The body of this thesis is framed around Carl Schmitt's articulation of the political as the distinction between friend and enemy; more importantly, though, it revolves around opposition as the necessary foundation of the political. Making use of Derrida and Agamben, this particular argument critiques/radicalizes Schmitt's notion. After establishing the necessary limits and boundaries at play in the binary opposite embedded within Schmitt's understanding of the political, this essay aims to level a certain generative critique of Schmitt's definition. A certain (...) appropriation of Agamben's homo sacer reveals that the presence of those bound up in the fate of the state who have no legitimate say in the formation of that state itself. An examination of a certain genealogy of the African-American identity reveals the reality of such aporiatic figures. The figure of the homo sacer--i.e. a particular black body in this context--stands as an exception to Schmitt's clean definition, thereby revealing the inevitability of the coming of what Derrida refers to as the `third.' This new category of abjectness must be accounted for in the construction of the political; the reality and presence of the figure of abjectness demands that a reconceptualization of the political take place. The question of the political, then, is inherently a question of value, and in the American context, the figure of the African- American body exists as the homo sacer: a figure whose fate is determined by the state, but one who has no say in the process. (shrink)

This dissertation proposes a constructive theology of the Holy Spirit called the "pneumatology of minoritarian communal interpretation," the alternative creation of meaning within an oppressive majority context. It illustrates the convergence of Deleuzean philosophy with Anabaptist pneumatology and media communal interpretation theory in three particular locations: 1) selected mentions of the Holy Spirit in the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament; 2) the 16th century Radical Reformation; and 3) "Another Way," a 21st century alternative Anabaptist group focused around the spiritual (...) discussion of art and popular media. Chapter One outlines the three theories. Chapter Two examines the Holy Spirit in the Hebrew Bible, particularly 1 Samuel 8, the book of Ezekiel, and the Gospel narratives. Chapter Three examines the pneumatological writings of the Radical Reformers, concentrating particularly on their theologies of the intersection between church and the surrounding majoritarian culture. Chapter Four outlines my original field research with Another Way, and examines the tension between minoritarian communal interpretation and the 21st century semiotic regime. Chapter Five then summarizes the conversations between theory and illustration to propose the pneumatology of minoritarian communal interpretation for Christian theology. (shrink)

Constructive body theology provides an ethical commitment to and a set of analytical principles for understanding bodily experience. If we insist upon the theological value of embodied experience, how can we give an adequate account of it? Are feminist appeals to the senses useful in developing theological truth claims based in embodied experiences? Feminist theologies which explicitly seek to overcome body/mind dualisms often reinscribe them when they neglect to attend to perception as a critical element of bodily experience. Phenomenological analyses (...) of perception strengthen and refine our conception of embodiment. Grounding constructive theology in experience requires understanding experience as bodily perceptual orientation, as perceptual bodily and cultural acts involved in socially and historically situated contextual meaning-making processes. This shift expands phenomenological concepts such as intentionality and habit, and allows for a comparative investigation of historical and cultural differences in embodied experiences through examples found in sensory anthropology. Body theology, framed as principles, strengthens theological projects through opening dialogical avenues of exploration into embodied being in the world. Body theology principles help us conceive of and address how our bodily experiencing--our feeling, tasting, hearing, imaging, remembering and other sensory knowledge --comes to matter in our lives, especially where oppressive forces viscerally affect embodied life. (shrink)

Using the discourse of Political Theology as a mode of inquiry we can overcome a longstanding tension between aesthetics and history that characterized much of twentieth century thought. Focusing on literary and occasionally musical works from the mid twentieth century, my aim is to show how works displaying psychedelic aesthetics are important venues for political deliberation with regard to citizenship. Through affective means, psychedelic aesthetics re-imagine the boundaries of liberal subjectivity through a consciousness expansion and return from that expansion. The (...) subject who returns from a psychedelic "experience" - which can be attained in various ways - comes to ethically realign and re-norm his or her "self" according to a moral authority beyond the authority of the nation state. While critical of liberalism on one level, this "expanded" citizenship ultimately offers liberalism political advice in crisis situations by performing a public sacrifice on the state and disseminating social responsibility to individuals. Psychedelic aesthetics perform this `public sacrifice' through affective enchantment, using spiritual and religious rhetoric to change the relationship between citizen and state. Because artistic works of the mid twentieth century are essentially "ahead of the game" regarding states of exception and economic crises, it is to this period that we should look for methods of cultural recovery in current ones. But this requires that we take both aesthetic and religious enchantment seriously in a post-secular world. (shrink)

