Artur Dinter’s The Sin Against the Blood (1918) was among the most popular antisemitic documents of the Weimar Republic. The novel portrays Jews as race defilers and the embod-iment of materialism,...Show moreArtur Dinter’s The Sin Against the Blood (1918) was among the most popular antisemitic documents of the Weimar Republic. The novel portrays Jews as race defilers and the embod-iment of materialism, which the protagonist, Hermann Kämpfer, must overcome to achieve transcendence. Through the narration of a dualistic struggle, Dinter constructs both a collec-tive and individual modern German identity, with masculinity at its core. This struggle con-stitutes a dynamic dialectical movement and can be considered a response to the tensions faced by the male subject in modernity, evident in Dinter’s writings, his biography and con-temporary right-wing agitation. While Dinter remained committed to a spiritual revolution, a new generation of Nazis resolved the tensions of modern masculinity by transforming Din-ter’s heroic idealism into a heroic realism and integrating the alienated individual into the collective of the Männerbund. Understanding the gendered dimension of this subjectification process is crucial, as masculinity structures not only historical Nazism but also present-day political discourse.Show less
This thesis examines the patient registers of the Stadsziekenhuis in Hoorn. A database was constructed to analyse the patterns in patient admission and patient mortality between 1867 and 1915....Show moreThis thesis examines the patient registers of the Stadsziekenhuis in Hoorn. A database was constructed to analyse the patterns in patient admission and patient mortality between 1867 and 1915. Firstly, the function of the hospital as an institution is investigated. Subsequently, this thesis explores the characteristics of the patients that were admitted. Finally, the mortality patterns are examined to provide an answer to the question of which patients were most likely to die during their hospitalisation.Show less
This thesis investigates the way in which the thirteenth-century Cistercian Alberic of Trois-Fontaines dealt with manifestations of the supernatural in his universal chronicle. Firstly, both...Show moreThis thesis investigates the way in which the thirteenth-century Cistercian Alberic of Trois-Fontaines dealt with manifestations of the supernatural in his universal chronicle. Firstly, both quantitative and qualitative research on all entries dealing with the supernatural, as well as a comparison to Helinand of Froidmont’s chronicle, show that his work is characterised by a consistently critical attitude towards his sources and a striking passion for chronology, truth, and historical knowledge. Alberic was not a credulous lover of fanciful miracle stories; he was a diligent scholar who took pride in his skills as a historian. Secondly, a case-study on entries dealing with demonic activity highlights Alberic’s exceptional interest in this type of supernatural event. These entries reveal a strong anxiety about heresies (which were intrinsically connected to the demonic) and especially the possibility of clergymen and monastics falling prey to both heresy and demonic possession. In some entries, even demons prove more orthodox and morally sound than certain Christians. A desperate desire for clarity and knowledge, including that which could be obtained from demons, is a subtly recurring theme. The chronicle thus reveals the very fine line between strong abhorrence of heresy on the one hand, and Alberic’s own insatiable – but potentially soul-endangering – thirst for knowledge on the other hand.Show less
This thesis examines how Belgians who fled the Congo in the wake of the Congolese independence (1960) experienced their return migration and reintegration into Belgian society. Long ignored in...Show moreThis thesis examines how Belgians who fled the Congo in the wake of the Congolese independence (1960) experienced their return migration and reintegration into Belgian society. Long ignored in public and academic debates, the narratives of postcolonial returnees provide insight into the demographic consequences of the end of empires on the one hand, and the effects of whiteness on migrant trajectories on the other hand. Through a unique combination of oral history, visual analysis, and media analysis, this thesis explores how returnees shaped their memories of colonial life and decolonization. It also examines how this narrative differs from the contemporary media and government narrative on the Anciens du Congo.Show less
This thesis examines and contextualises the thought of the Dutch officer, politician, and administrator Johannes van den Bosch (1780-1844). Van den Bosch was an important political figure under the...Show moreThis thesis examines and contextualises the thought of the Dutch officer, politician, and administrator Johannes van den Bosch (1780-1844). Van den Bosch was an important political figure under the reign of King Willem I and held high positions both in the Dutch metropole and overseas in the Dutch West Indies and the Dutch East Indies. He is mainly known for the Society of Benevolence, a poverty alleviation scheme in the Netherlands and the introduction of the cultivation system, a system of rural taxation in the Dutch East Indies. This thesis studies his thought by examining and contextualising Van den Bosch’s ideas on history, poverty, and race in two treatises written by him in 1818. Following the Cambridge School of Intellectual History, it contextualises these thoughts through primary texts of contemporaneous authors and secondary literature. It argues that we should pay attention not just to the actions but also to the ideas of Van den Bosch. He appears as an enlightened conservative, meaning he advocated change but wanted it through slow evolution rather than rapid revolution. He combined this with progressive ideas on the alleviation of poverty and a racialised understanding of human difference. This thesis makes the case that rather than enigmatic, as it has often been described, Van den Bosch’s thought is consistently modern.Show less
