DSpace Collection:http://hdl.handle.net/2445/1069022024-03-29T07:35:03Z2024-03-29T07:35:03ZDe conques i altres cavernes. Orificialitat i visió en ficcions del segle XXIIsern Ordeig, Maria, 1994-http://hdl.handle.net/2445/2049202024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-12-19T09:06:10ZTitle: De conques i altres cavernes. Orificialitat i visió en ficcions del segle XXI
Author: Isern Ordeig, Maria, 1994-
Abstract: [cat] Inscrita en el marc dels estudis de gènere i sexualitat i servint-se de les eines de la teoria literària i la literatura comparada, aquesta tesi explora la interrelació entre l’orificialitat i la visió en ficcions literàries, gràfiques i cinematogràfiques del s. XXI. L’objecte d’estudi es desplega a partir d’una primera problemàtica inicial, teòrica i metodològica: la relació entre cossos i textos, materialitat i textualitat. Basant-se en les perspectives dels nous materialismes, els estudis queer i les lectures feministes del postestructuralisme francès, en el primer capítol es planteja una possible articulació d’aquesta relació que recull la continuïtat entre els processos de materialització del cos i els de la seva textualització. De la proposta es desprèn i es justifica l’organització estructural de la tesi mateixa: tres capítols posteriors pensats com a zones liminars del cos humà, que examinen l’objecte d’estudi emplaçant-lo, respectivament, en l’ull, forat del rostre (capítol 2), els forats corporals associats a la sexualitat (capítol 3) i la pell, òrgan orificial (capítol 4). Un corpus primari de tres obres —literària, gràfica i cinematogràfica— travessa l’articulació analítica de tot el treball i un corpus d’obres secundàries l’amplia puntualment. Es parteix de la idea que en el context de les epistemologies fal·logocularcèntriques occidentals el cos ha estat concebut com a objecte metafísic apriorístic, i els seus orificis, ens ambigus al llindar de la visibilitat, reduïts a absència. A partir d’anàlisis comparatístiques i interdisciplinars es desplega la hipòtesi que els orificis corporals juguen un rol important en la construcció semàntica, simbòlica i social del cos sexuat, especialment des del punt de vista de la normativitat, i a la vegada, en tant que terreny corpotextual, que aquesta orificialitat resulta un espai de qüestionament i subversió constant de tals semàntiques. En les anàlisis es constata que aquesta doble dinàmica es dona conjuntament amb la mobilització d’una sèrie de poètiques de la visió que passen per la imbricació de l’ull, tradicionalment abstret de l’economia matèrica del cos, en el territori corporal, obrint la possibilitat d’imaginar, representar i escriure la materialitat altrament: propera a la fluïdesa, la transitorietat, la liminaritat i la porositat associada als orificis. Es conclou per constatar la productivitat de l’estudi de la interacció entre l’orificialitat i la visió per establir models de corporalitat dominants en el sistema sexe/gènere clàssic, sostingut en els binarismes natura/cultura i masculí/femení. A la vegada, es confirma el fort potencial d’aquesta teorització per ampliar el pensament de la diferència sexual i els seus imaginaris a expressions menys dicotòmiques, més plurals i queers.; [eng] This thesis explores the interrelation between orificiality and vision in literary, graphic, and cinematographic fictions of the 21st century. The object of study unfolds from an initial, theoretical and methodological problem: the relationship between bodies and texts, materiality and textuality. Based on the perspectives of new materialisms and feminist readings of French poststructuralism, the first chapter proposes a possible articulation of this relationship that reflects the continuity between the processes of materialization of the body and those of its textualization. The structural organization of the thesis itself has derived from the proposal: three further chapters conceived as liminal zones of the human body, which examine the object of study by locating it, respectively, in the eye, a hole in the face (chapter 2), the bodily holes associated with sexuality (chapter 3), and the skin, a holeful organ (chapter 4). A primary corpus of three works —a novel, a graphic novel and a film— crosses the analytical articulation of the whole thesis, and a corpus of secondary works extends it punctually. The starting point is the idea that in the context of Western phallogocularcentric epistemologies, the body has been conceived as an aprioristic metaphysical object, and its orifices, ambiguous entities at the threshold of visibility, reduced to absence. From comparative and interdisciplinary analyses, the following hypothesis is presented: bodily orifices play an important role in the semantic and social construction of the sexed body, especially from the point of view of normativity; at the same time, as a corpotextual territory, this orificiality is a space of constant questioning and subversion of such semantics. The analyses show that this double dynamic occurs together with the mobilization of a series of poetics of vision that involve the imbrication of the eye, traditionally abstracted from the material economy of the body, in the corporeal territory, opening the possibility of imagining, representing and writing materiality alternatively: close to fluidity, transitoriness, liminarity and porosity associated with orifices.2023-12-19T09:06:10ZTask-based pronunciation teaching and learning of L2 vowels in EFL learners: task complexity effectsMora Plaza, Ingridhttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/2018792024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-09-14T09:19:44ZTitle: Task-based pronunciation teaching and learning of L2 vowels in EFL learners: task complexity effects
Author: Mora Plaza, Ingrid
Abstract: [eng] Second language (L2) pronunciation learning in foreign language instructional contexts is particularly challenging due to insufficient quantity and quality of L2 input. Decades of L2 speech acquisition research have demonstrated that L1 phonology exerts a strong influence in L2 phonological learning (Best & Tyler, 2007; Flege & Bohn, 2021). One way to mitigate the effects of L1 phonological interference may be to raise learners’ awareness of the relevant L2 pronunciation targets through tasks that encourage attention to pronunciation within meaning-based interaction. Although form-focused communicative approaches have been gaining interest in pronunciation teaching research (Darcy & Rocca, 2023), few investigations have applied task-based language teaching (TBLT) principles, which involve real-world processes of language use, to L2 pronunciation learning (Gurzynski-Weiss et al., 2017a). So far, none have assessed gains in L2 vowel perception, lexical encoding and production for the same participants after a pedagogical intervention. Furthermore, studies investigating whether the predictions of the Cognition Hypothesis (Robinson, 2011b) can extend to L2 phonology are relatively scarce. This doctoral dissertation seeks to contribute to task-based pronunciation teaching (TBPT) research by (1) examining the effectiveness of task design manipulation and (2) exploring the effects of increased task complexity on the pronunciation of two difficult English vowel contrasts (/iː-ɪ/, /æ-ʌ/); (3) assessing to what extent individual differences may mediate L2 vowel performance and gains; and (4) obtaining learners’ perceptions of TBPT and L2 vowel learning. A total of 92 bilingual Catalan/Spanish learners of English were divided into two experimental groups and a control group. Sixty-three experimental learners carried out 20 dyadic problem-solving tasks over 7 weeks. Participants were assigned to either simple (N=31) or complex (N=32) cognitive task complexity groups depending on the number of reasoning demands along resource-directing dimensions the tasks involved. Task completion required the distinction of the target minimal pairs (e.g., bean-bin, cat-cut), which learners were exposed to during the pre-task and consolidated in the post-task. Improvement in L2 vowel perception and lexical encoding was gauged through ABX discrimination and forced lexical choice and lexical decision tasks (accuracy and reaction time) respectively, and in production though delayed word and sentence repetition tasks (Mahalanobis distances between contrastive vowels and between non-native and native speakers’ productions). Additionally, we calculated the occurrence of pronunciation- focused language related episodes (P-LRE) and assessed learners’ individual differences in L2 experience, L2 proficiency, working memory and auditory selective attention. Results showed that the TBPT intervention enhanced the discrimination and lexical encoding of L2 vowel contrasts, and resulted in significantly more distinct and accurate vowel productions when they were elicited in words in isolation and sentences. Gains in vowel discrimination and vowel quality generalized to untaught lexical contexts and were retained 11 weeks after the intervention. Although simple and complex task groups improved L2 pronunciation after the TBPT intervention, performing cognitively demanding tasks led to greater long-term gains in the discrimination, lexical encoding and production of L2 vowels than performing simple tasks. However, increased task complexity did not have a significant impact on the frequency and duration of P-LRE. As for individual differences, working