito do indicativo e de perÃfrases imperfectivas de passado, em memÃrias literÃrias produzidas em 2010 e 2012, por alunos do 7o e do 8o anos, finalistas da OlimpÃada de LÃngua Portuguesa Escrevendo o Futuro. Nesse sentido, intenta-se investigar fatores (linguÃsticos e extralinguÃstico) motivam a escolha por uma ou outra forma. Para tanto, fundamenta-se nos postulados do Sociofuncionalismo, defendidos por Tavares (2003), resultante do casamento teÃrico entre a SociolinguÃstica Variacionista, (WEINREICH, LABOV E HERZOG, 1968; LABOV, 1972, 1978, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2010), e o Funcionalismo de vertente norte-americana (cf. GIVÃN, 1995, 2001; HOPPER, 1991; HOPPER &TRAUGOTT, 1993; TRAUGOTT, 1995). O corpus à formado por 2205 dados de formas imperfectivas de passado coletados de 76 textos de memÃrias literÃrias, sendo 1926 destes dados de pretÃrito imperfeito do indicativo, perfazendo um total de 87,3% do total, e 279 formas de perÃfrases imperfectivas de passado, que totalizam um percentual de 12,7% do total de ocorrÃncias. Os resultados decorrentes das rodadas estatÃsticas realizadas pelo programa computacional GoldVarb revelaram que o fenÃmeno em estudo à motivado por fatores linguÃsticos, como funÃÃo imperfectivas (episÃdica, habitual, iterativa e progressiva), tipo semÃntico-discursivo do verbo (processo culminado, culminaÃÃo, atividade e estado), tipo de oraÃÃo (coordenada assindÃtica, subordinada adverbial, subordinada adjetiva, coordenada sindÃtica, principal, absoluta e subordinada substantiva), modificador aspectual (quantificador, durativo, pontual e sem modificador) e polaridade (positiva e negativa), tendo sido descartados pelas rodadas estatÃsticas os fatores plano da narrativa: figura e fundo e regiÃes geogrÃficas por nÃo terem apresentado relevÃncia na motivaÃÃo por uma das formas imperfectivas sob anÃlise. Dessa forma, os resultados obtidos e analisados revelaram-nos como contextos prototÃpicos para cada forma sob anÃlise os seguintes: o imperfeito codifica, prototipicamente, funÃÃo episÃdica, com verbo de processo culminado, em oraÃÃo coordenada assindÃtica afirmativa, com modificador quantificador; a perÃfrase, por sua vez, apresenta-se, prototipicamente, codificando funÃÃo progressiva, com verbos de estado, em oraÃÃes subordinadas substantivas negativas, na presenÃa de modificador aspectual pontual.

Les diagnostics d’hypominéralisations molaire-incisive (HMI) et de colorations post-mortem de l’émail sont peu fiables et reproductibles dans des séries archéologiques. Notre guide de diagnostic a permis de distinguer les hypominéralisations de l’émail des colorations taphonomiques. L'émail hypominéralisé est caractérisé par des taux de β-carbonate plus élevés et une densité minérale plus faible. Les colorations taphonomiques présentent une concentration plus élevée en manganèse, en fer, en cuivre et en plomb, mises en évidences par des analyses en fluorescence X. Les dentures d’individus immatures issus de 21 séries archéologiques ont été examinés et comprenaient : 4 séries françaises, Sains-en-Gohelle (Pas-de-Calais), Cognac-Saint-Martin (Charente), Beauvais (Oise) et Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac (Gironde) provenant de cimetières médiévaux et post-médiévaux et 17 séries anglaises (Londres) provenant de cimetières romains, médiévaux et post-médiévaux. Nous avons dénombré 555 individus dont l’âge au décès est compris entre 5 et 19 ans et dont la datation chronologique s’étale sur une période allant du 1er au 19ème siècle. Au total, sur les 290 individus avec au moins une première molaire permanente (PMP) présente, 42 avaient au moins une opacité délimitée de l’émail sur une PMP (soit 14,5%). Parmi les 17 individus dont les dents ont été analysées, les tests statistiques n’ont mis en évidence que 9 cas de HMI, soit 52,9% de l’effectif. Une prévalence de 9,3% de HMI a été estimée dans nos séries archéologiques ce qui avoisine les prévalences connues à l’heure actuelle dans les populations du vivant en Europe. Les défauts du développement de d'émail sont souvent utilisés comme indicateurs de la santé générale dans les populations archéologiques passées. La possibilité de trouver des HMI dans des populations anciennes minimise l’importance de certaines hypothèses étiologiques contemporaines (par exemple les dérivés de dioxines, les bisphénols ou les antibiotiques) sans exclure l'aspect multifactoriel possible de l'anomalie. / Developmental enamel defects are often used as indicators of general health in past archaeological populations. It can be difficult to macroscopically