Divided into three substantial chapters, this dissertation centres on the interconnections of madness and nonsense. In particular, the introduction analyzes theories on nonsense literature, and the binaric logics that separately structure the discursive fields of these two phenomena. In this section, there is also a deconstruction of the problematics of analyzing nonsense as a literary technique without the influence of mad studies. The first chapter then moves to take on the figure of the Western serial killer, and the hermeneutic projects that the media takes on when reporting on his “senseless” crimes. Arguing that the labelling of the serial killer’s crimes as “nonsensical” demonstrates a particular aesthetic that works to associate madness with danger, disease, fear, and hatred within the public imaginary, this dissertation offers an analysis through a reading of Lynn Crosbie’s Paul’s Case. In the final chapter, this dissertation employs Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing and Emma Donoghue’s The Wonder to consider nonsensical madness within the context of feminine subjectivity. Considering autotheory as a feminist hermeneutic practice then leads into the author’s own experiences as a mad person. This dissertation aims to consider how to engage with nonsensically mad feminine texts, and the ethics of the hermeneutics of mad reading-projects. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Why do we deem certain groups of people nonsensical? Why is nonsense considered the ‘mother-tongue’ of madness? This dissertation attempts to unfold some of the dimensions of these questions through an historical taxonomy of madness and nonsense as separate yet connected phenomena; an analysis of the media and popular categorization of the Western serial killer; and feminine people deemed ‘mad’ via hysteria. Using their own experiences of madness, the author asks how we can possibly read mad articulations when they are often chalked up to nonsense, as well as the sociopolitical implications of this configuration of nonsense and madness.

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This thesis examines the gender-subversive potential of mixed-sex martial arts. The research problem takes its significance from the well-documented linkages drawn within feminist research between combat sports and hierarchal gender differentiation. It is posited that from a feminist perspective, gender-subversive physical practices are desirable because they instigate a shift towards fairer and freer bodily discourse, and as such they are deserving of critical academic attention. Furthermore, sex-integrated sports have the potential to lead participants towards embodying and propagating such subversive gender discourses, and when these changes take place within highly masculinised activities such as combat sports, the significance of this subversion is amplified. While existing literature has addressed these themes with reference to women s participation in these kinds of activities, there is a relative paucity of sociological work explicitly examining mixed-sex participation, which this thesis is intended to redress. Using semi-structured interviewing, qualitative data were gathered from a group of male and female martial artists across the English East Midlands. The interviews were transcribed and then subjected to discourse analysis. Findings suggested that mixed-sex martial arts does involve gender subversion but that the practice also remains structured by dominant, hierarchal gender discourse in several significant ways. It is therefore suggested that mixed-sex training can present the possibility of gender subversion under particular conditions, such as: martial arts being accessible to both men and women at multiple levels of participation; a normalised presence of women, particularly at higher levels such as being coaches and competitors; participants coming to share an identity as martial artists which is irrespective of sexual difference; and ultimately training being integrated as much as possible, particularly with regard to the more intensely physical, combative aspects, such as sparring. The participants indicated that under these conditions they were able to conceive of and practice their gender differently, in ways which portrayed little or no hierarchal distinction between the sexes, and as such is considered subversive . Following these findings, the thesis ultimately concludes with a brief outline of some recommendations for good practice in martial arts clubs. In this way, the thesis contributes towards feminist understandings of the body and of physical culture, by highlighting one possible way in which to conceive of the sexed body differently from the prevailing norms of hierarchal sexual differentiation.