memory and selective attention explained larger inter- individual variation in L2 vowel performance than English experience, but learner factors were only weakly associated to L2 vowel gains. Last, learners expressed a general sense of enjoyment and learning after the TBPT intervention, but self-perceived L2 pronunciation improvement was especially evident in the complex group. Globally, the present study suggests that orienting learners’ attention to phonological form during oral communication is beneficial for L2 pronunciation development, and paves the way for further research in task design and manipulation so as to promote pedagogical practices for pronunciation learning in foreign language classrooms.; [cat] L’objectiu principal de la tesi doctoral és examinar l'efectivitat de manipular el disseny de tasques i els efectes de l'increment de la complexitat de les tasques en la pronunciació de dos contrastos vocàlics difícils de l'anglès (/iː-ɪ/, /æ-ʌ/) com a segona llengua (L2). També pretén investigar en quina mesura les diferències individuals poden interferir en la percepció/producció i en els guanys de les vocals de la L2, i obtenir les percepcions dels aprenents sobre l'aprenentatge de la pronunciació a través de tasques comunicatives (TBPT). Noranta-dos aprenents d’anglès bilingües català/castellà es van dividir en dos grups experimentals i un grup de control. Seixanta-tres aprenents experimentals van completar 20 tasques en parelles durant 7 setmanes i es van assignar a grups de complexitat cognitiva simple (N=31) o complexa (N=32). Millores en la percepció de les vocals de la L2 i la codificació lèxica es van mesurar mitjançant tasques de discriminació ABX i de decisió lèxica, respectivament, i millores en producció a través de tasques de repetició de paraules i frases amb demora. També es van avaluar les diferències individuals dels aprenents en relació a l’experiència en L2 i factors cognitius. Els resultats van mostrar que la intervenció TBPT va millorar la discriminació i la codificació lèxica dels contrastos vocàlics en L2, i va generar produccions vocàliques significativament més dissemblants i precises tant en paraules aïllades com en frases. Aquest aprenentatge es va generalitzar a nous contextos lèxics i es va mantenir 11 setmanes després de la intervenció. A més, realitzar tasques cognitivament exigents va produir més guanys a llarg termini en la discriminació, codificació lèxica i producció de les vocals de la L2 que realitzar tasques simples. Els factors cognitius van explicar una major variabilitat interindividual en la percepció/producció de les vocals de la L2 que l’experiència en anglès, però no van estar associats als guanys obtinguts a partir de la intervenció. Finalment, els estudiants van manifestar la seva percepció d'haver gaudit i après amb la intervenció TBPT. L’estudi conclou amb suggeriments per a futures investigacions i recomanacions pedagògiques per a l’ensenyament de la pronunciació a les aules de llengua estrangera.2023-09-14T09:19:44ZRepresentations of Memory in Contemporary South African Literature by Young, Black, Female AuthorsWinstanley, Laurahttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/2019052024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-09-13T09:11:33ZTitle: Representations of Memory in Contemporary South African Literature by Young, Black, Female Authors
Author: Winstanley, Laura
Abstract: [eng] This thesis explores the representation and construction of collective memory published in South Africa since 2007 by young, black, female authors. Collective memory is what is remembered about the past in order to create a desired national or other social identity. The purpose of this thesis is to explore different facets of South African identity and the way in which collective memory both constitutes group identity and is, in turn, constituted by such groups. This thesis analyses the role of gender, generation and race in the development of collective memory. The research methods included analysis of texts, specifically literature through the theoretical lens of memory studies specifically the work of Aleida and Jan Assmann. Postcolonial theory and more recent discourses of decolonisation have also played an important role in the analysis of these contemporary texts. Primary sources include interviews with the authors of the key texts, conducted by me and others, as well as the texts themselves. The thesis concludes that contemporary South African authors are moving away from earlier postapartheid literature, with its preoccupation on apartheid, to focus on the issues facing South Africa today. Contemporary literature represents the survival of precolonial memory, and its recovery after the fall of apartheid. It explores the experience of black people in a country and a world which still favours whiteness over blackness. Black people remain economically disadvantaged, which leads to a lack of access, for the vast majority to political or social power. It illustrates the structural racism resulting in economic and social inequality as well as the potential of decolonisation to complement South Africa’s political independence. These authors create a sense of what it means to be a black woman in South Africa. Feminist rewritings and an insistence of women’s importance as creators and distributors of collective memory are a feature of all these texts. Finally, the role of generation in the construction of collective memory is demonstrated in these texts by their avoidance of the apartheid as a topic and focus on a variety of contemporary issues. The expectation and disappointment which characterises this generation pervades the literature they have produced. Contemporary authors attempt to shape the vision of South African memory in order to bring about social change. They view their work as a contribution to collective memory. They attempt to amplify what South African identity and memory means, and fill in the gaps left by national metanarratives which continue to dominate the postcolonial nation. These authors are multiply disadvantaged by race, gender and age. They view part of their role as readdressing the lack of literature published by people like them, and the lack of representation they find within canonised literature. This thesis explores the varied and innovate ways in which they are contributing to literature and to collective memory.; [spa] Esta tesis explora la representación y construcción de la memoria colectiva de Sudáfrica a través de lo publicado desde 2007 por autoras jóvenes negras. La memoria colectiva nutre las distintas identidades grupales presentes en Sudáfrica, las cuales a su vez crean las narrativas retroalimentan la memoria colectiva.
La tesis concluye que las autoras sudafricanas contemporáneas, a diferencia de lo que ocurría con la literatura inmediatamente posterior al apartheid, están sustituyendo la preocupación por el apartheid para centrarse en los problemas que enfrenta Sudáfrica en la actualidad. La literatura contemporánea explora la supervivencia de la memoria precolonial y su recuperación tras la caída del régimen del apartheid, abordando también el racismo estructural que resulta en la desigualdad económica y social de Sudáfrica. Las reescrituras de mitos e historias en clave feministas, así como la insistencia en el rol de las mujeres como creadoras y distribuidoras de memoria colectiva son un elemento común de los textos analizados.
Las autoras contemporáneas intentan dar forma a su visión de la memoria sudafricana para impulsar el cambio social y económico. Su trabajo es una contribución a la memoria colectiva de Sudáfrica, llenando los vacíos dejados por las metanarrativas nacionales que continúan dominando esta nación poscolonial.2023-09-13T09:11:33ZNeoliberalism, class, subjectivity: a sociological perspective on post-recession british theatreMendez Panadés, Alberthttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/2018922024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-09-13T07:48:41ZTitle: Neoliberalism, class, subjectivity: a sociological perspective on post-recession british theatre
Author: Mendez Panadés, Albert
Abstract: [eng] This PhD dissertation, entitled “Neoliberalism, Class, Subjectivity: A Sociological Perspective on Post-Recession British Theatre / Neoliberalisme, classe, subjectivitat: una mirada sociològica al teatre britànic post-crisi” aims to contribute to the field of theatre studies by offering an analysis of Beats (2012; published 2013), by Kieran Hurley, In the Republic of Happiness, by Martin Crimp (2012), and Mouthpiece (2018), also by Hurley, from the perspective of how these plays formally and rhetorically react to a context of post-recession crisis and austerity, in which neoliberal discourses overemphasising individual agency have prevailed. After a long disregard of class during the 1980s and 1990s, Siân Adiseshiah (2016) and Nadine Holdsworth (2019) have identified that there has been a return to class issues in 21st-century British drama. In line with this, this thesis intends to expand existing scholarly literature on the subject of class, by arguing that Beats, In the Republic of Happiness, and Mouthpiece are part of a broader cultural response to the 2008 financial crash and the capitalist management of crisis, in which dominant narratives of meritocracy or prosperity were questioned and discourses around class difference and inequality regained significance.