In 1895, the Dutch Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SDAP) convened for its first party conference. Two years later, the first SDAP members were elected to Parliament. Between these years and the...Show moreIn 1895, the Dutch Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SDAP) convened for its first party conference. Two years later, the first SDAP members were elected to Parliament. Between these years and the Second World War, the SDAP transitioned from a party with revolutionary aspirations to a fully normalized parliamentary entity. This thesis studies the SDAP’s assembly culture (vergadercultuur) in both the House of Representatives and their own party conferences. The first part of the thesis utilizes a combination of traditional and innovative digital methodologies to demonstrate that the normalisation of the position of the SDAP in the House of Representatives peaked in the mid-1920s. The second part of the thesis explores the development of the internal assembly culture of the SDAP, focusing on the role of the chairperson, procedures, time management, and usage of ‘persoonlijke feiten’, a phenomenon originating from Parliament. This section shows that while the internal assembly culture of the SDAP matured in many respects, this process was non-linear in many other respects, rendering the metaphor of maturation insufficient.Show less
In this thesis, the role of the night in Early Christianity is examined from the first century to 250 CE. What nocturnal worship meant and how early Christians gave meaning to the role of the night...Show moreIn this thesis, the role of the night in Early Christianity is examined from the first century to 250 CE. What nocturnal worship meant and how early Christians gave meaning to the role of the night in their practice, as well as how this was seen and interpreted by their Romans neighbours, is combined in this study to make the case for the inherent nocturnality of the early church, and promote increased research into the topic.Show less
Between 1914 and 1940, the SDAP dominated municipal politics in Amsterdam. Buoyed with the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1917 and the expansion of municipal tax powers in 1920, social...Show moreBetween 1914 and 1940, the SDAP dominated municipal politics in Amsterdam. Buoyed with the introduction of universal male suffrage in 1917 and the expansion of municipal tax powers in 1920, social democratic aldermen such as Wibaut and De Miranda sought to establish a welfare municipality in the capital. Through the municipalisation of basic necessities, housework, and social hygiene, and the provision of care for the sickly, elderly, needy, and unemployed, the alderman hoped to provide for the material welfare and mental well-being of the working-class. Municipal Socialism in Amsterdam was seen as a unique project in the Netherlands. However, the municipal socialist project in Amsterdam was inherently dependent on acquiescence of bourgeois parties in Amsterdam and the confessional national government in The Hague, not to speak of global developments and the world economy. Relativizing the uniqueness of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague concurrently pioneered different aspects of municipal socialism in the face of similar shortcomings. Amsterdam’s greatest distinction was its incredibly effective advertisement of municipal socialism in publications throughout the interwar period, reinforced by the opposition it inspired in the national bourgeois press. Practically, while Amsterdam’s spending and earnings in municipal socialist fields was generally above average, the capital did not spend or earn significantly more than other social democratic municipalities across all municipal socialist fields. Nor did the capital significantly outperform the two other major municipalities in municipal socialist fields. Thus, while the municipal socialist project in Amsterdam may have financially been above average in the Interwar period, it was not unique, nor significantly different. However, we cannot deny the political and ideational impact of the municipal socialist project in Amsterdam on interwar political thought and post-war public memory.Show less
This thesis deals with binary gender roles in Revolutionary Nationalism in Post-Revolutionary Mexico. By analyzing the first 20 number of the Comic book Adelita y las Guerrillas, the thesis argues...Show moreThis thesis deals with binary gender roles in Revolutionary Nationalism in Post-Revolutionary Mexico. By analyzing the first 20 number of the Comic book Adelita y las Guerrillas, the thesis argues that masculine and feminine gender roles are created in tandem, primarily through the characters Adelita and Juan sin miedo. The thesis argues that whilst portraying progressive gender roles on a superficial level, at its core, the comic book reproduces conservative gender ideology as a part of Revolutionary Nationalism.Show less
this thesis compares two important works, Aviezer Tucker's Our Knowledge of the Past and Mark Bevir's The Logic of the History of Ideas, to a novel theory in epistemology, William Talbott's...Show morethis thesis compares two important works, Aviezer Tucker's Our Knowledge of the Past and Mark Bevir's The Logic of the History of Ideas, to a novel theory in epistemology, William Talbott's Learning from our Mistakes. It argues that William Talbott's approach to knowledge can solve longstanding issues within the philosophy of history, particularly pertaining to the normative epistemological question: what should we be believing about the past?Show less
My thesis analyses the relationship between the Capuchin missionaries of the "Missio Antiqua" and the Portuguese colonial empire between the seventeenth and eighteenth century.
