Spaces For Becomings? Heterotopic Fictions In Preciado’S Testo Yonqui,
2021
Dartmouth College
Spaces For Becomings? Heterotopic Fictions In Preciado’S Testo Yonqui, Caroline King
Dartmouth College Master’s Theses
This article examines the possibilities and limits of gender becomings in Paul Preciado’s book Testo yonqui (Testo Junkie). A genre-fluid “body-essay,” his text theorizes a departure from gender through contemporary medicine. Following Preciado in his self-administration of testosterone, the book labels today’s reality a “pharmacopornographic era,” a new iteration of Foucault’s biocapitalism. After designating Preciado’s self-generated transformations as becomings, I explore how the book’s heterotopic spaces––including its genre––facilitate Preciado’s forward-moving gender identity. A Foucauldian term, heterotopia has not yet been applied to Testo Junkie, however it offers insight into the book’s potential to motivate individuals to …
Paul Ricoeur And Biblical Hermeneutics: Narrative, Genre, And Self,
2021
University of South Carolina - Columbia
Paul Ricoeur And Biblical Hermeneutics: Narrative, Genre, And Self, Collin Angell
Senior Theses
In short, this thesis seeks to develop a biblical hermeneutic centered on one central axis, based on the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur. That central axis is narrative. The Bible is written in various genres, ranging from prophecy to wisdom to hymn. The goal of this thesis is first to show how a biblical hermeneutic that treats narrative as the central mode of discourse informs a better understanding of the other biblical genres of discourse, and thus of the Bible as a whole. Furthermore, this thesis takes an existentialist direction by taking the narrative-centered biblical hermeneutic and deriving from it a …
Creation Costs: Hermeneutical And Scientific Repercussions Through The Lens Of The Day Age And Young Earth Views,
2021
Southeastern University - Lakeland
Creation Costs: Hermeneutical And Scientific Repercussions Through The Lens Of The Day Age And Young Earth Views, Mark Alan Langner
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Genesis’s creation narrative is crystal clear: God is eternal and preeminent, humankind is made in his image, and all nature results from God’s spoken word. Christocentric truth bursts forth from the opening words of creation, reality transcended by the Son of God. However, particularly in the years following the beginnings of Darwinian theory, questioning of the biblical creation narrative and variant versions of that narrative has exponentially expanded. This project is intended to biblically and systematically underscore the supernatural attributes of the Creator and the inerrancy of the Bible that God inspired, to determine hermeneutical and scientific costs associated with …
Quasi-Dogwhistles: A Case Study Of Creating Meaning,
2021
University of South Carolina - Columbia
Quasi-Dogwhistles: A Case Study Of Creating Meaning, Clyde Lemoine
Senior Theses
In 2017, a group of users on the website 4chan attempted to establish a new meaning of the common “OK” hand gesture. Claiming the sign meant “white power” the intention of this act was to trick left-leaning internet users and the media that an innocuous sign was racist, hence turning everyone unaware against them. A common narrative surrounding the situation was that the new meaning for the gesture as established by this group was a “hoax”. This situation serves as an interesting case study into understanding how we mean things by the use of signs. I will argue that the …
The Voyage Of The Reunion,
2021
Liberty University
The Voyage Of The Reunion, Hamilton Keller Bright
Masters Theses
The Voyage of the Reunion is a collection of short stories centered around three men, Captain Adams, Mr. Freire, and Reverend Kaff, on a mission to reunite Earth’s lost colonies with the galaxy at large. However, not all is well on these lost worlds, and many dangers await them in the darkness of space. In the course of their journey, they wrestle with questions of mankind’s relation to technology, personal identity, and what it means to be human.