Current statistics suggest women form the majority of online learners. Their enrollment levels may be a result of promotional materials suggesting online learning allows learners access to flexible learning opportunities that will complement their busy lives. This research questions those assertions by examining the tensions women experience while learning online. Using a poststructural feminist approach, tensions are defined as the messy spaces where complexities, contradictions and competing ideas, actions, expectations, values and emotions interact to produce opposition and opportunities. Research questions asks: How do women learning online mediate tensions in the learning environment and in their own personal context? What tensions do women face when learning online? What strategies do they use to address these tensions? Are they able to find ways to balance or overcome these tensions? A poststructural feminist theoretical framework acknowledges the diversity of womens experiences and allows space for questioning discourse around lifelong learning, online learning, womens responsibilities, and institutional authority. Data was collected using multiple methods: photo-elicitation interviews and an online focus group plus a demographic survey and autoethnography. Twelve women, who all completed at least two online courses, participated representing learners of different ages, marital and family situations, geographical locations, and level and field of study. Six women took photographs, which formed the basis of face-to-face interviews. Six other women participated in an asynchronous online focus group. Themes from the results showed the tensions they experience, namely, the blurring between the boundaries between home and school, the cost of flexibility, and three strategies they used for mediating tensions (multitasking, procrastinating and persevering). While the women acknowledged the benefits of online learning and demonstrated that they were successful students, their narratives make it clear that they faced challenges in attending to and completing their schoolwork to the standards they desired, while meeting family and work responsibilities. A theoretical analysis explores how the poststructural feminist concepts of positionality and subjectivity are useful in examining womens experiences learning online and where there are gaps in applying this theoretical framework in online learning contexts. Participants narratives and photographs and the researchers own autobiographical narrative are included. / Adult Education

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Dejtingmarknaden för ungdomar idag kan ske likaväl genom ett fysiskt möte ute på krogen som genom en spontan “gillning” via en app. Vi människor utvecklar metoder för att presentera oss på det mest attraktiva sättet för potentiella partners oavsett om det handlar om att redigera en bild eller stå framför spegeln i timmar. Med tiden har utvecklingen inom dejtingmarknaden gjort det lättare för interaktion med andra, från tidningsannonser till online-dejtingwebbsidor till en av dagens populäraste mobila app Tinder. Syftet med denna studie är att studera svenska ungdomars uppfattning om dejtingappen Tinder ur två perspektiv, dels deras uppfattningar om Tinders möjligheter och begränsningar generellt vad gäller att hitta en partner, och dels deras uppfattningar om sin egen samt andras självrepresentation. För att besvara syftet har en kvalitativ metod använts med semistrukturerade intervjuer som insamlingsmetod för det empiriska materialet. Sex intervjupersoner utgör urvalet i studien, tre män och tre kvinnor, där samtliga är i åldern 20- 25 med erfarenhet av dejting via Tinder. Analysen av materialet sker ur ett genusperspektiv huvudsakligen där utgångsteorierna är socialkonstruktionism samt poststrukturalistisk feminism. Resultatet av studien visar att Tinder som dejtingresurs upplevs som en app med enorm enkelhet där den negativa aspekten är rädslan över att individerna bakom profilerna inte ska vara den de utger sig för att vara. Resultatet visar även att de manliga intervjupersonerna kopplar självrepresentation hos kvinnliga användare till en identitet utifrån hur Tinder konstruerar kön inom “samhället” Tinder där mötet är en omstart då den inledande kontakten främst handlar om den fysiska attraktionen än den psykiska. De kvinnliga användarna ser däremot självrepresentation som ett sätt att inledningsvis framstå som mer självsäker och den fysiska relationen skapar en förutsättning för den psykiska. Detta resultat utvecklades även till en identifiering av en maktrelation mellan de manliga och kvinnliga intervjupersonerna där det finns ett samspel på Tinder mellan att ha makt över och att ha makt att vilket visar hur maktrelationer på Tinder skapas och omvandlas. / The dating market for young people today can be through a physical meeting out at the pub just as well as through a spontaneous "liking" via an app. We humans develop methods to present ourselves in the most attractive way to potential partners, whether it is about editing an image or standing in front of the mirror for hours. Over time, developments within the dating market have made it easier for interaction with others, from newspaper ads to online dating sites to one of today's most popular mobile dating app Tinder. The purpose of this paper is to study Swedish youths´ perception of the dating app Tinder from two perspectives. On the one hand, their