The coming of the neoliberal paradigm, with flexible market and labour relationships, the erosion of traditional identities, the distrust of metanarratives and the transition from the industrial producer to the individual consumer, led some politicians and sociologists to deliberately discredit class as an old-fashioned term. Instead, they extolled the individualised middle-class self as the universal and normative ideal in post-industrial societies. Drawing on Beverley Skeggs (2004a) and Imogen Tyler’s (2013, 2020) sociological work, this thesis contends that neoliberalism propagates normative forms of personhood through othering and stigmatising discourses that render working-class individuals as abject, irresponsible, ungovernable and unable to accrue value to/for themselves. More specifically, it is claimed that the plays discussed have absorbed these class concerns since they identify, defamiliarise, challenge or satirise the dominant neoliberal form of subjectivity in a way that contributes to put class issues back on stage. In addition, and by reference to Paul Murphy’s analysis of class as performance (2012) and Tyler’s account of class as struggles against classification (2013), the thesis also explores how these plays understand class in a relational way, by considering othering discourses that culturally reinforce inequality in classed subjectivities.
In line with this theoretical framework, the thesis argues that Beats reveals and resists the demonisation and devaluation of working-class young subjects by mobilising and interpellating spectators via affects of solidarity or a historical reading of communitarian forms of resistance that may disturb neoliberal forms of power. In the Republic of Happiness satirises and
maximises the neoliberal subjectivity embodied by the character of Marlene, and warns us against neoliberal discourses of authenticity, security or wellbeing activated by the desire for happiness. Finally, Mouthpiece cautions against representations that essentialise working-class identities as valueless and abject, attaching them to narratives of decline. Last but not least, by exploring how the character of Declan revolts against this cultural stereotyping, the thesis confirms that a focus on how working-class subjects resist or disidentify themselves from dominant regimes of value is highly productive for a class-based analysis of theatre.; [cat] La present tesi, titulada “Neoliberalism, Class, Subjectivity: A Sociological Perspective on Post-Recession British Theatre / Neoliberalisme, Classe, Subjectivitat: Una mirada sociològica al teatre britànic post-crisi”, proposa una lectura de les obres de Beats (2012; publicat 2013), de Kieran Hurley, In the Republic of Happiness (2012), de Martin Crimp, i Mouthpiece (2018), també de Kieran Hurley, parant atenció a com aquestes han reaccionat formalment i retòricament a un context de crisi i austeritat, en què els discursos neoliberals han sobre- emfatitzat l’agència individual.
Siân Adiseshiah (2016) i Nadine Holdsworth (2019) han identificat un retorn de temàtiques relacionades amb les classes socials en l’escena britànica del segle XXI, després que en la dècada dels vuitanta i noranta aquestes es deixessin pràcticament de banda. En aquest sentit, aquesta tesi pretén engrossir la literatura al voltant de les classes socials, argumentant que Beats, In the Republic of Happiness, i Mouthpiece formen part d’una resposta cultural a la crisi financera del 2008 i a la gestió neoliberal de la crisi, en què la meritocràcia i la prosperitat, com a narratives dominants, van ser qüestionades i els discursos al voltant de les diferències de classe i la desigualtat van recobrar importància.
Amb l’adveniment del paradigma neoliberal, caracteritzat per unes relacions laborals i de mercat més flexibles, l’erosió d’identitats tradicionals, la desconfiança vers les metanarratives i la transició de la figura del productor industrial a l’individu consumidor van portar a diversos polítics i sociòlegs a desestimar deliberadament el concepte de classe com a anacrònic. En comptes d’això, van induir un jo individualitzat de classe mitjana com a ideal universal i normatiu a les societats post-industrials.
A partir del treball sociològic de Beverley Skeggs (2004a) i Imogen Tyler (2013, 2020), aquesta tesi argumenta que el neoliberalisme propaga formes de personalitat normatives mitjançant discursos d’alterització i estigmatització, que posicionen com a abjectes, irresponsables, ingovernables i incapaços d’acumular valor per si mateixos als individus de classe treballadora. Específicament, la tesi defensa que les obres en qüestió han absorbit aquestes preocupacions de classe i identifiquen, desfamiliaritzen, satiritzen o posen en entredit la subjectivitat neoliberal dominant de tal manera que han contribuït a ressituar en l’escena teatral qüestions de classe. A més, explora com aquestes obres conceben la classe de manera relacional, considerant discursos d’alterització que reforcen culturalment la desigualtat en les subjectivitats de classe. Amb aquest propòsit, es recorre principalment a l’anàlisi de Paul
Murphy de classe com a performativitat (2012) i a la concepció de Tyler de la classe com a lluita contra els règims classificatoris (2013).
En aquest sentit, aquesta tesi argumenta que Beats posa al descobert la demonització i devaluació dels joves de classe treballadora, interpel·lant als espectadors a través de la mobilització d’afectes de solidaritat o a través d’una lectura històrica sobre formes comunitàries de resistència que desestabilitzen formes neoliberals de poder. La tesi llegeix, també, In the Republic of Happiness a partir de com l’obra satiritza i porta fins a l’última de les conseqüències la subjectivitat neoliberal, personificada en el personatge de Marlene, i adverteix del perill dels discursos neoliberals sobre l’autenticitat, la seguretat o el benestar mobilitzats a partir del desig de ser feliços. Per últim, la tesi analitza com Mouthpiece denuncia les representacions de les identitats de classe treballadora que les essencialitzen com a abjectes i desvalorades, vinculant-les a narratives de decadència. Finalment, centrant-se en com el personatge de Declan es revolta contra aquesta estereotipització cultural, la tesi confirma com de productiu és parar atenció a com els subjectes de classe treballadora oposen resistència o es desidentifiquen dels règims de valor dominants per l’anàlisi de la classe en les representacions teatrals.2023-09-13T07:48:41ZThe Performance of Racial and Gender Terror in debbie tucker green’s ear for eye (2018) and Travis Alabanza’s Burgerz (2018)Massana Vidal, Elisabethhttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/2018842024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-09-12T10:31:32ZTitle: The Performance of Racial and Gender Terror in debbie tucker green’s ear for eye (2018) and Travis Alabanza’s Burgerz (2018)
Author: Massana Vidal, Elisabeth
Abstract: [eng] This PhD thesis, entitled “The Performance of Racial and Gender Terror in debbie tucker green’s ear for eye (2018) and Travis Alabanza’s Burgerz (2018)” contributes to the field of theatre studies by analysing how debbie tucker green and Travis Alabanza’s plays engage with contemporary forms of racial and gender terror respectively. By applying a queer methodology to text-based theatre, the aim of the thesis is to offer non-hegemonic approaches to the analysis of terror in post-9/11 British drama by looking at two plays which do not traditionally find themselves within the theatre on terror corpus. Alongside the plays, it discusses material produced by the playwrights and which expands the scope of each particular project, both temporally and in terms of their aesthetics. This includes the filmed version of tucker green’s ear for eye (2021) and sound and video recordings of Alabanza’s Tranz Talkz, a series of conversations held in parallel to the creation of the play with various gender non-conforming people throughout the UK.
The thesis is organized in two acts, each of which is followed by a short interval. Act One provides the theoretical and methodological frameworks of the thesis. Firstly, drawing on the work of Judith Butler, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Rustom Bharucha and Sara Ahmed, it looks at the effects and affects generated by the hegemonic epistemological framework of terror that emerged after 9/11, and it offers a brief overview of how studies on theatre and terror(ism) (Boll, 2013; de Waal, 2016; Hughes, 2007, 2011; Soncini, 2016; Spencer, 2018) have engaged with it, contributing, perhaps inadvertently, to the perpetuation of this frame. Secondly, drawing on the work of Hannah McCann, Jack Halberstam, José Esteban Muñoz and Sara Ahmed, amongst others, it drafts a scavenger queer methodology which is used to distort the aforementioned framework, slide into queer disorientation and propose a series of key methodological principles and keywords used in the analysis of the two plays, including queer temporalities, queer messiness, and a focus on aspects of livability and
worldmaking. The first interval that follows provides a justification as to what are the benefits of approaching an analysis on contemporary forms of terror through a queer lens.
