Eron aika : Tyttärien kertomuksia ikääntyneen vanhemman kuolemasta

There is a relative absence of sociological and cultural research on how people deal with the death of a family member in the contemporary western societies. Research on this topic has been dominated by the experts of psychology, psychiatry and therapy, who mention the social context only in passing, if at all. This gives an impression that the white westerners bereavement experience is a purely psychological phenomenon, an inner journey, which follows a natural, universal path. Yet, as Tony Walter (1999) states, ignoring the influence of culture not only impoverishes the understanding of those work with bereaved people, but it also impoverishes sociology and cultural studies by excluding from their domain a key social phenomenon. This study explores the cultural dimension of grief through narratives told by fifteen of recently bereaved Finnish women. Focussing on one sex only, the study rests on the assumption of the gendered nature of bereavement experience. However, the aim of the study is not to pinpoint the gender differences in grief and mourning, but to shed light on women s ways of dealing with the loss of a loved one in a social context. Furthermore, the study focuses on a certain kind of loss: the death of an elderly parent. Due to the growth in the life expectancy rate, this has presumably become the most typical type of bereavement in contemporary, ageing societies. Most of population will face the death of a parent as they reach the middle years of the life course. The data of this study is gathered with interviews, in which the interviewees were invited to tell a narrative of their bereavement. Narrative constitutes a central concept in this study. It refers to a particular form of talk, which is organised around consequential events. But there are also other, deeper layers that have been added to this concept. Several scholars see narratives as the most important way in which we make sense of experience. Personal narratives provide rich material for mapping the interconnections between individual and culture. As a form of thought, narrative marries singular circumstances with shared expectations and understandings that are learned through participation in a specific culture (Garro & Mattingly 2000). This study attempts to capture the cultural dimension of narrative with the concept of script , which originates in cognitive science (Schank & Abelson 1977) and has recently been adopted to narratology (Herman 2002). Script refers to a data structure that informs how events usually unfold in certain situations. Scripts are used in interpreting events and representing them verbally to others. They are based on dominant forms of knowledge that vary according to time and place. The questions that were posed in this study are the following. What kind of experiences bereaved daughters narrate? What kind of cultural scripts they employ as they attempt to make sense of these experiences? How these scripts are used in their narratives? It became apparent that for the most of the daughters interviewed in this study the single most important part of the bereavement narrative was to form an account of how and why the parent died. They produced lengthy and detailed descriptions of the last stage of a parent s life in contrast with the rest of the interview. These stories took their start from a turn in the parent s physical condition, from which the dying process could in retrospect be seen to have started, and which often took place several years before the death. In addition, daughters also talked about their grief reactions and how they have adjusted to a life without the deceased parent. The ways in which the last stage of life was told reflect not only the characteristic features of late modernity but also processes of marginalisation and exclusion. Revivalist script and medical script, identified by Clive Seale as the dominant, competing models for dying well in the late modern societies, were not widely utilised in the narratives. They could only be applied in situations in which the parent had died from cancer and at somewhat younger age than the average. Death that took place in deep old age was told in a different way. The lack of positive models for narrating this kind of death was acknowledged in the study. This can be seen as a symptom of the societal devaluing of the deaths of older people and it affects also daughters accounts of their grief. Several daughters told about situations in which their loss, although subjectively experienced, was nonetheless denied by other people.

