This study explores the interrelationship between spatiality and subjecthood in the work of Stéphane Mallarmé, Guillaume Apollinaire, Maurice Maeterlinck, and Alfred Jarry. Concerned with various modes of poetry and drama, it also examines the cross-pollination that can occur between these modes, focusing on a relatively narrow corpus of core texts: Mallarmé’s Igitur (c. 1867-70) and Un Coup de dés (1897); Apollinaire’s “Zone” (1912) and various of his calligrammes; Maeterlinck’s early one-act plays—L’Intruse (1890), Les Aveugles (1890), and Intérieur (1894); and Jarry’s Ubu roi (1896) and César-Antechrist (1895). The poetic and dramatic practices of these four authors are assessed against the broader cultural and philosophical contexts of the fin de siècle. The fin de siècle witnessed a profound epistemological shift: the Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm, increasingly challenged throughout the nineteenth century, was largely dismantled, with ramifications beyond physics, philosophy and psychology. Chapter 1 introduces three foundational notions—Newtonian absolute space, the unitary Cartesian subject, and subject-object dualism—that were challenged and ultimately overthrown in turn-of-the-century science and art. Developments in theatre architecture and typographic design are examined against this philosophical backdrop with a view to establishing a diachronic and interdisciplinary framework of the authors in question. Chapter 2 focuses on the spatial dimension of Mallarmé’s Un Coup de dés and Apollinaire’s calligrammes—works which defamiliarise page-space by undermining various (naturalised) conventions of paginal configuration. In Chapter 3, the notion of liminality (the experience or condition of the betwixt and between) is implemented in an analysis of character and diegetic space as constructed in Jarry’s Ubu roi and Maeterlinck’s one-acts. Chapters 4 and Chapter 5 undertake a more abstract investigation of parallel inverse processes—the subjectivisation of space and the spatialisation of the subject —manifest not only in the works of Mallarmé, Maeterlinck, Apollinaire and Jarry, but in the period’s poetry and drama more generally.

Erik Satie (1866-1925) lived, worked, walked, and died in Paris. The key locations of his career – all within a single urban region – are well known and well researched. Yet he has often been presented as an eccentric individualist far removed from any social or geographical context. This thesis seeks to address – and redress – the decontextualisation of Satie’s career by re-imagining his music and biography in terms of the places and mobilities of turn-of-the-century Paris. To that end, it draws on a range of documentary and fictional material, including journalistic and scholarly reception texts, illustrated musical scores, chanson collections, contemporary visual culture, and cinematic representations of the people, place(s), and period(s) in question. These diverse primary and secondary sources are discussed and interpreted via a set of on-going debates at the intersection of historical musicology, cultural history, and urban geography. Some of these debates can be traced through existing research on the geography of music. Others are more local to this project and derive their value from suggesting alternative approaches to familiar problems in the study of French musical modernism. The main aim throughout is to develop a better understanding of the relations existing between Satie’s musical life, his compositional strategies, and the changing urban environment in which he plied his trade. Chapters One and Two focus on the working-class suburb of Arcueil and the ‘bohemian’ enclave of Montmartre. Chapters Three and Four are organised thematically around issues of musical humour and everyday life. By using the particular example of Satie’s Paris, the thesis proposes that more general avenues of enquiry are opened up into music and the city, thus demonstrating the potential benefits of incorporating the urban-geographic imagination into historical musicology more broadly, and bringing musicological thinking to bear on inter-disciplinary discussions about space, place, and mobility.