Attending to their own particular contexts, Act Two analyses ear for eye through the lens of racial terror and locates how Burgerz discusses forms of gender terror, focusing on how, through its different aesthetic and dramaturgical devices, the plays engage with the principles and keywords previously identified. Some of the formal aspects analysed are elements of Afrodiasporic aesthetics in tucker green’s play and the use of the archive as an act of radical communal care in Alabanza. The final interval interrogates how the discomfort experienced by white and cisgender audience members watching these plays can be (messily) discussed in ways which are not complicit with the hegemonic frameworks that silence these forms of terror, and with forms of epistemic violence towards the racialized and gender non-conforming subjects the plays discuss.
Overall the thesis contributes towards expanding the language used to discuss the representation of terror on stage, it proposes a queer methodology for text-based drama that can be applied to the analysis of other plays, and it offers the first available analysis of both the play and the filmed version of ear for eye, as well as the first discussion of Burgerz alongside the archived material of Tranz Talkz, some of which is transcribed and included in a final annex.; [cat] Aquesta tesi doctoral, titulada “The Performance of Racial and Gender Terror in debbie tucker green’s ear for eye (2018) and Travis Alabanza’s Burgerz (2018)” contribueix al camp dels estudis teatrals mitjançant l’anàlisi de la interacció de formes contemporànies de terror racial i de gènere amb les obres de debbie tucker green i Travis Alabanza. Mitjançant l’aplicació d’una metodologia queer al teatre de text, l’objectiu de la tesi és oferir enfocaments no hegemònics a l’anàlisi del terror en el drama britànic posterior a l’11 de setembre, a partir de dues obres que tradicionalment no es troben dins del corpus teatral del terror. Paral·lelament a les obres, l’estudi analitza material audiovisual que amplia l’abast de cada projecte en concret, tant temporalment com pel que fa a la seva estètica. Això inclou la versió filmada d’ear for eye (2021) de tucker green i l’enregistrament de so i vídeo de Tranz Talkz (2018) d’Alabanza, una sèrie de converses celebrades en paral·lel a la creació de l'obra amb diverses persones dissidents de gènere a tot el Regne Unit.
La tesi s’organitza en dos actes, cadascun dels quals va seguit d'un breu interval. El primer acte proporciona els marcs teòrics i metodològics de la tesi. En primer lloc, a partir del treball de Judith Butler, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Rustom Bharucha i Sara Ahmed, s’analitzen els efectes i els afectes generats pel marc epistemològic hegemònic del terror que sorgí després de l'11-S, i s’ofereix una breu visió general de com estudis sobre teatre i terror(isme) s’hi han relacionat (Boll, 2013; de Waal, 2016; Hughes, 2007, 2011; Soncini, 2016; Spencer, 2018), contribuint, potser de forma involuntària, a la perpetuació d'aquest marc. En segon lloc, a partir del treball de Hannah McCann, Jack Halberstam, José Esteban Muñoz i Sara Ahmed, entre d’altres, s’elabora una metodologia queer (‘scavenger queer methodology’) que s’utilitza per distorsionar l’esmentat marc, transitar cap a la desorientació queer i proposar una sèrie de principis metodològics i paraules clau utilitzades en l’anàlisi de les dues obres: temporalitats queer, desendreçament queer i un enfocament en aspectes de l’habitabilitat del món i la creació
de móns. El primer interval que segueix proporciona una justificació sobre quins són els beneficis d'abordar una anàlisi de les formes contemporànies de terror des d'una mirada queer.
Atenent als seus propis contextos, l’acte segon analitza ear for eye a partir del concepte de terror racial i Burgerz a partir del terror de gènere, centrant-se en com, a través dels seus diferents dispositius estètics i dramatúrgics, les obres es relacionen amb els principis i les paraules clau anteriorment identificats. Entre els aspectes formals analitzats sobresurten elements de l'estètica afrodiaspòrica en l’obra de tucker green i l’ús de l’arxiu com un acte radical de cura comunitària a Alabanza. A l’interval final s’interroga com el malestar que experimenten els membres del públic blanc i cisgènere que veuen aquestes obres es pot discutir (desendreçadament) d’una manera que no sigui còmplice dels marcs hegemònics que silencien aquestes formes de terror, ni de formes de violència epistèmica cap a les persones racialitzades i dissidents de gènere sobre les que tracten les obres.
En conjunt, la tesi contribueix a ampliar el llenguatge utilitzat per discutir la representació del terror a l’escenari i proposa una metodologia queer per al teatre de text que es pot aplicar a l’anàlisi d'altres obres teatrals. Així mateix, ofereix la primera anàlisi disponible tant de l’obra com de la versió filmada d’ear for eye, així com la primera discussió de Burgerz juntament amb el material d’arxiu de Tranz Talkz, part del qual ha estat transcrit i s’inclou en un annex final.2023-09-12T10:31:32ZExploring lifelong learning motivational ecologies through the narratives of senior language usersDarnault, Bérénicehttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/2018622024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-09-12T07:29:24ZTitle: Exploring lifelong learning motivational ecologies through the narratives of senior language users
Author: Darnault, Bérénice
Abstract: [eng] In the context of an ageing and increasingly more independent learning population, a narrative inquiry into the life stories of highly motivated senior language users remains a promising yet relatively unexplored area. The literature review shows there have been no attempts to understand language learning in third age and lifelong motivation in L2 all combined, let alone to theorise around them from an emic and narrative perspective. More particularly, the study of older learners’ life decisions, learning beliefs and motivational predispositions to successful language practice in light of their own timeline, remains an uncharted area.
This doctoral dissertation approaches motivation in foreign language learning as a lifelong individual process that evolves along a narrative continuum, developing over the course of life, personal experiences, choices and events. As such, the study embraces a complexity approach to researching the history of self-constructs and motivational patterns across life. In this thesis, I aimed to investigate the motivational life trajectories of three highly motivated foreign language senior users through their personal self-accounts.
This research reviewed the existing gap in the age-related and lifelong language learning research agenda, and the niche to explore third age language learning in light of the theories of Complex Dynamic Systems (CDST), L2 Motivational Self-System (L2MSS), and Directed Motivational Currents (DMC). As such, I proposed cross- disciplinary connections, locating third age L2 learning experience in the wider spectrum of L2 motivation, lifelong learning and geragogy. The study examined seniors’ L2 commitment across nested time scales and within self-defined intensity,
reflected in the chronological investigation of attractor states, and more particularly DMCs and High Peaks of Motivation (HPMs). Not only did the study aim to assess what generated seniors’ motivation in a situated manner, i.e., in each self-assessed pivotal turning points, but also what sustained it all throughout their lives.
A triangulated and multimodal approach was adopted in order to collect data by means of two semi-structured retrospective interviews with three French senior learners of English aged between 65 and 80 years old, who commonly participated in regular language conversation exchange during coffee meetings in Nice (France). Multiple instruments were used, including photos, email exchanges, phone text messages, books, letters, academic records, questionnaire, and drawings. Their lifelong stories with language learning were recorded in a chronological order, from childhood up to their current practice and learning experience.
Results show that all three learners experienced several cued DMCs and HPMs in language learning across their lives, and through flows of self-integrated and autonomously generated energy and drive. Upon retirement, they incorporated language learning into their daily routine, making language practice as a default trait that was part of their broader sense of self. A hybrid L2 self emerged in later years, drawing from the combination of ought-to, ideal and anti-ought-to selves that prevailed with different degrees of intensity according to life periods. The accumulation of L2 motivational peaks and DMCs not only helped shape an evolutive motivational self system, but also grow a self-directed L2 learning ecology and motivational reservoir that today keep flourishing through the search for sustained wellbeing. The insights that were drawn from the present investigation could hopefully not only debunk folk wisdom related to age-related cognitive decline in additional language learning, but also help optimize foreign language education quality for senior learners through better appreciation and anticipation on the autonomous third age learning experience.; [spa] En el contexto de una población de aprendices que envejece y que es cada vez más independiente, el análisis narrativo sobre las vidas de gente mayor con un alto grado de motivación hacia el aprendizaje de lenguas es un área especialmente interesante y, a la vez, poco explorada. Esta tesis doctoral analiza exhaustivamente el desarrollo de la motivación hacia el aprendizaje de idiomas a lo largo de la vida a través de la narración, desde la infancia hasta la madurez. El trabajo adopta la teoría de la complejidad para la investigación del Yo y tiene como propósito final explorar las trayectorias motivacionales de tres aprendices mayores con un alto grado de interés hacia los idiomas, a través de sus propias narraciones.