This work is an attempt to think the essential nature of the interrelationships among religion, science, and theology out of Heidegger's engagement with the question of Being. Three primary questions initially motivated this inquiry: First, how are the interrelations among religion, science, and theology to be understood? Second, is a relation of "dialogue," in some sense, possible among the three elements of the RST triad? And third, does theology have a rightful place in the public square dominated by the view (...) that science serves as the "gold standard" for rationality and truth? The inquiry interweaves five threads, or lines of inquiry, which are posited as pertinent in the current RST discourse and central to Heidegger's thought. The first thread consists of the chapter themes: phenomenology, truth, technology, and ethics. The other four threads--comportment toward things, reflection, thinking, and destiny--each "cross-cut," or traverse, the chapter themes. By Heidegger's lights, each cross-cutting thread harbors a duality: comportment toward things as objectification or non-objectification; reflection as Reflexion or Besinnung ; thinking as calculative or meditative; and destiny as fate or the sending of Being . Heidegger's critique of each duality--and the expanded global context suggested here for thinking the RST relation--offer fresh opportunities for reinscribing the customary formulation of theology as a basis for a compelling dialogue among religion, science, and theology today. (shrink)

John Rawls, in Political Liberalism, acknowledges that justice as fairness, as it stands, "may fail" to deliver justice to people with severe cognitive impairment. He continues, "How deep a fault this is must wait until the case itself can be examined." The intent of this work, then, is to revisit Rawls's justice as fairness in light of intervening decades of disability consciousness and the emergence of competing theoretical constructs pertinent to the lives of people with impairment, specifically to people with (...) an inability to reason or to reason fully, and determine whether new perspectives can expand its scope into a more comprehensive model. A fully democratic theory of justice cannot exclude the "hard cases," so in addition to Rawls's two principles of justice, the author will argue that a third principle of justice must be included to assure true democratic outcomes. The new principle will state: All structures arising from the first two principles must be open to all human beings--fully inclusive--without exception. The author expects that this third principle will be embraced by the reasonable and rational designers because it is in their self-interest to do so. The concept of self-interest--that interest, which might sway a person's choices toward personally favorable outcomes--is seen, by this author, as inclusive of favorable outcomes for all people with whom the designer self-identifies. Arenas of self-interest expand past the boundaries of an individual's actual person and past the confines of time, to encompass others, including one's future self, whose well-being is of such importance to the designer as to define her own well-being. Rawls means to assure a form of empathetic behavior when he constructs the veil of ignorance. In the original position, because the designer is veiled from all of his individual characteristics, Rawls forces consideration of the circumstances of every possible person the designer could be. The designer must consider those of all possible ethnicities, cultures, genders, classes, economic brackets, endowments, and other individual characteristics. Yet, the veil can never hide from the designer the fact that she can reason, and, if the designer were to make choices based on a narrow version of self-interest, the circumstances of people with cognitive impairment would remain unconsidered. Yet, people actually act within a broader definition of self-interest. The veiled designer cannot know if impairment affects his child or others with whom he identifies, nor can he know, given the nature of impairment, whether he will become impaired imminently or in the future. The unpredictable and non-discriminating nature of impairment means that its lack of consideration in the original position will expose participants, who all have impairment in a potential state, to the consequences of policy, which fails to address circumstances that might define anyone's future. Within an expanded notion of self-interest, the circumstances of people with severe cognitive and physical impairment will be represented because, among many reasons, it is personally advantageous for participants to do so. The social relevance of people with cognitive impairment, the author will argue, highlights the need for a theoretical restructuring of concepts of contribution and value, beyond rationality, that would lead to a reconceived notion of rights-bearing status and positions of respect. Can theory redefine personhood in a non-traditional way that can, but need not, include the ability to make moral choices, in order to extend value to previously excluded individuals, who nonetheless benefit society through extra-rational contribution? The author will explore the contributions and subsequent value to society of people with cognitive impairment . Notions of value should not be confused with ideas of intrinsic human worth. Acceptance of the latter does not lead individuals seeking community, based on mutual advantage, to court the participation of a non-contributor. Only social valuing can uproot the entrenched notion of worthlessness inherent in terms like "useless eaters." For all people, life as a human being involves living inside a vessel, which is subject to entropy, disease, injury and imperfection. Historically, society has sequestered those who provide reminders of the frailty of the human body and mind, and in so doing has doggedly clung to a chosen, comfortable illusion. What has been lost in this collective behavior is the opportunity to lead truly authentic lives, to embrace and incorporate the complete human experience. People with impairment can lead us in claiming our full humanity and in so doing make an invaluable contribution. (shrink)

