This thesis examines the way in which the fairy-tale Stepmother is portrayed in two versions of the Korean ‘Cinderella Story’ of K’ongchwi P’atchwi, and the German Aschenputtel by Jacob and Wilhelm...Show moreThis thesis examines the way in which the fairy-tale Stepmother is portrayed in two versions of the Korean ‘Cinderella Story’ of K’ongchwi P’atchwi, and the German Aschenputtel by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Its aim is to study the power structures, and the social and psychological patterns which create the ‘Evil’ of the Stepmothers in these versions of the ‘Cinderella Story’. This thesis is an attempt to shed some light on the cultural influences which have led to the creation of similar and yet different ‘Evil Stepmothers’, by using an ‘Integrated Approach’ which draws on the Archetypal and Post-modern schools of literary analysis. This approach plays to the strengths of both pre-existing approaches whilst giving a more complete analysis than either would have generated if used in isolation. The thesis concludes that the Stepmothers in the studied versions all have the same function: that of exemplifying the undesirable consequences of the abuse of power and, the ways in which undesirable dark side of the human psyche can manifest itself if one lets it do so. However, despite this shared function, the exact details of the Stepmother’s behaviors as well as other differences between the stories reflect the cultures in which they were created. In this way the abuse of power and the dark side of the human psyche are brought home to readers from different cultures through differing iterations of the Stepmother Archetype.Show less
Since its foundation in 1996, Al Jazeera and its English subsidiary Al Jazeera English, established in 2006, have revolutionized the Middle Eastern news media landscape by critically reporting on...Show moreSince its foundation in 1996, Al Jazeera and its English subsidiary Al Jazeera English, established in 2006, have revolutionized the Middle Eastern news media landscape by critically reporting on events in the immediate region and by emphasizing the experiences of people from the Global South. This lead to the coining of the term ‘the Al Jazeera effect’ by Philip Seib. However, the only directive issued by its main sponsor, the Qatari government, is that it should not put the monarchy in a negative light. While different countries in the Middle East have begun following Qatar’s footsteps by establishing English-language news media of their own, an issue that is materializing in parallel is the worldwide declining trust in the news media. As various news networks around the globe are seeing their credibility—the quality of being trusted—questioned, this thesis ties these two developments together by asking how Al Jazeera English, as well as two of its English-language competitors in the region, being PressTV from Iran and TRT World from Turkey, go about establishing their credibility. More particularly, how do these three networks fare when they report on a conflict in their proverbial backyard, the Syrian Civil War, the outcome of which concerns Qatar, Iran, and Turkey alike? By borrowing from the existing scholarly literature on the analysis of news media credibility, this thesis looks at YouTube material on the Syrian Civil War in the first five months of 2019 from the flagship current affairs discussion program on each network, Inside Story on Al Jazeera English, The Debate on PressTV, and The Newsmakers on TRT World in order to demonstrate whether the latter two networks cater for their own ‘effect’ in the Middle Eastern news media arena. Moreover, this thesis hopes to expand our understanding of how we should view the three news outlets: as critical watchdogs of political institutions, or as mouthpieces for their respective governments.Show less
Sentence-final particle (SFP) is a distinctive feature in various languages, including Japanese and Cantonese. In the thesis, the usages of two SFP combinations, "yone" in Japanese and "gaa3-wo3"...Show moreSentence-final particle (SFP) is a distinctive feature in various languages, including Japanese and Cantonese. In the thesis, the usages of two SFP combinations, "yone" in Japanese and "gaa3-wo3" in Cantonese, are dissected and analysed, so as to tell the differences in semantic and pragmatic effects between the SFP combinations and their individual component particles.Show less
The thesis addresses the phenomenon of volunteer tourism and tries to evaluate its impact on the African development discourse. The question is addressed by analysing the use of images and phrases...Show moreThe thesis addresses the phenomenon of volunteer tourism and tries to evaluate its impact on the African development discourse. The question is addressed by analysing the use of images and phrases on two volunteer organizations’ Facebook timelines, Go Volunteer Africa and Volunteer Uganda, to investigate the ways in which they aid in constructing a narrative about the African development discourse.The analysis suggests that the discourse of need plays a crucial role in the organizations' approach to development. The images and phrases integrated in Facebook posts can also be traced back to a colonial as well as a racist discourse based upon which social realities of the volunteers and the host communities are being influenced.Show less
