In the fall of 2012, in reaction to proposed legislation by the Canadian government, the actions of four women, three of which of First Nations descent, led to a grassroots activist movement called...Show moreIn the fall of 2012, in reaction to proposed legislation by the Canadian government, the actions of four women, three of which of First Nations descent, led to a grassroots activist movement called ‘Idle No More’. This movement has since inspired many people to take action for Indigenous rights and environmental preservation. In this thesis I will research which historical, social, economical, environmental and political factors contributed to the origination and the continuing impact of the Idle No More movement to answer the question: who is Idle No More, and what does being Idle No More mean to those involved?Show less
This thesis will reveal that The Road contains many literary techniques, motifs and themes that can be traced back specifically to Romantic texts in the apocalyptic tradition, as well as...Show moreThis thesis will reveal that The Road contains many literary techniques, motifs and themes that can be traced back specifically to Romantic texts in the apocalyptic tradition, as well as philosophical ideas concerning human ethics that were developed within Romantic and later science fiction literature, initially in response to Kantian ethics. These specific themes and ideas will serve as the framework of reference for this research, to be introduced and placed in context in the following subsections.Show less
“The Third Eye. Understanding Raghubir Singh and Raghu Rai” is focussing on the work of two Indian photographers. The research revolves around the question whether the work of Raghubir Singh and...Show more“The Third Eye. Understanding Raghubir Singh and Raghu Rai” is focussing on the work of two Indian photographers. The research revolves around the question whether the work of Raghubir Singh and Raghu Rai contains specific cultural characteristics concerning the selection of subject matter and photographic genre. This involves the purpose of their work, the influence of visual culture, and the technical approach. Chapter One offers a description of specific features of Indian visual culture and perception in order to put Singh and Rai in context and outline their distinctive position as photographer. Elements from Indian spiritual life and arts are being connected to findings in neuroscience research related to perception of people. This concerns the question whether the photography by Raghubir Singh and Raghu Rai contains specific Indian visual and cultural elements. The work of Singh and Rai is varyingly described as street photography and documentary photography. In Chapter Two various definitions and descriptions of these genres are analysed and compared. Researched is if Singh and Rai have an approach that can be identified as either street or documentary photography. Both photographers once met and were inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson. Having determined the visual context and denominated the photographic genre of Raghubir Singh and Raghu Rai, Chapter Three investigates whether and how Cartier-Bresson influenced both photographers, in which the concept of the ‘decisive moment’ inevitably is a point of attention as well. The research indicates that Singh and Rai’s photographic work is authentic. They have adapted photographic genres developed in Western culture to suit the Indian context and the purpose of their work. The implications however are that not all viewers will perceive their work. Comprehension is dependent on the level of familiarity with Indian culture. Furthermore, researchers applying Western theories of photography should be aware of potential bias in these concepts. As specific Indian historical and comparative research and theorization regarding Indian photography is not yet initiated further research in this field is recommended.Show less
The Bachelor Thesis depicts the theory of Securitization applied to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. It looks towards the societal effects of securitizing certain high risk groups in the...Show moreThe Bachelor Thesis depicts the theory of Securitization applied to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. It looks towards the societal effects of securitizing certain high risk groups in the epidemic, such as sex workers and men who have sex with men. The societal effects are mostly the discrimination and stigmatization of these groups.Show less
In this thesis I investigate the development of a supplementary design in Chinese ceramics, the plantain leaf design. I propose that the triangles on archaic bronzes do not represent (plantain)...Show moreIn this thesis I investigate the development of a supplementary design in Chinese ceramics, the plantain leaf design. I propose that the triangles on archaic bronzes do not represent (plantain) leaves and thus should not be referred to as jiāoyèwén ‘plantain leaf design’. During the Yuan dynasty, however, one specific type of banded leaf design is developed that can be consistently referred to as jiāoyèwén ‘plantain leaf design’. I map out the developments of the different banded leaf designs, and seek to show that the triangle design on archaic bronzes played an integral part in the development of the plantain leaf design of the Yuan dynasty. These developments are discussed in light of ‘the uses of the past’ initially described by David Lowenthal.Show less
Colonial governance in the Dutch East Indies revived after Johannes van den Bosch launched the infamous cultivation system on Java in 1830. Portrayed as the Dutch pinnacle of colonial exploitation,...Show moreColonial governance in the Dutch East Indies revived after Johannes van den Bosch launched the infamous cultivation system on Java in 1830. Portrayed as the Dutch pinnacle of colonial exploitation, this system has been the topic of heated scholarly and non-scholarly debates. But apart from a system of colonial agricultural production, it also posed a framework for colonial governance. Crucial in this framework was the collaboration of the Javanese administrative elite with the Dutch. This thesis examines the relation between the Dutch local authorities and the indigenous rulers on Java in the early 1830s. An in-depth investigation of power-division and political games in the residencies (the provincial units of colonial control), it analyzes the techniques and tricks the Dutch and Javanese used to cope with each other. Daily practice of colonial governance seemed not to have been motivated really by any centrally organized ideology, but by the personal skills and experiences of the Dutch officials, and their ability to make use of the traditional power of the Javanese rulers. Describing a system of men rather than rules or laws, this thesis attempts to showcase the paradoxical character of Dutch colonial rule in practice, to stress that in colonial Southeast-Asia it were not merely the colonizers who constructed the colony.Show less
