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    Derrida and meaning : the problem of authorial intention : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1985) Molloy, Harvey Lees
    This thesis examines Jacques Derrida's deconstructive critique of the logocentric concept of meaning and.proposes that Derrida's critique maintains the importance of authorial intention for literary critical practice. Derrida's critique of 'meaning' entails a situating of authorial intention as that which, while of importance to a critical reading, is incapable of absolutely determining the 'meaning' of the text. The introduction gives a brief sketch of the importance of authorial intention in modern literary theory. Chapter One articulates Derrida's critique of Saussure's concept of the sign, showing how such a critique entails a questioning of any meaning beyond the series of differences which is language. Chapter Two demonstrates how Derrida's deconstructive reading of Rousseau in the latter half of Of Grammatology situates Rousseau's intention as that which is incapable of fully determining the meaning of his "Essay on the Origin of Languages", due to the undecidable meaning of the word 'supplement'. The third and final chapter is concerned with Derrida's postulation of the 'graphematic structure of the mark' as that which characterises all forms of speech and writing, as well as the structure of intention. The 'graphematic structure of the mark' is seen by Derrida as being that which renders the concept of a fully closed and final 'meaning' a problematical one due to the mark's ability to be grafted from one context into another. The chapter ends with an account of the 'concept' of 'dissemination', and demonstrates how this concept differs from the traditional concept of 'meaning'.
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    Interesting life : how to make political video art in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2008) Hewitt, Murray
    I started this thesis with the question how is it possible to make political video art in New Zealand? This came out of my desire to understand better the issues for artists currently making political work, as I found that in my practice I kept returning to political themes. It soon became apparent that I needed to include my journey out of community work into an art practice. It also seemed important to acknowledge a significant discovery, that for me, the process is often as important as the art produced. Therefore this paper includes an explanation of my change from community worker to artist, and its relevance to my art practice. And, a discussion about the importance of process: while the central and more pertinent question remains throughout, how to make political video art in New Zealand? I begin looking at philosophy confessing my assumptions about morality and looking at the struggles within postmodern subjectivity: and its implications for content in art work. The next section considers the modernist ideas of the Situationists, and of Joseph Beuys, and their hopes for the fusion of art and life, followed by reflections on my past involvements in community work. I then track the intention shown in the work of Beuys into the postmodern era looking specifically at the work Intervention to aid drug-addicted women. Shedhalle by the Austrian Art Collective Wochenklausur, considering their pragmatic, contextually-specific gestures of art. I look at two of my own works. Weeping Waters and Untitled, focusing on the importance of the process while making the distinction between the process and art.
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    Ethics-Rorty-cultural studies : towards an understanding of the cultural production of solidarity : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2000) Hunt, Alistair Peter
    Is cultural studies on the verge of an ethical turn? What role could the work of Richard Rorty play in such an ethical turn? Rorty may be considered as a cultural theorist whose work enables a productive articulation of cultural studies and that area of experience known as "ethics" – one's sensitivity and sense of responsibility to others in pain. Through an extended "misreading" of the dispersed texts Rorty has written on and around the topic, it is possible to formulate a Rortian account of ethics as solidarity, including such concepts as the moral subject, the other, moral identification, moral community, as well as the ethical implications of Rorty's theoretical ethnocentrism. This account, by virtue of its antifoundationalist and discursive theoretical position, holds much interest for a cultural studies concerned to understand the normative dimension of discursive meaning.