Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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A global narrative has emerged in which the West are selfless, compassionate givers in times of crisis for their poor, "third-world" neighbours. This thesis critically examines the aid response in...Show moreA global narrative has emerged in which the West are selfless, compassionate givers in times of crisis for their poor, "third-world" neighbours. This thesis critically examines the aid response in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake to assess how much of its ensuing consequences were not exceptions to the rule, but in fact, direct and predictable results of the aid policies themselves that call this narrative into question.Show less
In this thesis, I analyze journal articles from The Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science during the 1910s to better understand the conceptualization of American foreign policy...Show moreIn this thesis, I analyze journal articles from The Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science during the 1910s to better understand the conceptualization of American foreign policy during this period. This was a period of change and shifts, when European imperial powers were receding in global hegemony and American power was ascending. I argue that the authors of these articles interpreted this period of change as an opportunity for America and articulated a new global order by political, economic, and social interaction of global affairs through US intervention.Show less
This paper explores the divisive impact of official collective memory upon the position of the Kurdish minority in the Turkish society. Contextualized in the recent upsurge of violence in Turkey,...Show moreThis paper explores the divisive impact of official collective memory upon the position of the Kurdish minority in the Turkish society. Contextualized in the recent upsurge of violence in Turkey, this paper emphasises the role of memory in constructing conflict. Turkish official collective memory cultivates anxiety concerning the ‘other’ through emphasising religious or ethnic differences with the majority, ethnic Turks. The impact of Turkish official collective memory does not go unchallenged, Halil Altindere, a Turkish Kurdish artist presents a counter-memory to the state in his critical artwork «Welcome to the Land of the Lost ». Altindere’s artwork in the form of postage stamps, depicts the missing faces and names of twelve victims of the 17,000 missing under state custody in the 1990s. Unrecognised and unremembered, Altindere undermines official collective memory by depicting state violence to the Turkish audience. This paper outlines how Altindere’s work diverges from official collective memory, by calling for commemoration, recognition, and acceptance of minorities in Turkish society. Altindere’s protest against official collective memory engages the Turkish public, by questioning their anxiety in their identity and the ‘other’.Show less
The means of identification of the population determine the institutional practice. The census in India led to the institution of the caste-system in order for the British to better manage the...Show moreThe means of identification of the population determine the institutional practice. The census in India led to the institution of the caste-system in order for the British to better manage the population. Under the Foucauldian governmentality paradigm, this thesis argues that the modern practices used by the government for identifying the population are a continuation of the earlier census method of identification. The extrapolation of characteristics to determine the structure of Indian society was a system that relayed information from the population back to the government through the census. Segregation or exclusion of people who fell outside of the proposed structure presented in the census were homogenised within castes. Contemporary systems for the population to relay information to the government may move beyond the earlier traits of structure. However, as the government becomes increasingly dependent on technology to identify and gain insight into the issues facing the population, the role of technology in providing the government with data becomes an issue. Essentially, the government is in a process of increasing automation in institutions in order to better assess the population. It is capable of putting in place the systems that register the issues facing the population. Yet, as the institutions begin to provide an assessment of the data to the government in order for them to act. Those people within the population who are not registered in- or providing relevant data to – institutions therefore fall outside of the assessment of the government. As they do remain part of the population this thesis will argue that the big data systems (1) are dependent on the means that the government to collects data, (2) do not include the whole population and thus policy recommendations, based on big data assessment, require the government to extrapolate the perceived issues to the whole of the population, (3) the welfare of the population as the end-goal of the government will see a changing role in citizenship when the policy of the government becomes increasingly determined by the information the citizen provides.Show less
