The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reports that drug-related deaths have almost tripled in Sweden between year 2006 and 2015. The aim of this study is to elucidate in which ways drug-related mortality is produced and conceptualized as a problem within policy discourse by critically analyzing The National Board of Health and Welfare’s policy proposal “Nationellt utvecklingsarbete för att motverka narkotikarelaterad dödlighet” (2017). Using Bacchi’s poststructural approach to policy analysis “What’s the problem represented to be?”, two problem representations are identified, namely that drug-related mortality is conceptualized as a problem with drugs and drug use in general as well as a problem due to lack of knowledge and information. This is based on underlying assumptions that all illegal drug use is hazardous and that the solution to the drug problem can be obtained by objective knowledge production thus leaving both the practice of gaining knowledge as well as current Swedish drug laws unproblematized. The effects are, to name a few, that proposed policies mainly targets “all people who use drugs” with a focus on providing “more of the same” which in extension overrides the group of high-risk drug users along with a structural understanding of drug-related mortality.

Beginning with Plato's expulsion of the poets in the Republic, this dissertation looks at the often hostile, yet also symbiotic, relationship between poetry and philosophy. Aristotle's 'response' to Plato is regarded as a significant origin of literary theory. Nietzsche's critique of Western philosophy as being an attempt to suppress its own metaphoricity, leads to a revaluation of truth and consequently of the privileging of philosophy over poetry. Post-structuralism sometimes overemphasizes this constitutive force of metaphoricity, at the expense of conceptual modes. However, Derrida's notion of philosophy as play retains a balance between concept and metaphor: there is no attempt to transcendentally ground philosophy, but neither is it reduced to a merely metaphorical discourse. Finally, Wittgenstein's notion of meaning as determined by use can help us distinguish pragmatically between poetry and philosophy by looking at the contexts in which they function. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

This study was prompted by the researcher’s concern that the gender equity imperative within the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, and within national curriculum policy in South Africa is being sidelined in school History teaching for various reasons, the most significant of which is argued to be lack of awareness of the constitutive nature of discourse within language. The main aim of the study is to investigate whether a feminist post-structuralist approach to History teaching, which focuses on multiple perspectives and open interpretation, within the framework of six key aspects of critical media education, can open up space for female voices of the past and present in order to reconstruct realist historical narratives. The literature review reflects research relating to theories which have been seminal in the development of feminist post-structuralism. The qualitative research design entails a data collection instrument which focuses on denotative and connotative analysis of textual samples selected from Grade 10 schools History textbooks used for this investigation. Data collection relates to content analysis, narrative theory, textually-oriented discourse analysis, and gender-biased language with regard to images and print. To establish the category into which each textual sample falls, individual data counts have been undertaken. A detailed analysis process reveals that all nine of the textual samples are of the conforming type which do not question patriarchal gender construction.The study offers suggestions regarding the implementation of feminist post-structuralist strategies within the context of Grade 10 outcomes-based History teaching, which is compliant with South Africa’s national curriculum policy. Notwithstanding the gaze upon the problematising of discursive gender representation in Grade 10 History teaching resources used in South African public schools, this study argues that the results have wide application across grades, levels, learning areas and subjects which are part of South Africa’s national curriculum. The researcher therefore suggests that this study offers a positive contribution to equitable gender relations in the History classroom, in education generally, and in South Africa as a whole. / Didactics / D. Ed.

This dissertation offers an examination of Delany's critical trajectory from structuralism to poststructuralism and postmodernism across a gamut of genres from SF to sword-and-sorcery, pornography, autobiography and literary criticism. Delany's engagement with semiotics, Foucault and deconstruction form the theoretical focus, together with his own theories of how SF functions as a literary genre, and its standing and reception within the greater realm of literature. The impact of Delany as a gay, black SF writer is also examined against the backdrop of his varied output. I have used the term 'dislocation' to describe Delany's tackling of traditional subjects and genres, and opening them up to further possibilities through critical engagement. Lastly, Delany is also examined as a postmodern icon. A frequent participant in his own texts, as well using pseudonyms that have developed into fully-fledged characters, Delany has become a critical signifier in his own work. / English Studies / M. A. (English)

