Bear Lodge/Devils Tower National Monument, a spectacular rock formation in northeastern Wyoming, has a multiplicity of meanings, not all of which were fully acknowledged until the 1990s. It is widely known as a geologic wonder, the first national monument, a marker of local and pioneer heritage, and a premier rock climbing area. In the 1980s and ‘90s, however, the National Park Service began to acknowledge that the Tower also holds cultural and historical meaning for the Northern Plains tribes, dating back long before the colonization of the American West. Some of the tribes expressed to the Park Service that they were offended by rock climbers desecrating the Tower, a sacred site, leading the Park Service to seek to compromise between these competing uses of this public land. The controversy over climbing at Bear Lodge/Devils Tower was, and remains, a debate over history, and this thesis examines the historical foundations for the discourses of climbers, local white residents, tribal members, and the Park Service, as these various groups asserted their claims to this public space. This thesis contends that the language used by climbers and local white residents in arguing against the Park Service’s accommodation of tribal cultures and beliefs appropriated the languages of spirituality and tradition used by the tribes, and sought to delegitimize the tribal claims to the Tower. The Park Service is complicit in controlling the discourses surrounding the Tower and erasing the traditions and complex history of the Northern Plains tribal ties to this sacred place.

The purpose of the present dissertation is to study the elaborations of the initiation myth in contemporary Italian author Alessandro Baricco. The theoretical and methodological framework consists mainly of Mircea Eliade’s phenomenological theory of initiation. It is argued that the categories of space and time are interdepent in religious thought and should thus be studied as a unit, through the notion of the chronotope. The dissertation therefore proposes to introduce the concept of the chronotope of initiation as an operative tool, the intersection of the theories of Eliade and Mikhail Bakhtin, for the literary subgenre of the initiation novel. A hermeneutical analysis of the novels Oceano mare, Emmaus and Mr Gwyn demonstrates that the initiation myth is present in all three novels. The symbolism of death and rebirth is coherently enacted as a movement via the categories cosmos-chaos-cosmos, for which the author uses the symbolism of the earth to define cosmos (regularity and structure) and water symbolism for the regenerating chaos (dissolution and renewal). The different chapters of analysis accentuate the interaction of space and time within the different phases of the initiation pattern: the profane, the threshold, the sacred, the centre (the place where the actual ritual is enacted) and the return, which are all defined as chronotopes. The analysis shows that although the chronotope of initiation – the concept intending the fusion of the temporal event of ritual at the spatial centre – assumes different forms throughout the corpus, its function remains unmodified, with its purpose being the creation of ontological change. In its inherent structure, the chronotope of initiation unites antithetical spatial and temporal characteristics. Spatially it unites infinite and dissolving chaotic space with the constitutive envelope or sacred vertical centre, and temporally it brings together the ultimative ontological change at a fixed, historical moment with the eternal, sacred, time opened by ritual, representing the coincidentia oppositorum of the sacred. The analysis also shows that the so-called “portraits of the ineffable”, present in all three novels, reflect the same qualities. As immanent works of art, they function as thresholds into the infinite. From a chronological perspective, the dissertation shows a modification of the initiation pattern in Baricco’s writing: from the classical form in Oceano mare, via a more realistic application in Emmaus, to the most elaborate, meta-literary adaption in Mr Gwyn. Nevertheless, the use of the pattern and its thematic coherence reveals that Baricco consciously elaborates on the pattern to suit the contemporary context.