Utilizing the theoretical framework of philosopher Alain Badiou, this paper will examine the force and movement of religiously fueled, revolutionary politics. Badiou's definition of event is read through the theological concept of miracle, put forward by jurist Carl Schmitt in order to elucidate the inauguration of new order. The theological concept of miracle radicalizes Alain Badiou's definition of event by manner of divine authorization. While Schmitt uses miracle to explicate sovereign preservation of the State, and Badiou's interest lies in its (...) erosion, reading both thinkers through miracle, and through each other, conceptualizes the theo-political militant, authorized by event to interrupt orders and enact new law. The first chapter begins with an analysis of Badiou's event, politics and militant fidelity, harnessing his framework while critiquing what is not counted in his recent work Rebirth of History . The second chapter will discuss Carl Schmitt's sovereign and its link to the theological concept of miracle. The chapter demonstrates miracle's conceptual similarity to event, excepting that within its interruption is the investiture of divine authorization. The final chapter will examine the case study of Sayyid Qutb and his text Milestones to exemplify that Badiou's framework bolstered by the theological concept of miracle accounts for the diverse disruptions of national, economic, and cultural orders along with the prescription for new possibilities. (shrink)

This project compares the operational methods of three of Cole Swensen's books of poetry with ways in which the human mind and consciousness function. I use Daniel Dennett's Multiple Drafts Model of consciousness, as described in Consciousness Explained, alongside concepts presented in several other philosophical works , to demonstrate that significant similarities exist between the operations of poetry and consciousness in general, and that these operational similarities are especially noticeable in Swensen's work. This thesis examines several operational modes that are (...) present within the human mind , as they are contingent upon the Multiple Drafts Model, and constructs a theory of how these same concepts and principles function within Swensen's poetic texts. (shrink)

Writing at a time when women had few property rights, were given scarce educational opportunities, and were viewed as incorrigibly irrational, the largely autodidactic English intellectual Margaret Cavendish is fascinated by knowledge and how to secure for herself a place in the micro- as well as macrocosmic community of letters. In particular, Cavendish holds an abiding interest in what we now call "consciousness" which she attributes to every piece of matter. Throughout the universe, the three aspects of matter--inanimate, sensate, and (...) rational--are omnipresent. While throughout all of Cavendish's eclectic literary creation, consciousness is the unifying principle. Her exploration of consciousness manifests itself across genres--in scenes from her fiction, in the themes of her poetry, in her philosophical principles, and in her explanations of the natural world. I maintain that although this is not commonly recognized, Cavendish's principle of pervasive consciousness is a premise throughout her writings. (shrink)

In H.D's lyric epic, Helen in Egypt , Helen of Troy experiences a phenomenological transformation in the brazier of the heart, which burns both on the beach of her new home in Egypt and in the depths of her psychic life. I have envisioned a process by which Helen psychologically enters into the brazier's flames to begin an alchemical process, so that she might see the beauty of the earth emerge and understand the rhythmic significance of the heart's perception. I (...) call the brazier's place of alchemical transformation the grief-threshold , which balances Helen on the edge of the underworld, but also reveals that beauty is the aquifer of life's longing, both for her, and for mythical figures of her imaginal experience. The visitations of figures like Achilles, Theseus, and Paris, bring Helen closer to understanding coniunctio, the alchemical marriage of masculine and feminine that takes place in the brazier of the heart. Her identification with mysterious feminine figures like Aphrodite, Persephone, Thetis, and the Egyptian goddess Isis provides a mythic landscape through which to welcome anima mundi --the soul of the world--inherent in the earth's beauty. She finally learns that the alchemically transforming heart perceives with a greater trajectory, expanding the body and the psyche into intimate relationship with an Aphroditic consciousness that reveals the conversational wisdom of the earth and the heavens. (shrink)

