VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Reconceiving the feminist biographical subject: a study in metabiography

The genre of biography has been justly criticized in recent years for failing to respond to the modern and postmodern theoretical constructs of identity and representation which fiction and autobiography have made use of for decades. Though it remains immensely popular, one critic has labeled biography the “last bastion of unexamined assumptions about referentiality” (Stanley, Autobiographical I7). A close reading of several experimental feminist biographies and novels that mimic the biographical quest reveals an emerging critique of realist biographical representation, which, in its drive towards coherence, inflicts a kind of violence upon its subjects' more complex layers of identity. These new “metabiographies” introduce a self-conscious or self-reflexive biographer who attempts to avoid objectifying or patronizing her subject and at the same time attempts to create a textual space where the subject can be nurtured rather than dominated by interpretive certainties. These writers, like various relational feminist theorists, are fascinated by biography's potential to form “reciprocal reparations” between the metabiographer and the historical other, and to deconstruct realist notions of referentiality without “prematurely foreclos[ing] the question of identity” (Miller 106) for women. Metabiographers emphasize the materiality of their documents. By doing so they help to form a new ethics and aesthetics of biography which present any limited understanding of self or other as a “struggle between opposing discourses” (Herrmann 15). Alice Munro, Carol Shields, A. S. Byatt, and Alison Lurie, fiction writers who graft the metabiographical quest onto the popular genres of detective fiction and the romance novel, and non-fiction biographers Eunice Lipton, Elinor Langer, and Rosemary Sullivan, attempt to unravel the genre which has traditionally inscribed “that closed-off dialogism we have called monologism” (Schwab 65), and to uncover the inherently dialogical nature of this intersubjective genre.
Role of adaptor protein 3BP2 in B cell survival and homeostasis

The in vivo function of the c-Abl SH3-domain binding protein-2 (3BP2) adaptor was investigated using gene-targeted mice. 3BP2-deficient mice displayed an abnormal accumulation of CD5 - B-2 B cells in the peripheral lymphoid organs including spleen and lymph nodes. Adoptive transfer experiments revealed that 3BP2 -/- B cells expanded autonomously in Rag1-deficient hosts in the absence of T cell help. Robust splenic germinal center formation was observed in the absence of overt antigenic challenge and an usually high frequency of class switching to the IgA isotype was apparent. Serum from 3BP2-/- mice contained elevated levels of autoreactive IgA which deposited in the glomeruli, resulting in glomerulonephritis and development of proteinuria. The proliferative rate of 3BP2-/- B cells was normal but an increase in the Bcl-2-to-Bax ratio and concommitant impairment of mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways was evident. Impaired, but selective, promoter binding and target gene induction by the tumor suppressor p53 implied that 3BP2 regulates p53 DNA-binding activity. Therefore, 3BP2 appears to play a critical role in maintenance of B cell homeostasis and tolerance, possibly by positively-regulating the pro-apoptotic activity of p53.
"Caro verbum factum est": Incarnation of word in early English and Celtic texts

This thesis explores the perceived effects of the word on the physical and metaphysical human body as observed in early English and Celtic texts. It reveals that their comparable expression of the interface between word and body is a development from biblical, classical, and late-antique theory and practice. The texts are re-examined in light of the process of reception and transformation of the Christian Latin grammatical and rhetorical tradition in the period after Augustine in early medieval Britain and Ireland. The first chapter, "Biblical and Classical Examples of the Word-Body Interface: Words as Weapon and Cure", provides the relevant background to Judeo-Christian and Graeco-Roman strategies for the manipulation of the body through language inherited by the British Isles via the cultural and intellectual milieu of sub-Roman Britain. Chapter 2, "Patrick, Mediator of the Word: The Interface of Sub-Roman Christian Latin Tradition and Ireland", investigates the fifth-century Saint Patrick as a figure representing the continuity of the Christian Latin literary tradition from Late Antiquity through sub-Roman Britain to Ireland. Through analysis of his writings, it is suggested that Patrick was affected in his self-expression by an Augustinian view of language, and by an Augustinian perception of the effect of that language on the interior homo. Patrick's articulation of the interface between word and body is presented as the first glimpse of this developing literary theme in the Insular milieu. Chapter 3, "Flesh Made Word in the Grammar of Insular Devotion", turns to the examination of Irish and English prayer texts, principally collected in seventh- to ninth-century quasi-liturgical manuscripts and prayer-books. Grounding the composition of the prayers within the dominant hermeneutic of grammatica, it illustrates how the interface between the word and the body was expressed by analyzing particular features, such as use of the alphabet, anatomical enumeration, the lorica "breastplate" metaphor, and the image of Christ as medicus and scrutator of the interior. In conclusion, this study suggests that the texts represent a stage in the development of a Catholic anthropology of the body, underscored by the doctrine of bodily resurrection in Christ, and briefly considers the implications of the texts for future study. As a whole, it endeavours to address the need for a synthesizing overview of the logic of early English and Celtic prayer by tracing a developmental trajectory of the word-body theme in its interactive, and cross-generic context.
Hiding from the moon: living with panic disorder