perceptions of Tinder's possibilities and limitations in general in finding a partner and on the other hand, their perceptions of their own and others' selfrepresentations. To answer the purpose, a qualitative method has been used with semistructured interviews as the collection method for the empirical material. Six interviewees make up the sample in the study, three men and three women, all of whom are aged 20-25 with experience of dating via Tinder. The analysis of the material was conducted from a gender perspective mainly where the used theories were social constructionism and poststructural feminism. The results of the study show that Tinder as a dating resource is experienced as an app with enormous simplicity where the negative aspect is the fear that the individuals behind the profiles should not be who they claim to be. The results also showed that the male interviewees link self-representation of female users to an identity based on how Tinder constructs the gender within the “community” Tinder where the meeting is a restart as the initial contact is mainly about the physical attraction rather than the psychological. The female users, on the other hand, saw self-representation as a way of initially appearing more self-confident and the physical relationship creates a prerequisite for the psychical one. This result also developed into an identification of a power relationship between the male and female interviewees where there is an interaction on Tinder between having power over and having power to which shows how power relations on Tinder are both created and transformed.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / This study is about intimate femicide: The murder of a woman by a male intimate partner, namely her husband, boyfriend (dating or cohabiting), ex-husband (divorced or separated), ex-boyfriend or a rejected would-be lover. Intimate femicide has been identified as a dire social problem in South Africa. Although intimate femicide has been researched from a range of perspectives, there is a paucity of research on the discourses that women draw on to understand this crime in the context of South Africa. The primary aim of this study was to explore how women survivors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) understand intimate femicide. This aim crystallised into the following objectives: 1) to explore how women survivors of IPV construct and understand the term intimate femicide, 2) to ascertain how women survivors of IPV understand the issue of risk of intimate femicide within an abusive relationship and 3) to investigate the discourses that women survivors of IPV draw on to understand intimate femicide. This thesis is couched in a feminist poststructuralist epistemology. Data was gathered through a qualitative approach, using in-depth semi-structured interviews. A Foucauldian discourse analysis was conducted on seven interviews with heterosexual women who had been in violent romantic relationships. In addition, ethical principles of anonymity and confidentiality were strictly adhered to. The findings of this study illuminate the immense difficulties that women experience in attempting to understand their level of risk while in an abusive relationship and the complexities experienced in attempting to understand intimate femicide. The discourse analysis revealed that fairy tale romance narratives present women with the idea that there is always hope for their relationships regardless of abusive circumstances, while dark romance discourses position romantic relationships as naturally abusive and present abuse as an invalid reason to leave a relationship. These justifications, beliefs, and understandings of the abuse hamper women’s ability to understand intimate femicide. This has significant implications for scholarship in general and feminist scholarship in particular. These findings emphasise the need for additional engagement in women’s understandings of intimate femicide - a group that has largely been consigned to the periphery. Moreover, given the excessive rates of intimate femicide in South Africa, it is critical that more research is conducted in order to increase awareness of intimate femicide amongst women in violent relationships.

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This study analyzes senior women faculty's discourses about personal and professional experiences they believe contributed to their advancement in academic careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The purpose of the study is to understand factors that activate women's success in STEM disciplines where women's representation has not yet attained critical mass. A poststructuralist emphasis on complexity and changing nature of power relations offers a framework that illuminates the ways in which elite women navigate social inequalities, hierarchies of power, and non-democratic practices. Feminist poststructural discourse analysis (FPDA) methods allow analysis of women's talk about their experiences in order to understand the women's complex, shifting positions. Eight female tenured full professors of STEM at research-focused universities in the United States participated in the study. Data sources were in-depth semi-structured interviews, a demographic survey, and curricula vitae. Findings will help shape programs and policies aimed at increasing female representation and promoting achievement at senior levels in academic STEM fields.