Kuoleman voimat : Kirkonväki suomalaisessa uskomusperinteessä

Powers of Death. Church-väki in the Finnish Folk Belief Tradition Folk belief tradition can be defined as a communication system in which the truth value of traditional motifs is judged by their usefulness and applicability. According to the Finnish belief tradition, a substance of power called väki resides in sacred elements and in entities which vitally affect human life. Väki is both ritually avoided and harnessed for beneficial or malevolent purposes. The powers of church and death merge in church-väki, which, in beliefs and narratives, emerges when the boundary between the living and the dead is crossed or violated. In rural societies where the relationship to the dying and the deceased was close, the church-väki tradition was relevant and productive. This study is based on approximately 2700 units of archived material from thel late 19th and early 20th centuries narratives, rite descriptions, and linguistic data. It explicates the concept of church-väki, presents the background of the tradition, and analyses narratives, their meanings, and their role in early modern world view. It also explores how the concept was used when constructing social boundaries and handling otherness in the early modern Finland. The theoretic emphasis is on conceptual and genre analysis, narrativity, as well as the multiple meanings and uses of folklore motifs. Descriptions of church-väki vary from it being an invisible force to a crowd of beings and decomposing corpses. The author defines church-väki as a fuzzy concept with three prototypical cores and several names, most of which are polysemous. Polysemous words connect church-väki with for example ghosts and devils, unkempt people, and vermin, constructing a loose paradigm of supernatural and social otherness. Folklore genres of the studied narratives range from stories of personal experience to fabulates. The taleworlds and their content range from realistic (near) to extraordinary (distant). The distance between the taleworld and reality has concrete (local and temporal), narrative, and normative aspects. Distant taleworlds often follow an ontology different than in real life, although the narratives may be carefully linked to reality. Instead of being fictive, they show what would be expected outside the socially constructed everyday order. Methods of narratology are applied to coherent legends, which locate dramatic events in distant taleworlds. Linguistic genres, based on structure, function here as narrative registers of folklore genres.

Concepts of Narrative

Transposed to media like film, drama, opera, music, and the visual arts, “narrative” is no longer characterized by either temporality or an act of telling, both required by earlier narratological theories. Transposed to other disciplines, “narrative” is often a substitute for “assumption”, “hypothesis”, a disguised ideological stance, a cognitive scheme, and even life itself. The potential for broadening the concept lay dormant in narratology, both in the double use of “narrative” for the medium-free fabula and for the medium-bound sjuzet, and in changing interpretations of “event”. Some advantages of the broad use of “narrative” are an evocation of commonalities among media and disciplines, an invitation to re-think the term within the originating discipline, a constructivist challenge to positivistic and foundational views, an emphasis on a plurality of competing “truths”, and an empowerment of minority voices. Conversely, disadvantages of the broad use are an illusion of sameness whenever the term is used and the obliteration of specificity. In a Wittgensteinian spirit, the essay agrees that concepts of narrative are mutually related by “family resemblance”, but wishes to probe the resemblances further. It thus postulates two necessary features: double temporality and a transmitting (or mediating) agency, and an additional cluster of variable optional characteristics. When the necessary features are not dominant, the configuration may have “narrative elements” but is not “a narrative”.

Poetics of the Nameless Middle : Japan and the West in Philosophy and Music of the Twentieth Century

This study investigates the affinities between philosophy, aesthetics, and music of Japan and the West. The research is based on the structuralist notion (specifically, on that found in the narratology of Algirdas Julius Greimas), that the universal grammar functions as an abstract principle, underlying all kinds of discourse. The study thus aims to demonstrate how this grammar is manifested in philosophical, aesthetic, and musical texts and how the semiotic homogeneity of these texts can be explained on this basis. Totality and belongingness are the key philosophical concepts presented herein. As distinct from logocentrism manifested as substantializations of the world of ideas , god or mind, which was characteristic of previous Western paradigms, totality was defined as the coexistence of opposites. Thus Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Dōgen, and Nishida often illustrated it by identifying fundamental polarities, such as being and nothing, seer and seen, truth and illusion, etc. Accordingly, totality was schematically presented as an all-encompassing middle of the semiotic square. Similar values can be found in aesthetics and arts. Instead of dialectic syntagms, differentiated unity is considered as paradigmatic and the study demonstrates how this is manifested in traditional Japanese and Heideggerian aesthetics, as well as in the aspects of music of Claude Debussy and Tōru Takemitsu.

Pertsonaia protagonista femeninoen ezaugarriak eta bilakaera euskal narratiba garaikidean

361 p.