Sexually explicit shunga of the Edo period have long been subjected to censorship and suppressive official attitudes. In the Meiji era, due to crypto-colonial pressures, censorship grew more...Show moreSexually explicit shunga of the Edo period have long been subjected to censorship and suppressive official attitudes. In the Meiji era, due to crypto-colonial pressures, censorship grew more stringent and persists until today. Even academic shunga publications long remained censored and their study has been marginalized within ukiyo-e research, both in Japan and abroad. With the liberalization of shunga publication in Japan, scholarship began closing the gaps in the field, shifting from aestheticizing to more critical approaches. However, despite the interconnectedness of shunga with ukiyo-e imagery, museum institutions have lagged behind in their inclusion. Thus, marginalizing and self-censoring institutional attitudes still persist, despite changing social ones, constructing a disjuncture between scholarly and institutional discourses on shunga. This thesis presents the 2013 British Museum exhibition and its 2015-2016 reshowing in Japan, which resulted from the international collaborative efforts of researchers and practitioners, as a model for overcoming institutional self-censorship and marginalization of shunga. Thus showing a way forward towards the inclusion of the sexually explicit genre.Show less
This thesis tells the tale of the toxic legacy of uranium mining, which has been casting a shadow over the lives of the Navajo people for over seven decades. Due to the rising tension between the...Show moreThis thesis tells the tale of the toxic legacy of uranium mining, which has been casting a shadow over the lives of the Navajo people for over seven decades. Due to the rising tension between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, a nuclear arms race developed. In the United States, the government’s interest in uranium became a matter of top priority, which resulted in a mining boom. At first, the mining boom seemed like a blessing since it created many jobs. Especially for the Navajo people, a Native American tribe indigenous to the southwestern United States where uranium could be found in abundance. However, the initial excitement about these work opportunities was soon to be overshadowed by the toxicity of the work environment. For more than a decade, Navajo miners worked in this environment without any proper protection from the life threatening effects of uranium. And only in the 1960s, when the years of unprotected mining started taking its toll, was it that the Navajo people started to become aware of these dangers. What followed were three decades of organizing and activism on the part of the Navajo people, which eventually led to the passing of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) in 1990. Though this was a crucial moment for Navajo anti-uranium activism, it does not necessarily mean that the story of Navajo activism ends here. Nevertheless, little scientific work has been dedicated to the development of the story after 1990. Therefore, this thesis will shift the focus towards the direction that Navajo advocacy against the toxic legacy of uranium mining has taken after the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was passed. Such post-1990 types of activism mainly focus on three concepts; compensation, cleanup and remembrance. When it comes to compensation, the main goal is the inclusion of post-1971 uranium workers for compensation under RECA. Current eligibility criteria exclude those employed as uranium miners after 1971, which is when the United States government stopped being the sole purchaser of uranium ore. However, those in favor of amending the Act to include post-71 workers are arguing that this date only signified the end of government liability, but not the end of the inadequacy of radiation standards. Another cause for activism is the immense impact that the uranium industry has had on the environment. Many abandoned uranium mines exist on Navajo lands and environmental issues range far beyond the impact of these mines alone. Additionally, President Trump’s 2017 Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth has fueled fears of uranium mining returning to Navajo lands. In response, the Navajo people are trying to remind the nation of the disastrous impact of the industry and the toxic legacy that it has left behind. The possibility of uranium mining returning to Navajo lands, the exclusion of post-71 workers and the continued risks due to environmental contamination are all part of the toxic legacy against which the Navajo people are still fighting today. The telling of the tale of the Navajo people and the toxic legacy of uranium mining as done in this research sheds light on the historic and current relevance of recognizing the impact of uranium mining and the need for solutions.Show less
This dissertation aims to provide comprehensive research on the way in which contemporary Iranian cinema challenges the boundaries of the Iranian Family Law (which is embedded in Sharia) through...Show moreThis dissertation aims to provide comprehensive research on the way in which contemporary Iranian cinema challenges the boundaries of the Iranian Family Law (which is embedded in Sharia) through the portrayal of women’s social challenges with regard to child-custody. For this, three movies focusing on child-custody-rights of women have been selected to analyze the connectedness of cinema with society and law.Show less
Deze scriptie heeft de verbeelding van de stad Beijing geprobeerd te analyseren aan de hand van het boek Beijing Doll van schrijfster Chun Sue. Allereerst is besproken op welke manier Beijing wordt...Show moreDeze scriptie heeft de verbeelding van de stad Beijing geprobeerd te analyseren aan de hand van het boek Beijing Doll van schrijfster Chun Sue. Allereerst is besproken op welke manier Beijing wordt (en werd) verbeeld in literatuur, waarbij regelmatig een vergelijking met Shanghai is gemaakt. Hoofdstuk 3 heeft het boek Beijing Doll geanalyseerd en geconcludeerd dat er twee hoofdzakelijk Pekinese hoofdthema's zijn: de focus op onderwijs en identificatie met een muzikale subcultuur (punk). Hoewel elementen dus duiden op haar Pekinese karakter, kan er niet zwart op wit worden gesteld dat Beijing Doll een typische 'Beijing roman' is, aangezien er verschillende overeenkomsten met literatuur uit Shanghai aan te wijzen zijn.Show less
