This thesis studies the connection between suffering and sentience in Karel Capek’s R.U.R. (1921) and the first season of Westworld (HBO, 2016). Both R.U.R. and Westworld present suffering as a...Show moreThis thesis studies the connection between suffering and sentience in Karel Capek’s R.U.R. (1921) and the first season of Westworld (HBO, 2016). Both R.U.R. and Westworld present suffering as a catalyst for the emergence of a human form of consciousness in artificial people. Initially, however, organic human characters in both texts are convinced that artificial people feel no pain and are unable to suffer. The organic human characters use this supposed inability to justify the inhumane treatment of the artificial characters. This thesis demonstrates how R.U.R. and Westworld reflect on the ways that theories about differences in sensitivity to pain were and continue to be used to justify the mistreatment of Others in real life. Additionally, the thesis shows how R.U.R. and Westworld offer illustrations of the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, in which one’s suffering in response to the Other’s suffering is the foundation of becoming a fully human subject. The thesis shows how R.U.R. and Westworld interweave these opposite ways of responding to the suffering Other, and thereby contribute to a better understanding of the role of suffering in the ongoing negation of what it means to be human.Show less
This thesis aims to explore the recent depictions of robots through the close reading of two science fiction works published within the last few years, in order to unveil the shifting,...Show moreThis thesis aims to explore the recent depictions of robots through the close reading of two science fiction works published within the last few years, in order to unveil the shifting, contradictory attitudes society has with regards to the artificial companions which continue to grow increasingly prevalent in our present-day lives. Both literary case studies exhibit the challenges of navigating a balanced hierarchy of power relations between robots and humans, because despite the mental and physical superiority of human replicas, their status as machines means robots are decidedly treated like slaves. Moreover, the thesis aims to demonstrate how both novels raise thought-provoking questions about humans' moral shortcomings in the face of their law-abiding and potentially messianic robot counterparts.Show less
This thesis examines the way in which the novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents present inequality based on disability, gender, class, religion and race and critically examines the...Show moreThis thesis examines the way in which the novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents present inequality based on disability, gender, class, religion and race and critically examines the intersections between these socioeconomic inequalities. This thesis focuses on the concept of change. Butler utilises science fiction — the genre of change — to critique social inequality on the basis of disability, gender, class, religion and race by founding Earthseed — the religion of change. Intersectionality is a tool, or lens, that aids in achieving change.Show less
Browsing through the archives of the Rotterdam Public Library, I discovered that the historic book collection contains a single publication by an English woman at the seventeenth-century Rotterdam...Show moreBrowsing through the archives of the Rotterdam Public Library, I discovered that the historic book collection contains a single publication by an English woman at the seventeenth-century Rotterdam publishing house of Goddaeus, that of Katherine Sutton. Asking myself why this was the only book by a woman to be published at Goddaeus’ publishing house, my curiosity was aroused to find out why this English woman chose to publish a book in the Netherlands. It challenged me to discover if more women found their way to Rotterdam to publish their work and what their motives were. I found out that in the second half of the seventeenth century, more English women travelled to the Netherlands to seek refuge and two of them had their work published by Goddaeus: Katherine Sutton (1630-63) and Mary Hampson (1639-1698). Although they migrated in different time periods and for different reasons, they both seized the opportunity to publish their life experiences at a Dutch publishing house. Although the historical archives offer little to no information on the reason for their connection to Goddaeus, the fact that both women took their chance to publish their works while in exile, in their native language at a Dutch publishing house, triggered me to find out more. What follows here, is an overview of the cultural-historical context of the seventeenth century; an overview of connections and differences between English and Dutch society; the social impact of the seventeenth century printing industry; the position of women and their position to write; and ultimately how this culminates in the aim of these two women in particular, to pursue truth by making their life experiences public by means of print.Show less
This thesis opts to explore the theme of the transmission of trauma across generations in three literary works by three Italian women authors. By the way of a narratological, contextual and...Show moreThis thesis opts to explore the theme of the transmission of trauma across generations in three literary works by three Italian women authors. By the way of a narratological, contextual and comparative analysis we will be considering the significance of the theme in the novels Cenere by Grazia Deledda (1904), Una donna by Sibilla Aleramo (1906) and La casa nel vicolo by Maria Messina (1921); while also examining the plot, themes, endings and structure through a historic-contextual lens.Show less
This study aims to examine the extent and limits of the comparison between Holland and China in French travel Literature of the 19th century. We particularly intend to comprehend the nature of the...Show moreThis study aims to examine the extent and limits of the comparison between Holland and China in French travel Literature of the 19th century. We particularly intend to comprehend the nature of the precise comparison: of which elements it consists, why she is made and in which manner. In order to answer this question, we analyse a corpus of multiple travel journals from different writers. We apply a method of Imagology, together with concepts as Orientalism and exoticism. From the analysis of the corpus results three research tracks: the material aspect of the comparison, the cultural aspect and the limits of Chinese Holland. The comparison between Holland and China has proved to be a complex structure, resulting from a long tradition as well as (erroneous) stereotypes based on different types of images.Show less
This thesis will address the position of female walker in London during the 1930s. The aim is to focus on significance of the figure of the flaneur in relation to the differences of mobility...Show moreThis thesis will address the position of female walker in London during the 1930s. The aim is to focus on significance of the figure of the flaneur in relation to the differences of mobility between men and women. In addition, the specific role of and differences between public spaces as opposed to private spaces are discussed. In order to do so, the short story Street Haunting, written by Virginia Woolf in 1930, will be used to incorporate all these aspects. It is important to question these matters as these issues are still at bay in today’s society. The gap this thesis will fill is that it discusses the issue of having no explicitly gendered narrator, yet, almost all literature on the short story interpret the narrator to be female. This is due to certain social cues within the short story. The main question that will be answered is: How is the walker represented in Street Haunting and how does this relate to public and private spaces? The method used in order to arrive at an answer for this main question is close reading. This entails that every sentence of the short story will be examined closely and will be deconstructed and be read in its context in order to interpret the meaning of it. The aim of this thesis is to make readers aware that the power-related gender-mobility issues that are addressed in the short story, are still relevant today.Show less