A metrópole em cena: As metáforas do teatro e do cinema em Cidade de Vidro de Paul Auster e Sinédoque Nova York de Charlie Kaufman

A metáfora do mundo como um palco está presente no imaginário humano há muitos séculos, o que se pode ver nas obras artísticas e filosóficas, de Cícero a Shakespeare: o mundo é representação. O presente estudo propõe-se a analisar interdisciplinamente os desdobramentos das metáforas do teatro e do cinema, na exploração do espaço da metrópole, tendo como corpus o romance Cidade de Vidro, de Paul Auster (1999) e a narrativa fílmica Sinédoque Nova York, de Charlie Kaufman (2008). Para tal, procuramos os teóricos da metáfora, tendo como principal deles Hans Blumenberg, fundador da Metaforologia, Paul Ricoeur e Derrida, em estudos especialmente dedicados a essa figura de linguagem. As metáforas, contudo, se realizam em um determinado espaço, o da metrópole, e para nos guiarmos em seus caminhos, elegemos os estudiosos da nova geografia cultural, dentre os quais Paul Claval, Mathias Le Bossé e Denis Cosgrove. Na correlação da cidade com o teatro, apontaremos a própria história da criação do teatro ocidental como o principal ponto de partida para as ramificações de tal mimetismo. Para o estudo específico do espaço da metrópole, contamos com Walter Benjamin e seus seguidores. Os estudos benjaminianos serão também de vital importância para a compreensão da relação entre cinema e metrópole, relação essa que também foi aclarada pelo questionamento de Nietzsche sobre a verdade. Não foi nossa intenção comparar as obras aqui analisadas em seus planos narratológicos, mas articular dois textos regidos por códigos e procedimentos artísticos parecidos, mas, ainda assim diferentes. Buscamos apontar como as relações teatrais e cinemáticas na metrópole, fragmentada como o próprio homem que nela se perde, provocam uma suspensão da fronteira entre realidade e ficção

Jogos narrativos de videogame: criação e manutenção do estado de imersão

O objetivo deste trabalho é entender como o jogo narrativo de aventura para videogame consegue atrair e manter a atenção do jogador, imergindo-o no mundo ficcional, em face dos inúmeros estímulos existentes a sua volta. É sugerida uma definição para o jogo narrativo de aventura e a imersão e, posteriormente, estabelece-se uma relação entre elementos presentes nos jogos e as estruturas que atraem a atenção do indivíduo. Para isso, consultou-se material produzido pelas duas principais linhas de estudos de jogos: Narratologia e Ludologia. O conteúdo teórico foi comparado e exemplificado através da prática de diversos jogos, principalmente do console Sony Playstation 3. O próprio conceito de jogo narrativo, a prática dos jogos e a relação percebida entre seus elementos e as ferramentas para criar e manter a atenção revelaram que o videogame, através dos jogos narrativos de aventura, representa um potente meio para criar e manter o estado de imersão sobre o jogador.

Autsajder literacki w niemieckiej i rosyjskiej prozie XIX-XI wieku. Badania narratologiczne

Wydział Neofilologii: Instytut Filologii Germańskiej

A linguagem do espaço em Henry James: a fase madura

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Narrative Bifurcation, Cloud Computing Interfaces and Hitchcok

From a narratological perspective, this paper aims to address the theoretical issues concerning the functioning of the so called «narrative bifurcation» in data presentation and information retrieval. Its use in cyberspace calls for a reassessment as a storytelling device. Films have shown its fundamental role for the creation of suspense. Interactive fiction and games have unveiled the possibility of plots with multiple choices, giving continuity to cinema split-screen experiences. Using practical examples, this paper will show how this storytelling tool returns to its primitive form and ends up by conditioning cloud computing interface design.

