Yes / Combining Mikhail Bakhtin's (1990) theoretical position on Architectonics and Erving Goffman's (1979) writings on visual content analysis, the aim of this paper is to explore how female athletes are caught in a complex matrix of power, post - feminist neoliberalism, and self - presentation. The visual images they choose to portray are, therefore, perfect for determining how this cohort of women negotiates social discourses around identity and femininity. Appropriating the Bakhtinian notion of architectonic unity, not only provides an alternative theoretical lens for enquiries concerning the body, identity, and selfhood, but also initiates some thought provoking questions around neoliberal feminism and 'new femininity.' This paper advances on previous research by exemplifying how Serena Williams (considered the greatest female tennis player of all time) combines both her femininity and strong physicality to self - shape a myth - like persona, setting her apart from traditional stereotypes of femininity and 'femaleness.'

Thesis advisor: Jean-Luc Solère / This dissertation examines the noetics of several early thirteenth-century Latin Augustinian thinkers, who first received Aristotle's noetic from the Arabs, examining in detail the early Latin reception of Aristotelian proposal that human thought is caused by the `agent intellect'. I argue that the early Latin-Augustinian reactions to the Arab noetics reveal an abiding Latin commitment to a concept of selfhood in natural thought. For different reasons, these early 13th century Latin thinkers explicitly locate the principle of natural thought within the individual's soul, thus conceiving the individual as the spontaneous origin of the activity of his or her thinking. I propose that there is a progressively more refined development of this concept within the interpretation of the Peripatetic noetic proposed within the early 13th century Franciscan school. I trace this development through John of La Rochelle to the anonymous author of the Summa Fratris Alexandri Book 2 to Bonaventure's early thought. At the same time, I analyze this Franciscan development relative to William of Auvergne's well-conceived opposition to all interpretations of the Aristotelian noetic. I make the case that William's critique sets the standard for the noetic of the individual to which these Franciscans adhere, even in their adoption of the Aristotelian noetic. I then argue that to adhere to William's standard, these Franciscans drew on Averroes' account of the agent intellect as found in Averroes' Commentarium Magnum in Aristotelis De Anima Libros. Finally, I argue that within the early 13th century's development of the noetic of the individual, there is an important, self-conscious development of the historico-philosophical concept of the Western self. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

As emerging technologies rapidly change the way that individuals socially interact, researchers can look back to older theories of social organization in order to apply traditional concepts to new ways of being. A #shelfie is a popular hashtag used on Instagram, a social media application, typically used with a post that consist of any visual media containing book(s) or item(s) related to literature in a physical space within, around, and/or upon a piece of furniture. This thesis is centered around the examination of a data collection that gathered top #shelfie posts on Instagram for the purpose of visual content and textual analysis. I argue that users are performing and constructing identities using curated #shelfies that actually span beyond the original typical bookshelf content, that this particular content is being utilized mostly by users identifying as women, and that it highlights areas of multiple framing occurring at the same time through Instagram and the objects being posted. My thesis is anchored within a multi-disciplinary framework that utilizes Erving Goffman’s theories of self and framing, cultural materialism as framing from scholars such as Daniel Miller, and that this analysis can be understood in a Deleuzian lens by examining how assemblage theory can help to navigate what #shelfie is, how it was produced, and what it may mean for future studies of digital media and the self. There will be no pixel left unturned.

