The emergence of HIV in Brazilian society challenged culturally-fundamental values, varying from institutional responses to discourses on identity politics. This paper introduces an intertextual...Show moreThe emergence of HIV in Brazilian society challenged culturally-fundamental values, varying from institutional responses to discourses on identity politics. This paper introduces an intertextual analysis of Rafael França’s enigmatic video work Prelude to an Announced Death, concluded two days prior to the artist’s own death. The artwork’s ambiguity seems to welcome potentialities of interpretations, such as that of the AIDS crisis in a 1990s Brazilian context. Considering the influence of the Catholic Church in Brazilian society, especially a Marxist strain that arose within the Church’s institution in opposition to Brazilian military dictatorship, the possibility of analysing the artwork through the lens of Catholic symbols brings attention to the practices that constituted the meaning of AIDS in 1990s Brazil. In addressing the practices that revolve around the virus, this text suggests that the (video-)text by Rafael França can be understood through a web of historical, cultural, social, amongst others, texts.Show less
This thesis is an analysis of the intersection of kinship politics and religion in the 20th century Philippines. It discusses their cultural influence and effects on the protests and revolution...Show moreThis thesis is an analysis of the intersection of kinship politics and religion in the 20th century Philippines. It discusses their cultural influence and effects on the protests and revolution against the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. A social history conducted through interviews of witnesses, activists, and Filipino immigrants is used to contextualize major events of the 1980s. The years 1981-1987 were chosen due to the historical importance of events such as the visit of Pope John Paul II, the assassination of opposition leader Ninoy Aquino, and the EDSA revolution which toppled the dictator.Show less
After Al Smith became the Democratic standard-bearer at the Democratic National Convention of 1928, Raskob was entrusted with the important position of chair of the Democratic National Committee ...Show moreAfter Al Smith became the Democratic standard-bearer at the Democratic National Convention of 1928, Raskob was entrusted with the important position of chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Having a Catholic presidential nominee was unprecedented in the white, Protestant politics of the 1920s United States, and Smith doubled down on this by granting the Catholic capitalist Raskob an influential position in the Democratic Party. This led to a storm of anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant bigotry that began raging in the Southern and Western states, once Democratic strongholds. But their Catholicism was not the only unprecedented aspect of this political team, as Smith and Raskob were both also adamantly opposed to Prohibition. Raskob even was a board member of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment (AAPA) in 1928 and played a crucial role in affecting Smith’s views on this issue, as this thesis argues and proves. Smith and Raskob shared the belief that it was anti-Catholic bigotry and opposition to immigrant communities that had been heavily influential in creating the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the one that banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors within the country. Their ideas proved to be correct. In fact, when the Eighteenth Amendment was enforced through the famous Volstead Act of 1920, Catholic, immigrant, African-American, and lower-class communities in urban areas were disproportionately targeted. These ethnic and religious aspects of American Prohibition helped shape and cement the alliance of Smith and Raskob and impacted both Republican and Democratic voting blocs greatly when Smith ran for president in 1928.Show less
This thesis analyzes the Catholic themes within Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. In order to accurately do so it will establish proper definitions of gothic fiction and...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the Catholic themes within Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. In order to accurately do so it will establish proper definitions of gothic fiction and Catholicism. Moreover, within this analysis on Catholicism and gothic fiction, it will also establish which Catholic themes are significant within the analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray. After these definitions and particular themes are established, an inquiry into Wilde’s personal life, and his relationship to Catholicism, will be executed. Eventually, an analysis of the novel itself, combining the Catholic themes and the biographical information presented in the earlier chapters, will be carried out. After these analyses are carried out, this thesis will establish that The Picture of Dorian Gray illustrates Wilde’s fear of being completely liberated. The judgment he received from the Marquess of Queensberry, the heteronormative Protestant community he grew up in, and even his lover Lord Alfred Douglas would eventually turn his desires to feel as liberated as his mother into a phobia of being completely free, which is depicted in his own conviction of Dorian Gray.Show less
As civil war broke out in Spain the entire world watched. The deeply ideological nature of the conflict ensured it spurred public interest worldwide. In the Netherlands too the public took sides, a...Show moreAs civil war broke out in Spain the entire world watched. The deeply ideological nature of the conflict ensured it spurred public interest worldwide. In the Netherlands too the public took sides, a process regulated by the existing pillarisation. Most Dutch catholics supported Franco, though the pillar also knew some dissidents. This paper looks at the argumentation used by Dutch catholics for their position in the civil war, using newspapers and books as sources. Through this research it tries to add to the existing views on the interwar Netherlands and to the corpus of research on how the civil war was perceived outside of Spain.Show less
