Reading and writing under the sign of the cross : A post-theological poetics of agnosticism

Ledoux, Lynette Christine (2000) Reading and writing under the sign of the cross : A post-theological poetics of agnosticism. MTh(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

A post-theological poetics of agnosticism is a hermeneutical method that begins with a posture of "not-knowing" and uses the concepts of reading and writing, in conjunction with Derrida's X, as metaphors for making sense of and meaning within the world as "text," in addition to making sense of and meaning for my-self and an-other as "texts." When I read and write texts, I do so under the sign of the cross so that I engage in both a constructive and de-constructive dialogical exchange, or X-change, which is an active and passive process that is ultimately the embodiment of love. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first two explicate my hermeneutical methodology: Chapter 1-"What do I read and write under the sign of the cross?" and Chapter 2-"How do I read and write under the sign of the cross?" Chapter 1 presents a text as an embodied entity that is "there too with" us and with whom I, as reader and writer, engage in an X-change. Chapter 2 defines three terms by which I may accomplish reading and writing under the sign of the cross: recognition, inter-action, inter-passion. The third is an application of my hermeneutical methodology and presentation of its workings through a reading and writing of a novel: Chapter 3-"Incarnation, or, the Drama of Becoming and Re-becoming (Human): A reading and writing of Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body." Chapter 3 pulls themes from Winterson's Written such as the necessity of re-membrance within a love relationship and the detrimental effects of authority within X-change. Incarnation is not a singular event but a process of becoming and re-becoming, of decay and renewal. A post-theological poetics is a way of living in the world. It is centered around moments in which meaning is gained and lost. I signify these moments as X, dialogue, love, X-change, the cross, chiasmus, and reading and writing under the sign of the cross. It is a recognition, action toward, and passion for multiplicity of meaning between one text and another.

• Item Type: Thesis (MTh(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Theology.
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities
• Supervisor's Name: Supervisor, not known
• Date of Award: 2000
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2000-71987
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 17 May 2019 13:30
• Last Modified: 05 Aug 2021 11:18
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/71987