Esta investigación responde a la falta de estudios sobre el aprendizaje de idiomas a lo largo de la vida, tema que se aborda a la luz de las teorías de Sistemas Dinámicos Complejos L2 (TSDC), el Sistema Motivacional del Yo L2 (SMY), y las Corrientes Motivacionales Dirigidas (CMD). Como tal, se proponen conexiones interdisciplinares y se ubica la experiencia de aprendizaje en la tercera edad en el marco de la motivación hacia la L2, el aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida y la geragogía. En el estudio se examina el compromiso de las personas mayores hacia el aprendizaje L2 a través de escalas de tiempo anidadas y con grados de intensidad autodefinidos. Esto queda reflejado al examinar los estados atractores de forma cronológica, concretamente las CMDs y los picos altos de motivación (PAMs). El estudio no solo tiene como objetivo identificar, de forma contextualizada, el origen de la motivación en personas mayores (es decir, en relación a puntos de inflexión personal), sino que también explora qué es lo que sostuvo esta motivación a lo largo del tiempo.
Finalmente, se espera que las conclusiones de este estudio no sólo desmienten la sabiduría popular relacionada con el deterioro cognitivo en personas mayores, sino que también ayuden a optimizar la calidad de la educación en idiomas extranjeros dirigida a estudiantes de la tercera edad.2023-09-12T07:29:24ZLanguage Learning from Subtitled TV Series in the Primary EFL ClassroomCasulleras Marquès, Montserrathttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/2017852024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-09-08T07:30:52ZTitle: Language Learning from Subtitled TV Series in the Primary EFL Classroom
Author: Casulleras Marquès, Montserrat
Abstract: [eng] Even if audiovisual materials have been shown to offer several advantages for L2 learning (Danan, 2004), in previous literature very little attention has been paid to L2 learning from multimodal input in young low-proficiency learners (d’Ydewalle & Van de Poel, 1999; Matielo et al., 2015; Alexiou, 2015). Furthermore, most of the studies conducted so far are one-off studies, while there is scarce longitudinal research on extensive viewing with young populations in instructional settings (Gesa, 2019; Avello, 2023).
In this study, two groups of Spanish/Catalan students learning English as FL at primary school, watched one episode a week of the animated TV series Curious George with the audio in English but subtitles either in Spanish (L1S, N=47) or English (L2S, N=45) over a period of 5 months. After each episode, students were immediately tested on episode comprehension and L2 written word-form recognition. In order to explore the role of several variables on their scores, before the intervention learners answered a questionnaire enquiring about previous out-of-school exposure (OSE) to audiovisual materials. They were also tested on language aptitude, L1 / L2 Reading Speed (RS) and L2 receptive Vocabulary Size (VS). Finally, in order to examine possible changes in their viewing behaviour when they were repeatedly exposed to multimodal input over a long period of time, they answered the same video watching questionnaire before and after the intervention.
Results showed that both groups were understanding the videos and learning vocabulary from them: although differences between the groups were not always significant, the L1S group consistently scored higher in comprehension, while the L2S group was better at L2 word-form recognition of known and new words appearing in the episodes. Linguistic aptitude was revealed to be closely related to episode comprehension in both groups, and to vocabulary scores especially in the L1S group. Regarding possible proficiency effects, L2 VS had a significant effect on L2 comprehension in both groups, whereas RS was only significantly related to the scores obtained by the L1S group.
It was also observed that the L1S group required less time to read the subtitles than their L2S peers since the beginning of the study, as participants’ RS was better in the L1. No significant changes were observed in the viewing behaviour of the two groups, although the L2S group showed a significant shift in their lexical learning perception at the end of the intervention, as they perceived that they had learned more vocabulary. Findings also showed that those participants who had been previously exposed to multimodal input at home did not actually obtain significantly higher results in the tests than their peers who had not been.
The outcomes from this dissertation suggest that exposure to multimodal input promotes L2 comprehension and vocabulary learning in young low-proficiency L2 learners. However, they also indicate that gains are not always evident and do not present a clear ascending order as amount of exposure accumulates. The findings also point towards the important role of language aptitude and L2 VS for L2 learning through audiovisual materials. The results of the study, which are discussed considering the previous research available on the topic, also offer new insights into extensive viewing with young learners for teachers and practitioners.; [cat] Els materials audiovisuals han demostrat oferir múltiples avantatges per a l’aprenentatge d’una segona llengua (L2) (Danan, 2004). Malgrat això, pocs estudis previs s’han centrat en l’aprenentatge de la L2 a través d’input multimodal en aprenents joves de baix nivell de proficiència (d’Ydewalle & Van de Poel, 1999; Matielo et al., 2015; Alexiou, 2015). A més, hi ha molt poca recerca longitudinal que analitzi l’exposició regular a la televisió en versió original en poblacions joves en contextos d’instrucció formal (Gesa, 2019; Avello, 2023).
En aquest estudi, dos grups d’alumnes bilingües castellà/català que aprenen anglès com a llengua estrangera a Primària, van visionar setmanalment un episodi de la sèrie dels dibuixos animats Curious George –amb l’àudio en anglès, però subtitulats en castellà (L1S, N= 47) o en anglès (L2S, N= 45)– durant un període de cinc mesos. Després de cada episodi, l’alumnat va realitzar un test per avaluar-ne la comprensió i reconeixement de vocabulari escrit en anglès. Per tal d’investigar el paper de diverses variables en els resultats obtinguts, abans de començar la intervenció l’alumnat va completar un qüestionari on se li preguntava sobre la seva exposició extraescolar a materials audiovisuals. També van realitzar tests per mesurar la seva aptitud lingüística, la velocitat lectora en L1 (castellà) o L2 (anglès) i la mida del seu vocabulari en L2. Finalment, per tal d’analitzar els possibles canvis dels joves aprenents en la seva manera de visionar l’input multimodal després d’estar-hi exposats de forma repetida en el temps, van respondre un mateix qüestionari sobre el visionat dels vídeos abans i després de la intervenció.
Els resultats mostren que ambdós grups entenien els vídeos i aprenien vocabulari després de visionar cada episodi: tot i que les diferències entre grups no eren sempre significatives, el grup L1S va obtenir puntuacions més altes de forma consistent en la comprensió, mentre que el grup L2S va obtenir millors resultats en el reconeixement de vocabulari, tant de paraules que ja coneixia prèviament com de noves que apareixien als episodis. L’aptitud lingüística va resultar estar relacionada estretament amb els resultats dels tests de comprensió en ambdós grups, i també amb els de vocabulari, especialment en el grup L1S. Pel que fa als possibles efectes de la proficiència, la mida del vocabulari en L2 de l’alumnat va mostrar un efecte significatiu en la comprensió dels episodis en els dos grups, mentre que la velocitat lectora només es relacionava significativament amb les puntuacions obtingudes pel grup L1S.
També s’observà que el grup L1S va necessitar menys temps per llegir els subtítols que els seus companys del grup L2S des de l’inici de l’estudi, ja que la velocitat lectora dels participants era millor en L1. No es va observar cap canvi significatiu en la manera de visionar els vídeos per part dels dos grups, tot i que el grup L2S va mostrar un gir significatiu en la seva percepció d’aprenentatge de vocabulari al final de la intervenció, quan va considerar que aprenia més paraules. També s’evidencia que aquells participants que havien estat prèviament exposats a input multimodal fora de l’escola no obtenia resultats significativament més alts que els seus companys que no ho havien estat.
