The present study aims to contribute to the understanding of a phenomenon known as ‘Englishisation’ that is present at universities worldwide from the perspective of the Netherlands, a state with a...Show moreThe present study aims to contribute to the understanding of a phenomenon known as ‘Englishisation’ that is present at universities worldwide from the perspective of the Netherlands, a state with a unique position by offering the largest proportion of English courses in the European Union as a non-Anglophone country. The study specifically explores the attitudes and perceptions of domestic students toward the Englishisation of Dutch higher education. For this purpose, qualitative research consisting of semi-structured interviews was conducted with 10 current bachelor’s students from Dutch universities who have experience with English- medium instruction (EMI), done with the aim of highlighting their motivations, thoughts, and perceptions. The analysis of these interviews shows that while there are many perceived benefits to an English education such as the creation of the international classroom with the arrival of international students, it often comes at the expense of domestic students’ native Dutch language skills. On the basis of the interview data, domestic students who exclusively study in English suggest that they have not had the opportunity to use Dutch in an academic context, which led to many students recognising a depletion of their native language, especially in terms of academic writing.Show less
Populist forces in Europe are on the rise with parties like the National Rally in France and the Polish Law and Justice enjoying significant support of the population. While these parties often...Show morePopulist forces in Europe are on the rise with parties like the National Rally in France and the Polish Law and Justice enjoying significant support of the population. While these parties often focus on issues of immigration or security, their stance on LGBT rights is often less clear. Mudde's ideational approach describes populism as a “thin-centred ideology” dividing society into “the elite” and “the people,” implying that populists believe that there is no need for minority protection as the people are seen as “homogenous.” Populist parties in Western Europe, however, sometimes use LGBT rights to argue against immigration. As this trend seems to be absent from Eastern Europe, a “rainbow curtain” that divides LGBT-friendly and unfriendly populist parties could be drawn. This thesis challenges the assumption that Eastern European populism automatically opposes LGBT rights, focusing on the Czech populist movement Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO). Using a discursive approach that does not assume that populists are against minority protection, the thesis examines ANO's attitudes towards LGBT rights on online news platforms and social media discourse from 2013 to 2024, with a focus on Prague Pride, same-sex adoption, and marriage, and ANO's relationship with Hungarian Fidesz. The analysis shows that ANO's attitudes are ambiguous, influenced by the politician asked (liberal vs. conservative members), timing (early enthusiastic support vs. later disregard or opposition), specific rights (same-sex unions vs. marriage and adoption), and platform (news vs. social media). Two main explanations follow from the primary source analysis. ANO's catch-all strategy to attract diverse voters and its use of LGBT rights to polarise and split the governing coalition.Show less
This dissertation explores the influence of linguistic devices and strategies used by media outlets on the public perception of femicide and the development of the contextual framework to further...Show moreThis dissertation explores the influence of linguistic devices and strategies used by media outlets on the public perception of femicide and the development of the contextual framework to further preventative measures for femicide. It acknowledges a paradigm shift in human communication and consumption of information, particularly concerning social issues, such as femicide. Examining four linguistic tools that play a prevalent role in the everchanging, but exhausted media landscape. Using discourse analysis and a focus on the Netherlands, this dissertation reviews the influence of linguistic devices and strategies on four case studies. This study highlights how the use of these linguistic tools by media outlets has contributed to the perpetuation and invisibility of femicide.Show less
Since 2020 Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with the Law and Justice (PiS) government continuously diminishing women’s rights during their 2015-2023 ruling period....Show moreSince 2020 Poland has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe, with the Law and Justice (PiS) government continuously diminishing women’s rights during their 2015-2023 ruling period. Therefore, as the Civic Coalition (KO) along with their coalition partners won the 2023 parliamentary elections, the hopes for overturning the trend were very high, considering how vocal the party was about strengthening women’s rights. In this context, the paper examines the differences in the PiS and KO discourse about abortion rights between 2015 and 2023. It argues that both parties instrumentalize women’s rights, which is investigated by using the Critical Discourse Analysis method. The analysed statements of the party politicians are categorized by time periods, which allows to distinguish discursive shifts, as well as, changing types of language, targeted audience and strategies. The results show that even though PiS and KO use different types of discourse, both parties instrumentalized women’s rights between 2015 and 2023. This implies that the crucial voice of female voters is often overused for political purposes, having a detrimental effect on women's rights.Show less