Mathematical Realism From Reflectance Physicalism,
2021
University of South Carolina
Mathematical Realism From Reflectance Physicalism, Nicholas Matthew Danne
Theses and Dissertations
Do mirrors remain “reflective” objects in the dark, or does light shining onto a mirror instead give the mirror its reflective ability in the moment? More than an idle barstool question (like whether a tree falling in an abandoned forest makes a sound) the intrinsicality or light-independence of reflectance carries considerable philosophical import, since some philosophers reduce the human-visible colors to intrinsic surface reflectance. My dissertation, while remaining neutral on the best definition of color, argues that the received view of reflectance leaves it conceptually regressive and thus non-ascribable to surfaces. Rendering reflectance intrinsic to surfaces, I argue, requires a …
The Intrinsic Values Of Confucian Democracy And Dewey's Pragmatist Method,
2021
Singapore Management University
The Intrinsic Values Of Confucian Democracy And Dewey's Pragmatist Method, Sor-Hoon Tan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Given the historical association of Confucianism, or rather the Ru school of thought, with autocratic government since the Han dynasty, one of the challenges for contemporary scholars of Confucianism is to interpret and reconstruct Confucianism to guard against authoritarian tendencies without surrendering its distinctive ethical-political vision. Confucianism is incompatible with the conventional understanding of democracy as liberal democracy best represented by the United States, focused on limiting government with checks and balances, prioritizing protection of the civil and political rights of individuals, regular elections of representatives in which partisan competition for power offers citizens very little real choice, and it …
The Contextualization Of Myth: Identification Of Myth In The Propagation Of Narrative Across Generational Boundaries,
2021
Old Dominion University
The Contextualization Of Myth: Identification Of Myth In The Propagation Of Narrative Across Generational Boundaries, Joseph G. Ponthieux
Communication & Theatre Arts Theses
This thesis demonstrates the unique correlation between myth and the propagation of narrative across generational boundaries. It argues that myth occurs in the intersection of belief, semiotics, and context, and further enables a way of re-encoding a narrative with a dual contextuality. This dual context preserves a narrative’s literal context while endowing it with a new or modified myth context and affords the audience a selection of choices for how to receive a narrative experienced as myth. To demonstrate this correlation a Myth Context Reception Model is designed for the purpose of identifying ascendent, obscure or emergent myths evident in …
Metaphysics Supervenes On Logic: The Role Of The Logical Forms In Hegel's "Replacement" Of Metaphysics,
2021
Marquette University
Metaphysics Supervenes On Logic: The Role Of The Logical Forms In Hegel's "Replacement" Of Metaphysics, W. Clark Wolf
Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications
In this paper, I seek to explain Hegel’s view that his “logic” replaces metaphysics. I argue that Hegel’s discussion of logical forms of judgment and syllogism in book III of The Science of Logic is meant to be the foundation of his reformation of metaphysics. Implicit in Hegel’s discussion of the logical forms is the view that the metaphysical concepts discussed in books I and II of the Logic supervene on the role of subject and predicate terms in the logical forms discussed in book III. Hegel thus has an explanation for the nature and signifcance of metaphysical concepts that …
“He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, And Jokers,
2021
University of California Santa Barbara
“He Who Laughs Last!” Terrorists, Nihilists, And Jokers, William S. Chavez, Luke Mccracken
Journal of Religion & Film
Since his debut in 1940, the Joker, famed adversary of the Batman, continues to permeate the American cultural mediascape not merely as an object of consumption but as an ongoing production of popular imagination. Joker mythmakers post-1986 have reimagined the character not as superhuman but as “depressingly ordinary,” inspiring audiences both to empathize with his existential plight and to fear his terroristic violence as an increasingly compelling model of reactionary resistance to institutionality. This article examines the recent history of modern terrorism in conjunction with the “pathological nihilism” diagnosed by Nietzsche in order to elucidate the stakes and implications of …
Catholics & Cultures As An Act Of Improvisation: A Response,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
Catholics & Cultures As An Act Of Improvisation: A Response, Thomas M. Landy
Journal of Global Catholicism
This essay responds to seven articles published in the same issue of the Journal of Global Catholicism on the use of Catholics & Cultures, a multimedia website, as a pedagogical resource for college classrooms. The site is deliberately presented in a fashion that undermines notions of center and periphery and presents Catholicism from a lay, lived-religion perspective as the multicultural faith that it is, minimizing reference to religious typologies. Particular attention is given to how to navigate tensions around theorizing, categorizing and sorting information for cross-cultural comparison. Given scholars’ current state of knowledge, writing about and teaching about global Catholicism …
Catholics & Cultures: A Panoramic View In Search Of Greater Understanding,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
Catholics & Cultures: A Panoramic View In Search Of Greater Understanding, Stephanie M. Wong
Journal of Global Catholicism
While internet-based technologies can open up greater awareness of the world or create self-perpetuating echo-chambers, the Catholics & Cultures project aspires to do the former. Aiming to ‘widen the lens’ on the variety of Catholic communities and practices, the site delivers on this goal by introducing viewers to a vast array of articles, pictures and videos from around the world. The organization of the site by country and by certain key features of lived Catholicism offers some interpretive guidance. However, the project could be strengthened as a pedagogical resource if it were more extensively thematized and hosted reflections on potential …
The Value Of Online Resources: Reflections On Teaching An Introduction To Global Christianity,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
The Value Of Online Resources: Reflections On Teaching An Introduction To Global Christianity, Hillary Kaell
Journal of Global Catholicism
Reflecting on my experience teaching Introduction to Global Christianity, this essay ponders questions at the heart of undergraduate teaching: How can we encourage students to utilize online sources? How can we empower them to seek out answers to their questions? It offers practical examples of how I have used the Catholics & Cultures website in my classroom at a large public university. In particular, I reflect on my experience working with students who are mostly of Catholic heritage, but from many cultural and social contexts.