In an American postsecondary context, conflict is inherent . Successful navigation of conflict in the academy is vital for those who aspire to leadership positions . Presently, however, women face significant barriers to achieving success in higher education administration, including gender expectations for conflict resolution behavior .While a considerable body of literature exists for understanding gender negotiation, it remains rooted in a masculine paradigm , and, as such, established theories lack a feminist epistemological perspective. Consequently, my primary research question is, (...) How do women leaders experience and perceive conflict in the higher education work environment? I conduct a qualitative study that examines workplace conflict experiences of 15 women leaders from diverse personal and professional backgrounds.Hartsock's three-tiered gender-sensitive analysis of power, updated to include multicultural perspectives, serves as my theoretical framework. It is a lens through which I evaluate theories, finding multicultural organizational, higher education conflict, and gender negotiation theories most applicable to this study. The framework also creates the foundation upon which I build my study. Specifically, I determine that a feminist research method is most relevant to this investigation.To analyze data obtained through in depth interviews, I employ a highly structured form of grounded theory called dimensional analysis. Based on my findings, I co-construct with study participants a Feminist Conflict Process Theory and Flowchart in which initially the nature of the relationship, and subsequently the level of risk to the relationship, institution, or self, is evaluated.This study supports that which is observed in the conflict resolution practitioner literature, but is unique in its observation of factors that influence decisions within a dynamic conflict resolution process. My findings are significant to women who aspire to serve in leadership positions in higher education, as well as to the academy as a whole, for it expands our knowledge of women's ontological and epistemological perspectives on resolving conflict in postsecondary education. (shrink)

Our nation, if it is going to keep a competitive edge versus the rest of the world, must reform the current system of educating children. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence that implementation of one increasingly popular reform effort, theInternational Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme , changes teachers' perceptions of what is important about education, the need for international understanding for all students, and the future of education, in general. This dissertationhelped answer those questions through an extensive study (...) of relevant literature and the use of an on-line survey to analyze results. This research produced a number of keyfindings: teachers positively reported that implementation of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme impacted their philosophy, influenced their view for international education, influenced teachers' view of what a students' education will look like in future years, and impacted teacher efficacy. In particular, thesurvey found positive mean, median, and mode scores for the IBPYP's impact on teacher's philosophy of education. Further studies in different settings need to be conducted to determine whether implementation of the International BaccalaureatePrimary Years Programme positively impacts teachers. If American schools wish to better prepare their students for their world of the future, then studies need to continue to focus on the strategies, programs, and philosophies that will aide them in that quest. (shrink)

This dissertation examines the influence of Cambridge Platonism and materialist philosophy on Mary Astell's early feminism. More specifically, I argue that Astell co-opts Descartes's theory of regulating the passions in his final publication, The Passions of the Soul, to articulate a comprehensive, Enlightenment and body friendly theory of feminine self-esteem that renders her feminism modern. My analysis of Astell's theory of feminine self-esteem follows both textual and contextual cues, thus allowing for a reorientation of her early feminism vis-a-vis contemporary feminist (...) theory . An entire chapter in the dissertation is devoted to Astell's use of Descartes's theory of regulating the passions to render women more substantial and inherently worthy. This rendering becomes more concrete in Astell's feminist framework as she employs the language of the social contract in her fourth publication, Reflections Upon Marriage, to depict wives as contractual slaves. I argue that her assertion concerning women's slavery is theoretically consistent when read in light of her theory of feminine self-esteem, since this theory is based on the Enlightenment principles of self-mastery, independence and self-preservation. Further, I align Astell's early feminism in a dialogic sense with the Continental "querelle des femmes," especially as presented in writings by Christine de Pizan and Agrippa. Astell, I argue, contributes to the "querelle" by framing the feminist problem she wishes to solve concerning women's equality in a robust , philosophical manner that uncannily prefigures Wollstonecraft's call for the universalization of human virtues and the reform of of women's education. (shrink)