Cette thèse pense la place des figures littéraires (le Cantique des cantiques, Kierkegaard, Hofmannsthal) et cinématographiques (Matador d'Almodóvar) de la séduction dans la relation entre le soi et l'autre. Elle interroge le rapport au sacré et à la transcendance que pose l'écriture de la séduction. Dans le premier chapitre, les frontières établies entre littérature et philosophie (personnage conceptuel, figure esthétique) sont interrogées à travers les figures de la séduction. À ces figures sont associées les figures de matadors, qui permettent de penser la violence extrême de la séduction et l'instant au cours duquel la conscience ne peut plus se dédoubler. Le deuxième chapitre est une réflexion, à partir des figures du maître et de l'esclave, sur le désir et la conscience de soi et de l'autre dans la séduction. Les figures tauromachiques exposent le sacrifice à l'œuvre dans la séduction. Le dialogue est ici pensé au sein de la séduction, pour saisir la place de celle-ci dans la formation de la pensée. Le troisième chapitre développe le rapport entre le soi, l'autre et le monde qu'établit la séduction. Le dandysme permet d'approcher la tension entre la matière et l'esprit que posent la séduction et son écriture. Le dialogue à l'œuvre dans la séduction est présenté comme un espace de formation. La séduction est envisagée comme séduction éthique, quête de la bonne distance, exercice spirituel. La syncope, le duende, l'extase sont décrits comme des états de conscience où la distance entre le soi et le monde, le soi et l'autre, l'esprit et la matière s'abolit. À partir de ces états, l'ouverture vers l'infini et vers la transcendance que peut poser la séduction est exposée. Dans le quatrième chapitre, la séduction est pensée comme le parfum du sacré, à travers une lecture du Cantique des cantiques. Par la séduction, l'importance du corps dans le sacré est soulignée. La place du secret et de la foi dans la séduction, dans le sacré et dans le littéraire est étudiée. La séduction permet une plongée érotique dans le monde et dans le réel, par les figures et par les images qu'elle déploie. Le savoir de la séduction est un parcours, savoir du corps et de l'esprit. / This thesis reflects on the place of literary (Kierkegaard, Hofmannsthal, The Song of Songs) and cinematic (Matador d'Almodóvar) figures of seduction in the relation between the self and the other. It explores the connection to transcendence and the sacred inscribed in writings on seduction. In the first chapter, the figures of seduction help us put into question the boundaries between literature and philosophy (conceptual persona and aesthetic figure). The figures of bullfighters, associated with the figures of seducers, present the extreme violence of seduction and the instant when consciousness can no longer be split in two. The second chapter is a reflexion, through the figures of the master and the slave, on desire, consciousness of the self and the other in the relationship of seduction. The figures of bullfighters manifest the sacrifice in seduction. Dialogue, considered at the heart of seduction itself, reveals the importance of seduction in the process of thinking. The third chapter develops the bond established by seduction between the self, the other and the world. In the writings of seduction, dandyism shows the tension between mind and matter. The dialogue at work in seduction opens a space of education. Seduction is viewed as an ethical process, the search for an appropriate distance, a spiritual exercise. Loss of consciousness, duende and ecstasy are described as states of consciousness that abolish the distance between self and world, self and other, and mind and matter. Through these states, seduction brings about an opening to the infinite and transcendence. Finally, seduction is defined as the perfume of the sacred through a reading of The Song of Songs. Through seduction, the importance of the body in the sacred is underscored. The place of secrecy and faith in seduction, the sacred and literature is examined. Seduction enables an erotic immersion in the world, in the real, through the figures and images of seduction. The knowledge of seduction is a process, a knowledge of body and mind.

Santa Eulalia M. Md. 7, dated January 20, 1600, is part of the San Miguel Acatán Repertory, which originated in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala and is presently owned by the Lilly Library of Indiana University. The manuscript contains thirty-four four-part songs and dances, two thirds of which are villancicos for Christmas, Easter, the Eucharist, and the feasts of All Saints and St. Michael. The remaining third consists of Latin biblical texts in either fabordón or contrapuntal settings, three pieces with Náhuatl texts, and an instrumental pavana. The thesis contains a modern edition of Santa Eulalia M. Md. 7 with critical notes and commentary, a comparison of the pieces with villancicos and fabordones of European origin, and a survey of several aspects of Mayan culture.

This subject has been chosen by the writer for the purpose of discussing these problems of performance, arising with the composition, the St. Matthew Passion, by J. S. Bach. Since Bach was a German and wrote in that language, the edition used is called the American edition. The performances in America are, with few exceptions, based upon translations which must be accurately edited so as not to obscure Bach's intentions.

