In this thesis two recent travel narratives are discussed in which diasporic writers of African descent return to Ghana to work through both their personal problems of identity and exile and the...Show moreIn this thesis two recent travel narratives are discussed in which diasporic writers of African descent return to Ghana to work through both their personal problems of identity and exile and the collective trauma of slavery: Caryl Phillips’s The Atlantic Sound (2000) and Ekow Eshun’s Black Gold of the Sun (2005). Regarding Ghana as their ancestral homeland, Phillips and Eshun use the genre of the travel narrative to trace the physical, but more importantly psychological journey they undertake in hopes of resolving the problem of diasporic identity and feelings of non-belonging they have encountered in Britain and America. Their journey to Ghana, however, dismantles the idea of a homecoming and the concept of a whole sense of self. The silence and contradictions they find about the slavery past in Ghana force them to tell, and imagine, stories about well known historical figures instead, such as Jacobus Capitein, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Judge J. Waties Waring, as well as less known historical figures such as Ghanaian business man John Emmanuel Ocansey. These stories function partly as a means to affirm a sense of identity. Despite the fact that there is no real closure, both authors stress the necessity to remember and acknowledge the history of slavery. The journey to Ghana, and even more importantly writing the travel narrative, is a process of self-discovery; it is in the writing process that the authors, to some extent, come to terms with themselves and work through their ancestors’ slavery (and slave trading) history. They find a resolution in embracing a fluid identity.Show less
This thesis researchs the Russian invasions in and conquest of Central-Asia in the second half of the 19th century and specifically the role of the man on the spot, in this case general Chernyaev...Show moreThis thesis researchs the Russian invasions in and conquest of Central-Asia in the second half of the 19th century and specifically the role of the man on the spot, in this case general Chernyaev and later governor-general Kaufman.Show less
In dit onderzoek wordt het verschil tussen sterke en zwakke begrijpend lezers op het gebied van begripsmonitoring onderzocht. Begripsmonitoring is een proces wat nodig is om goed te kunnen...Show moreIn dit onderzoek wordt het verschil tussen sterke en zwakke begrijpend lezers op het gebied van begripsmonitoring onderzocht. Begripsmonitoring is een proces wat nodig is om goed te kunnen begrijpend lezen, waarbij de lezer in de gaten houdt of hij de tekst nog wel begrijpt. Het doel van dit onderzoek is om erachter te komen of sterke en zwakke begrijpend lezers even goed zijn in het detecteren van inconsistenties in de tekst, ook wanneer het aantal fillerzinnen toeneemt. Of de proefpersonen begrip monitoren is zowel tijdens het lezen (online) als na het lezen (offline) onderzocht met een inconsistentie taak. De steekproef bestaat uit 29 leerlingen uit groep zeven, waarvan 20 sterke- en negen zwakke begrijpend lezers. Iedere leerling heeft 32 verhaaltjes gelezen waarbij beschreven informatie consistent of inconsistent was met voorgaande beschreven informatie. De afstand tussen de informatie die gekoppeld moest worden verschilde met drie, vier, vijf en zes zinnen. Het opmerken van de inconsistenties tijdens het lezen is gemeten door de leestijden op de targetzin van consistente verhaaltjes te vergelijken met de leestijden op de targetzin van inconsistente verhaaltjes. Het opmerken van inconsistenties na het lezen is gemeten met de vraag of het verhaaltje klopte. Uit de resultaten blijkt dat sterke en zwakke begrijpend lezers niet verschillen op de mate van begripsmonitoring na het lezen. Ook tijdens het lezen is er over het algemeen geen verschil in de mate van begripsmonitoring tussen sterke en zwakke begrijpend lezers. Zowel sterke als zwakke begrijpend lezers detecteren inconsistenties in de tekst.Show less
The unstable economic situation and insecure labour market characteristic of Argentina of the early 2000s have driven workers’ quest to find reliable jobs and decent working and living conditions....Show moreThe unstable economic situation and insecure labour market characteristic of Argentina of the early 2000s have driven workers’ quest to find reliable jobs and decent working and living conditions. This thesis examines Worker Recuperated Enterprises (WREs) in Argentina as they might represent viable work alternatives fighting unemployment and helping workers to stabilise their living conditions. This work aims to, firstly, analyse whether WREs embody viable work organisations. Secondly, investigate how effective WREs are in stabilising and improving socio-economic situation of the workers and, lastly, explore the strengths and limitations of this work model. The thesis objectives are threefold, yet the main argument can be synthesised as followed. WREs are feasible small-scale alternative work establishments which can help the struggling workers in particular contexts. However, WREs have to withstand numerous obstacles, such as restrictive Argentinian legal system,lack of capital and limited access to credit as well as adaptation to cooperative work model and mentality, among other issues. It is concluded that WREs are viable and useful work organisations thanks to which workers can live a decent and dignified life; yet, working in a WRE is accompanied by many sacrifices, compromises and numerous challenges to be overcome by their members.Show less
In voorliggend werkstuk staat de vraag naar Kants tijdsbezinning centraal. Het doel van dit werkstuk is om helder te krijgen wat Kant onder tijd verstaat en aanvullend, aan de hand van de kritiek...Show moreIn voorliggend werkstuk staat de vraag naar Kants tijdsbezinning centraal. Het doel van dit werkstuk is om helder te krijgen wat Kant onder tijd verstaat en aanvullend, aan de hand van de kritiek van de jonge Dilthey op Kants tijdsanalyse, om een kritische evaluatie te geven van Kants ontwikkelde tijdsbegrip.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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The thesis is based on empirical fieldwork that investigated a disaster-induced relocation project in eastern Indonesia. Choosing an actor-focused approach that followed development brokers of a...Show moreThe thesis is based on empirical fieldwork that investigated a disaster-induced relocation project in eastern Indonesia. Choosing an actor-focused approach that followed development brokers of a Christian NGO in the course of the project, enabled the author to expose multiple conflicting interests and agendas between and within government, the NGO and the 'host-community'. In this complex and contested discursive arena, brokers were strategically translating and shifting interests to create common realities and alliances from heterogeneous networks. By adapting and transforming objectives of the 'good governance' discourse, they were able to unify groups and win over supporters, despite the poor implementation of the project. How these translations competed with interpretations of other actors and how they influenced the brokers' positioning towards the goverment was of particular interest within this research. Applying visual methods has shed light on the performative and emotional dimensions of these translation processes. The ethnographic film 'Fighting for Nothing to Happen', which is the main part of the thesis, is accompanied by the multi-media pdf file that employs different interacting media and provides historical, political and socioeconomic background to selected sequences of the film. The different media inform and contest each other in a rhizomatic structure that produces a multi-layered and comprehensive understanding of the complexity of brokerage and development in Indonesia.Show less