Master thesis | Theology and Religious Studies (Master)
open access
The thesis looks into the usefulness of using the concept 'catholic bias' as opposed to 'protestant bias'. This was done by examining the Catholic background of two anthropologists. It argues that...Show moreThe thesis looks into the usefulness of using the concept 'catholic bias' as opposed to 'protestant bias'. This was done by examining the Catholic background of two anthropologists. It argues that the Catholic background had an important influence on their anthropological work, which makes the concept of 'Catholic bias' interesting for further research. It further argues a positive contribution of religious backgrounds, or bias, as a source of inspiration and unique understanding.Show less
Using close reading and contextualization in the historical context, this thesis explores the reaction to Enlightenment thought with regards to Catholicism and the Medieval in Horace Walpole's The...Show moreUsing close reading and contextualization in the historical context, this thesis explores the reaction to Enlightenment thought with regards to Catholicism and the Medieval in Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1760) and Ann Radcliffe's A Sicilian Romance (1790). These novels offer different responses to the changing perceptions of Catholicism, history, and the British national identity, both of which are informed by the Enlightenment, but are based on varying views on what the past contributed to the contemporary nation. The Castle of Otranto can be interpreted as a pseudo-medievalist text which places it in a nationalist discourse which emphasized the continuity between the past and the present. This is most obvious in its descriptions of Medieval culture, which are generally positive. A Sicilian Romance emphasizes the differences between the Medieval and Enlightenment cultures. The medieval is only shown in a positive light when its cultural and religious practices are refigured according to Enlightenment thought. While the novels show different reactions to the eighteenth century ideology that informed them, both show suspicion and fascination for the Medieval and the Catholic.Show less
Master thesis | Theology and Religious Studies (Master)
open access
This MA-thesis deals with a highly fascinating topic in the domains of religious, literary, and cultural history. It is ambitious in its attempt to approach the topic of marriage and divorce in the...Show moreThis MA-thesis deals with a highly fascinating topic in the domains of religious, literary, and cultural history. It is ambitious in its attempt to approach the topic of marriage and divorce in the fin de siècle from the perspective of contemporary fiction in close alliance with religious and social dimensions of the issues. Given the fact that, as far as the topic of marriage and divorce goes, religion is quite understudied in literary research, this is an effort to bring these disciplines together in one thesis. Central to the thesis is the work of the prominent Dutch feminist Cecile de Jong van Beek en Donk who underwent a radical change from feminism to orthodox Catholicism. Whereas the first novel discussed in this thesis (Hilda van Suylenburg, 1897) has been the object of literary and feminist studies, the second novel (Bij de waskaarsen, 1929/30), stemming from the novelists’ Catholic phase of life, has been largely neglected up till today. To discuss these two interesting novels together is quite an original aspect of this thesis.Show less
Master thesis | Theology and Religious Studies (Master)
open access
Desiderius Erasmus is known for his famous and influential works. In the 16th century he became one of the greatest humanists in Northern Europe. His publication of the revised version of the New...Show moreDesiderius Erasmus is known for his famous and influential works. In the 16th century he became one of the greatest humanists in Northern Europe. His publication of the revised version of the New Testament in Greek in 1516 meant a revolutionary breakthrough in the field of theology. During the age of Renaissance humanist intellectuals shared thoughts and influenced each other in many ways. The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the general understanding of scholasticism and humanism as its successor and to demonstrate some of the most distinguished charges against Erasmus. The Dutch scholar was able to make friends and also enemies with his sometimes revolutionary thoughts. Four important figures form the points of discussion: Alberto Pio III, Diego López de Zúñiga, Noël Beda and Julius Caesar Scaliger. By looking at these reactions and relating them to each other, one gets a clear picture of the various accents within the controversies.Show less
This is a transnational research on the way Dutch Catholic media perceived the Kulturkampf in Germany from 1880 to 1884. This dissertation examines two Dutch Catholic newspapers and one magazine to...Show moreThis is a transnational research on the way Dutch Catholic media perceived the Kulturkampf in Germany from 1880 to 1884. This dissertation examines two Dutch Catholic newspapers and one magazine to explain three things. Firstly, what the main motives of Dutch Catholic media were to report on German social struggles after 1880. Secondly, how the Milder-ungsgesetzen – that were intended to end this social struggle – influenced the content of the reports of Dutch Catholic media. Thirdly, to what extent the German social struggles were put in an international perspective by these media. The conclusion adds to the debate that ques-tions the nineteenth century as the ‘age of the nation state’.Show less