This thesis explores the ways in which selfhood is constructed and expressed in The Oprah Winfrey Show. The current debate on talk shows within Media Studies tends to cohere around two positions. On the one hand, talk shows are seen as exemplars of Trash TV in which confessions of private pain are exploited for commercial gain. On the other hand, the programmes are seen as a site of empowerment for marginalised people normally denied a voice in the public sphere. This thesis moves away from this binary by examining the cultural context in which Oprah is produced. It examines the show in the light of two distinctive, but at times, overlapping, traditions of thought in American culture in which conflicting versions of self are constructed. These two traditions are the' elite' cultural criticism, and an African American mode of thought that includes a black feminist perspective. The thesis argues that these traditions represent systematic discursive cultural practices that are available as a means through which to read the show. In the 'elite' cultural criticism, selfhood is constructed as empty, anxious, fragmented and dislocated. This version of self is the product of commercialism, commodification and image saturation and is made manifest in the popularisation of therapy. In the strand of African American thought that this thesis discusses, the self is posited as recoverable through the excavation of a personal and collective history, through story-telling, and is situated in relation to close, significant others. The thesis argues that Oprah is an ambivalent text in which both versions of selfhood are identifiable. Further, it is argued that the persona of Oprah Winfrey is the embodied site of these conflicts, acting as the conduit for the expression of a self that emerges from the clash of antagonistic forces. Thus, The Oprah Winfrey Show is used as a case study for the exploration of the ways in which contradictory cultural constructions of self combine in a carnivalesque play to produce something new. This thesis makes the case for an avoidance of the binary that marks the TV talk show debate by exploring the ambivalence that constitutes the text. This, it is argued, presents a fruitful way of thinking through the complexities of a popular cultural phenomenon such as Oprah.

This is a film practice PhD investigating how selfhood, love and responsibility within couple and family units are conveyed, imagined or problematized in contemporary cinema and how the properties of screen fiction can be used to explore contemporary parental experience. The research project incorporates an original feature screenplay (Nuclear) and short film (Inhabit) which were developed in parallel to, and informed by, the theoretical research in the accompanying critical thesis. Chapter One explores how parenthood, with an emphasis on motherhood, might be imagined by non or aspiring parents, and what anxieties or desires are expressed through these imaginings. Miranda July’s The Future (2010) and Joanna Hogg’s Unrelated (2006) are placed in dialogue with Inhabit (2014) in an examination of the slippage of generational identity experienced by the characters as they struggle with the prospect of impending or denied parenthood. Chapter Two concentrates of evocations of the everyday as it intersects with stories of family life. Drawing from cultural theorists of the everyday including Giard, de Certeau and Highmore, I examine why and how we might attend to the everyday on screen. Taking Henri Lefebvre’s notion of ‘rhythmanalysis’ as a tool with which to analyse Michael Winterbottom’s Everyday (2012), Joanna Hogg’s Archipelago (2010) and Nuclear, I explore how rhythm and patterns of repetition and difference can embody and communicate experiences of domestic relationships and the everyday. In Chapter Three, I analyse spectator engagement via character, and look at how Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (2011), Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale (2005) and Nuclear utilise a multi-protagonist structure to create a democracy within the narrative. Through a symbiotic approach to theory and practice and a focus on British middle-class subjects, I have sought to investigate parallel drives within couple and family units and to accomplish a balance between the demands of drama and a desire to describe the everyday.