Ce mémoire s’intéresse aux transformations littéraires et poétiques mises en œuvre par le mouvement de la Beat Generation au milieu du vingtième siècle en Amérique du Nord. En me penchant sur le recueil de poésie « Howl and Other Poems » du poète Allen Ginsberg, le texte emblématique de cette révolution littéraire, je montre comment le mouvement des Beats représente une transformation dans la tradition littéraire et poétique américaine, occidentale, en ce qui concerne à la fois la forme, les sujets abordés et la pratique d’écriture. Dans un premier temps, j’étudie l’histoire de ces changements en examinant la réception de « Howl », qui a bouleversé les attentes du milieu littéraire de l’époque à cause de son approche inclusive qui accueille tout dans la représentation. Mon deuxième chapitre se penche sur la vision du poète, la vision poétique. Je montre comment la perspective du poète face au monde change chez Ginsberg et les Beats. Au lieu de concevoir la transcendance, l’universel, comme quelque chose d’éloigné du particulier, comme le véhicule la tradition poétique occidentale, les Beats voient l’universel partout, dans tout. Enfin, je m’intéresse à la place du langage dans l’expression de cette nouvelle vision. J’observe comment Ginsberg et les Beats, en s’inspirant de la poésie de Walt Whitman, développent un langage spontané ne relevant plus de la maîtrise de soi. / This study investigates the literary and poetic transformations set in motion by the Beat Generation literary movement in mid-twentieth-century North America. In focusing on "Howl and Other Poems" by the poet Allen Ginsberg, the iconic text of this literary revolution, I show how the Beats represent a transformation in the American and Western literary and poetic tradition, with regard to form, theme and writing practice. In the first place, I study the history of these changes by examining the reception of "Howl," which upset the expectations of the literary establishment of the time because of its approach that includes everything, without distinction, in the representation. My second chapter focuses on the poet’s point of view, the poetic vision. I show how the poet’s perspective vis-à-vis the world changes with Ginsberg and the Beats. Instead of conceiving transcendence, the universal, as something far-removed from the particular, as presupposed by the Western poetic tradition, the Beats see transcendence everywhere, in everything. Ultimately, I turn to the place of language in expressing this new vision. I observe how Ginsberg and the Beats, inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman, develop a spontaneous language no longer emanating from self-mastery.

L’Art a toujours consacré une grande part à l’image du féminin. Que cela soit dans l’iconographie gréco-romaine ou judéo-chrétienne, ses multiples représentations sont synonymes de confusion et d’ambivalence. La femme et l’image ont en commun de susciter méfiance et fascination. C’est au travers de l’étude approfondie de quelques figures clefs de l’histoire de l’art, que nous vous proposons une relecture post-féministe des diverses facettes du féminin, prises dans la dyade sacré/profane. Mythes et croyances donnèrent naissance à un métissage pagano-chrétien qui fit émerger un Eternel Féminin inébranlable encore très prégnant dans l’art actuel. Tantôt dans la foi de l’image, tantôt dans sa condamnation, ainsi se résume l’insoluble combat entre l’humain et le divin. La Femme restera à jamais l’élément trouble associé au paraître et à la beauté. Dans nos recherches nous avons constaté que la femme et la peinture sont en parfaite adéquation. Elles sont indissociables car iconoclasme et misogynie vont souvent de pair. Peu à peu, le corps remplacera la toile et le fard, la peinture pour les artistes transgenres. Dans d’étranges (queer) parodies entre exhibition et chamanisme, ils réinventeront leur devenir-féminin. La surface de l’œuvre devient alors le miroir où se reflète cet Autre, alter ego tant recherché. La pensée féministe se met en marche au travers des révolutions des genres et des sexes. Ainsi, c’est entre Pygmalion et Narcisse que les artistes des XXéme et XXIéme siècles, nous offrent, entre mascarade et mélancolie, la vision d’un idéal sans original. Enfin, nous revenons sur l’art des femmes. Leurs pratiques sont souvent borderline, partagées entre violence, humour et Charis dans leur quête d’un sacré hors religion. Elles offrent un devenir-pandorien de l’art pour briser à jamais le désormais trop célèbre : « Sois belle et tais toi! » / A large percentage of art has always been devoted to the images of the feminine. In Greco-Roman as well as in Judeo-Christian iconography, these multiple representations are synonymous with confusion and ambivalence. The common link between woman and her image is the ability to arouse distrust and fascination. By means of an in-depth study of some key figures from the history of art, we hereby put forward a post-feminist review of the diverse facets of the feminine, viewed under the sacred/secular dyad. Myths and faiths gave rise to a pagan-Christian hybrid, bringing forth a constant “Eternal Feminine” that is still firmly rooted in contemporary art. It is sometimes the faith of the image, sometimes its condemnation, that encapsulates the unresolvable fight between the human and the divine. Woman will remain forever the obscure element that is associated with appearance and beauty. In the course of our research, we ascertained that woman and painting are in perfect harmony; they are inseparable because iconoclasm and misogyny often go hand in hand. Step by step, the body will replaces the canvas and the make-up, the painting of transgender artists. In queer parodies between exhibition and shamanism, they reinvent their transformation into the feminine. The surface of the work becomes a mirror that reflects this Other, the alter ego, so longed for. Feminist thinking is set in motion through the revolutions of genders. Artists of the 20th and 21st centuries offer us a vision of an ideal without an original, a new Pygmalion or Narcissus, somewhere between masquerade and melancholy. Finally, we return to the art of the women. Divided between violence, humour and charis, their methods are often borderline, in their quest for the sacred that is beyond religion. They offer to evolve into “pandorien” art to shatter for ever the henceforth overly famous idea: «be beautiful and remain silent! »