Neste trabalho nos debruçamos sobre um fenômeno emergente no Brasil e no mundo: os casais que não desejam ter filhos. Nosso objetivo foi discutir seus discursos a respeito deste tema problematizando o imperativo social que lhes ordena que tenham filhos. A dissertação se constitui por dois artigos. No primeiro, teórico, procuramos, através de um percurso histórico bibliográfico, investigar o significado atribuído ao ter filhos do século XVI até os dias atuais. Constatamos que ao longo dos séculos os discursos que se dirigiram à família foram modificados, gerando normas a serem seguidas com o intuito de trazer, prioritariamente, retorno financeiro para o Estado. Apesar disso, fica claro que movimentos de resistência sempre caminharam lado a lado com tais normatizações, partindo dessas normas no sentido de problematizá-las. O segundo artigo foi consequência de um estudo empírico com casais que não tinham filhos e não pretendiam tê-los. Os resultados apontaram casais que travam uma batalha constante com o discurso normatizador. Concluímos que é possível que os casais que não desejam ter filhos façam parte de um movimento de resistência- mas, ao mesmo tempo, se constituam em relação a ele- estando dentro e fora, à margem sim, mas sendo essa margem aquilo que os delimita, possibilitando o surgimento do novo a partir da diferença e da repetição / In this study we will analyze an emerging phenomenon in Brazil and in the world, the couples who do not wish to have children. Our objective was to discuss their discourse about this theme having in mind the social imperative that orders them to have children. The dissertation constitutes itself by two articles: In the first, which is theoretical, we search, through a historical bibliographic pathway, to investigate the meaning of having children from the 16th century until our actual days. We found that within the centuries the speeches that were conducted to the family were transformed creating rules that had to be obeyed with the intention of giving, primarily, financial profit for the state. Nevertheless, it is clear that resistance movements always walked side by side with those rules having as objective to surpass them. The second article was a consequence from an empirical study with couples that did not haven children and also did not pretend to have. The results pointed out that these couples are in a constant struggle against the ruling speech. We concluded that it is possible that the couples who do not wish to have children become a part of the resistance movement, but, at the same time, it may constitute in relation to them, if they are inside and outside, a margin, but this margin is what delimits them and, in the difference and repletion enables the emergence of the new

Alguns saberes têm se destacado no estudo da autolesão, entre eles a medicina, (notadamente a psiquiatria), a psicologia e a psicanálise. Estes campos do conhecimento diferenciam os atos de ferir a si mesmo como parte de uma cultura específica ou ritual religioso das práticas autolesivas que são atribuídas a patologias ou disfunções. Estas últimas são consideradas como atos de autodestruição produzidos por pessoas que precisam de intervenções de especialistas para que deixem de ferir-se. Partimos do pressuposto de que a autolesão é um modo de subjetivação construído e transformado por diferentes discursos dependendo do contexto sociocultural em que acontece. Assim, a intenção deste trabalho é analisar, à luz da perspectiva pós-estruturalista, mensagens de pessoas que se autolesionam e discutem a sua experiência em comunidades virtuais da rede social Orkut. Resultados indicam que além dos discursos em comum com os citados campos de saber e com a religião, há ainda quem defina a autolesão como arte, maneira privilegiada de expressão das emoções ou mesmo fonte de prazer. Alguns internautas reivindicam o corpo como território de intervenção pertencente unicamente a si próprios, reclamando o direito de utilizá-lo como bem entendem, no que se pode caracterizar como um movimento de resistência à norma de ter que apresentar um corpo dócil. Por fim, compreende-se que os sujeitos envolvidos nessa prática relacionam-se com seu corpo e com as comunidades de que participam enquanto locais de produção de identidades. / Some fields of knowledge have been highlighted in the study of self-harm, such as medicine (especially psychiatry), psychology and psychoanalysis. These areas differentiate the acts of harming oneself as part of a specific culture or religious ritual from those recognized as pathologies or dysfunctional behavior. The last ones are considered as acts of self-destruction produced by individuals who need assistance so that they can stop self-injuring. Partimos do pressuposto de que a autolesão é um modo de subjetivação construído e transformado por diferentes discursos dependendo do contexto sociocultural em que acontece. Assuming that self-harm is a form of subjectivity produced and transformed by different speeches, depending on the social context in which it takes place, this study intends to analyze, using the post-structuralism perspective, messages left on Orkut virtual communities by people who self-harm and discuss their experiences in that social network. Results indicate discourses in common with the aforementioned fields of knowledge and with religion, as well as definitions of self-harm as art, a privileged way of expressing emotions or even a source of pleasure. Some internet users claim for the right to use their bodies as they please since it is meant to be their territory of intervention and their only, what can be understood as a movement of resistance to the rule of having a docile body. In conclusion, it is understood that the subjects involved with self-harm relate to their bodies and with virtual communities as means of producing identities.