This paper outlines the experiences of panic disorder in women and their interactions with the larger world. Panic disorder is examined within the context of disability and mental health. Through the study of panic disorder, a critique of the medical model reveals the shortcomings of traditional thought on the experiences of panic disorder, and mental illness in general. The social model of disability offers an analysis of disability and mental health within a contemporary context. Women who have experienced panic disorder are interviewed and their stories shared to reveal the daily experiences faced by a few of the millions of women suffering from panic disorder in Canada.

Keywords: Panic disorders
Mentally ill women
Bordering on legality: an investigation into the lines 'we' draw : the lines that draw 'us' (and the spaces in between)

This dissertation examines how legal scholars can contribute to debates within liberalism about border control. Many liberal theorists view border control as exceptional. Such theorists contend that standard liberal principles regulate relations among members of a political community. As such, these principles are not applicable with their full force to the border control context because this context raises the analytically prior question of who counts as a member of the community. Along similar lines, the legal systems in liberal states characterize border control law as legally exceptional. In this exceptional area of law, human rights norms -- especially due process nouns -- are attenuated. This dissertation challenges these exceptional understandings of border control by exposing the legal processes that render border control laws exceptional and by investigating legal strategies that migrants successfully deploy to resist exceptional border control laws. The dissertation begins by exploring the exceptional understanding of border control adhered to by many liberal theorists. It then moves on to examine how border control law establishes legally anomalous zones and legally exceptional classes of people, both of which allow states to deploy legal forms as a one-way projection of power over noncitizens. Next, the dissertation offers a critique of laws operating in this manner, arguing that such laws fail to comply with norms that are constitutive of what Lon Fuller termed 'legality'. The dissertation then considers a legal strategy that migrants and their allies use to challenge legally exceptional border control measures: church sanctuary practices, whereby non-citizens take up residence in sacred buildings to avoid deportation. Faith-based communities frequently justify sanctuary as a means to correct particularly egregious outcomes emerging from border control procedures that violate principles of legality. Moreover, states commonly defer to these arguments by mitigating the harsh outcomes of border control law in cases where sanctuary has been offered. The dissertation concludes that greater attention ought to be paid by liberal theorists to legal arguments made within extra-state institutions such as faith-based communities that are responsive to the interests of non-citizens and that successfully resist -- and develop alternatives to -- legally exceptional border control activities.
Reading hidden layers: a genetic analysis of the drafts of Margaret Atwood's novels The edible woman and Bodily harm

Margaret Atwood's creative technique as a novelist is the subject of this thesis, which considers two of her novels, the Edible Woman (1969) and Bodily Harm (1981). The dissertation investigates Atwood's process of writing, from the earliest extant drafts of the novels to the final, published product. Genetic criticism, the methodology applied in analysing the manuscript material, studies textual versions without privileging a “best” or definitive version. This methodology traces the creative process by reviewing all draft materials pertaining to a work in order to establish a genetic dossier. The analysis presented in the thesis is based on manuscript materials collected in the Margaret Atwood Papers at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. The materials in this collection have never been used for any systematic, extended study of Atwood's creative technique. A comparison of Atwood's first published novel, The Edible Woman with Bodily Harm clearly demonstrates contrasting techniques of composition. The thesis contains a genetic dossier for each novel, cataloguing all materials relevant to their creation and in each case establishing their chronological sequence. The genetic dossier for The Edible Woman is followed by a chapter which demonstrates Atwood's systematic removal of material from this text so as to create narrative gaps which the audience is expected to fill. The chapter documents Atwood's manipulation of characters' names, shows how Marian's fear and her own insights into her emotional state disappear from the drafts, and reveals how relationships between Marian and other key characters are reconfigured. In contrast, the analysis of Bodily Harm shows how Atwood composes her 1981 novel by constantly adding material, creating a dense web of motivic structures for readers to investigate. In analysing this novel's construction through accretion, key events are highlighted through the use of title and setting, the structural changes within the novel's first section, and the novel's ending. Despite the numerous collections of contemporary literary manuscripts in Canada, this analytical tool has rarely been used. The study contributes to Canadian literary criticism by offering new insights into the interpretation of the two novels, and a new methodology transferable to the exploration of other collections.
Writing "for profitable use": satiric political discourse in women's prose fiction, 1628--1688 (Aphra Behn, Margaret Cavendish, Elizabeth Cary)