L'objectif de cette thèse est étudier la caractère monobloc de la théorie du récit de Paul Ricœur. Elle comporte trois séries de questions. D’abord, il s'agira de savoir quelles sont les connotations du terme « récit » dans les travaux de Ricœur. Il sera ensuite nécessaire d'identifier les problèmes majeurs et les caractéristiques de l'étude de la théorie du récit. Si l'on considère la « médiation » comme sa caractéristique la plus importante, alors nous aurons également définir la « médiation » quant à son mécanisme de fonctionnement et quant à son fondement théorique. Enfin, il faudra élucider le rôle joué par la théorie du récit dans la pensée herméneutique de Ricœur. Cette thèse tente de répondre aux questions mentionnées ci-dessus à l'aide d'une méthodologie d'analyse qualitative complète qui examine minutieusement les textes et les mots clés spécifiques dans une perspective comparative basée sur des ressources herméneutiques analytiques. Cette thèse se compose de quatre parties. Le chapitre 1 traite de la théorie du discours de Ricœur, qui sert de base théorique permettant une vision holistique de l'objet de recherche. Le chapitre 2 présente la structure de base de la théorie du récit de Ricœur, i.e. le «cercle narratif» comprenant trois étapes de la mimèsis. Les chapitres 3 et 4 vont respectivement aborder les deux problèmes majeurs de cette théorie, à savoir temporalité et subjectivité. Le chapitre 4 illustre la catégorie d'identification narrative concernant antécédents, connotation, et caractéristiques. Finalement, l'auteur arrive à la conclusion que la caractéristique de médiation de la théorie du récit de Ricœur sont étroitement liés à son affirmation du « détour herméneutique ». En somme, par son examen de la structure fondamentale du récit et les relations dialectiques entre la narrativité, la temporalité et l’ipséité, cette thèse se propose de prouver le rôle médiateur que la théorie du récit de Ricœur joue dans son système herméneutique. / This goal of this thesis is to investigate Ricoeur’s narrative theory as a whole. It has respectively the following four sets of questions as its research tasks. Firstly, what are the connotations of the notion of “narrative” in Ricoeur’s works? Secondly, what are the major problematics and features of Ricoeur’s narrative theory studies? Thirdly, if we consider “mediation” as its most outstanding characteristic, then shall we also define “mediation” regarding its function mechanism and theoretical foundation? At last, what role does narrative theory play in Ricoeur’s system of hermeneutic thoughts? This thesis attempts to answer the above-listed questions with the methodology of comprehensive, qualitative analysis that scrutinizes specific texts and keywords in a comparative perspective based on the hermeneutic analytical resources.This thesis consists of four parts. Chapter 1 discusses Ricoeur’s theory of discourse, which serves as the theoretical framework that enables a holistic view of the research object. Chapter 2 presents the basic structure of Ricoeur’s narrative theory, i.e. the “narrative circle” consisting of three stages of mimesis, in a comparison with “mimēsis” and “muthos” in Aristotle’s Poetics. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 respectively address the two major problems of this theory, i.e. temporality and subjectivity. The theoretical central core of this thesis lies on Chapter 3. Chapter 4 illustrates the notion of “narrative identity” regarding its background, connotation, and characteristics. Finally, the author concludes that Ricoeur’s narrative theory function as a mediating force in such a way that corresponds with his assertion of “hermeneutic detour”. To sum up, by examining the fundamental structure of narratives, the dialecticism between narrativity and temporality and that between narrativity and selfhood, this thesis demonstrates the mediating role that Ricoeur’s narrative theory plays in his hermeneutical thought system.

Methods A standardised measurement tool was developed by identifying aspects of self that can be measured, and research methods that are effective at investigating self in people without dementia. The measure consists of three sets of illustrated ‘I am…’ statements representing Activities, Traits and Physical Characteristics, and Relationships and Occupations. Participants were asked to (i) sort these according to whether each was ‘just like me’, ‘a bit like me’ or ‘not at all like me’ (ii) sort their ‘just like me’ choices to identify the statement most like them; (iii) describe memories associated with this statement. The measure was tested with 20 people with dementia to inform refinement. The refined measure was tested for reliability and validity by comparing results from five people with dementia and six age-matched people without dementia. Results Outcome measures were strength, complexity and quality of self and an ‘episodicity’ score reflecting the descriptive richness of memories. The initial administration to 20 people indicated that the measure was suitable for people with mild to moderate dementia, and the outcomes were meaningful and reliable. An ‘Observational Framework’ was developed to enable measurement of self via gestures and expressions of people with limited verbal abilities. The second study indicated that the new measure has good test-retest reliability, but convergent validity was not demonstrated. Participants with dementia demonstrated strength, complexity and quality of self scores comparable to participants without dementia. The results suggest that providing visual cues bypasses the cognitive processes required for effortful recall. / Alzheimer’s Society

This project outlines, through a discussion of Jean-Paul Sartre's theory of sadistic and masochistic manifestations of embodiment as forms of bad faith, relationships to clothing, especially those conditioned by the fashion industry. Through an analysis of the concept of a disguise, I argue that the fashion industry encourages consumers to play what I call a game of fashion. This game involves hiding from one's freedom through self-deception while interacting with seemingly replaceable others. Clothing enables one to engage in a two-fold disguise - hiding one's freedom from oneself and evading intersubjective relations with others. In bad faith, one wears the self falsely while immersing oneself in a game of false interactions with others. Bad faith is a two-fold assault on the self and the basic make-up of social life. Within the contemporary milieu of Western consumer society, fashion is a ready accessory for the performance of bad faith. This study is an examination of such phenomena. A contemporary attitude toward clothing, or fashion, is that particular garments are able to "remake" the self - as if what adorns the body were all there is - and that it can hide the self through such adornment because the "real self" supposedly exists elsewhere. This perspective on fashion, and by extension, the body, depends on a Cartesian severing of mind and body - the exact attitude that informs bad faith. These two approaches to fashion are examples of assertions of the self as a material thing on one hand and the assertion of the self as a complete transcendence on the other. Both are forms of bad faith. Instead of thinking of fashion as a mask beneath which there is either nothing or the body beyond which there is the real transcendent self, I argue for thinking of clothing as a veil where the garment naturally conceals through acts of revelation, but what is concealed and what is revealed are never complete. Such a conception involves maintaining a distinction between public and private, while acknowledging there being something beneath that could be known and, through the cultivation of intersubjective relations, offer a richer understanding of the ways in which clothing affects intimate relationships. / Philosophy