Döva personer i Sverige och världen lever nästan uteslutande i ett hörande majoritetssamhälle och har således på ett eller annat sätt en fortlöpande kontakt med hörande människor i såväl privat- som arbetsliv. De flesta döva i arbetslivet arbetar som enda eller som en av få döva på en hörande arbetsplats och ofta anlitas tolk för möten mellan hörande och döva kollegor. Föreliggande uppsats är en etnografisk studie av tolksituationen på en arbetsplats där en döv samt ett tjugotal hörande kollegor arbetar tillsammans. Med hjälp av fältanteckningar, intervjuer och videofilmning har en bild av tolksituationen genererats. I resultaten visas tecken på att den döva deltagaren till stor del lider av informationsbrist på olika plan. Därtill verkar det finnas en stor kunskapslucka hos de hörande kollegorna gällande teckenspråk och dövas villkor i ett hörande samhälle. Resultatet visar även tendenser till att den döva deltagaren genom det omgivande majoritetsspråkssamhället själv medverkar till sin egen underordning. I den komplexa tolksituationen verkar tolken fungera som en grindvakt. Tolken kan ha en svår och inte alltid definierad roll att översätta och samordna turer mellan hörande och döva och föra samtalet framåt i en gemensam riktning. Det verkar även som att den döva deltagaren och hennes hörande kollegor har olika uppfattning om tolkens roll. Tolkens arbete verkar härigenom kunna försvåras, något som i sin tur skulle kunna påverka relationen mellan den döva deltagaren och hennes hörande kollegor. Resultaten har diskuterats utifrån ett poststrukturalistiskt perspektiv för att visa på samband mellan mikro- och makronivå med kopplingar till språkideologi, språkpolitik, maktrelationer samt teorin om Deafhood. / Deaf people in Sweden and worldwide live with few exceptions in a hearing society, and thereby in one way or another they have connections with hearing people in their private and professional lives. Most Deaf people in working life have no or few Deaf co-workers at hearing workplaces and hence a Sign Language interpreter is often hired to facilitate the communication between deaf and hearing co-workers. This thesis is an ethnographic study of the interpreting situation at a workplace where one Deaf and about 20 hearing co-workers work together. With field notes, interviews and video recording an illustration of the situation has been generated. The results show a tendency that the Deaf participant to a great extent suffers from information loss in several areas. In addition, the hearing co-workers seem to have a gap in knowledge about Sign Language and the conditions of Deaf people. Also, the Deaf participant seems to participate in her own subordination through the surrounding majority society. In the complexity of the interpreting situation, the interpreter seems to serve as a gatekeeper. She also has a challenging and not always easily definable role in translating and coordinating turns between Deaf and hearing participants, thus moving the conversation forwards in a mutual direction. Nevertheless, the Deaf participant and her hearing co-workers often seem to have different views of the responsibilities of the interpreter, something that might make the interpreter’s job even more challenging. This, in turn, can influence the relationship between hearing and Deaf co-workers. The results of the thesis have been discussed from a poststructural perspective to show a connection between the intimate workplace situation and language ideology, language policy, power relations and the theory of Deafhood.

Submitted by Geandra Rodrigues (geandrar@gmail.com) on 2018-06-15T13:22:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 flaviabatistastephan.pdf: 1605646 bytes, checksum: 36fd2a97fce28cd79c76386f42b94a6c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-06-27T14:11:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 flaviabatistastephan.pdf: 1605646 bytes, checksum: 36fd2a97fce28cd79c76386f42b94a6c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2018-06-27T14:15:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 flaviabatistastephan.pdf: 1605646 bytes, checksum: 36fd2a97fce28cd79c76386f42b94a6c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-27T14:15:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 flaviabatistastephan.pdf: 1605646 bytes, checksum: 36fd2a97fce28cd79c76386f42b94a6c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018 / A presente dissertação buscou investigar a possibilidade de o Estado Democrático de Direito de fato estender sua esfera protetiva de maneira equânime a todos os indivíduos e grupos de uma sociedade, a partir do pós-estruturalismo francês e de sua crítica a esse mesmo Estado Democrático de Direito enquanto marco civilizatório. Tal estudo foi feito com base na obra de Michel Foucault. A hipótese motivadora foi possuir o Direito um caráter essencialmente excludente em sua gênese. Para construir a discussão teórica foi utilizado como grupo representativo os catadores de material reciclável, por reunirem características que os tornam representantes da parcela sócio, econômica e politicamente mais excluída no Brasil. / The present dissertation sought to investigate the possibility of the Democratic State of Law in fact extending its protective sphere in an equitable way to all individuals and groups of a society, starting with French post-structuralism and its criticism of this same Democratic State of Law as a civilizing milestone. This study was based on the work of Michel Foucault. The motivating hypothesis was to have the Law an essentially exclusionary character in its genesis. In order to construct the theoretical discussion, recyclable material collectors were used as a representative group because they have characteristics that make them representatives of the socioeconomic and politically excluded part of Brazil.

