Most Serbs hold strong opinions on Kosovo: they see Kosovo as a mythical cradle of the Serbian nation and, more recently, a place of mythical Serbian suffering. While these beliefs have reinforced...Show moreMost Serbs hold strong opinions on Kosovo: they see Kosovo as a mythical cradle of the Serbian nation and, more recently, a place of mythical Serbian suffering. While these beliefs have reinforced the Serbian nation, they also fuelled the Serbia-Kosovo conflict. Historiography has helped create and reinforce these myths and has as such played an important role in the conflict. This thesis researches myth-forming on Kosovo through the eyes of one Serb historian: Dusan T. Batakovic (1957-2017).Show less
The digital world and its relationship to history are ones of the most debated issues of our times as well as a major problem related to such relationship: the future of archives. In Italy the...Show moreThe digital world and its relationship to history are ones of the most debated issues of our times as well as a major problem related to such relationship: the future of archives. In Italy the debate is still in its infancy and this thesis places the case study of the Biblioteca IsIAO.Show less
In most countries' history classrooms, a textbook still plays a key role, and the narratives of these texts help to shape students' perceptions of their nation and others. A large body of American...Show moreIn most countries' history classrooms, a textbook still plays a key role, and the narratives of these texts help to shape students' perceptions of their nation and others. A large body of American research exists examining the historical narratives of ethnic minorities in the United States, including Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, but few studies have examined this question using a textbook sample from across the border aimed at mainstream secondary students. This research raised the question of inclusion of the ""other"" (Mexico in American texts and US in Mexican texts) for the period of the twentieth century. It did this through quantitative analysis of index entries, highlights, pictorial inclusion and text spacing, and also through a qualitative approach of positive/negative coding and using existing theoretical frameworks for narrative analysis. The findings indicated that Mexican texts include references to the US on over 30% of text pages, while US texts average 5% references to the southern neighbor. Additionally, by a 2:1 margin in both cases the coding reveals more negative references than positive, though this can also include victimhood of racial discrimination or economic imperialism. Still, the texts are generally more inclusive than those used in past studies and decades, and sparse but relevant emphasis on cross border cooperation may provide insight into future direction for transnational history provided to a broad audience of secondary students.Show less
This MA-Thesis follows the life of the Swedish diplomat in the Dutch Republic Harald Appelboom (1612-1674). An emphasis is put on the role of espionage in Appelbooms diplomatic career. The thesis...Show moreThis MA-Thesis follows the life of the Swedish diplomat in the Dutch Republic Harald Appelboom (1612-1674). An emphasis is put on the role of espionage in Appelbooms diplomatic career. The thesis argues that Appelbooms activities in intellegence were important in the development of his diplomatic career.Show less
This thesis delves into the relation between crisis and policy change in a historical context by exploring the Dutch emigration policies concerning South Africa before and after the Sharpeville...Show moreThis thesis delves into the relation between crisis and policy change in a historical context by exploring the Dutch emigration policies concerning South Africa before and after the Sharpeville massacre (1960). Most literature discussing the Sharpeville massacre and its aftermath take the decline in emigration in the years following the massacre as an evident consequence of the changing perceptions of South Africa, and place it in a holistic hypothesis of general denunciation. By analysing this from a policy perspective, the decline in emigration is better explained by a multitude of factors, then by a single event (i.e. Sharpeville) alone. It is undeniable that Sharpeville had an impact on how South Africa was being perceived in the Netherlands. And evidently, this must have discouraged people to emigrate there. However, this thesis argues that the structures, policies and practices of the Dutch emigration system have been overlooked in this context. The emigration apparatus played such an important role on Dutch emigration as a whole, that it had a crucial impact on the emigration to South Africa. Despite the obsevation that there was not a clear policy change after Sharpeville, their power as an institution to orchestrate the Dutch emigration proved to be an important factor when trying to explain the decline of Dutch emigration to South Africa.Show less
In 1932-1933 famine swept across the Ukrainian countryside killing an estimated 5 million people. The famine was a culmination of different factors, but most notably it was the result of deliberate...Show moreIn 1932-1933 famine swept across the Ukrainian countryside killing an estimated 5 million people. The famine was a culmination of different factors, but most notably it was the result of deliberate policies of the Soviet government. In the summer of 1933 a young Welsh journalist named Gareth Jones illegally toured the Ukrainian countryside, witnessing the dead and the dying, walking through the silent and abandoned villages and speaking with the starving peasants. Upon his return to the United Kingdom Jones attempted to expose the famine in order to aid the starving Ukrainian population. However, his message had little impact. It was snowed under by positive reports coming from Western correspondents stationed in Moscow. The news of the famine failed to gain traction amongst the public, and before long people forgot that it ever happened. This thesis seeks to investigate why Jones’ articles exposing the Ukrainian famine in 1933 had so little impact amongst the British and American public. There was no public outrage, no large-scale famine relief actions, and not a sound from the British and American governments on the matter could be heard. The silence surrounding the famine was deafening, and the voice that was trying to attract attention to it was ignored. Why were people so willing to look away? Can this silence be attributed to a feat of Soviet Propaganda? Were the reports coming from Moscow simply more credible than the reporting of twenty-seven years old Jones?Show less