This thesis examines the novels of George Sand (1804-1876) and analyses representative examples from her entire œuvre. Its overall aim is to re-evaluate Sand’s standing as a writer of intellectual interest and importance by demonstrating that she is engaging with a cultural and intellectual phenomenon of particular relevance to the nineteenth century: the link between different ways of seeing and knowledge or understanding, which I term ‘insight’. The visual dimension of Sand’s novels has so far been overlooked or reduced to a rose-tinted view of the world, and my study is the first to examine vision in her work. I argue that Sand demonstrates a continuous commitment to ways of engaging with the world in visual terms, incorporating conceptual seeing, prophetic vision, as well as physical eyesight. Contesting the prevailing critical view of Sand’s œuvre as one which declines into blandness and irrelevance after the 1850s, this thesis uncovers a model of expansion in her writing, as she moves from her focus on the personal in her early novels, privileging internal vision, to wider social concerns in her middle period in which she aims to reconfigure reality, to her final period in which she advocates the physical observation of the natural world. Rejecting the perception of Sand as a writer of sentiment at the expense of thought, this study argues that her writing constitutes a continuous quest for understanding, both of the physical world and the more abstract, eternal ‘vérité’. I show that Sand transcends binary divisions between science and art, the detail and the whole, the material and the abstract, and that she ultimately promotes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the world. This also enables me to reassess Sand’s poetics by arguing that her rejection of the mimetic model is founded on her conception of the world as multiple and constantly evolving.

This thesis investigates the morphology and the purpose of palaces in major and minor kingdoms of the Hellenistic World. Elements of architecture, spatial organisation and decoration are analysed in the attempt to clarify issues of chronology and in order to identify function. The analysis places the material into its social and ideological context by taking into consideration the role of kingship ideologies in the formation of space used by royal courts. Comparison with residences of the elite demonstrates the reception of palaces not only as architectural models, but also as mechanisms of power manifestation. Macedonia is the starting point of the discussion as the homeland of the first Hellenistic kings. In the light of evidence recovered in the last twenty years and not comparatively studied before, the chapter brings together various chronological phases of the buildings. Questions of definition and on sources of inspiration are clarified further in the following chapters. The third chapter uses textual evidence and finds from the royal district of Alexandria to understand the meaning of palace architecture for the Ptolemies, while the seat of a local official in Transjordania reveals mechanisms of emulation. In chapter four the case of Pergamene palaces and their relationship with residences in the city demonstrates that formation of these royal seats corresponded to ideals of Attalid kingship. Seats of officials in the Seleukid Empire and palaces in Bactria and Kommagene, the subject of the fifth chapter, provide an insight into the position of palace architecture in processes of hybridisation in material culture. The last chapter is a synthesis of patterns of form and function and unifies the conclusions for each separate region. It emerges that shifts in power relations and the structure of the royal court, especially towards the end of the third century BC, were a crucial factor in shaping palace forms. The concluding chapter also provides a view from the West: examples from the late Roman Republic indicate that the role of Hellenistic palaces as models for power display went beyond the limits of royal courts.

This dissertation focuses on images of Christ that date from the first half of Late Antiquity, defined as the three centuries between AD 200 and 500. The cultural dynamics of this period left a distinct impression on Christian art, and this dissertation traces that impact. Unlike other studies that attempt to resolve ambiguity within the corpus of Christ images, the argument here maintains that ambiguity was a key component in the creation and subsequent interpretation of the Late Antique Christian iconography. The dissertation proceeds in three parts, each comprising two chapters. In the first section, the history and historiography of the image of Christ is explored, and a methodology capable of accommodating the diverse meanings assigned to the Christ’s discrepant and ambiguous iconographies is developed. In order to better understand the socio-religious environment in which the first images of Christ were produced and interpreted, the second section of the dissertation moves away from material culture and towards method and theory. The notion that interpretation is a group level phenomenon is critiqued, and a model explaining how individuals in Late Antiquity could have made sense of ambiguous images of Christ is advanced. The final section turns back to the material culture and applies the framework developed in the second section to two artworks: (1) the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus and (2) the floor mosaic from the Hinton St. Mary Roman Villa now in the British Museum. By complementing the standard analyses of Christian art with interpretations grounded in the diverse interactions viewers had with artworks, new perspectives will emerge that provide a fuller picture of Late Antique Christianity and the iconography of its godhead alike.

