Stylistics is a methodology through which one can analyse different aspects of authors styles. It is also suitable for analysing American Presidential Debates.
This thesis provides a study of the subversive cinematographic practices in Spain during the period of political repression under Francoism (1939-1975). In foregrounding the non-conformist cinema...Show moreThis thesis provides a study of the subversive cinematographic practices in Spain during the period of political repression under Francoism (1939-1975). In foregrounding the non-conformist cinema of the time, it is my hope that this thesis contributes to the reconstruction of an immediate past in order to fight against the loss of memory, instigated by the dominant accounts of the history of that period, including that of the Spanish cinema. This thesis aims, then, to bring to light the repression that was encouraged by the state within the purview of film in order to hinder freedom of speech, and to revive a period of Spanish film history in which some films must be seen, I argue, as an instrument for social criticism. Against this background of repression I have, firstly, drawn attention on the institutional mechanisms and administrative procedures of censorship and propaganda – through which the state exercised control over the film making practices –, and the propaganda films made by directors who followed the principles of the regime, particularly focusing on the case of José Luis Sáenz de Heredia. Secondly, I have focused on two different lines of dissidence, i.e. internal and external, through the works of Falangist director José Antonio Nieves Conde, and the collaborative works of Luis García Berlanga and Juan Antonio Bardem, respectively.Show less
This thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as...Show moreThis thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as its angle of inquiry. Most criticism concerning Lilith’s Brood fails to adequately address the discursive tension in the work between these two competing discourses: posthumanism and the neo-slave narrative. The alien invasion in Dawn for example is figured in highly contradictory terms. On the one hand it is cast in the historically grounded and emotionally charged, racialized terms of American slavery and oppression, on the other hand it is embraced as an occasion for a long overdue, radical transformation of the humanist subject into a posthuman one. The question of how these two discourses conflict and interact with each other is one that this thesis engages at length by analyzing the way Lilith’s Brood reconfigures three foundational concepts that are found in humanist philosophy – rationality, autonomy, and authenticity. According to posthumanism these virtues on which the humanist subject is founded delineate a narrow and exclusionary concept of the human. In Lilith’s Brood however they are reconfigured in order to extend to non-human creatures as well. At the same time this reconfiguration of subjectivity also more accurately describes the human condition when it is exposed in the light of posthumanism and stripped of its humanist pretentions. Each chapter takes one of the novels in the trilogy and demonstrates how it deconstructs one of these foundational concept: autonomy, authenticity and rationality. At the same time the themes of slavery and subjection run as a red thread throughout the work, at times corroborating Lilith’s Brood’s posthumanist message, at times problematizing it. In keeping these themes foregrounded the trilogy gives full expression to the struggle and danger that accompanies change, bravely acknowledging troublesome conclusions such as the inevitable inequality that haunts all power relations and the necessity of sacrifice.Show less
Perdiep Ramesar zoog als verslaggever bij Trouw jarenlang verhalen uit zijn duim. Na 5,5 jaar werd hij door de leiding van Trouw ontmaskerd. Na zijn ontslag verschenen opiniestukken, columns en...Show morePerdiep Ramesar zoog als verslaggever bij Trouw jarenlang verhalen uit zijn duim. Na 5,5 jaar werd hij door de leiding van Trouw ontmaskerd. Na zijn ontslag verschenen opiniestukken, columns en redactioneel commentaar over de kwestie, in Trouw en in andere kranten. In dat metadiscours – journalistiek over journalistiek - worden verschillende strategieën van paradigm repair gebruikt – het journalistieke paradigma wordt verdedigd. Trouw zelf probeert de imagoschade te repareren door haar eigen kwaliteiten te roemen en haar zelfreflectie te benadrukken, maar ook door verantwoordelijkheid te nemen en excuses aan te bieden. In het metadiscours van de Nederlandse kranten is echter meer te vinden dan alleen pogingen om de schade te repareren: er klinkt ook kritiek op het journalistieke paradigma en de kwestie heeft bij Trouw zelf geleid tot de aanstelling van een ombudsman.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
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This thesis focuses on the role of collections of natural history and curiosities in the vocational education of Merchants and civil servants around 1700. Central are the ideas of the German...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the role of collections of natural history and curiosities in the vocational education of Merchants and civil servants around 1700. Central are the ideas of the German economist and merchant-scholar Paul Jacob Marperger (1656-1730).Show less
The present research project analyses Lebanese political cartoons taken from five different online newspapers in order to understand what kind of image is attributed to the "West" from the part of...Show moreThe present research project analyses Lebanese political cartoons taken from five different online newspapers in order to understand what kind of image is attributed to the "West" from the part of Lebanese cartoonists. Using Faucult and Said as guideline for the analysis of the political cartooons and utilising "framing" theories taken from media and communication studies as method of analysis, aim of the research is not only to understand what image of the "West"is being produced by the Lebanese media, but also what historical, social and cultural factors have played a role in formulating that image.Show less