This dissertation examines satiric political discourse in five prose fictional narratives written between 1628 and 1688 by Elizabeth Cary, Margaret Cavendish, and Aphra Behn. I argue that Cary's "The Rainge and deathe of Edwarde the Seconde" (1627/8), Cavendish's Sociable Letters (1664) and Blazing World (1666), and Behn's Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister (1684--1687) and Oroonoko (1688) are deeply invested in political discourse and debates, and that the political-ideological critique in these works is sharpened by its articulation through a satiric voice. The use of satiric political discourse in these texts positions these writers as agents of political change, and thus, as political subjects willing to engage in thinly-veiled critiques of powerful men and the political institutions through which they govern. Chapter One addresses specific literary-historiographical questions by investigating the place of early modern women's fiction in feminist literary history and within current debates on the origins of the novel. Chapter Two discusses the intersection of historical and fictional writing in Cary's manuscript history of Edward II. I argue that this narrative functions as a form of crypto-historical narrative in that it reflects with a decidedly satiric edge on the relationship between the Duke of Buckingham and James I, and as a form of analytic historical writing in its extensive exploration of the nature of kingship, patronage, the problem of court corruption, and the rights and obligations of political subjects. Chapter Three discusses satiric analysis and models of sovereignty portrayed in Cavendish's Sociable Letters and Blazing World. I demonstrate the range of Cavendish's satiric commentary on the ills of society, the problem of faction, the causes of civil war, corruption in Restoration court culture, and the king's treatment of Cavendish's husband, the Duke of Newcastle. Chapter Four investigates the rhetorical strategies and ideological implications of Behn's satiric treatment of republicanism and heroic rebellion in Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and his Sister and Oroonoko: or the Royal Slave. A True History. I conclude with some thoughts towards a theory of women's satiric discourse, and further reflections on the nature of literary-historical narrative.
Effects of corticosterone on maternal behaviour: roles of parity, gonadal hormones, and early experience

It is well known that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated during stress. Recent work suggests it is also implicated in the regulation of 'normal' behaviors. The purpose of this thesis was to determine the role of corticosterone, an HPA hormone, in the expression of maternal behaviour and whether factors known to independently affect the HPA axis and maternal behaviour, such as parity and maternal separation, will determine the function of corticosterone. In the first series of experiments, the effects of adrenalectomy and corticosterone on maternal behavior in postpartum rats and sensitized and hormonally-primed virgin rats were investigated. After birth, adrenalectomized rats showed less maternal behaviour than non-adrenalectomized rats. Rats given corticosterone showed more maternal behaviour than rats not given corticosterone. After sensitization, adrenalectomized virgin rats showed more maternal behaviour than non-adrenalectomized virgin rats. Also, sensitized rats given corticosterone showed lower levels of maternal behaviour than sensitized rats not given corticosterone, but inconsistently. After hormonal-priming, adrenalectomized rats showed less time over pups on the first test day than non-adrenalectomized rats regardless of corticosterone replacement. Adrenalectomized rats also showed less time over and licking pups than non-adrenalectomized rats once all rats were maternal. Corticosterone replacement partially reversed the effect on time over pups. In the second series of experiments, the effects of maternal separation (being separated from mother and littermates (separated alone: SA), being separated from mother and not littermates (separated as litter: SL), or being left undisturbed (UND) from postnatal days 2 to 14 for 5 hours daily) on adult virgin and juvenile maternal behavior and on basal HPA measures were investigated. In virgin rats, SA rats became maternal more quickly and showed more licking. There was little effect of separation in juvenile rats. Corticosterone levels were negatively related to several maternal behaviors in the juvenile rat. Juvenile rats also showed lower basal corticosterone than virgin rats, although separation had no effect on basal corticosterone in either virgin or juvenile rats. This suggests that while corticosterone affects the expression of maternal behavior, dependent on parity and gonadal hormone status, separation had little effect on maternal behavior and basal corticosterone levels.
A study of special education during the interwar years

An examination of the creation, development and expansion of Special Education during the interwar years in Ontario is long overdue. For the purpose of this study, legislation, scientific practices, the development of rights, and the role of women as professionals, volunteers and mothers have all been analyzed. As will be demonstrated, legislation during this period was enacted for the purpose of identifying and segregating Special Needs children. The creation of Special Education was cultivated by the discovery that scientific procedures could assist with and determine the identification of Special Needs children. Although my research indicates that emergence of Special Education was fundamentally linked to the eugenics movement, the eugenical perspective does not sufficiently explain the development of rights. This paper will demonstrate that during the interwar years, a significant development and expansion occurred in Special Education, and the transformation was principally attributable to the role women played.