distinguish subtle hypomineralised enamel opacities such as Molar Incisor Hypomineralisation (MIH) from post-mortem staining. The diagnostic guide developed enables the differentiation of developmental hypomineralisation of enamel from taphonomic discolorations. Hypomineralised enamel had higher β-carbonate rates and lower mineral density. Taphonomic discoloration had higher concentration of manganese, iron, copper and lead, determined by means of X-ray fluorescence analyses. Sub adults from 21 archaeological series were examined and included: 4 French series, Sains-en-Gohelle (Pas-de-Calais), Cognac-Saint-Martin (Charente), Beauvais (Oise) and Jau-Dignac-et-Loirac (Gironde) from medieval and post-medieval cemeteries and 17 English series (London) from Roman, medieval and post-medieval cemeteries. We recorded 555 individuals aged between 5-19 years dating from 1st to 19th century. Among 290 specimens with at least one first permanent molar (FPM) present, 42 showed at least one FPM opacity (14.5%). Among the 17 individuals whose teeth were analysed, statistics highlighted 9 cases of MIH (52.9%). MIH prevalence of 9.3% was estimated among the archaeological series which is close to prevalence in living populations in Europe. The identification of MIH among past populations downplays contemporary aetiological hypotheses (e.g. dioxins, bisphenols, antibiotics) without excluding multifactorial aetiology of this pathology.

During the seventies, it is possible to verify the arising of a set of works characterized by a tendency on recovering aesthetic elements and values from Romanticism in East-Germany Literature. That country lived under the Socialism imposed by force by the USSR, and the State exerted strong oppression, censorship and repression over people, and also imposed a realistically-based program to be followed by the writers, in order to consolidate the ideological principles of the regime the Socialist Realism, created departing from Georg Lukács conceptions on realism. In response to this context, some literary works can be considered as assuming the role of resistance, by the adoption of non-mimetic forms and techniques of writing. In this sense, this thesis aims at doing a comparative analysis between Christa Wolf s novel Kein Ort. Nirgends and Ulrich Plenzdorf s novel Die neuen Leiden des jungen W., focusing on the possible role of themes as subjectivity, melancholy and turn to past to the political and social aspirations proper of the writers vinculated to this literary tendency. The concept of Romanticism must be understood according to the particular historical meanings resulting with regard to the discussion on cultural and literary heritage. Christa Wolf s, Bertolt Brecht s, Theodor Adorno s, Walter Benjamin s and Anatol Rosenfeld s essays constitute the main critical and theoretical approach used to base this research / Durante a década de 70, verifica-se na literatura da República Democrática Alemã (RDA) o surgimento de um conjunto de obras caracterizadas pela retomada de elementos e valores referentes ao período romântico alemão. O país vive sob o Socialismo imposto à força pela URSS, e o Estado exerce sobre o povo forte opressão, censura e repressão, além de impor um programa de base realista a ser seguido pelos escritores, com o fito de consolidar os princípios ideológicos do regime o Realismo socialista, criado a partir das concepções de realismo de Georg Lukács. Em resposta a esse contexto, pode-se considerar que algumas obras literárias funcionam como resistência, ao adotar formas e técnicas não miméticas de escrita. Neste sentido, a presente dissertação visa a realizar uma análise comparativa entre os romances Kein Ort. Nirgends, de Christa Wolf e Die neuen Leiden des jungen W., de Ulrich Plenzdorf, tendo em vista o possível papel de temas como a subjetividade, a melancolia e o voltar-se para o passado para as aspirações político-socias dos escritores vinculados à referida tendência literária. O conceito de Romantismo deve ser entendido de acordo com os significados históricos particulares resultantes em função da discussão em torno da herança cultural e literária. O principal aporte crítico e teórico empregado como base para essa pesquisa advém dos ensaios de Christa Wolf, Bertolt Brecht, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin e Anatol Rosenfeld