This study examines the intersection of painting and cinema through the oeuvre of American artist Julian Schnabel. A controversial painter who came to prominence in the contemporary art world of the eighties, the study begins by contextualizing Schnabel within the art critical debates of the period. Addressing and revising the perceived reputation of the artist, the first chapter re-positions Schnabel predominantly as an inheritor of various traits of post-war American painting, in particular the somatic, affective and existential treatment of the canvas characteristic of action painting. The body of the study proceeds to compare the ways in which Schnabel’s cinematic practice borrows, extends and thus affirms many of his painterly approaches. Examining his four major film works (Basquiat, Before Night Falls, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Miral) in tandem with his paintings, these chapters plot major confluences between the two media, in particular Schnabel’s overall use of a subjective, phenomenological method. Crucially, this aesthetic approach is shown to be in the service of an existential as opposed to epicurean aim, as it is most overtly expressed in his use of the objet trouvé and the dedication. The study ends by changing the vector of analysis to trace how Schnabel’s foray into the cinema may have influenced the aesthetic of his paintings, and subsequently how a reproductive medium such as film is able to push the boundaries of painting, not necessarily to announce its death. Ultimately, the goal of this study, beyond the monographic examination of a single artist, is to propose ways in which the medium of film has contributed to an evolving understanding of visual representation. For, unlike the modernist premise, the assumption is that it is precisely through the interaction and absorption of various formats that a medium can change, evolve and expand.

An analysis and explanation of my reasons for working in video, painting and drawing, and sculpture, considering the technological developments of the past decade; the possibility to use the internet as a distribution tool for works of art, and to shift the decision-making balance of the art-world; the ways that this approach is a democratic format for output in the arts and within communities of artists; an explanation of my studio practice while a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University.

This thesis investigates the ceremonial and artistic strategies of the British monarchy in the years following the Glorious Revolution. By adopting a range of methodologies used in the study of visual culture, the thesis considers royal ceremonies as channels for conveying political messages non-verbally. These could affect attitudes to the monarchy, and inform artistic output. By paying particular attention to the way royal participants performed ceremonially in relation to the various formal and informal architectural settings for the court, the thesis highlights the process of seeing as a communicative act. Being alert to the impact of royal ceremonial and artistic activities on contemporary audiences, the thesis also considers the dissemination of royal imagery in England by commercial means. The thesis surveys paintings, prints and medals produced in England, and places the intended audiences at the centre of the analysis. It also pays keen attention to the impact of war on royal image making, and highlights the political context of continental Europe, especially in relation to William’s role as Stadholder-King but also the exiled Stuart court at St Germain near Paris. The evidence presented here supports a number of conclusions. Firstly, war had a profound impact on all aspects of royal image making. Secondly, royal behaviour and involvement in ceremony were vital elements in the visual presentation of monarchy. Kings and queens were of paramount importance, but their consorts were highly significant. Art was also taken seriously by the monarchy and the Crown tightened controls on royal image making during the period in question. The thesis also concludes that the nationalities of the incumbent monarchs and their consorts, along with their previous experiences and personalities, influenced their individual approach to visual representation. These approaches could shift depending on political circumstances and the personal inclinations of the person concerned.

