The discoursal construction of female physical identity in selected works in children's literature
- Authors: Hunt, Sally Ann
- Date: 2011 , 2013-09-20
- Subjects: Rowling, J K -- Criticism and interpretation Lewis, C S (Clive Staples), 1898-1963 -- Criticism and interpretation Girls in literature Girls -- Identity Human body in literature Gender identity in literature Sex role in literature Children's stories, English -- History and criticism Young women in literature Women in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2377 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005965
- Description: This thesis reports on an analysis of the discursive construction of female and male physical identity in children’s literature and explicitly combines corpus linguistic methods with a critical discourse approach. Based on three novels from each of the Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter series, it shows clear gendering of body parts, not only in terms of the purely quantitative preferences for certain body parts to be associated with one or other gender, but in terms of discourse prosody, or the uses to which the body parts are put. Human body parts in these series are mostly used in the following four ways, all of which show differences in realisation in terms of gender: · to describe individuals, physically, in order to distinguish one from the other; · to convey emotion, unintentionally as well as consciously; · for physical interaction between people and · for interaction with the world more broadly: responses to danger and agency, i.e. the ability to act on the world and the nature of what is achieved. The use of body parts by characters to express emotion and act agentively on the world is revealed to be strongly gendered in the two series. I characterise the most prominent patterns in terms of the bodily products blood, sweat and tears, of which the last is strongly connected to female characters, who are generally associated with emotion. The other two, referring to active participation in fighting and injury, as well as agency, are almost exclusively reserved for males, with female characters rendered unable to act on the physical world as a result of overwhelming feelings. The females’ response to danger suggests stereotyped discourses of inequality which see women and girls as requiring protection and being physically incapable. Thus gender is still a particularly salient aspect in these widely-read examples of children’s literature, despite plots which appear to be fairly positive towards women. The strength of the inclusion of a corpus approach in this study lies in its capacity to reveal objective, and often fairly covert, trends in language use. These in turn enrich the critical analysis of discourses in these influential texts, which facilitates social change through linguistic analysis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Hunt, Sally Ann
- Date: 2011 , 2013-09-20
- Subjects: Rowling, J K -- Criticism and interpretation Lewis, C S (Clive Staples), 1898-1963 -- Criticism and interpretation Girls in literature Girls -- Identity Human body in literature Gender identity in literature Sex role in literature Children's stories, English -- History and criticism Young women in literature Women in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2377 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005965
- Description: This thesis reports on an analysis of the discursive construction of female and male physical identity in children’s literature and explicitly combines corpus linguistic methods with a critical discourse approach. Based on three novels from each of the Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter series, it shows clear gendering of body parts, not only in terms of the purely quantitative preferences for certain body parts to be associated with one or other gender, but in terms of discourse prosody, or the uses to which the body parts are put. Human body parts in these series are mostly used in the following four ways, all of which show differences in realisation in terms of gender: · to describe individuals, physically, in order to distinguish one from the other; · to convey emotion, unintentionally as well as consciously; · for physical interaction between people and · for interaction with the world more broadly: responses to danger and agency, i.e. the ability to act on the world and the nature of what is achieved. The use of body parts by characters to express emotion and act agentively on the world is revealed to be strongly gendered in the two series. I characterise the most prominent patterns in terms of the bodily products blood, sweat and tears, of which the last is strongly connected to female characters, who are generally associated with emotion. The other two, referring to active participation in fighting and injury, as well as agency, are almost exclusively reserved for males, with female characters rendered unable to act on the physical world as a result of overwhelming feelings. The females’ response to danger suggests stereotyped discourses of inequality which see women and girls as requiring protection and being physically incapable. Thus gender is still a particularly salient aspect in these widely-read examples of children’s literature, despite plots which appear to be fairly positive towards women. The strength of the inclusion of a corpus approach in this study lies in its capacity to reveal objective, and often fairly covert, trends in language use. These in turn enrich the critical analysis of discourses in these influential texts, which facilitates social change through linguistic analysis.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Public utility pricing and industrial decentralization in South Africa
- Authors: Wallis, Joseph Lyall
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Industrial management -- South Africa Public utilities -- South Africa Pricing -- South Africa Decentralization in management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1030 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003747
- Description: From Introduction: 1. Background to the thesis: During the 1950' sand 1960' s it would appear that the explicit objectives of economic policy in South Africa were full employment and economic growth with some occasional emphasis on the pursuit of relative price stability. Other goals such as efficiency in resource allocation and the pursuit of an "acceptable" income distribution were at best implicit and subordinate to these objectives. This is exemplified by the fact that a number of key prices which were controlled by the authorities such as the exchange rate, interest rates and public utility tariffs were generally set at levels which were either over- or under-priced relative to factor scarcities throughout this period.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Wallis, Joseph Lyall
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Industrial management -- South Africa Public utilities -- South Africa Pricing -- South Africa Decentralization in management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1030 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003747
- Description: From Introduction: 1. Background to the thesis: During the 1950' sand 1960' s it would appear that the explicit objectives of economic policy in South Africa were full employment and economic growth with some occasional emphasis on the pursuit of relative price stability. Other goals such as efficiency in resource allocation and the pursuit of an "acceptable" income distribution were at best implicit and subordinate to these objectives. This is exemplified by the fact that a number of key prices which were controlled by the authorities such as the exchange rate, interest rates and public utility tariffs were generally set at levels which were either over- or under-priced relative to factor scarcities throughout this period.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
The expanding horizon : a geographical commentary upon routes, records, observations & opinions contained in selected documents concerning travel at the Cape, 1750-1800
- Forbes, Vernon S (Vernon Siegfried)
- Authors: Forbes, Vernon S (Vernon Siegfried)
- Date: 1958
- Subjects: Travelers -- South Africa , South Africa -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4886 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014908
- Description: This study seeks to provide a geographical commentary upon documents relating to travel in the Cape during the second half of the eighteenth century. These documents include not only books of travel, but also travel journals, letters and maps both published and unpublished. They have been examined in the first place to ascertain what light they throw on the evolution of geographical ideas concerning the phenomena now capable of classification under the broad heading of physical geography. Secondly the have been viewed as part of the geography of travel and exploration which deals with routes, the identification of places, the explanation of place-names and the evolution of the map, or in its absence, of the mental picture of the regions reported on. Historical events are also considered, for the geographer can no more afford to ignore history than the historian dare cast a blind eye upon geography.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1958
- Authors: Forbes, Vernon S (Vernon Siegfried)
- Date: 1958
- Subjects: Travelers -- South Africa , South Africa -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4886 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014908
- Description: This study seeks to provide a geographical commentary upon documents relating to travel in the Cape during the second half of the eighteenth century. These documents include not only books of travel, but also travel journals, letters and maps both published and unpublished. They have been examined in the first place to ascertain what light they throw on the evolution of geographical ideas concerning the phenomena now capable of classification under the broad heading of physical geography. Secondly the have been viewed as part of the geography of travel and exploration which deals with routes, the identification of places, the explanation of place-names and the evolution of the map, or in its absence, of the mental picture of the regions reported on. Historical events are also considered, for the geographer can no more afford to ignore history than the historian dare cast a blind eye upon geography.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1958
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