This thesis argues that attitudes of inhospitality operate subtly in our politics, in our religious beliefs and practices, and in our understandings of who we are. Consequently, the question of hospitality - what it is and what it signifies - is an urgent one for us to address. In this thesis I examine and outline the hermeneutics-deconstruction debate over the experience of otherness and what it means to respond to others ethically (or hospitably). In the first two chapters I defend the importance of properly understanding the ethics of both Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida. Against the concerns of Paul Ricoeur and Richard Kearney, I maintain that a Levinasian and Derridean insistence on answering to the call of an unconditional hospitality is the best way forward in our attempt to respond with justice to strangers. Next, by engaging Martin Hagglund's objection to an ethical reading of Derridean unconditionality, I give attention to the theme of negotiation in Derrida's later work, a theme which I take to be the central feature of his account of hospitality. I conclude by proposing five theses concerning hospitality. These theses provide an overview of the main themes discussed in this thesis and once more address the various tensions internal to the concept of hospitality.

William Blake's prophetic works are made up almost entirely of a unique combination of symbols and imagery. To understand his books it is necessary to be aware that he used his prophetic symbols because he found them apt to what he was saying, and that he changed their meanings as the reasons for their aptness changed. An awareness of this manipulation of symbols will lead to a more perceptive understanding of Blake's work. This paper is concerned with three specific uses of serpent imagery by Blake. The first chapter deals with the serpent of selfhood. Blake uses the wingless Uraeon to depict man destroying himself through his own constrictive analytic reasonings unenlightened with divine vision. Man had once possessed this divine vision, but as formal religions and a priestly class began to be formed, he lost it and worshipped only reason and cruelty. Blake also uses the image of the serpent crown to characterize priests or anyone in a position of authority. He usually mocks both religious and temporal rulers and identifies them as oppressors rather than leaders of the people. In addition to the Uraeon and the serpent crown, Blake also uses the narrow constricted body of the serpent and the encircled serpent to represent narrowmindedness and selfish possessiveness. The second chapter deals with the serpent as a symbolic force of energy itself. Blake uses the serpent to represent birth, the life force, guardian of life forces, inner strength, resurrection, forces of destruction, and rebellion against tyranny. The Orc figure, a mythological creation of Blake, is the major representative of all phases of energy. He is a Promethean figure of rebellion and often described by Blake as having a "serpent body." His birth represents the awakening of a terrible, uncontrolled energy which will bring war, destruction, and death. He is an "eternal viper" with "ever-hissing jaws." Blake often uses this rebellious energy to deal with specific political issues in America, Ahania and Tiriel. The "serpent-formed transgressor of God's law" is also in rebellion against the binding, constricting laws of religion, and in a larger sense, against the visionless state into which mankind has fallen. The third chapter considers Blake's use of the serpent and tree image. It is significant that he uses these familiar Christian symbols in various ways which suggest that occult lore and antiquarian mythologies must also be considered in their interpretation. The following five major types of serpent-tree symbolism and Blake's usages are discussed in this chapter: The divine serpent and the tree of life, the serpent as guardian of the tree of life, the serpent as destroyer of the tree of life, the serpent-tempter and the tree of death, and the serpent as an unfaithful messenger of God. It is possible to draw all of these interpretations from Blake's works. By the very diversity of its symbolic associations the serpent provides a unifying factor in Blake. It is in itself a symbol of unity in that it appears consistently in almost all of man's religions and mythologies.