Contrary to Westerners' long-maintained denial of fashion in Chinese dress, recent scholarship has provided convincing textual evidence of fashion in early modern China. Research into this fashion commentary has complicated our understanding of Chinese consumption history, yet we still know little about fashion design, production, or dissemination. By prioritising the textual over the visual or material, this history remains confined to the written source, rather than asking what objects might tell us of Qing fashions. Though many fashionable styles of dress survive in Western museums, these are rarely considered evidence of the Chinese fashion system. Instead museum scholarship remains influenced by twentieth-century interpretations of Chinese dress as art; dominated by dragon robes and auspicious symbols, oriented around the trope of the genteel Chinese seamstress. Within this art historical account, nineteenth-century women's dress has been characterized by decay and viewed with disdain. This thesis questions these assumptions through the study of a group of late Qing women's jackets featuring embroidered narrative scenes, arguing that in this style - regulated by market desires rather than imperial edict - fashion formed at the intersection of commerce and culture. Contrary to the prevailing production model in which the secluded gentlewoman embroidered her entire wardrobe, I position the jackets within the mid-Qing commercialization of handicrafts that created networks of urban guilds, commercial workshops and sub-contracted female workers. By drawing the contours of Suzhou's commercial networks - a region renowned for its embroidery - I demonstrate how popular culture permeated the late Qing fashion system, and explicate the appearance and conceptualization of the embroidered scenes through contemporary prints and performance. My exploration of how dramatic narrative was represented in female dress culture highlights embroidery's significance as a tool to reflect upon contemporary culture, a finding I support by recourse to representations of embroidery as act and object in Suzhou's vernacular ballads and dramas. Thus, these little-studied jackets not only evidence how fashionable dress articulated women's relationship with popular culture, but also how embroidery expressed contemporary concerns, allowing a re-appraisal of women's role as cultural consumers and producers.

