Browsing by Author "Cartwright, John"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Action and activism in selected novels by Ursula K. Le Guin
    (1994) Deetlefs, Dorothea Maria; Cartwright, John
    This thesis examines individual and societal action and activism in five science fiction and utopian novels by Ursula K. Le Guin, namely, The left hand of darkness, The word for world is forest, The lathe of heaven, The dispossessed, and Always coming home. Le Guin is a politically committed author whose ideological perspective is informed by feminism, Taoism, and anarchism, as well as a strong ecological awareness. These determine the structure of her fictional societies and the actions of her characters. Each novel is approached on its own terms, with the commentary adhering closely to the text. Individuals and their societies are conceived of as embodying different and conflicting ways of being and doing. The author is seen as an activist by virtue of her political commitment, especially in the case of the self-reflexive, self-critical Always coming home. Included in the Introduction are sections on: Tom Moylan's concept of the critical utopia, which tailors the utopian genre to fit modern views; Le Guin's concept of the yin utopia, one possible form of the critical utopia; and a short section on Taoism, familiarising the reader with concepts and terminology used in the thesis.
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    The evolution of feminist utopias
    (1993) Marketos, Paul Richard; Cartwright, John
    The genre of feminist utopias has its origin in the first wave of feminism which rose up in the late nineteenth century. This dissertation follows the evolution the genre, focusing on the changes it reflects in the strategies of utopian writing and, more specifically, on the developments that have occurred within feminism itself. The first feminist utopia, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland, is examined in chapter one. The novel, by depicting a productive and peaceful society consisting only of women, dramatises the belief that the economic dependence of women was not only an artificial and discriminatory system but one which also, by adversely affecting the functioning of society as a whole, retarded the progress of socialism, which political philosophy informed much of early feminist thought. The bulk of the works brought under discussion were written in the 1970s, the period of the second wave of feminism. These works reflect the radical beliefs of the time, which was one of growing reaction against form and formalism, and also the growing rifts within the feminist movement itself. Monique Wittig's Les Guerilleres and Marge piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time echo the call for the recognition of androgyny that was voiced in the sixties and seventies. The utopian societies they depict, worlds without gender, advance the view of gender itself as an artificial construct, created by sociology not physiology. They denounce the belief that there can be "equality within difference". In contrast to the politics reflected by these two works, those expressed in Suzy Mckee Charnas's Walk to the End of the World, Sally Miller Gearhart's The Wanderground and Joanna Russ's The Female Man, present gender difference as a serious (or, in Gearhart's work, insurmountable) obstacle in the path of women's liberation. In the singlesex societies that they depict, these works espouse separation by women from men as necessary either as a strategy in the struggle for liberation or as an escape from the inequities of patriarchy. The rise of the New Right in the 1980s, the combined movements of, amongst others, religious conservatism and antifeminism, the latter being supported mainly by women, has resulted in an acceptance of the political infeasibility of all women uniting to form a front against patriarchy. Also, studies in the fields of both neurology and psychology began to indicate conclusively the existence of difference between the genders, which has weakened the call for androgyny, causing feminist utopian writers to seek ways of depicting "equality within difference". The utopias written in the late eighties reflect this change in political emphasis. Sheri Tepper's The Gate to Women's Country and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale acknowledge the existence of gender difference, and do not depict a binary division existing between men and women with regard to the promulgation of patriarchy. They are also critical of the religious fundamentalist backlash against feminism that was loosed in the early eighties. The final chapter traces the evolution of Ursula Le Guin's utopian thought, focusing especially on her novels The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home. Le Guin's utopian writing, which espouses her belief in pacifist anarchism, has become more radical and less conservative over time, a trend contrary to that of the genre in general
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    The magical land : ecological consciousness in fantasy romance
    (1995) Tiffin, Jessica; Cartwright, John
    The modern genre of fantasy romance is a relatively recent development in popular literature, and one which is gaining increasing popularity. In its contemporary form, fantasy romance has developed from earlier fantasy and romance forms, and a generic base which includes romance, comedy and pastoral can be identified. Conventional fantasy romance is concerned with the defense of a magical land, characterised in terms of beauty, health and balance, from some destructive threat. This concern with the health of the land reflects modern ecological consciousness and awareness of potential environmental destruction. Ecological awareness can be traced through critical analysis of various works of fantasy romance. J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, as the text which marked the beginning of the modern fantasy romance form, shows the potential for ecological awareness in the genre, although Tolkien's cultural context of post-war England in some ways inhibits ecological consciousness in the narrative. The development of a more modern ecological consciousness is studied through investigation of the Riddlemaster trilogy of Patricia A. McKillip, which shows a more abstracted sense of environmental destruction expressed through a concern with power and identity. Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant provides a narrative awareness of generic convention which could be construed as postmodern. Derrida's deconstruction of the notion of genre allows an interesting insight into Donaldson's processes of generic mixing, although the narrative's success is ultimately compromised by Donaldson's lack of authorial control. Sheri S. Tepper's True Game series displays a highly contemporary conflation of ecological concerns with those of feminism, as the destructive impulses of largely male competitiveness are contrasted to an organic and intuitive female response to the land. Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series, in its depiction of an alternative settler America, integrates ecological concerns with those of racial harmony, while his construction of a messianic hero recalls Card's own Mormon background. Finally, some attention is given to fantasy romance as a potentially escapist genre rather than one which inspires actual ecological awareness, and links are made with popular elements in the ecological movement itself. The thesis concludes by proposing the relevance of fantasy romance's magical land as a regenerative ideal of health and beauty in an increasingly ugly and ecologically deteriorating modern environment.
