For centuries, Japan has shown its aptitude in selecting and accumulating certain preferential and beneficial aspects of foreign cultures and influences, with the purpose of enriching Japanese...Show moreFor centuries, Japan has shown its aptitude in selecting and accumulating certain preferential and beneficial aspects of foreign cultures and influences, with the purpose of enriching Japanese society. A big number of foreign cultural artefacts have managed to establish themselves as an inherent part of Japanese identity. One of the most intrinsic foreign influences on the Japanese culture is the introduction of the English language, which has found its place in many of the cultural domains, to the point of becoming an inherent part of them. As such, this thesis was able to analyse a brief selection of these. Firstly, the Japanese language is analysed to show how English has become a part of it, through loanwords and breaking taboos. Second, this paper examines the influence and usage of the English language in Japanese commercial media, with a focus on ornamentalism and storefronts. Lastly, Japanese cultural identity is researched through the case studies of both mixed race Japanese and Japanese subcultures. In the end, this paper is able to prove an inherentness of the English language in the Japanese language, Japanese commercial media and Japanese identity.Show less
Using the premise set forth by Roland Barthes that “food signifies,” this thesis analyzes immigrant fiction and how diasporized peoples construct and perform their identities along class, gender,...Show moreUsing the premise set forth by Roland Barthes that “food signifies,” this thesis analyzes immigrant fiction and how diasporized peoples construct and perform their identities along class, gender, and ethnic lines. The first chapter unpacks and presents food culture theory as a meaningful tool to analyze works of literature. The subsequent two chapters apply food culture theory and its role in identity production through a close reading of T.C. Boyle’s novel The Tortilla Curtain (1995) and Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story collection Unaccustomed Earth (2013). In both, food behavior of the migrants exemplifies the ongoing vacillation between the desire for assimilation and rejection of the host culture. Moreover, the various foodways presented in the works show how food consumption can signify a divide or exemplify a struggle to reconcile public and private identities.Show less
In the existing literature on nationalism, little research has been done that offers insight in the formation and deformation of national identities. This thesis will aim to do just that. The...Show moreIn the existing literature on nationalism, little research has been done that offers insight in the formation and deformation of national identities. This thesis will aim to do just that. The reason being that in 2012 it was the fourth time since independence a Tuareg led rebellion broke out against the Malian state. This thesis argues that a thorough understanding is needed of what constructs and deconstructs national identity to prevent a fifth rebellion to occur in the future. This thesis will contribute to such an understanding by building upon a political theory called 'Politics of Partaking', developed by Patrick Chabal, one of the leading scholars in African History and Politics. To answer and illustrate how Chabal’s Politics of Partaking help understand national identity construction among the Tuareg, it will take the four rebellions as separate case studies. The findings will suggest that Chabal´s Politics of partaking can help understand how national identities are constructed by analyzing the relation between the Tuareg and the state.Show less
This master thesis examines how the decision to intervene in Syria became thinkable, even logical, in the context of François Hollande’s discourse. It aims to answer the question how François...Show moreThis master thesis examines how the decision to intervene in Syria became thinkable, even logical, in the context of François Hollande’s discourse. It aims to answer the question how François Hollande legitimises the military intervention in Syria in the context of foreign policy discourse, and how this discourse in return is constructed and reinforced by France’s foreign policy ideology. Building on poststructuralist ontology, it inquires into the theoretical concept of foreign policy identity and the underlying mechanisms that allow and legitimise actions. It offers a thorough analysis of French foreign policy ideology as represented by the most influential political figure of France. In addition, it investigates how certain behaviour, e.g. the intervention in Syria, is made possible in the context of discourse. This thesis thus aims to illustrate how the discourse on a specific event – military action in Syria – relates to the foreign policy identity of France. It shows the mutual constitution of behaviour and ideology; French foreign policy behaviour is rooted in the context of ideology, but ideology in its turn also reinforces foreign policy.Show less
By comparing historical narratives that coincided in WW II, I intend to examine how the national identities of the Netherlands and South Korea contrasted with one another and illustrate how the...Show moreBy comparing historical narratives that coincided in WW II, I intend to examine how the national identities of the Netherlands and South Korea contrasted with one another and illustrate how the former Comfort Women have been represented within their own social constructs thereafter. A crucial reason for partaking in a historical comparison, between the Netherlands and South Korea, is to combine a lesser documented case with a case which has received substantially more coverage in academia and the media. By examining historical events, I propose to shift the perspective from gaining formal recognition and compensation from the Japanese government, which is often the point of view in the media and an often discussed topic by academics, to instead: How were the former Comfort Women treated and represented by their own society after WW II? It is important to examine the Comfort Women Issue from a different perspective because the perspective of the society of which the former Comfort Women are a part of, holds as much significance in historical terms of accountability as the issue of the Japanese government’s reticence to offer satisfactory recompense.Show less
