Browsing by Author "Blond, Louis"

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    Authenticity and the transformation of the Camino : an analysis of secular pilgrimage in contemporary academic literature
    (2015) Vvon Benecke, Gerda; Blond, Louis
    This thesis is an analysis and critique of contemporary research on secular pilgrimage. A trend of dedifferentiation between religious pilgrimage, secular pilgrimage and tourism is identified whereby contemporary academic literature is arguing for a broadening of the definition of pilgrimage to incorporate many disparate forms of travel and the multiple motivations that initiate these journeys. In this this thesis, I acknowledge and elaborate on the development that has occurred by which pilgrimage has expanded and fragmented into various forms, termed the "turn inward". What I am disagreeing with and critiquing is the paradigm shift towards dedifferentiation in contemporary academic research on secular pilgrimage. I use Jonathan Z. Smith to critique the comparativism evident in contemporary pilgrimage literature that focuses on similarities and neglects difference. In this thesis, I argue for a differentiation between religious pilgrimage, secular pilgrimage and tourism, as well as the validity of the concept secular pilgrimage, by looking at the foundational differences between the various phenomena. In order to support this argument, I explore various foundational differences between medieval religious pilgrimage and contemporary secular pilgrimage, while using theorists José Casanova and Charles Taylor and their theories of secularisation in order to bring in a philosophical account of meaning and access deep ontological differences in order to support my argument for the distinction between religious pilgrimage, secular pilgrimage and tourism. In order to focus the study, I use the Camino to Santiago as case study because of its Christian medieval origins as well as its current popularity amongst secular pilgrims.
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    Ideology and righteousness in Matt 5.20: a study in identity politics from the Sermon on the Mount
    (2019) M‘bwangi, Fednand Manjewa; Wanamaker, Charles A.; Blond, Louis
    The study focuses on the description of the function of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew‘s Gospel. Not only does the Sermon on the Mount (SM) depict an ethical, eschatological and identity formation function, as it is popularly conceived by scholars, but it is also reflective of reconstruction, legitimation and the negotiation of the cultural identity of the community of Matthew in the city of Antioch, in Syria in the late first century CE. Through a Socio Rhetorical Interpretation (SRI), the analysis of the SM has been found to be reflective of the negotiating of identity politics of the community of Matthew in the aftermath of the destruction of the second Jerusalem temple, following the 66-73 Jewish revolt against Rome. Thus, the implied author of the SM employs the rhetorical function of the SM to consolidate a Christian community in the aftermath of the destruction of the second Jerusalem temple by contesting the Roman empire, borrowing from Israel‘s religious heritage and, accommodating the Jesus Movement. Consequently, pursuant to identity politics guided by the requirements of righteousness in Matt 5.20, the SM provides a basis for the reconstruction of a superordinate cultural identity for the community of Matthew that embraced both Judeans and the Gentiles. The reconstruction of a superordinate identity for the Matthean community enabled the implied author of the SM to effectively address intra-ethnic conflict that had characterized the Jesus Movement about 35 years before the emergence of the community of Matthew. Thus, the study has established that a creation of a superordinate identity provides the impetus for addressing intraethnic conflict situations because it embraces a dual identity, that is, a common identity to which other aspects of identity are subordinated.
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    The use and abuse of genealogy : genealogical critique from Nietzsche to Said
    (2015) Naicker, Veeran; Blond, Louis
    This thesis traces the use and abuse of genealogy, from Friedrich Nietzsche to Edward Said. After elucidating Nietzsche and Michel Foucault's coherent configuration of the genealogical method in their own philosophical projects, it critically deconstructs and rejects the claim that the post-colonial thinker in Edward Said's book 'Orientalism' is a genealogy in a similar sense to Nietzsche and Foucault. The rejection of Said's texts and Orientalism's status as a genealogical history is premised on a critical analysis of Said's misreading and negation of key Nietzschean and Foucauldian concepts such as power, discourse and the body. Following a rejection of the post-colonial appropriation of genealogy, this thesis concludes by suggesting some revisions for a more coherent deployment of genealogy in post-colonial theory through a closer reading of the relationship between the body and power, with regard to the question of subjectification.