In deze these wordt de verhouding tussen verschillende takken van onderzoek onderzocht. Daarbij komt niet alleen de verhouding tussen verschillende vormen van wetenschappelijk onderzoek aan bod,...Show moreIn deze these wordt de verhouding tussen verschillende takken van onderzoek onderzocht. Daarbij komt niet alleen de verhouding tussen verschillende vormen van wetenschappelijk onderzoek aan bod, maar ook de verhouding tussen wetenschappelijk onderzoek in het algemeen en onderzoek zoals zich dat voltrekt in de kunsten. Aan de hand van Dewey en Heidegger wordt een begrip van de structuur van de onderzoeksactiviteit ontwikkelt. Deze dient als alternatief voor het gangbare begrip, waarmee een onderscheid gemaakt wordt tussen verschillende takken van onderzoek (het bekendste: het onderscheid geesteswetenschappelijk en natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek). Dat gangbare begrip van de structuur van onderzoek ontvangen we van Dilthey, het onderscheid volgt bij Dilthey uit een fundamenteel onderscheid dat hij maken moet (onder druk van Kant) tussen twee wijzen van ervaren. Het is de mogelijkheid om dit onderscheid te maken, tussen een "innerlijke" en een "uiterlijke" wijze van ervaren, die in deze these wordt geproblematiseerd.Show less
In his later work Heidegger introduces a mirror play of four spheres, something which in the first instance seems enigmatic and incomprehensible. This design, what he calls the Geviert (Fourfold),...Show moreIn his later work Heidegger introduces a mirror play of four spheres, something which in the first instance seems enigmatic and incomprehensible. This design, what he calls the Geviert (Fourfold), seems to appear out of nowhere. But on second thoughts it becomes clear that it is a continuation of his earlier work, and it is an answer to the problems of the European thinking. The main question of my study: ‘What includes Heideggers Geviert?’ The thesis consists of four chapters. The first focuses on the conception of the design of the Geviert in Heideggers earlier works, such as Sein und Zeit and Urpsprung des Kunstwerkes. The second one talks about two spheres, the earth and the sky. The third one focuses on the other two spheres, the mortal and the godlike. The fourth chapter treats the relationship and the dynamic between the four spheres. One of the insights is that each sphere contains the dynamic of Heraclit’ phusis-concept. Herewith Heidegger harks back to the origin of the Western thought to address to problems that have sprung into this thinking at the root.Show less
The thesis analyzes the role of memories of past emigrations within the context of discourses on immigration, integration and citizenship policy-making in Spain from 1980 to 2010. It contends that...Show moreThe thesis analyzes the role of memories of past emigrations within the context of discourses on immigration, integration and citizenship policy-making in Spain from 1980 to 2010. It contends that these memories were a crucial part of the discourse of policy-makers in the process of the transition of Spain from being a country of emigration to being an immigrant-receiving society. The thesis analyzes in depth how memories are employed by different sides of the political spectrum in different manners to cater to different political aims. From this empirical analysis it seeks to draw a theoretical understanding of the role of collective memories of emigration in the context of a country's migrational transition.Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
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This thesis explores the field of photography and studies its relationship with and its influence on the meaning and interpretation of privacy. The latter has been widely discussed in recent years...Show moreThis thesis explores the field of photography and studies its relationship with and its influence on the meaning and interpretation of privacy. The latter has been widely discussed in recent years because of the presumed lack thereof in our contemporary digitalized, globalized and 'free' world. Privacy is considered to be pivotal to our identity and being in this world. In this thesis I will argue that privacy is innately individual and can be considered as a personal desire to protect and demarcate everything that we do not know yet. It is a desire not to be a victim of everything that is happening in the world around oneself. In our contemporary world privacy is increasingly 'rational' and no longer concerned with physical access to something or somebody. Photography has the ambiguous task to lay bare the things we do not already know, and to be the threat to our privacy.Show less
This is a study of a colonial economy from an agricultural perspective, focusing on the interaction and conflicts between rice and sugarcane production in Java during the late colonial period. Rice...Show moreThis is a study of a colonial economy from an agricultural perspective, focusing on the interaction and conflicts between rice and sugarcane production in Java during the late colonial period. Rice is the most important staple food, while sugarcane has been the principal cash crop between 1870s and 1920s. Since the natural habitats for two crops are similar in many respects but large-scale intercropping was precluded due to different irrigation practices, rice and sugarcane have been competing for the limited resource of land since the dawn of mass production at the end of the nineteenth century. This thesis attempts to answer whether the proliferation of sugar plantation contributed to the rice shortage in Java, and how the shortfall in rice might influence the distribution and expansion of sugar plantation in the tropical island. Besides the quantitative analysis with agricultural statistics, it also investigates the process of policy-making, in which the colonial government exerted regulatory influence over different interest groups as far as the production of rice and sugar were concerned in the 1910s and 1920s.Show less