Post-Apartheid South Africa is in a transitional justice period. Transitional justice refers to a period where judicial and non-judicial reformation steps are taken after massive human rights...Show morePost-Apartheid South Africa is in a transitional justice period. Transitional justice refers to a period where judicial and non-judicial reformation steps are taken after massive human rights abuses. Social reform is the country’s top priority in order to balance unequal power relations. South African museums are non-judicial spaces where the unequal power dynamics of the past and the present are being renegotiated. Within this context, established museums have to reform and new museums are being built to include previously marginalised groups. The museums of South Africa are adapting to meet the needs and fantasies of both South Africans and foreign tourists. The needs of the population are met by the museum’s ability to contribute to shaping identity, but also the museum’s peripheral function as an economic mechanism. Museums of South Africa function in a loaded context that needs to address inequalities that span across the board. What strategies do museums apply in order to contribute to the shaping of identity and social development in post-Apartheid South Africa?Show less
Literature on European identity construction and the delineations involved is extensive. This paper’s theoretical approach intends to add to the epistemological debate by looking at case study...Show moreLiterature on European identity construction and the delineations involved is extensive. This paper’s theoretical approach intends to add to the epistemological debate by looking at case study examples of the European Union’s ‘new’ member states, referring to member states that acceded the union in or after 2004, which this paper argues exemplify the rejection of European identity, and analyse them from the culturally anthropological perspective of the binary concepts of cosmopolitanism and cultural relativism. Whether or not a European-wide identity exists has long been a contested topic. Rather than attempt to add to this extensive debate, the purpose of this paper will be to locate points of tension between what is increasingly being constructed by the EU as a universal ‘European identity’ on the one hand, and the existing strong national identities of two case study member states, Hungary and Poland, on the other. By identifying the points at which these clashes occur, this paper will argue that identity construction cannot simply be politicised in the manner in which the EU’s institutions have attempted.Show less
This thesis examines the relation between post-colonial Kenyan nationalism and ethnicity, and the construction of modern Kenyan identities. It analyses how hybrid identifications are created in...Show moreThis thesis examines the relation between post-colonial Kenyan nationalism and ethnicity, and the construction of modern Kenyan identities. It analyses how hybrid identifications are created in light of a Western colonial education in Kenya, as well as increased urbanisation and Westernisation.Show less
This study is to find the stories of heroes who once were ordinary people that encourage us to dare to keep challenging. Listening to the individual voices of refugees, the paper attempts to shift...Show moreThis study is to find the stories of heroes who once were ordinary people that encourage us to dare to keep challenging. Listening to the individual voices of refugees, the paper attempts to shift the often negative images of them. In doing so, this study aims to remind readers of the importance of poststructuralism to bring more positivity to the seemingly unchangeable images of refugees. The study employs the theoretical guidance of Michel Foucault as a heuristic tool to analyse the media discourse from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and aims to contribute the poststructuralist works for the field of refugee studies.Show less
The research underlying this thesis concentrates on a critical evaluation of the academic as well as biopolitical discourses that developed around the 1986 nuclear disaster of Chernobyl. It...Show moreThe research underlying this thesis concentrates on a critical evaluation of the academic as well as biopolitical discourses that developed around the 1986 nuclear disaster of Chernobyl. It presents an analysis of the paradoxical case of the ‘samosely’, the ‘self-settlers’ that re-settled themselves back into the highly contaminated exclusion zone illegally after the incident. The analysis of the studied case and the conclusions of this research are based on a theoretical framework of philosophical and psychological literature around the notions of identity and trauma, with a specific focus on the dimension of temporality. Perceived from our perspective as paradoxical and irrational, the study of the reasons underlying the behaviour of the ‘samosely’ aims to generate a new and multifaceted understanding of trauma. Furthermore, this thesis advocates for a complexification of the notion of survivor identity that ought to be disconnected from the misuses through political agendas and biopolitical interests.Show less
At a time in which the dominant culture’s pressure on immigrants to Americanize increased, Mary Antin (1881-1949) and Abraham Cahan (1860-1951) wrote literary works that bore witness to the...Show moreAt a time in which the dominant culture’s pressure on immigrants to Americanize increased, Mary Antin (1881-1949) and Abraham Cahan (1860-1951) wrote literary works that bore witness to the complexity and personal costs of assimilation. The Eastern European Jewish immigrants in Antin’s (fictionalized) autobiography The Promised Land (1912) and Cahan’s novella Yekl; A Tale of the New York Ghetto (1896) and his novel The Rise of David Levinsky (1917) offer insights into the impact of America’s assimilationist ideology on identity construction, showing how both ethnic and national identities are imagined, constructed, and performed. The protagonists explore the social injustices Jewish immigrants suffered in the United States and the complex nature of Americanization by sometimes bluntly criticizing the pressure to conform, but elsewhere demonstrating that they have assimilated to a certain degree. The protagonists find themselves in a bind: on the one hand they need to give in to the pressure to assimilate in order to attain the American dream, while on the other hand they often feel tied to their Jewish cultural heritage.Show less