InStory – The Making of na Interactive Digital Narrative

Em cooperação com Glorianna Davenport do M.I.T. Media Lab

Documenting InStory – Mobile Storytelling in a Cultural Heritage Environment

This paper describes the process and problems that had to be faced during the elaboration of a digital interactive narrative for the Instory project (http://img.di.fct.unl.pt/InStory/) implanted in «Quinta da Regaleira», Sintra, Portugal, and classified as World Heritage by Unesco. It also explores some of the practical and theoretical issues in what regards the literary terminology and strategies involved.

The ambivalent identity of Wong Kar-wai's cinema

Ayant réalisé neuf longs-métrages entre 1988 et 2007, aussi que plusieurs campagnes publicitaires, vidéo-clips, courts-métrages et projets collectifs, Wong Kar-wai est un des réalisateurs contemporains les plus importants actuellement. Issu de l'industrie cinématographique fortement commerciale de Hong Kong, Wong est parvenu à attirer l'attention du circuit international des festivals de cinéma avec son style visuel unique et son récit fragmenté. Considéré par plusieurs critiques comme le poète de la recherche d’identité de Hong Kong après 1997, Wong Kar-wai défie toutes les tentatives de catégorisation. L’étude qui se poursuivit ici a donc pour objet essentiel de fournir une analyse attentive et complète de son oeuvre, tout en se concentrant sur les traits stylistiques qui donnent à ses films une unité. Ces caractéristiques correspondent à une certaine façon de raconter des histoires, de composer des personnages et des récits, de manipuler le temps et d'utiliser des ressources techniques de sorte que ses films offrent une identité cohérente. L'objectif est d'analyser les différents composants de ses images pour découvrir comment ses films communiquent les uns avec les autres afin de créer une identité unique. Pour atteindre cet objectif, je pose comme hypothèse de travail que le cinéma de Wong est marqué par une structure dualiste qui permet à ses films de présenter des qualités contradictoires simultanément. La plupart de mes arguments se concentrent sur le travail du philosophe français Gilles Deleuze, qui a proposé une théorie du cinéma divisé entre l’image-mouvement et l’image-temps. Je considère que sa théorie fournit un cadre valide sur lequel les films de Wong peuvent être projetés. Tandis que ma recherche se concentre sur l’interprétation textuelle des films, je profiterais également d’une analyse comparative.

Wirklichkeit und Fiktion : Alfred Döblins „Tatsachenphantasie“ in seinem historischen Roman „November 1918“

Thèse réalisée en co-tutelle avec l'Université Libre de Berlin, Institut für Deutsche und Niederländische Philologie

Décombres de l’avenir et projets rudéraux : les métamorphoses de Paris chez Verne, Hugo et Zola

Entre 1853 et 1870, de multiples quartiers de la ville sont éventrés pour permettre la mise en place de nouveaux boulevards par le baron Haussmann, préfet de Paris sous Napoléon III. Ces travaux majeurs ont frappé l’imaginaire social et constitué un objet de fascination pour la littérature. Le mémoire se situe sur le terrain de la sociocritique. La chercheuse cherche à comprendre comment des textes de Verne, Hugo et Zola lisent la nouvelle configuration urbaine parisienne. Dans Paris au XXe siècle (1863), Jules Verne projette la destruction dans le futur et, en retour, imagine les rémanences d’un passé étrangement constructif. Bien qu’il soit en exil, Victor Hugo est très au courant des changements urbains et sociaux en cours. Dans Paris (1867), son écriture travaille à rendre compatibles les idées de ruine et de progrès. Émile Zola, avec Paris (1898), exprime les contradictions accompagnant le changement urbain par le biais de métaphores médicales et organiques proches de « l’esprit de décadence » qui caractérise la fin du siècle. En conformité avec les visées de l’approche sociocritique, c’est à partir d’une lecture interne des oeuvres, mettant à profit les ressources de l’analyse de texte, de la poétique et de la narratologie, que la recherche se développe. L’étude mobilise également les ressources des travaux consacrés aux relations de la littérature et de la ville, ainsi que celles des ouvrages de synthèse produits dans les champs de l’histoire générale et de l’histoire de l’urbanisme.