Keywords: Special education, History
Special education, Ontario
Organ specific autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes

Autoimmune diseases are classified into two categories, organ specific and systemic. T1D is an organ-specific autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing β-cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans, resulting in chronic hyperglycemia. Type 1 diabetics require lifelong treatment with exogenous insulin. However, complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy, kidney and cardiovascular disease eventually develop. The incidence of T1D is increasing worldwide, as are its healthcare costs—$118 B USD annually in North America. Preventing T1D is an attractive goal and toward this end it is necessary to understand its etiology. In spite of diverse auto-antigen patterns common in different organs and tissues, autoreactive diabetogenic T cells mainly target the β-cells in the islet vacinity. This suggests the presence of pathoetiological characteristics that are somehow controlled in the islet locale. In order to investigate the possible elements that drive the autoimmune reaction to the pancreas in T1D we studied the Nonobese Diabetic (NOD) mouse model and focused on the pancreatic neuronal and immunological elements. From the neurological aspect we demonstrate the innervation of the exocrine and endocrine pancreas by nociceptors, and that the TRPV1 subset of these neurons control the physiology of islet and glucose homeostasis. We discovered that NOD TRPV1 gene in the Idd4 region is mutated and the predicted TRPV1 is hypofunctional. Our findings show that manipulation of NOD dysfunctional TRP1 neurons by neonatal capsaicin treatment or substance P treatment can affect the onset and progression of the disease. In the immunological approach we investigated the local expression of accessory molecule PD-L1 on β-cell surface. PD-L1 interaction with its receptor PD1 on T cell surface was known to have inhibitory effects on T cell activation thus believed to be important in peripheral tolerance. To study the role PD-1-PD-L1 interaction in T1D we created a transgenic NOD mouse with β-cell specific expression of PD-L1. Despite the large body of evidence supporting the inhibitory effects of PD-L1 in T cell responses our data supported the opposite effect in NOD T1D. In our transgenic model we observed that target specific expression of PD-L1 on β-cell surface accelerates diabetes. Altogether our findings from these particular approaches confirm the presence and importance of islet specific neurological and immunological elements that drive the autoimmune response to a restricted pancreatic locale.
From spiritual theory to anti-racist praxis: Rastafari spirituality as an emancipatory pedagogy for schooling and educating Black/African other minority youth in Ontario

This study examines the meaning and role of RastafarI spirituality for schooling and educating Black/African and other minority youth. It presents RastafarI spirituality as a vehicle through which to address issues of inclusiveness within mainstream schools in Ontario. I argue that RastafarI spirituality provides one useful way in which to prepare students to name, critically analyze and challenge multivariate forms of oppression experienced in schools and society. Through a critical content analysis of contemporary Rasta orature (music, (dub) poetry and language), I illustrate how Rastas articulate their meaning of spirituality, spiritual practices, spiritual experiences and how these articulations become a basis for the decolonization of the African selfhood. I also explore the pedagogic, communicative and instructional relevance of the philosophies of RastafarI for educating youth in Ontario.

Keywords: Rastafari movement, Ontario
Blacks, Education
Blacks, Ontario
Minorities, Education
Minorities, Ontario
Racism in education, Ontario
He who laughs last: comic representations of AIDS

This study looks at how the unexpected use of comic forms is one way of challenging the dominant reading of AIDS as “tragedy,” especially when homosexuality has typically been read as a sad story. Based on the commonly held notion that comedy demands distance between the audience and the comic subject, what Henri Bergson calls “a momentary anesthesia of the heart,” in the works of the many gay writers who address the epidemic subjectively, that distance is compromised. I argue that using humour to represent AIDS challenges any such easy distancing. This idea of distance also raises the issue of audience reception, particularly important when discussing humour. Whereas much writing about AIDS literature looks at the audience as a homogenous group, I maintain that both sexuality and serostatus play a significant role in how one reads an AIDS text. While the comic is inclusive insofar as it creates and affirms communities, its frequent use of irony—sometimes in the form of camp—can also be exclusionary. If gay writers have used these comic modes to build community by excluding others, just as queers often figure as the butt of jokes in other forms of comedy, a question central to both comedic theory and identity politics arises: How can the comic work subversively without reinscribing identity and restabilizing the status quo? The writers I examine demonstrate the ways in which the comic can resist closure, especially the kind one assumes AIDS would necessarily entail (a problem I examine in relation to the film, Philadelphia). Contra the criticisms of Susan Sontag, Andrew Sullivan, and Edmund White, I argue that those who use camp and black humour to represent AIDS comically force us to rethink our traditional understanding of these modes. This thesis explores how humour functions queerly in a number of different contexts, including the AIDS activism of ACT UP, Diseased Pariah News, and plays, films, and novels by David Feinberg, John Greyson, Allan Gurganus, Tomson Highway, Tony Kushner, Peter McGehee, and Terrence McNally.