The ether was proposed by Enlightenment natural philosophers as an undetectable substance filling the space between the stars, that held them in place and supported the propagation of their light across space. In The Subtle Ether: A Memoir of the Space Between, insights from the history of the ether are threaded through my experience of clearing the family home after the death of my parents, and inform a reflection on ‘spaces between' memories, family members, and between ourselves and the world. This thesis both proposes and practises writing creative nonfiction as a method of first person enquiry that bears a familial resemblance to contemplative traditions, and that can acknowledge and mourn the hiddenness of things by writing into the ‘space between' ourselves and the world. Seeking a new synthesis which meshes experience, emotion, observation, and reflection on the insights of science, I employ mixed modes of lyrical, aesthetic, philosophical and personal inquiry. The central claim of this thesis is that awareness and acceptance of hiddenness as the nature of all things counteracts human hubris. While drawing from the example of continuous, open-ended questioning the scientific search for the ‘ether' offers, this thesis both argues and demonstrates that scientific and analytical methods alone cannot address this hiddenness, and that creative practice can be an effective way to think about and communicate what cannot be directly known. I argue that the desire for complete knowledge is a form of acquisitiveness and control, and that recognising the limited scope of human senses and reason undercuts human centrality and sole agency. Crafting an artwork out of contemplation of that which cannot be directly observed opens a space of reflection in which a paradoxical truth can be held in awareness; that the external reality we observe is other than us but also inseparable from us.

This creative thesis includes two creative non-fiction essays and twenty-two poems, introduced by a critical essay that examines my work. The poems and essays share an origin in personal experience as well as an interest in language. Specifically, the poems and essays explore issues of family, relationships, spirituality, and observations of the natural world. The introductory essay discusses my interest in re-fashioning individual vision through the act of writing, relating to Helene Cixous's idea of creating a "portrait of God" through the act of art. The essay also examines the connections between the genres of creative non-fiction and poetry, in creative writing theory and in my own writing process.

<p>The main purpose of this study is to take a closer look at how teachers work with writing and to examine some theories on the teaching of writing. Five teachers in two schools are included in order to get an insight in teachers’ practical work with EFL writing. This has been done through classroom observations and interviews. The results show that all teachers seem to use aspects from several theories. The results also show that the teachers’ level of awareness of theories on teaching writing varies</p>

The main purpose of this study is to take a closer look at how teachers work with writing and to examine some theories on the teaching of writing. Five teachers in two schools are included in order to get an insight in teachers’ practical work with EFL writing. This has been done through classroom observations and interviews. The results show that all teachers seem to use aspects from several theories. The results also show that the teachers’ level of awareness of theories on teaching writing varies

The first part of the thesis comprises Chapters 1 to 40 of the novel, written under a pseudonym, followed by a synopsis of the remaining chapters, 41 to 155. The potential jacket copy will refer to the protagonists, a male and a female detective. The second part of the thesis is a critical study of the novel. Literary theory and critical methods are used to investigate the writing process and to explicate the text’s layers of meaning, not all of which were clear to the author at the time of writing. Chapter 1 considers literary and creative writing theory, paying particular attention to conceptualisations of author and reader. In Chapter 2, the chosen pseudonym is explained and compared with those of other authors; the novel’s title is also examined. Chapter 3 covers the issue of genre, looking at theories and discussing both crime novel and Gothic fiction. In Chapter 4, critical approaches to character are applied. Chapter 5 does the same with plot. Chapters 6 and 7 take account of the manifestations of power. Chapter 6 covers the body and gender, while Chapter 7 deals with race and class. As a conclusion, Chapter 8 describes how the first draft was transformed to one acceptable for publication.

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In this essay, I endeavour to broaden the concept of literature by introducing five children’s literary works. Primarily, literary scholars have concentrated their studies on literature written by adults, regarding children as readers rather than writers. I believe that such a concept fails to cover the diversity of the literary field and therefore needs to change. Approaching writing and reading from a sociocultural point of view, and reading children’s stories from a narratological perspective, I intend to show that a new concept of literature is not only possible but inevitable. Due to the dialectic relationship between sender and receiver, literary and linguistic conventions and deviations, the definition of literature is renegotiated continuously. The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu emphasized the impact of the academy by illustrating that scholars are maintaining literary norms when putting titles on reading lists and acknowledging certain authorships. Writing this essay is thus a pledge of change. Adult research of children’s literary work encompasses a wide range of implicit age-related power issues (aetonormativity), according to the Swedish literary scholar, Maria Nikolajeva. In this essay, I show an insufficiency of some of these adult literary concepts when applied to children’s writing. I conclude that a partly new terminology, based on children’s writing, needs to co-exist with the older set of concepts. I also emphasize the need for further literary studies on children’s writing to question, criticize and complete mine, and to acknowledge the variety of literary aspects in children’s writing.