This paper sets out to investigate Lithuanians’ attitudes towards foreign languages in the light of political, cultural, and historical situation that Lithuania witnessed during the turn from the...Show moreThis paper sets out to investigate Lithuanians’ attitudes towards foreign languages in the light of political, cultural, and historical situation that Lithuania witnessed during the turn from the 20th to the 21st century. The aim of this paper is twofold: 1) to determine what type of identities Lithuanians ascribe to speakers with foreign accents and 2) to establish the motivations behind choosing Lithuanian versus foreign languages in daily life. The research that was carried out in Lithuania consisted of two parts. The first part of the research used attitudinal study and the second part used a questionnaire distributed around Lithuania. These tools were used to assess Lithuanian opinions of six speakers with various accents, and to analyse the rationale for choosing either the mother tongue or a foreign language in different situations. The results showed that the attitudes towards foreign speakers of Lithuanian differ between the capital city and the smaller town chosen for this study, and that the main reason for choosing Lithuanian over foreign languages in daily settings is more often based on the emphasis of national identity. The findings also suggest that while for the respondents in the smaller town chosen for this study, a standard Lithuanian speaker was an ultimate example of a successful person, the respondents in the capital city saw an American speaker of Lithuanian as the most prosperous individual.Show less
This thesis re-views Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" through the cultural-anthropological lens of "liminality" in order to understand the novel's endurance as well as its contemporary reflection of a...Show moreThis thesis re-views Jack Kerouac's "On The Road" through the cultural-anthropological lens of "liminality" in order to understand the novel's endurance as well as its contemporary reflection of a generation in limbo. This thesis contends that the liminal characteristics and rituals studied by Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner in small-scale African communities can be modernized and applied to such ritualistic phenomena as road travel in Kerouac's novel, which utilizes the anonymity of the American highway as a liminal space that allows freedom of self-definition. Such a reading returns "On the Road" to its contemporary socio-political landscape and makes it clear that the novel depicts not a subversive countercultural movement, but that it is actually part of a private ritual of passage that eschews the mainstream culture only on a temporary and minimal basis. By way of the liminal phase, the narrator appropriates characteristics of the socially and ethnically marginal while reproducing and reinforcing the values of the mainstream (white) culture against these marginal people.Show less
Tesettuer refers to religious clothing in Turkey and is a source of major controversy. Turkish society is deeply divided into secular and religious factions and is shaped by a century long power...Show moreTesettuer refers to religious clothing in Turkey and is a source of major controversy. Turkish society is deeply divided into secular and religious factions and is shaped by a century long power struggle between secularism and Islamism. The secular republic of Turkey saw an increasing Islamic presence in urban areas in the 1970s in the face of Islamic resurgence in the Middle East. Religious clothing, tesettuer, visibly proved the greater power position of Islam in the public. The religious faction claimed tesettuer as the way of life for religious women to be approved by the urban society. The secular part of society regarded tesettuer as ominously signalling the raising popularity of Islam which undermines their secular realm and transformed it into a symbol of threat. Tesettuer became hotly contested and shifted to the centre of the secular-religious conflict and has maintained its controversial position in Turkey till the present day. Thus, religious women continue their claim for tesettuer to be socially accepted in contemporary urban Turkey in an environment where religious women and their clothing are persistently stigmatized. In the face of this conflict and ongoing stigmatization of tesettuer, its role in the lives of religious women is of considerable significance. The decision to wear tesettuer is to live a life in accordance with Islam and directs women in their behaviour. But the evident desire of religious women for tesettuer to be publically accepted suggests that religious clothing impacts women far beyond a mere adherence to religious precepts in their conduct. As such, this paper investigates if and to what extent religious clothing forms the religious identity of women and influences their way of being and acting.Show less
This thesis argues that Orthodoxy is being placed as a primus inter pares in Russia's hierarchy of traditional faiths. This is done by analyzing Russia's political, educational and religious...Show moreThis thesis argues that Orthodoxy is being placed as a primus inter pares in Russia's hierarchy of traditional faiths. This is done by analyzing Russia's political, educational and religious dynamics. This objective is pursued by delving into the relationship between President Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. This is done in order to provide an understanding of how the current relationship between the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and the President of the Russian Federation is contributing to the perpetuation of a discourse, placing Orthodoxy as a key marker of Russian identity, undermining the country’s secularism. Education is moreover brought into consideration, exploring the way in which Russia’s hierarchy of faiths is made tangible in the country’s state-run schools.Show less