Post-Soviet nostalgia, generally understood as a sentimental longing forthe Soviet past, has penetrated deep into many branches of Russian popular culture in the post-1989 period. The present study investigates how the Soviet past has been mediated in the period between 1991 and 2012 as one element of a prominent structure of feeling in present-day Russian culture. The Soviet past is represented through different mediating arenas – cultural domains and communicative platforms in which meanings are created and circulated. The mediating arenas examined in this study include television, the Internet, fashion, restaurants, museums and theatre. The study of these arenas has identified common ingredients which are elements of a structure of feeling of the period in question. At the same time, the research shows that the representations of the past vary with the nature of the medium and the genre. The analysis of mediations of the Soviet past in Russian contemporary culture reveals that there has been a change in the representations of the Soviet past during the past twenty years, which roughly correspond to the two decades marked by the presidencies of Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s and of Vladimir Putin in the 2000s (including Dmitrii Medvedev's term, 2008–2012). The critical and reflective component that was present in representations of the Soviet past in the 1990s has slowly faded away, making room first for more commercial and then for political exploitations of the past. Building on Svetlana Boym's conceptual framework of reflective and restorative nostalgia, the present study provides an illustration of how reflective nostalgia is being gradually supplanted by restorative nostalgia. Academic research has provided many definitions of nostalgia, from strictly medical explanations to more psychological and socio-cultural perspectives. The present study offers examples of how nostalgia functions as a label in ascribing political and cultural identities to oneself and to others, creating confusion about the term and about what and who can rightly be called nostalgic.

The timeframe of the south Scandinavian rock art tradition extends from c.1700/1600 to 300 /200 BC. The chronological boundaries of the rock art phenomenon thereby coincide roughly with the timeframe of the Nordic Bronze Age, and rock art figures have come to be understood and interpreted as a Bronze Age phenomenon. It is argued that a dominant Bronze Age narrative has come to direct the discourse and fieldwork alike towards a focus on the origin , rather than the use, of rock art. The rock carver’s intention with the image, explicitly or implicitly, has come to equate with its meaning. The aim of the thesis is to approach rock art figures from a different perspective, with the aim of understanding how south Scandinavian rock art has been used and interpreted over time. The question of what archaeological evidence the use of rock art may have left behind is taken up, and the archaeological excavations carried out at rock art sites in southern Scandinavia​ are summarized and discussed. The survey shows that finds and features date to some extent from the Bronze Age, yet most of the dateable evidence comes from periods after the tradition of creating new images had ended, especially the Early Iron Age. This phenomenon is of particular interest given the explicit uses of the past-perspective of the thesis. It is argued that some of the rock art sites were still being used during later prehistoric periods. Other examples of later period´s uses of rock art sites are presented and discussed, such as runic inscriptions on rock art panels as well as the use of rock art and cup-mark sites during historic times. ​ A study of the chronological development of the rock art tradition in the Himmelstalund-region in the county of Östergötland is also presented, based on recently developed ship chronologies of rock art. The study shows that the earliest ship figures, which are found in the Himmelstalund area, were probably made in the Bronze Age period I/II. Yet the majority of the dateable ship figures date from the Bronze Age period II–III, after which the number of dateable ships declines in period IV, a development becoming even more prominent in period V-VI.  Another theme discussed in the thesis is archaeology’s own uses of rock art and how this has affected the interpretations of the material. The thesis shows it is feasible to combine a discussion on the prehistoric use of rock art sites and images with a critical view of interactions between archaeological and antiquarian practice and the source material. It has also shown the potential for a broadened discussion, where we regard the use of rock art, during the Bronze Age as well as during later periods, as integral and essential to rock art research​.