In the years around 1950 the first Music Schools – organized by the municipalities – started in Sweden. They were a result of local initiatives. They were not a part of the national school system. Instead their focus was on creating opportunities for children to learn to play an instrument in their spare time. They became so common that in 1970 they could be found in almost every municipality in Sweden. Even so, they were never authorised or controlled by the state. In this thesis I try to describe the ideology of the first local music schools around the year 1950. I try to find out what kind of traditions, ideas and other influences that shaped this ideology. I do that by comparing the ideology of the music schools to the characteristics of the popular education (in German: Bildung). Thereafter I try to do the same with the development of Schools of Arts around the year 1990. I do that in a hermeneutic tradition by using an idea- and ideology analysis from social sciences. My research questions are: Could the ideologi of the first music schools be described by comparing it with the characteristics of ”bildung”. Could the ideologi of the first schools of Arts be described by comparing it with the characteristics of ”bildung”. The ideology of the music schools was strongly influenced by the voluntary music education in grammar schools. That meant that the education was organized in semesters, one lesson per week and one child at a time. More focus was on the development of every childs´ability to play an instrument, less on the possibility to play together with other children or to sing. The ideology of the music schools was also influenced by popular education (Bildung). The schools aimed to give equal opportunities to all children to learn to play an instrument and learn about the ”good culture”. With that expression was meant classical music. The answer to my first question is that the ideologi of the music shools were influenced both from grammar schools and the ”bildung”- movement. In the years around 1990 many Music Schools had developed into Schools of Arts. They included education in dance, drama/theatre, visual art and film/movie. In the same way as the first music schools were born, the first Schools of Art developed in a local context. Some of them found a closer cooperation with the obligatory school but all continued to be independent. The structure of Schools of Arts were in many ways a continuation of the music schools. They were also organized in semesters, one lesson a week etc. In the same time they were a part of the a new trend which meant they were more interested in the creative possibilities for the children, cooperation and the opportunities to be on stage. They also had a broader wiew on what ”good culture” was. The answer on my second question is that the ideologi of the Schools of Arts in some extent are a part of the ”Bildung”-movement but at the same time they are more focused in collaborating with the obligatory school system and are more influenced by instrumental goals like being part of devolopment of new industries in the society. To some extent they are less influenced by ”Bildung” than the first music Schools. There are even today more than 200 000 children taking part in the Schools of Arts. (Including those who are still named Music Schools) In such a big professsionel organisation in most of the Swedish communities it is very surprising that they have developed without a national agenda. / I slutet av 1940-talet bildades de första kommunala musikskolorna med det namnet. Deras bakgrund var dels den frivilliga instrumentalundervisning som erbjöds på läroverken, privat undervisning – inte minst på piano – samt undervisning inom militärmusiken och orkesterföreningar. Allt detta smälte samman till musikcirklar – ofta drivna av studieförbund – som sedan nästan undantagslöst drevs vidare i form av kommunala musikskolor. De lokala variationerna var många. På 1970-talet hade i stort sett alla kommuner en kommunal musikskola. I denna uppsats försöker jag beskriva de första kommunala musikskolornas ideologi runt år 1950, och sedan även beskriva de första kommunala kulturskolornas[1] ideologi runt år 1990. Detta gör jag genom att tolka de idéer, traditioner och ambitioner som kan ses i offentliga dokument, vetenskapliga texter och andra dokument som beskriver pedagogiska idéer som fanns och påverkade beslutsfattandet. Jag gör detta i en hermeneutisk tradition genom en idé- och ideologianalys hämtad från samhällsvetenskapen. Metodiskt arbetar jag med begreppet dimensioner. Dessa utgår från de begrepp som karakteriserar bildning. På så sätt använder jag bildningen som ett raster för att tydligare se musikskolornas och kulturskolornas respektive ideologi. Mina forskningsfrågor är: Kan de första kommunala musikskolornas ideologi beskrivas i relation till bildningsbegreppet? Kan de första kommunala kulturskolornas ideologi beskrivas i relation till bildningsbegreppet? Bildningsbegreppet jag använder är hämtat från Gustavssons och Varkøys beskrivningar av vad som kännetecknar bildning:   Lärandet är en fri process  Lärandet skapar sammanhang  Lärandet skapar jämlikhet eller ojämlikhet  Lärandet är icke-instrumentellt Organisationen av undervisningen på musikskolorna var starkt präglad av läroverken. Den innebar att musikskolorna var organiserade i terminer, en lektion i veckan och med starkt fokus på individen. Den enskilde elevens kunskaper i hanterandet av sitt instrument kom i första rummet, före samspel, eget skapande och även sång/körsång. Den ideologi som präglade musikskolorna hade samtidigt ett starkt folkbildande inslag. Alla barn skulle i demokratisk anda få möjlighet att både lära sig spela ett instrument och ta del av den goda kulturen. Med det senare avsågs främst den klassiska musiken. Svaret på min första forskningsfråga är att de första musikskolornas ideologi i hög grad var påverkad av bildningsbegreppet men att den samtidigt var starkt påverkad av traditionen från läroverk och folkskola. De kommunala kulturskolorna övertog senare mycket av musikskolornas ideologi. Samtidigt var ideologin i den tidens anda präglat av ett större intresse för elevernas eget skapande, för samverkan och att alla elever också skulle framträda. Flera kulturskolor sökte också få en ökad betydelse genom ett närmande till den obligatoriska skolan. Deras ideologi präglades också i hög grad av instrumentella mål som transfereffekter vid inlärning av andra skolämnen, lokaliseringsfaktorer m.fl. Svaret på min andra forskningsfråga är att de första kommunala kulturskolorna ideologiskt i viss mån var en del av bildningsrörelsen. Samtidigt önskade de bli en del av det obligatoriska skolväsendet och motiverade sin existens med instrumentella mål, varför de kan sägas alltmer ta avstånd från att bygga på en ideologi präglad av bildning. Med tanke på musik- och kulturskolorna storlek, över 200 000 deltagare, är det förvånande att all utveckling av dem skett genom lokala initiativ och att samordning och utveckling på nationell nivå i stort sett varit helt frånvarande under de epoker jag berör i denna uppsats. De kommunala musikskolorna, senare kulturskolorna, dominerades av ett görande, av enskilda lärares egna modeller för undervisning, i högre grad än formulerande av en genomtänkt ideologi eller för den delen metodik. [1] De kommunala kulturskolorna benämns oftast som ”kulturskolor”. I den statliga politik som beslutats under uppsatsens tillkomst benämns de som ”kommunala kulturskolor”. Jag använder därför det begreppet men för att göra texten lättare att läsa använder jag ibland de enklare formerna ”musikskola” och ”kulturskola”.  De står för samma sak.