Submitted by Simone Maisonave (simonemaisonave@hotmail.com) on 2016-12-01T11:36:52Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Kamila Lima do Nascimento_Dissertacao.pdf: 2896826 bytes, checksum: aa987a070abf0effa7e783c8b26bc43a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-01T11:36:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Kamila Lima do Nascimento_Dissertacao.pdf: 2896826 bytes, checksum: aa987a070abf0effa7e783c8b26bc43a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-09 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul - FAPERGS / O problema da democracia é um dos mais antigos da política e continua a ser central nos dias atuais. Nosso trabalho intenta ser uma contribuição para esta discussão através da análise do desenvolvimento da noção de democracia radical e plural na obra do filósofo argentino Ernesto Laclau, em sua fase pós-estruturalista, que compreende o intervalo entre 1985 e 2014, ano da sua morte. A abordagem teórica do autor vem ganhando destaque no campo das discussões teóricas sobre a democracia e motivado a construção de diversos outros conceitos que tomam por base a radicalidade e a pluralidade propostas em seu projeto. Entretanto, em geral os autores partem da noção construída por Laclau 30 anos atrás como se esta fosse uma fotografia final e desconsideram o seu movimento durante todos esses anos. Nosso trabalho intenta justamente esclarecer os sentidos da noção de democracia radical e plural e mostrar seu desenvolvimento na obra do autor, pois acreditamos que sua compreensão adequada é central para sua utilização no campo de pesquisa. / The problem of democracy is one of the oldest problems in politics and continues to be central today. Our work tries to give a contribution to this discussion by examining the development of the concept of radical and plural democracy in the work of the Argentine philosopher Ernesto Laclau, in his post-structuralist moment, covering the range from 1985 to 2014, the year of his death. The theoretical approach of the author is gaining prominence in the field of theoretical discussions on democracy and motivates the construction of several other concepts based on the radical and the plurality proposals in your project. However, in general, the authors begin with the notion constructed by Laclau 30 years ago as if it were the last photograph, disregarding its movement over the years. Our work tries to clarify precisely the meanings of the notion of radical democracy and to show its development in his works, as we believe its proper understanding as central to its use in the search field.

In contemporary philosophy about justice, a contrast between empirical and transcendental approaches can be identified. Hillel Steiner represents an empirical approach: he argues for building an account of justice-as-rights out of the minimal inductive material of psychological linguistic and moral intuitions. From this opening, he ultimately concludes that persons have original rights to self-ownership and to an initially equal share of natural resources. Emmanuel Levinas represents a transcendental approach: he argues that justice arises from a transcendent ethical relation of responsibility-for-the-Other. This relation underpins all subjective cognition, and makes rationality, reasoning, and rights possible. Analysis of each of these positions reveals certain problems. On the one hand, Steiner’s argument contains a number of latent methodological, conceptual, and structural presuppositions. These include the pretheoretical concepts of “person”, “equality”, and “consistency”. These presuppositions prefigure and condition the conclusions which Steiner reaches. On the other hand, Levinas fails to provide a convincing account of how the self comes to be an object of my own deliberations about morality and justice. This amounts to an annihilation of the subject which undermines his argument for the subject as a site of responsible action. As Steiner identifies, justice encompasses equal moral agents. Levinas’s hyperbolic description of the ethical relation’s asymmetry must therefore be revised. Nevertheless, what remains is the strength of Levinas’s argument for the priority of the ethical relation over thematization, rationality, and consciousness. The hidden presuppositions supporting Steiner’s work are evidence of Levinas’s plausibility in this respect. Steiner’s account of justice-as-rights requires a prior ethical relation in which we recognise one another as separate persons, each possessing an ethical status of their own; an attitude of justice motivates Steiner’s description of justice. This attitude is evident in language, which is communication before it is thought. In that individual rights can be conceived only on the basis of a relation of responsibility, rights are primordially the rights of the Other.