At the moment of its unification, in 1861, Italy was one of the most linguistically, culturally, and economically fragmented country in the European stage. As a consequence, more than any other...Show moreAt the moment of its unification, in 1861, Italy was one of the most linguistically, culturally, and economically fragmented country in the European stage. As a consequence, more than any other Nation it necessitated to be subjected to a process of national identity building driven by the ruling cultural élite. This BA thesis, through the lenses of constructivist theories on identity introduced by Anderson, Hobsbawm, et alia, surveys the top down approach with which (Italian) national identity has been constructed, promoted and enforced. In the majority of identity-building discourses, a cultural-linguistic element is usually taken as a term of reference and linchpin for such a construction. In this research, Italian Renaissance figurative arts are the cultural artefact will be analysed: it will indeed be surveyed how the intelligentsia of the time employed Renaissance arts in three retrospective exhibitions to promote a sense of national identity and belonging: the “Exhibition on the Italian Portrait” (Florence, 1911), the “ Exhibition on Italian Art 1200-1900” (London, 1930), and the expo “L’Art Italien de Cimabue à Tiepolo” (Paris, 1935). Finally, a discussion on the usage of Renaissance images on Italian cash money will follow. This study will show that Italy is a very diverse and fragmented country, whose unity and identity have been in truth strategically and artificially constructed and enforced. Nonetheless, it will also emerge that Renaissance figurative arts sincerely and surely are a ‘second language’ for Italians.Show less
The Christian left in the Netherlands has yet to produce an electorally viable party capable of winning a national election. Despite the promising political start of the Politieke Partij Radikalen...Show moreThe Christian left in the Netherlands has yet to produce an electorally viable party capable of winning a national election. Despite the promising political start of the Politieke Partij Radikalen in 1968, no party on the Christian left has had parliamentary representation in the Tweede Kamer since 1991. The aim of this thesis is to discern which factors bear culpability for preventing the emergence of an electorally potent party on the Christian left over the past 50 years. Two case studies from the Netherlands and one comparative case study from Italy have been conducted with that objective in mind. Through analyzing existing academic scholarship and party manifestos, five overarching factors that have undermined the Christian left have been identified: the legacies of pillarization, consociational governance, the secularization of Dutch society, social conservatism in Orthodox Protestant Communities, and the ideological distance of the Christian left’s representatives from the political center.Show less
While Turks have been welcomed to the German Federal Republic (FRG) with the launch of the guest worker program in the 1960s, their presence seems to have developed into a contemporary issue. The...Show moreWhile Turks have been welcomed to the German Federal Republic (FRG) with the launch of the guest worker program in the 1960s, their presence seems to have developed into a contemporary issue. The purpose of this thesis is thus to examine the reasons and effects of a change in public perception regarding the migration of Turks to the FRG between the 1960s and the present day. This development will be revealed through an analysis of magazine articles from the 1960s as well as more recent ones, and the distinctive media framing of Turks within them. The change in perception of Turkish individuals in Germany will be analyzed from an interdisciplinary approach, including economic, identity, cultural and political perspectives. First, a range of migration theories will be reviewed and a short historical background will be given in order to contextualize the subject matter. Subsequently, the main factors contributing to a change in the perception of Turkish migrants in Germany will be highlighted by presenting economic, identity and culturally driven, as well as political factors. This approach is vital since all of the named factors had a considerable effect in shaping the way Turks are being viewed. As will be highlighted by the research, the perception of Turkish migrants in Germany subsists to be a particularly significant one, due to its contribution to country’s identity, culture, society and everyday life. The migration of Turks to Germany is not only a subject of much and ongoing controversy, but has also been shaping German identity, culture and discourse in a considerable way. The research will thus contribute to the already existing field through an interdisciplinary approach, revealing the connection of a range of factors in shaping the perception of Turkish migrants within Germany. This will consequently allow for a broader and more advanced insight into the overall subject matter.Show less
The French language has always played an important role in French identity construction. Language related laws are highly appreciated until today. Toubon Law (1994) is one of the latest French...Show moreThe French language has always played an important role in French identity construction. Language related laws are highly appreciated until today. Toubon Law (1994) is one of the latest French language laws that concern many areas. Whether this law has been effective needs more research and due to its broad nature many domains have to be examined. Audiovisual media, education and commerce have been the focus of this study. Quantitative and qualitative research methods demonstrate that the evaluation of this law remains difficult and conflicting.Show less
This thesis explores the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain in times of The Great Famine (1845-1850), and discusses the factors that contributed to the deterioration of this relationship.
This thesis seeks to analyze why austerity as an instrument and as an idea is still predominant within the European Union. It does so by combining economic and political perspectives of the...Show moreThis thesis seeks to analyze why austerity as an instrument and as an idea is still predominant within the European Union. It does so by combining economic and political perspectives of the Eurozone-crisis. The structural imbalances view of the Eurozone-crisis in particular plays an important role in this analysis. It can convincingly be argued that the Eurozone-crisis has, more or less successfully, been socially constructed as a sovereign debt-crisis of the European demand-led periphery. Instead, the view held in this thesis is that there is a triple complicity in the Eurozone-crisis: the demand-led periphery,the export-led core and the surrounding macroeconomic environment of the Eurozone.Show less
This thesis focuses on the manner in which Algerian and Moroccan authorities overlooked the growing identification and importance the French language had for citizens through the implementation of...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the manner in which Algerian and Moroccan authorities overlooked the growing identification and importance the French language had for citizens through the implementation of Arabization. The research was guided by the following research question: What were the negative consequences experienced in Morocco and Tunisia following the implementation of the Arabization process in each respective country? This thesis will examine these adverse effects by studying both short term and long term effects caused by Arabization. Most existing literature focuses on the positive aspects of Arabization such as the re-establishment of the Algerian and Moroccan identities after the colonial era. This has created a gap in the existing literature about this topic as the negative effects of Arabization are discussed scarcely. Subsequently, this thesis adopts a different approach to existing literature by discussing these negative effects.Show less
In 2002, the Barcelona European Council set the objective that further action needs to be taken to " improve the mastery of basic skills, in particular by teaching at least two foreign languages...Show moreIn 2002, the Barcelona European Council set the objective that further action needs to be taken to " improve the mastery of basic skills, in particular by teaching at least two foreign languages from a very young age". In response to this, the European Commission produced the language learning and linguistic diversity Action Plan (2004-2006). The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate if the Member States of the European Union complied to the seven recommendations set in this Action Plan that directly addressed the Barcelona objective. The seven recommendations were made towards the pre-primary and primary language-in-education policies of the Member States. Furthermore, this thesis investigates whether the national linguistic factors of the countries are reflected in their language-in-education policies, and if this in turn affects the countries ability to comply to the recommendations. This thesis took a case study approach, concentrating on Luxembourg and Ireland. The key findings of this thesis were that both Luxembourg and Ireland did not comply to the recommendations. Moreover, for both cases the linguistic situations were highly reflected in the language-in-education policies, which affected their compliance to the recommendations. Luxembourg complied to three out of the seven recommendations, and it was found that the teaching of German and French as foreign languages were a huge reflection of the linguistic situation within Luxembourg; which largely affected the countries compliance with the recommendations. Ireland complied to none of the recommendations, as they fail to teach any compulsory foreign languages in their pre-primary and primary curriculum. It was found that the teaching of Irish, which is not considered a foreign language, came at the expense of teaching foreign languages. This showed that the linguistic situation of the country was highly reflected within the language-in-education policies and in-turn affected the countries ability to comply to the recommendations.Show less