Els resultats d’aquesta tesi suggereixen que l’exposició a input multimodal promou la comprensió i l’aprenentatge de vocabulari d’una segona llengua en aprenents joves de nivell inicial baix. No obstant això, indiquen que els beneficis no son sempre evidents i no presenten un clar ordre ascendent paral·lel a la quantitat d’exposició a l’input multimodal. També assenyalen l’important rol de l’aptitud lingüística i la mida del vocabulari en L2 dels aprenents per a l’aprenentatge de llengües estrangeres a partir de materials audiovisuals. Els resultats de l’estudi, que s’argumenten en relació a la recerca existent sobre el tema, ofereixen noves perspectives sobre l’exposició regular dels aprenents joves a input multimodal, i són també rellevants per a la pràctica docent.2023-09-08T07:30:52ZThe effects of distribution, difficulty, and quantity of digital flashcard practice on language learningSerfaty, Jonathanhttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/1963002024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-03-31T06:42:58ZTitle: The effects of distribution, difficulty, and quantity of digital flashcard practice on language learning
Author: Serfaty, Jonathan
Abstract: [eng] According to research into second language (L2) practice, learners should repeatedly engage in output activities with feedback in order to develop accuracy. Digital flashcards can be used to prompt L2 output and deliver feedback when teacher instruction or peer interaction are not available. Traditionally used for vocabulary, this tool could also be used for grammar learning by providing exemplars of target structures. The difficulty, distribution, and quantity of practice have been shown to affect learning and retention in other domains, but little is known about how these variables affect productive L2 grammar practice. Research into these areas could deepen our understanding of L2 learning processes while providing useful guides for enhancing L2 practice. This thesis includes four papers. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the topic, covering the importance and theories of L2 practice, a primer on digital flashcards, and the research gaps to be addressed. Chapters 2-5 are research papers. The first paper, published in System as Serfaty and Serrano (2020), investigated how flashcards could be used for grammar learning in an environment where other forms of learning are unavailable. Simple structures were studied by 31 low-proficiency learners, aged 9-17, in a rural setting in Cambodia over two weeks. They were tested after one day, two weeks, and four months. Results showed that participants made large gains in their grammatical accuracy and maintained these gains over time. Scores were equivalent for trained and untrained items, showing that the exemplars used in training provided rules that were generalized to novel sentences. The second paper, published in Applied Psycholinguistics as Serfaty and Serrano (2022), investigated how this type of learning might be affected by the distribution of sessions. Two complex structures were studied at intervals of one day or one week, tested after one week or one month. Participants (N = 117) came from an international school in Phnom Penh, aged 10-18. The optimal lag was predicted by individual
differences. Participants with slower times and lower proficiency obtained higher scores from the shorter lag, whereas faster and more proficient learners benefited from a longer lag. Neither lag was better overall. The third paper, currently in review in Language Learning and Technology, repeated this methodology, using the same intervals, tools, and setting, with vocabulary items. Of the 96 participants analyzed in this study, 77 were also in the grammar analysis. This allowed for a comparison between grammar and vocabulary lag effects. This paper also aimed to ascertain whether a lag effect is found outside of lab conditions with secondary school students, which has not been found previously, and to explore whether lag effects are different for productive (form-recall) and receptive (meaning-recall) knowledge of learned words. Results showed a small but consistent advantage to the longer lag at both testing times, in contrast to grammar. The longer lag was particularly effective for retaining receptive knowledge at the 28-day posttest. The final paper, currently resubmitted to Language Learning after revisions, aimed to find the optimal amount of practice for the long-term retention of grammar knowledge. An artificial language was learned and then practiced on either one, two, three, or four relearning sessions on consecutive days, with 30 participants per condition (N = 129), aged 18-30. At a two-week posttest, it was found that average scores were significantly higher after a third relearning session. Accuracy during training peaked after the second relearning session, leading to a hypothesis that a threshold of knowledge is crossed after performing two sessions without errors. When re-coding the participants accordingly, this threshold was a stronger predictor of high posttest scores than the total number of sessions. The final chapter summarizes the findings from these papers, details implications from these findings on future theory, research methods, and pedagogy, and ends with some suggested future directions.; [spa] Los estudios sobre el efecto de la práctica en una segunda lengua (L2) sugieren que es importante que los estudiantes participen repetidamente en actividades de producción en las que puedan recibir feedback o retroalimentación. Las tarjetas digitales (digital flashcards) se pueden usar con tal fin cuando el contexto de aprendizaje no facilite la recepción de feedback por parte de los estudiantes, ya sea por carecer de profesores formados, o por la imposibilidad de realizar actividades de producción en clase. Las flashcards tradicionalmente se han utilizado para el aprendizaje de vocabulario, sin embargo, también pueden utilizarse para el aprendizaje de la gramática. Se ha demostrado que la dificultad, la distribución temporal y la cantidad de la práctica afectan el aprendizaje y la retención de contenido en una L2, pero se sabe poco sobre cómo estas variables afectan la práctica productiva de la gramática. La investigación sobre estos temas podría facilitar nuestra comprensión de los procesos de aprendizaje de L2 al tiempo que proporcionar una guía útil para profesores y estudiantes sobre cómo mejorar la práctica de L Esta tesis incluye cuatro artículos. El Capítulo 1 es una introducción que presenta los temas claves investigados en la presente tesis. Los capítulos 2 a 5 incluyen las publicaciones. El primer artículo, publicado en System como Serfaty y Serrano (2020), investigó cómo las flashcards podrían usarse para el aprendizaje de la gramática en un entorno donde no hay otras formas de aprendizaje disponibles. Los resultados mostraron que los estudiantes lograron grandes avances en su corrección gramatical y mantuvieron estos avances a lo largo del tiempo. El segundo artículo, publicado en Applied Psycholinguistics como Serfaty y Serrano (2022), investigó cómo este tipo de aprendizaje podría verse afectado por la distribución temporal de las sesiones. Los estudiantes aprendieron dos estructuras complejas a intervalos de un
día o una semana, y realizaron una prueba una semana o un mes después. Los resultados indicaron que el intervalo óptimo depende de las diferencias individuales de los estudiantes. El tercer artículo, actualmente en revisión en Language Learning and Technology, repitió esta metodología, utilizando los mismos intervalos, herramientas y entorno, pero con vocabulario en lugar de gramática como objetivo de aprendizaje. Los resultados mostraron una pequeña pero consistente ventaja del intervalo más largo, en contraste con los resultados obtenidos para la gramática. El último estudio, actualmente reenviado a Language Learning después de revisiones, tenía como objetivo encontrar la cantidad óptima de práctica para la retención a largo plazo del conocimiento de la gramática. Los participantes aprendieron una lengua artificial y luego la practicaron en una, dos, tres o cuatro sesiones de “reaprendizaje” en días consecutivos. En una prueba posterior dos semanas después, se encontró que las puntuaciones eran significativamente más altas después de una tercera sesión de reaprendizaje. Después de analizar los resultados a nivel individual, se observó que los participantes mejoraban de forma significativa su corrección en la producción gramatical después de realizar dos sesiones sin errores, lo cual ofrece una guía para la práctica de gramática en L El capítulo final de la tesis resume e interpreta los resultados obtenidos en los cuatro estudios, detalla sus implicaciones para las teorías de aprendizaje de L2, métodos de investigación y enseñanza, para concluir con la presentación de algunas direcciones para futuros estudios.2023-03-31T06:42:58ZBearing Witness to Atrocity: Racial Violence and the Limits of Representation in Ta-Nehisi Coates’s WorksPuyuelo Ureña, Evahttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/1921172024-03-12T17:02:13Z2023-01-13T10:44:23ZTitle: Bearing Witness to Atrocity: Racial Violence and the Limits of Representation in Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Works
Author: Puyuelo Ureña, Eva