Begin twintigste eeuw kwam het gebruik van aniline of synthetische kleurstoffen sterk op. Helaas bleken deze kleurstoffen niet lichtecht en zijn deze veelal verbleekt of van toon veranderd. Binnen...Show moreBegin twintigste eeuw kwam het gebruik van aniline of synthetische kleurstoffen sterk op. Helaas bleken deze kleurstoffen niet lichtecht en zijn deze veelal verbleekt of van toon veranderd. Binnen de Amsterdamse School werden dergelijke kleurstoffen veelvuldig gebruikt. Ondanks dat er geen gekleurd beeldmateriaal voor handen was richtte dit onderzoek zich op kleurtoepassingen binnen de Amsterdamse School. De nadruk lag op meubelen maar ook kleuren van textiel en enkele interieurs passeren de revue. Uit secundaire literatuur en bronnen bleek dat felle kleuren zijn toegepast binnen het interieur op zowel hout als textiel. Tevens kwamen diverse kleurentheorieën aan bod die het denken over kleur in de jaren tien en twintig van de vorige eeuw beïnvloedde. Daarnaast zijn diverse onderzoeken besproken waarin onderzoek werd gedaan naar de degradatie van de kleurstoffen. Verder is met behulp van een database, met daarin vele nog bestaande ontwerpen, een overzicht verkregen van het kleurgebruik van een aantal ontwerpers en architecten die behoren tot de Amsterdamse School. Hieruit bleek dat er binnen de Amsterdamse School kleurrijke ontwerpen zijn ontstaan maar dat het houtwerk veelal bruin of zwart is, en niet, zoals verwacht werd, fel gekleurd.Show less
In deze scriptie wordt onderzocht waarom Romeinse ambachtslieden hun beroep gebruikten voor het creëren van een identiteit op hun grafmonumenten. Hiervoor zijn de grafinscripties van Romeinse...Show moreIn deze scriptie wordt onderzocht waarom Romeinse ambachtslieden hun beroep gebruikten voor het creëren van een identiteit op hun grafmonumenten. Hiervoor zijn de grafinscripties van Romeinse edelsmeden en juweelwerkers geanalyseerd.Show less
This thesis aims to discover the extent to which the exhibition "The Lost Museum: The Berlin Paintings and Sculpture Collection 70 years after WWII" at the Bode Museum can be described as an agent...Show moreThis thesis aims to discover the extent to which the exhibition "The Lost Museum: The Berlin Paintings and Sculpture Collection 70 years after WWII" at the Bode Museum can be described as an agent of political catharsis and historical abreaction both in Germany and in German-Russian relations. Berlin and Germany’s cultural memory is complex, with the preservation of this cultural memory being of importance to city planners, curators and the public by and large. This exhibition represents a way in which this difficult memory can be addressed and used as a means of looking forward. In a sense, the museum undertakes an “abreaction” of painful cultural memory. The use of replicas and the dedication to research in museums, in both Russia and Germany bring about solutions to painful loss and disputed property and “reactivates” the memory of artworks lost at the end of World War II through destruction and theft.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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This thesis explores how the second wave feminist work The Lesbian Body deconstructs heterosexual discourse and at the same time creates a new subject that is not part of a heterosexual structure.
In dit onderzoek wordt de benadering van het oriëntalisme van Edward Said toegepast op de journalistieke verslaglegging van de Indonesische Tsunamiramp. Vanuit de theorie van critical discours...Show moreIn dit onderzoek wordt de benadering van het oriëntalisme van Edward Said toegepast op de journalistieke verslaglegging van de Indonesische Tsunamiramp. Vanuit de theorie van critical discours analysis tegen wordt het voorgezet koloniale denken en de ongelijkwaardige machtsverhoudingen onderzocht. De hoofdvraag is: Hoe zijn stereotypen en frames die het oriëntalisme vormgeven, verweven in journalistieke foto’s van de tsunamiramp in Indonesië 2004) in Nederlandse kranten?Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
under embargo until 2026-06-01
2026-06-01T00:00:00Z
This thesis examines the causative stem (C-stem) in two Aramaic translations of Genesis, Targum Neofiti (TgN) and Targum Onqelos (TgO). More specifically, it is focused on how this morphological...Show moreThis thesis examines the causative stem (C-stem) in two Aramaic translations of Genesis, Targum Neofiti (TgN) and Targum Onqelos (TgO). More specifically, it is focused on how this morphological causative is employed to translate different Hebrew verbs and stem forms as well as the situation aspect and transitivity of individual verbs. The survey and synthesis show (1) that the vast majority of C-stem verbs in these corpora have an intransitive basic stem (G-stem) and (2) that the C-stem adds an external agent to G-stem constructions, thereby increasing their valency. (3) It illustrates how the addition of an external agent changes the role of the causee (original subject). For example, the subject of an intransitive G-stem construction becomes the direct object of a causative construction: ‘He went out’ becomes ‘They brought him out’. Likewise, the subject of a transitive construction (e.g. ‘He drank wine’) becomes a second direct object, making certain C-stem constructions bitransitive. (4) It outlines how the addition of an external agent affects the situation aspect of three different verb types, stative verbs, process verbs, and action verbs. (5) Lastly, it shows that the ancient translators attempted to imitate the Hebrew text whenever possible by using the same verb and stem.Show less