The thesis deals with the birth of the Baroque cantata in Northern and Central Germany. It introduces musical forms that led to the creation of cantata and thus significantly influenced its form, which crystalized during the Late Baroque period. The picture of Early Baroque German music is completed with profiles of three principal composers, on a selection of whose works the gradual development of this new musical form - the German Baroque cantata - is demonstrated. The second part is devoted to an analysis of a work representative of this style, Dietrich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri, which is a supreme example of this musical form.

Dans cette thèse nous avons abordé les tradipratiques à l'île Maurice et nous avons tenté de délimiter une zone d'interculturalité où se situent ces tradipratiques, partagées par les différentes communautés religieuses et ethnoculturelles de l'île et s'insérant dans un fonds commun mauricien. Ainsi, nous avons constaté qu'il existe une conception commune de la maladie, du corps, des Invisibles et des traitements qui font partie de cette zone interculturelle, issue du contact de cultures et de la créolisation. Nous avons ainsi été amenée à envisager l'imbrication du sacré et du profane au sein des tradipratiques et fait le constat que ces deux facettes sont indissociables et nécessaires à l'efficacité des traitements. Nous avons également envisagé les rituels de soins sous leur aspect identitaire, mettant en évidence le rôle central joué par les ancêtres dans les traitements, la transmission transgénérationnelle du don de guérison et de voyance, mais également comme agents à l'origine de certains syndromes. Ce qui nous amène à souligner l'aspect identitaire des rituels de soins venant répondre à la nécessité de réaffirmer les liens aux ancêtres, la filiation du patient et celle de sa famille, l'insérant dans un groupe et renforçant ainsi son identité. / In this PhD thesis, the traditional medicinal practices were considered within the context of Mauritius Island and we have attempted to delimitate an area of interculturality where traditional medicinal practices are taking place and are shared by the different religious and ethnocultural communities of the island and are inserted in a common Mauritian ground. Thus, we have discovered that there is a common conception of the disease, the body, the invisibles, treatments, making part of this intercultural zone and resulting from the contact with cultures and creolization. We have thus considered the interweaving of the sacred and the secular within the traditional practices and made the statement that these two aspects were inseparable and necessary for the efficiency of treatments. We have also considered the healing rituals from the angle of identity while revealing the central role played by the ancestors in these treatments, in the inter-generational transmission of the gift of healing and clairvoyance but also as agents causing specific syndromes. This leads us to stress out the necessity to reaffirm the links toward the ancestors, the filiation of the patient and his family, inserting him in a group and therefore reinforcing his identity.

This project addresses the contemporary and competing non-state governmentalities in the Gaza Strip through an analysis of the 1948-1967 period. During this period the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) constructed early notions of non-state 'governance' and quasi-citizenship in Gaza. The majority of this research focuses on these organizations in the 1948-1967 period, however, there is a case study that addresses the way in which these competing models of non-sovereign administration impacted the approaches used since 2007 by Hamas. The distinct histories and experiences of administration under each organization has created competing notions of what components constitute an assembled notion of citizenship in Gaza. Specifically, the bureaucratic categorization preferred by UNRWA conflicts with Hamas' focus on individualized service based on the tradition of shura (consultation) and youth training, in particular. Several approaches to governance in Gaza are common to the three major faith-based organizations discussed here (the AFSC, the YMCA, and the Hamas). Notably, these organizations create sacred spaces and processes as a mechanism of governance, allowing them to exert control over the population. In particular, the manner in which two distinct international organizations – UNRWA and Hamas – came to operate parallel state structures in the Gaza Strip, and the way that these two organizations imbue citizenship like rights and responsibilities on the populations that they serve is of particular interest. In this way governance in the Gaza Strip has completed a circuit: from the faith-based Friends to the faith-based Hamas, with UNRWA as the constant secular parallel authority. Through an examination of organizational archives, memoirs, and interviews this project links these events, arguing that the institutional records of these organizations provide an illuminating path to better understand the situation of governance in Gaza today.