Abstract: [eng] Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me (2015) is nowadays considered one of the most detailed registers of the different forms that racial violence takes—from direct manifestations of physical assaults, including arrests, beatings, maimings, and murders; to less conspicuous expressions of racism, such as racist stereotyping, legal disenfranchisement, or redlining (Goodman 2015; Nance 2015; Guerrero 2017). Between the World and Me is the letter that Coates writes to his son, Samori, who is about to enter adulthood and will head off to university soon. Coates knows that once his son leaves, he will no longer be able to protect him; and so he writes driven by the need to caution him against all the threats that may endanger his life just as they had endangered those of countless others before him. Coates’s concerns to protect his son are not unfounded. Trayvon Martin had been murdered in 2012 by a man who believed he looked suspicious; Michael Brown, in 2014, for trying to run away from a police officer. Both were teenagers and unarmed at the moment of their deaths. In between, thousands of others lost their lives to racial violence; and in the next years, the number of Black people murdered in the streets raised significantly. In 2015, when Coates published his memoir, the number reached a historical high—1,134 people of color were killed in the streets in the U.S. The memoir attracted a vast variety of different responses. Many critics celebrated Coates’s beautiful and sharp rhetoric and contended that the carefulness with which he approaches the contentious issues he deals with may in fact help a whole generation push forward (Bodenner 2015; Pollack 2015; Lewis 2016), but several others used Coates’s position to cast doubts on the legitimacy of his arguments and criticized both Coates’s pessimist stand and his understanding of racial brutality, which in his text is presented as a phenomenon that occurs almost only to cisgender heterosexual Black men (Alexander 2015; Bennett 2015; Chatterton Williams 2015; Hilton 2015; Kennedy 2015). Along these lines, this dissertation draws upon the works of Ta-Nehisi Coates to study the extent to which the representation of violence in general, and of racial violence in particular, can be considered a violent act in itself, and it centralizes three main questions. To what effects is racial violence represented, and what does the representation of racial violence entail? Is there an ethical way to narrate racial violence? How does one represent racial violence without creating more violence? In my attempt to provide an answer to these questions, I have divided my thesis into two different chapters that are framed as a chiasmus—it moves past the study of the representation of violence in the first chapter to focus on the violence of the representation of that violence in the second chapter. The first chapter is structured into three different sections. The first one provides a theoretical approach to racial violence with the intention of elucidating a concept that has traditionally been considered nebulous and complex; the second one addresses how racial violence has been explored in the literary tradition that informs Coates’s writings; and the third one consists of an analysis of Coates’s treatment and representation of racial violence in his own works in general, and in his memoir Between the World and Me in particular. Also divided into three different sections, the second chapter of the thesis addresses the question of whether it is possible to represent violence without perpetuating it. The first section explores the theoretical underpinnings of the relation between violence and the representation of violence and lays the groundwork for my subsequent analysis of Coates’s works. In particular, it addresses the centrality of photographic images in documenting racial violence in U.S. history; it pays attention to how the literary works that have inspired Ta-Nehisi Coates’s texts have negotiated the relationship between the representation of violence and violence; and it examines the extent to which Ta-Nehisi Coates’s work may be a form of “black witnessing”—a term that refers to the ways in which Black people have represented, recorded, talked about, testified against and, in all, denounced the racial atrocities they have been subject to (Richardson 2017). The remaining sections focus on the two main ways in which Coates’s work may be connected to violence—his pessimism and his biased approach to gender (Smith 2015, 2017). Whilst section two offers a critical reading of Coates’s hopelessness, which has also been called despair (Kennedy 2015; Rogers 2015) and even nihilism (Bodenner 2015; Lowry 2015), and which critics have considered to be disabling for Black people; section three explores the extent to which Coates’s memoir fails to account for the ways in which Black women are also victims of racist practices. Taking everything into consideration, I mean this dissertation to intervene in contemporary debates on the vexed interaction between the representation of racial violence and racial violence itself, and to think anew the ethical possibilities of both writing and reading literature. In fact, I contend that many valences are at play in any act of representation, and for it to be ethical in its approach to atrocity it needs not only the artist’s ethical engagement with that which is being represented, but also the reader’s— or the viewer’s, if representations are visual. In this thesis I explain that there are many ways for both writers and readers to develop forms of ethical witnessing—by reappropriating images of suffering, writers can in fact resist the normalization of pain and the threat of dehumanizing victims; and by viewing such images “with solemn reserve and careful circulation,” readers, and witnesses in general, can resignify these representations as potential chances to heal and to learn from a past suffused with violence (Richardson 2020a, n.p.). In all, Coates’s works are proof that, disturbing as it is, bearing witness to atrocity also is, in this way, critical and urgent—it both challenges and empowers us to think about new futures and about the limitless possibilities that exist not beyond, but rather regardless of, violence.; [spa] El libro de memorias Between the World and Me (2015), de Ta-Nehisi Coates, ha sido considerado por muchos uno de los registros más detallados de las distintas formas de violencia racial ejercidas contra la comunidad negra—desde manifestaciones directas, como asaltos físicos, arrestos, palizas, o asesinatos; hasta otras expresiones menos directas o visibles, como la estereotipación, la privación de derechos, u otras prácticas discriminatorias como el “redlining” (Goodman 2015; Nance 2015; Guerrero 2017). Between the World and Me es la carta que Coates le escribe a su hijo, Samori, que pronto entrará en la edad adulta y se irá a estudiar a la universidad. Coates sabe que, una vez se vaya, él ya no podrá protegerle; por ello, le escribe con la intención de advertirle de todos los peligros que le aguardan por ser un hombre negro. La preocupación de Coates, así como la necesidad de proteger a su hijo, son comprensibles. En 2012, Trayvon Martin fue asesinado por un hombre que creyó que estaba actuando de forma sospechosa. En 2014, un policía disparó a Michael Brown nada más que seis veces por intentar escapar después de un altercado. Ambos eran adolescentes y estaban desarmados en el momento de sus muertes. Entre ambos casos, miles de personas negras perdieron su vida en circunstancias parecidas; y en los años siguientes el número de personas de color asesinadas en las calles aumentó considerablemente. En 2015, el año que Coates publicó su libro de memorias, la cifra alcanzó un máximo histórico—1,134 personas negras fueron asesinadas en las calles de Estados Unidos.
La obra provocó una división de opiniones entre sus críticos. Por un lado, algunos lectores admiraron la retórica de Coates y defendieron que la delicadeza y el cuidado con
el que habla de ciertos temas dolorosos pueden ayudar e incluso salvar a una generación entera (Bodenner 2015; Pollack 2015; Lewis 2016). Por otro, muchos de sus críticos cuestionaron la legitimidad de sus argumentos y criticaron tanto su visión pesimista del mundo como su aproximación a la violencia racial, que en su texto parece referirse casi de forma única a aquella ejercida contra hombres negros cisgénero y heterosexuales (Alexander 2015; Bennett 2015; Chatterton Williams 2015; Hilton 2015; Kennedy 2015). Siguiendo estas ideas, esta tesis se basa en la obra de Ta-Nehisi Coates para estudiar hasta qué punto la representación de la violencia en general y la representación de la violencia racial en particular pueden considerarse actos violentos en sí mismos, y pretende abordar tres cuestiones principales. ¿Con qué fin se representa la violencia racial y qué implica su representación? ¿Existe una manera ética de narrar la violencia racial? ¿Puede representarse la violencia sin generar más violencia?
Para dar respuesta a las preguntas anteriores, esta tesis está organizada en dos capítulos—pasa de analizar la representación de la violencia, en el primer capítulo, a estudiar la violencia de la representación de esa violencia, en el segundo capítulo. El primero capítulo cuenta con tres secciones. La primera ofrece una aproximación teórica a la violencia racial con la intención de dilucidar un concepto que ha sido considerado, a lo largo de los años, elusivo y complejo; la segunda analiza cómo la violencia racial se ha representado en la tradición literaria en la que la obra de Coates se inscribe; y la tercera explora cómo Coates trata el fenómeno en su propia obra.