The English countryside is dotted with old parish churches, often there since Medieval times and seemingly untouched. But appearances are deceptive and most of them, if not all, did change...Show moreThe English countryside is dotted with old parish churches, often there since Medieval times and seemingly untouched. But appearances are deceptive and most of them, if not all, did change considerably, and probably at least twice. The first major transformation happened in the 16th and early 17th century when after the Reformation churches were adapted from catholic places of worship into buildings fitting a new protestant liturgy. More surprisingly a second drastic transformation happened in the mid 19-hundreds, then vice-versa, altering churches backwards into more catholic settings for still protestant worship. This thesis examines the last, which not only generated huge changes in internal arrangements, layouts and furnishings, often beyond recognition, but also left us the churches we are familiar with and indeed established the blueprint for all churches in the Anglican and Episcopal community worldwide. In general churches were adapted according to a new concept created by an obviously successful and powerful movement, aiming for revitalisation of the Church of England: the Ecclesiological Society. Although the result of some compromising and adoption of ideas of others, their ecclesiological concept was strict and detailed, aiming for an ideal setting for Anglican worship based on 14th century forms, but which in fact was totally new and neither Medieval nor Anglican. A concept that required, and indeed generated, not only a radical internal rearrangement and refurnishing, altering churches from pulpit focusing auditoriums into sacramental spaces orientated to the altar, but also a full restyling into the only style befitted for truly Christian, English churches: the Middle Pointed Style. Many writers see the mid 19-hundreds as a period of revolution in which churches en-masse were transformed according to the ecclesiological principles: rigidly and rigorously. Broadly speaking this may be true. Still, three different cases of church remodelling, although providing only a tiny impression, show differently. St. Andrew’s Church in Castle Combe, Bath Abbey and St. Eadburgha’s in Broadway all got their ecclesiological arrangements, but neither of them to the full. And more noticeable, neither of them was restyled into the preferred Middle Pointed Style. The ecclesiological transformations may generally have been rapid and rigid, but certainly some churches followed their own patterns and paces, determined by facts such as the churchmanship and position of the incumbent or the significance and role of the church in the community.Show less
The War on Drugs has largely been declared a policy failure, and the attack on the supply-side has been subject to scholarly debate (see Bagley, Bertram, Nadelmann, Tokatlian, Johns etc.). This is...Show moreThe War on Drugs has largely been declared a policy failure, and the attack on the supply-side has been subject to scholarly debate (see Bagley, Bertram, Nadelmann, Tokatlian, Johns etc.). This is in contrast to the somewhat glorified war narrative of ‘good versus bad’ that Narcos imposes on the events that occurred in early 1980s Colombia. The show’s perpetuation of the War on Drugs supply-side logic, the juxtaposition of narcotrafficantes with communism, and the demonization of the narcos all serve to justify the suspension of morality in the war against the narcos.Show less
Somalia and (South) Sudan belong to the most troubled countries in the world. All three of them are classified within the bottom 20% of the UNDP’s Human Development Index. Similarly, they have...Show moreSomalia and (South) Sudan belong to the most troubled countries in the world. All three of them are classified within the bottom 20% of the UNDP’s Human Development Index. Similarly, they have consistently been ranked in the top-5 of the Fragile States Index. Unsurprisingly, the contemporary history of Somalia and Sudan is characterized by chronic insecurity because of recurring civil wars between ethnic, tribal or clan-based groups and their governments. Therefore, the vast majority of international involvement in the Horn of Africa during the last twenty years has been directed at these countries. However, despite this ample attention, the deployed international military forces have thus far been unable to re-establish secure environments and rebuild state structures. Focusing on five distinct military interventions from 1990 to roughly 2010, this inquiry aims to measure the qualitative and quantitative contributions of Security Sector/System Reform (SSR) to the restoration of the state’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force. To this end, it addresses e.g. the progress made within Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs. This inquiry then attempts to assess the legitimacy of the post-conflict state reconstruction effort by looking at e.g. the empowerment of civil society representatives and the progress made within community confidence-building measures. In doing so, this inquiry adopts Paul D. Miller’s concept of ‘armed state building’ as a theoretical framework. It therewith argues that – despite a growing number of criticisms – liberal institution-building has since the end of the Cold War remained the prevailing paradigm of state reconstruction efforts. Based on a reading of relevant literature, this inquiry contends that group identities in Somalia and Sudan have become interwoven with relative deprivation between them. The result have been enduring crises of citizenship and legitimacy in the state which continue to feed narratives that help to mobilize groups for violence. This inquiry finds that SSR has managed to increase the capacities of security and justice institutions, albeit in a vacuum. Analyses indicate how the (re)-established state institutions overall have been rather a-contextual, a-historic and frequently paralleled more capable, indigenous mechanisms. Simultaneously, the problems within the state’s legitimacy domain illustrate the complex environments, wherein international military forces e.g. were hampered by their cooperation with problematic local partners. This points to limitations within the military spheres of influence that affect soldiers’ ability to address the ‘root causes’ of conflict. This, in turn, leads to questions of how SSR should otherwise be treated within their activities, and how these armed state building efforts could best be complemented.Show less
