Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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Studies show that literature is highly affected by the context in which it is written. Therefore, literature can be analyzed as a case study in order to identify the tendencies of thought in the...Show moreStudies show that literature is highly affected by the context in which it is written. Therefore, literature can be analyzed as a case study in order to identify the tendencies of thought in the time that a story is written. The purpose of this study was to "analyze" how the scientific discourse in (post)modern detective fiction can be related to the changing scientific and philosophical context of the twentieth century. Through an extensive textual analysis of a detective character’s methodology, a picture could be painted of their scientific beliefs. By going through this process for two detective characters, the Victorian Sherlock Holmes and the postmodern William of Baskerville, a comparison between the two may then reveal how the shifts in the philosophical field of science and theory could have affected their methods of theoretical thought that they utilize to interpret the world and subsequently solve cases. The study showed that Sherlock Holmes never questioned the objective and observable nature of evidence and universal causality, whereas in William of Baskerville’s methodology the elusiveness of any attempt to interpret the world was a major focus. Relating these findings to the philosophical ideas that were most dominant in the beginning and the end of the twentieth century showed that this shift correlates with the manner in which society’s confidence in the objectivity of science and knowledge has diminished.Show less
This thesis establishes how Theater Rotterdam's Hamlet de Familievøørstelling (2018) successfully adapts the genre of the British Christmas Pantomime and simultaneously adapts Shakespeare's Hamlet....Show moreThis thesis establishes how Theater Rotterdam's Hamlet de Familievøørstelling (2018) successfully adapts the genre of the British Christmas Pantomime and simultaneously adapts Shakespeare's Hamlet. It shows furthermore how a Shakespeare adaptation can tap into new audiences through adaptation of the pantomime genre, displaying how valuable adaptations can be to reach new audiences.Show less
This thesis discusses Ali Smith’s contemporary rewriting of Ovid’s Iphis myth. It will examine how the democratisation of the field of Greek and Roman classical scholarship, through an increase of...Show moreThis thesis discusses Ali Smith’s contemporary rewriting of Ovid’s Iphis myth. It will examine how the democratisation of the field of Greek and Roman classical scholarship, through an increase of female scholars working in this field and the application of concepts from feminist theory to classical texts, enabled Smith in her retelling of the Iphis myth by providing new interpretations for this myth. It will then be examined how Smith formed this new narrative by working within the scholarly framework of Judith Butler’s theories on gender and sexuality, illuminating and foregrounding the issues of gender ambiguity and same-sex relationships that are already present in the original myth. Finally, the importance of intertextuality and epigraphs in Smith’s work will also be taken into account by considering how she engages with the gender confusion and homoerotic tendencies present in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Cymbeline, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lyly’s Gallathea, providing a literary context for her novel which she uses to support her own narrative and, sometimes, to change the cultural resonance of Elizabethan plays that deal with gender and same-sex relationships.Show less
A rhetorical analysis of modern rhetorical devices used in speeches about the climate crisis given by various politicians and scientists. This analysis has been conducted according to the...Show moreA rhetorical analysis of modern rhetorical devices used in speeches about the climate crisis given by various politicians and scientists. This analysis has been conducted according to the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) as is described by Hoeken et. al. This shows how these two different groups incorporate rhetorical devices to persuade. Four rhetorical mechanism have been analysed: fear appeal, metaphor and the use of adjectives and statistics. This study showed that both parties were very conscious about persuading according to either the central or non-central persuasion route as is described in Hoeken's theory. Scientists mainly persuaded according to the central route whereas politicians persuaded according to the non-central persuasion route.Show less
This thesis discusses the murders and murderers in Edgar Allan Poe's “The Black Cat”, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. It looks at their self-defenses and motivations for their...Show moreThis thesis discusses the murders and murderers in Edgar Allan Poe's “The Black Cat”, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. It looks at their self-defenses and motivations for their crimes with specific attention for their forensic oratory.Show less
The dissertation argues that Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, George Orwell’s 1984, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale comment on the interdependence between language and identity through...Show moreThe dissertation argues that Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, George Orwell’s 1984, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale comment on the interdependence between language and identity through their respective fictional dystopic regimes’ exploitation of language and the consequential identity development of their nonconformist characters.Show less
This thesis aims to show that vampires of Bram Stoker’s Dracula are the victims of a patriarchal society, as well as a reaction to the upcoming feminist ideal of the New Woman during the fin de...Show moreThis thesis aims to show that vampires of Bram Stoker’s Dracula are the victims of a patriarchal society, as well as a reaction to the upcoming feminist ideal of the New Woman during the fin de siècle. Additionally, this thesis will show that the framework of the gothic empowers gender nonconforming men and women by subverting Victorian expectations surrounding marriage and gender. Stoker did not denounce the New Woman, but instead recognized the patriarchal Victorian society as a gothic structure that oppressed any man or woman who did not conform.Show less