El segundo capítulo, que también está organizado en tres secciones, aborda la cuestión de si es posible representar la violencia sin perpetuarla. La primera sección explora la relación entre la violencia y la representación de la misma. En particular, pone de relieve la centralidad de lo visual para documentar casos de violencia racial en la historia de Estados Unidos; cómo los textos literarios que han inspirado la obra de Coates
han negociado esta relación; y la posibilidad de considerar la obra de Coates una forma de “black witnessing”—las maneras en que las personas negras han representado, registrado, hablado, y denunciado las atrocidades raciales a las que han sido sometidas durante siglos (Richardson 2017). Las otras dos secciones exploran los dos aspectos de la obra de Coates que podrían estar relacionados con formas específicas de violencia representativa—su visión pesimista del mundo y su masculinización de la violencia racial (Smith 2015, 2017). La segunda sección ofrece una lectura crítica del nihilismo característico de Coates (Bodenner 2015; Kennedy 2015; Lowry 2015; Rogers 2015) y que muchos críticos han considerado que priva a las personas afroamericanas de su agentividad; y la tercera sección explora cómo la obra de Coates no da cuenta de los modos en que la violencia racial también afecta a las mujeres de color.
En conclusión, mi intención es que esta tesis doctoral intervenga en los discursos contemporáneos sobre la interacción entre la representación de la violencia racial y la violencia racial y ayude a repensar las posibilidades éticas de escribir, pero también de leer, literatura. De hecho, en esta tesis defiendo que existen distintas maneras de establecer una relación ética con aquello que leemos—por un lado, los escritores pueden evitar la normalización del dolor y la deshumanización de las víctimas mediante una reapropiación de las imágenes de sufrimiento; por otro, los lectores pueden dar un nuevo significado a las representaciones de la violencia para reconvertirlas en oportunidades para sanar y para aprender de un pasado sumido en la violencia (Richardson 2020a, n.p.). De este modo, las obras de Coates nos ayudan a comprender que, por muy doloroso que sea, narrar la atrocidad es necesario y urgente—es un desafío y una oportunidad para pensar en nuevos futuros y en la infinidad de posibilidades que existen no solamente después, sino también a pesar, de la violencia.2023-01-13T10:44:23ZNew Leaves: Fashionable Reading and Literary Celebrity in British Vogue (1918-1939)Baró Gonzalez, Janahttp://hdl.handle.net/2445/1912902024-03-12T17:02:13Z2022-12-01T10:33:14ZTitle: New Leaves: Fashionable Reading and Literary Celebrity in British Vogue (1918-1939)
Author: Baró Gonzalez, Jana
Abstract: [eng] This thesis explores British Vogue’s self-appointed role as a guide to modern fashions and manners, that is, as a cultural intermediary, during the interwar period (1918-1939). Through a close reading of its essays, literary reviews, social chronicles and portraits of writers, and in the context of the Battle of the Brows, it argues that it always counted literary practices, such as reading, writing or displaying books, as expressions of taste. From the theoretical framework of Fashion and Gender Studies, and within the fields of Middlebrow and Modernist Periodical Studies, this thesis argues that, despite its changing priorities and its move near and then away from a highbrow position, Vogue continually valued sophistication and playfulness and can be approached as a middlebrow text.
The first chapter introduces British Vogue, tracing its development as a society and fashion periodical across the Atlantic and its introduction to Great Britain during the First World War. It discusses its function as a guide to modern practices of consumption and taste and explores the interplay between those practices, individual identity and social affiliation. Vogue predicated that acquiring and displaying knowledge and cultural goods was a viable strategy for women to present themselves as modern subjects: those goods, of course, included books. Throughout the interwar period Vogue proposed “smartness” as the key to modernity, the approved expression of taste, and articulated it both on the page and behind the scenes. With Vogue as a seal of legitimacy, its editors and contributors could promote certain writers and approaches to literature as “fashionable”. Through practices that were both professional and personal, like hosting or introducing friends to dressmakers, they could build mutually beneficial relationships, but while they had a degree of freedom to choose which modes to support they were also expected to live according to the values of their managers.
The second chapter explains how British Vogue became a modernist project during the editorship of Dorothy Todd (1923-1926), as well the transition periods that preceded and succeeded her. Todd developed a network of contributors that included the Bloomsbury group, the Sitwell siblings and other avant-garde artists, writers and critics. However, Vogue was above all a fashion magazine with an interest in society reports, which went against the modernist discursive ideals of art as free from commercial interest and the author as lone genius. Under Todd, literature took up more space than ever: reading and discussing books was a core aspect of that all-important quality, smartness. Vogue promoted literary figures as celebrities even beyond its extensive critical essays and reviews, supporting different visions of modern authorship by including portraits of writers or visiting their homes. Consequently, their bodies and sartorial tastes were interwoven with their artistic creation and reception.
Finally, the third chapter locates the magazine in the “Battle of the Brows”, the debate over the value of different cultural practices that raged in the press during the less studied editorships of Alison Settle (1927-1936) and Elizabeth Penrose (1936-1939) and continued beyond the scope of this thesis, which ends with the start of the Second World War. The format of British Vogue changed, shaped by persistent tension with its management and widespread socioeconomic hardship, and its content shifted through its alliance with younger, glamourous writers, artists, and socialites, the Bright Young People. The space allotted to literature was reduced, and so was the attention granted to modernist texts and writers, though they did not completely disappear. Although there had always been a middlebrow aspect to its articulation of high culture for the uninitiated, Vogue’s editorial line now leant even more firmly towards middlebrow tastes, pushing a sensible sort of sophistication front and centre, making its tone even more arch, and enclosing sartorial eccentricity into the context of the costume party. Its vision of literary celebrity split into two models: middlebrow writers, chic and proper, and glamorous society figures that happened to be writers.; [cat] Aquesta tesi explora el rol de l’edició britànica de Vogue com a intermediari cultural durant l’època d'entreguerres (1918-1939). A través de la lectura en profunditat dels seus assajos, ressenyes literàries, cròniques socials i retrats d'escriptors, i en el context de l’anomenada “Battle of the Brows”, argumenta que la revista sempre va considerar les pràctiques literàries com a expressions de gust. A partir del marc teòric dels estudis de gènere i de la moda, i dins dels estudis de les revistes “middlebrow” i modernistes, aquesta tesi argumenta que, malgrat que canviessin les seves prioritats i que s’apropés i s’allunyés d’una posició “highbrow”, Vogue sempre va valorar la sofisticació i el joc i es considerar un text “middlebrow”. El primer capítol tracta sobre la funció de Vogue com a guia de les pràctiques modernes de consum i gust i explora la interacció entre aquestes pràctiques, la identitat i l’afiliació social. Vogue va articular “smartness” tant dins com fora de la pàgina. Les seves editores van promoure certs escriptors i enfocaments de la literatura com a “de moda”, però també s'esperava d’elles que visquessin d'acord amb els valors dels seus directius. El segon capítol explica com la Vogue britànica es va convertir en un projecte modernista durant la direcció de Dorothy Todd (1923-1926). Todd va desenvolupar una xarxa de col·laboradors d'avantguarda, però no obstant això, Vogue era sobretot una revista de moda, fet que anava en contra dels ideals modernistes de l'art lliure d'interès comercial i l'autor com a geni solitari. Vogue va promoure figures literàries com a celebritats i va proposar diferents visions de l’autoria moderna que teixien els seus cossos i gustos estilístics amb la seva creació artística i la seva recepció. El tercer capítol situa la revista en la "Battle of the Brows" durant l’època menys estudiada d'Alison Settle (1927-1936) i Elizabeth Penrose (1936-1939). El seu contingut va canviar per la seva aliança amb els Bright Young People, i l'espai assignat a la literatura es va reduir. La línia editorial de Vogue es va confirmar com a “middlebrow”, ja que defensava una espècie de sofisticació amb seny. La seva versió de la celebritat literària es va dividir en dos models: els escriptors “middlebrow” i les figures de l’alta societat que escrivien.2022-12-01T10:33:14Z