This phenomenological study explored the lived experience of home as it was experienced existentially by Russian Jewish elderly refugees living in a senior/disability apartment complex in Denver, Colorado. Applying the procedure of purposeful sampling, data was collected in a series of in-depth, semi-structured individual interviews from 8 participants, both male and female, aged 70 to 83. All of the participants originated in the region of Ukrainian and Belorussian Poles'e, within 70 km from Chernobyl, Ukraine, and lived there at the time (...) of the nuclear catastrophe, prior to immigration. Data was analyzed using Moustakas' transcendental phenomenology method. The essence of the phenomenon can be understood in terms of the constant, ongoing formation of home: creating, losing, and creating home anew, home as the fundamental place where existential needs are met, and the potential of the home environment to satisfy existential needs, either constraining or promoting their satisfaction. The study revealed home as grounded in the participants' creating, losing, and creating home anew in all domains of home: the natural and built environment, as well as the sociopsychological, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and sociocultural. These domains served as sources of meaning in addressing the participants' existential needs for belongingness, rootedness, continuity, authenticity, efficacy, self-worth, familiarity, and stability. It was also found that the home environment determined iii the degree of both acceptance and freedom to participate in creation of one's home. Implications for social work education, research, practice, and policy are suggested. (shrink)

Author: Joshua Carey Coleman Title: Orthodoxy and the Existential Recovery of Liberation Theology Advisor: Frank Seeburger Degree Date: March 2008Past liberation theology has sought to reemphasize the concerns of the poor by recovering a union between theory and praxis in theological discourse. In doing this, Liberation thought has shied away from strands of asceticism that devalue the body and its needs. However, by focusing on the Augustinian tradition and ignoring alternative approaches, liberation thought has unduly relied on political theory when (...) in fact ascetic theology is crucial to its overall aims. In adumbrating transformative action within asceticism, I will refer to the 4th century Cappadocian Fathers and their understanding of the person as an hypostasis, distinguishing this relational aspect of personhood from Augustine. By incorporating the doctrine of the Divine Energies from the Christian East, we see in St. Dionysius that the further the person climbs the ascetic ladder the more diverse and unique the experience of God and of oneself. This establishes a radically different option for communion and difference between particular persons. This also makes care for "these least" part and parcel of communion for all involved, for care giver and receiver, helping both overcome needs as drives. This understanding of communion leaves behind Marxist/materialist understandings of the masses and rather incorporates freedom and particularity in personhood. I will refer to Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition to establish that the rise of the social realm since Antiquity is largely due to the development of the nation-state and its reliance on a scientific methodology that grossly compromises human subjectivity. Thus political science, in the way Aristotle understood it as including both the particular and the universal, is no longer possible. However, this uncovering is not in itself sufficient for theological subjectivity, as the particular in a particular/universal dialectic is not strictly analogous to hypostasis/communion in a patristic dialectic. Of the many implications in Arendt's work, most important here are two: the co-opting of nature into property within Antiquity and the subsequent wealth-value given to property through the rise of the social realm as the predominate means of accessing the polis. For theology to say anything other than political theory, the doctrine of the Divine Energies are crucial to care for the particularities of "these least" and to avoid positing another ideology of post-enlightenment reason that is part of the continued split between theory and practice, creation and God. The Divine Energies make clear that spiritual discernment is not merely intellectual reflection, but participation in the eschaton who participates in this world. To "be not of this world" allows a deeper entry into the world and not independence from creation, as the doctrine of the Divine Energies emphasizes that creation is God's dwelling. This understanding is the first step toward overcoming subject/object being and to realize that communion with God and persons is necessary for one's own particular personhood. An important historical example of this occurs within the Jewish feast of Tabernacles which, made clear through the Christian feast of Palm Sunday, is an example of how recognition of the divine, specifically through liturgical action, is tied up with the delegation of resources and care for the poor. (shrink)