Teaching Sexuality On The Catholics & Cultures Website: A Refreshing Turn Toward The Longue Durée,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
Teaching Sexuality On The Catholics & Cultures Website: A Refreshing Turn Toward The Longue Durée, Marc Roscoe Loustau
Journal of Global Catholicism
I present a close reading of the Catholics & Cultures (C&C) website’s treatment of sexuality-related issues and discuss this material in relation to debates about how to teach sexuality in religious studies and theology classrooms. The C&C website occasionally and intermittently uses a typical “contemporary issues” approach that considers sexuality in relation to legal and legislative decisions and government policies. In contrast, country profiles consistently situate sexuality in relation processes like nation building, urbanization, and lay Catholics’ growing authority. My interpretation highlights the site’s decision to emphasize the longue durée, long-term and deep structural processes driving cultural and religious changes. …
Ritual Among The Scilohtac: Global Catholicism, The Nacirema, And Interfaith Studies,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
Ritual Among The Scilohtac: Global Catholicism, The Nacirema, And Interfaith Studies, Anita Houck
Journal of Global Catholicism
More than six decades after its publication, Horace Miner’s 1956 article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” remains a reliable pedagogical tool, remarkably successful in helping students see their own ethnocentric biases. Catholics & Cultures has potential to do similar work. The site lacks some of what makes Miner’s text so effective, in particular its capacity to bring about a sudden shift in perception. The site also shares some of the article’s limitations, particularly in focusing on ritual to the relative exclusion of other aspects of religion. That said, the site can help students gain the religious literacy and develop the …
Focus On The Busy Intersections Of Culture And Cultural Change,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
Focus On The Busy Intersections Of Culture And Cultural Change, Laura Elder
Journal of Global Catholicism
The dynamics of religious resurgence reveal the important ways that religious ritual and performance are meaning making spaces which are not self-contained or cut off from the rest of culture, but rather are a key locus of cultural change. A renewed emphasis on the busy intersections of meaning making – as rituals are connected, disconnected, and reconnected to other domains of social life – would improve the utility of the Catholics & Cultures website for understanding global cultural change. And a renewed emphasis on cultural change would also provide a better means for exploring reflexively by seeking to understand both …
A Widened Angle Of View: Teaching Theology And Racial Embodiment,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
A Widened Angle Of View: Teaching Theology And Racial Embodiment, Mara Brecht
Journal of Global Catholicism
Today’s undergraduate students are digital natives, shaped by constant access to information and countless experiences of encountering the world through the convenience of a screen. The ostensible comfort students have with difference gives way to a paradox, and one that’s made especially apparent in the theology classroom: Students are comfortable with seeing difference and particularity at a distance, but not adept at locating difference and particularity “at home.” I contend that Catholics & Cultures can help students from the dominant culture—namely, white students who comprise the vast majority of Catholic college students—destabilize their notion of the Catholic tradition as tightly …
Introducing Catholics & Cultures: Ethnography, Encyclopedia, Cyborg,
2021
College of the Holy Cross
Introducing Catholics & Cultures: Ethnography, Encyclopedia, Cyborg, Mathew N. Schmalz
Journal of Global Catholicism
In introducing the Catholics & Cultures site and the articles in this special issue, this essay initially locates the overall Catholic & Cultures project within the traditions of ethnography and encyclopedia. Drawing extensively on the work of J. Z. Smith, this essay reflects upon the theoretical implications of emphasizing the diversity of Catholicism in and through a web-based platform that facilitates comparative study and pedagogy. This essay then more specifically considers the web-based aspects of Catholics & Cultures by identifying a nascent cyborgian aesthetic in the site and considering how the site might eventually engage post-modern themes and concerns.
Hegel And Schelling: The Emptiness Of Emptiness And The Love Of The Divine,
2021
University of South Florida
Hegel And Schelling: The Emptiness Of Emptiness And The Love Of The Divine, Sean B. Gleason
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
In this dissertation, I argue that, all appearances to the contrary, Hegel does not attempt to achieve a complete systematization of reason in a self-reflexive sense in his system of philosophy. Quite the opposite, I maintain that the absolute Idea is the actuality of the self-transcendence of the divine. Along these lines, I argue (in agreement with Slavoj Žižek) that the absolute “Idea” is non-total and incomplete; in this sense, Hegel is neither a modern thinker nor a post-modern thinker, but rather he presents a version of thinking that is both modern and post-modern, while neither merely one nor the …
Adventuring Into Complexity By Exploring Data: From Complicity To Sustainability,
2021
West Chester University
Adventuring Into Complexity By Exploring Data: From Complicity To Sustainability, Tim Lutz
Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)
Problems of sustainability are typically represented by major present-day challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental and social injustice. Framed this way, sustainable lives and societies depend on finding solutions to each problem. From another perspective, there is only one problem behind them all, stated by Gregory Bateson as: “…the difference between how nature works and the way people think,” and complexity provides a way to define and approach this problem. I extend Edgar Morin’s conceptions of restricted and general complexity into pedagogy to address problems of simplicity and reductionist teaching. The proposed pedagogy is based on long …