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    Marvellous Secondary Worlds: A comparative study of C.S. Lewis's Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea
    (1986) Wood, Felicity; Cartwright, John
    In this thesis, the nature and function of Marvellous Secondary worlds are examined by means of a comparative study of three Marvellous Secondary worlds: C. S. Lewis's Narnia, J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea. We consider the way in which Marvellous Secondary worlds may be used in order to explore certain aspects of reality highly effectively through themes and images characteristic of Marvellous fantasy. In the Introduction, the wide range of Secondary worlds in modern fantasy and the specific functions that Secondary worlds may fulfil is commented on. These analyses are then linked to a discussion of some of the central characteristics of Marvellous Secondary worlds.
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    Mirrors of the past : versions of history in science fiction and fantasy
    (1997) Gevers, Nicholas David; Cartwright, John
    The primary argument of this Thesis is that Science Fiction (SF) is a form of Historical Fiction, one which speculatively appropriates elements of the past in fulfilment of the ideological expectations of its genre readership. Chapter One presents this definition, reconciling it with some earlier definitions of SF and justifying it by means of a comparison between SF and the Historical Novel. Chapter One also identifies SF's three modes of historical appropriation (historical extension, imitation and modification) and the forms of fictive History these construct, including Future History and Alternate History; theories of history, and SF's own ideological changes over time, have helped shape the genre's varied borrowings from the past. Some works of Historical Fantasy share the characteristics of SF set out in Chapter One. The remaining Chapters analyse the textual products of SF's imitation and modification of history, i.e. Future and Alternate Histories. Chapter Two discusses various Future Histories completed or at least commenced before 1960, demonstrating their consistent optimism, their celebration of Science and of heroic individualism, and their tendency to resolve the cyclical pattern of history through an ideal linear simplification or 'theodicy'. Chapter Three shows the much greater ideological and technical diversity of Future Histories after 1960, their division into competing traditional (Libertarian), Posthistoric (pessimistic), and critical utopian categories, an indication of SF's increasing complexity and fragmentation.
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    The mother-daughter conflict in selected works by Doris Lessing
    (1985) Hunter, Eva Shireen; Cartwright, John
    The central characters in Doris Lessing's novels are usually women struggling to shape for themselves a new and authentic identity in a changing world. In this study it is argued that this quest involves the Lessing character in a conflict less with any man than with another woman. This woman is the mother. The younger woman's task is to resist the compulsion to become like her mother and so lead a narrow, entirely domesticated life. The theme of the mother-daughter conflict is given its first extensive examination in this study. Three of Lessing's works are analysed in detail, while brief reference is made to nearly all of her novels and some African short stories. The three works selected, The Grass is Singing (1950), "To Room Nineteen" (1963), and The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four, and Five (1980), mark the beginning, an approximate mid-point, and the conclusion of the theme under discussion. They are also works that have not, as yet, enjoyed the exhaustive critical attention given to the Children of Violence series and The Golden Notebook.
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    Nothung up my sleeve : the Wagnerian impulses in James Joyce's Ulysses and A portrait of the artist as a young man
    (1999) McGregor, Jamie Alexander; Brink, André; Cartwright, John; Reiner, Stuart
    The Introduction isolates the particular focus of the dissertation - viz. the importance of the Wagnerian themes and allusions in James Joyce's Ulysses and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, considering existing studies of the same subject, as well as elucidating the structure and argument of the dissertation as a whole. In Chapters 111-V, the argument focuses on particular themes and characters in the operas that appear to influence Joyce, whether in terms of direct reference or oblique allusion. The focus of each of these three chapters is, respectively, the artist-hero, the father-son relationship and the symbolic role of woman.
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    Popular Policing video lecture part II
    (2010) Shearing, Clifford D., 1942-; Cartwright, John
    This seminar is part of a digital course Trends in the Governance of Security , introduced by Clifford Shearing, which focuses on civic or popular policing. John Cartwright, focuses on a particular case of civic policing called the Zwelethemba model where local communities are involved in peacekeeping in the area of Zwelethemba, near Cape Town. The course is designed to be presented by a course facilitator within a class room setting where students can engage directly with the materials presented and with each other.
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    Robert Henryson's development of the didactic role of the fable form in "The moral fables of Aesop"
    (1990) Russell, Pamela A; Cartwright, John
    INTENT: The purpose of the paper is to examine Henryson's collection of Aesopic and Reynardian Fables in the light of whatever instructive intent he may have had in undertaking the work. METHOD: The paper first examines both Henryson's personal history, and the social and legal background against which the fables were composed. There follows a brief discussion of the development of the fable form from its earliest appearances, incorporating an examination of Henryson's possible didactic intentions in selecting this format for his work. The paper then moves on to examine the various methods according to which instruction has been contained in the fables. This includes a discussion of such topics as Henryson's expansion of the originals, political criticism, the introduction of Aesop as a character, the use of humour and the operation of the "Fables" as a single work. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that Henryson does indeed incorporate both the original moral messages, and a full range of deeper messages, in his Fables without compromising their success as literature, or as entertainment.