This thesis analyses British Holocaust memorialization from the 1980s to today, through case studies on the Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial, the Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum and the...Show moreThis thesis analyses British Holocaust memorialization from the 1980s to today, through case studies on the Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial, the Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum and the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. This thesis shows how the concept of the Holocaust evolved from being relatively ignored, to being a key subject in twentieth century British history. The first hypothesis underlying this research is that whereas earlier attempts at British Holocaust memorialization predominantly focused on the historical uniqueness of the genocide, later initiatives place greater emphasis on its universal significance. This hypothesis is confirmed by the three case studies. After the end of the Cold War the universal lessons of the Holocaust are increasingly addressed, visible in the Holocaust exhibition in the IWM and the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. Nevertheless, the uniqueness of the Holocaust remains important in all three of the case studies. The second hypothesis reads that whereas earlier attempts at British Holocaust memorialization tend to lack critical self-reflection, later initiatives show more willingness to explore Britain’s sense of guilt. The two latest initiatives, both created after 1989, do address the more negative aspects of Britain’s role in the war. Yet, the hypothesis cannot be confirmed for a greater willingness to explore these controversial issues does not seem to be present. Rather, the third initiative seems to prioritize the traditional heroic story of Britain’s relation to the Holocaust. Scholarship on Holocaust memory in Britain has evolved into a field in its own right, with key contributions of Tony Kushner, Andy Pearce, Dan Stone and David Cesarani. The field is intrinsically interdisciplinary, therefore this thesis necessarily draws upon literature from the fields of British History, Cultural Studies and Memory Studies. It builds upon primary material kept by the Imperial War Museum Archive and the London Metropolitan Archive, as well as materials found online and in the libraries of the University of Leiden and the University of Oxford.Show less
This thesis looks at the possibility to use commercial off-the-shelf video games as an educational tool. By looking at educational video games, commercially made video games and different genres,...Show moreThis thesis looks at the possibility to use commercial off-the-shelf video games as an educational tool. By looking at educational video games, commercially made video games and different genres, this thesis hopes to provide some insight in what type of video game can be used as an educational tool.Show less
In 1837, Louis-Philippe of Orléans, ‘King of the French’, opened the Musée de l’Histoire de France in Versailles, a museum that celebrated the history of France. Louis-Philippe had come to power...Show moreIn 1837, Louis-Philippe of Orléans, ‘King of the French’, opened the Musée de l’Histoire de France in Versailles, a museum that celebrated the history of France. Louis-Philippe had come to power after the July Revolution of 1830, which had overthrown the reign of the Bourbon kings. A part of the Musée was dedicated to the Crusades, the Christian military expeditions in the Middle East during the Middle Ages: the Salles des Croisades. This thesis discusses how the history of the Crusades was constructed in the Salles, and how this construction is explained by the political and cultural context of the July Monarchy (1830-1848). In the Musée, the history of France was displayed in hundreds of history paintings. The July Monarchy was a constitutional monarchy, and presented itself as a ‘golden mean’ between popular power and royal absolutism. By displaying the history of France as a united whole in the Musée, the regime hoped to heal the wounds of fifty years of political division. In the Salles, Louis-Philippe equated French identity with Christianity, by depicting the roots of the French nation in the Crusades. The king had three political reasons for promoting the Christian identity of France: reconciliation, ideological justification and legitimation. Firstly, the construction of the history of the Crusades in the Salles was similar to a conservative vision of medieval history, in which the Christian religion was the guiding principle. By affirming the validity of this vision in the Salles, Louis-Philippe sought reconciliation with those who wanted a return to the ancien régime. Moreover, Christianity was depicted as a nationally unifying force, which corresponded with the king’s wish to reconcile political divisions. Secondly, an appeal to France’s obligations as a Christian nation, through making a historical parallel with the deeds of Saint Louis, ideologically justified the conquest of Algeria. Lastly, a focus on Christianity gave the July Monarchy a firm foundation in history, thereby making it less radical and less revolutionary. The potency of Crusading imagery is explained by several cultural trends. This thesis discusses a number of important cultural contexts, such as the rise of Romanticism, the politicized nature of history, the changing practice of history painting, attitudes towards the Middle Ages, the place of the Crusades in historiography, the French reactions to the Greek War of Independence, and the mythical image of Saint Louis.Show less
Scattered across the whole of southern Africa, impressive North Korean monuments celebrate the rise of young, independent African nations. In an extraordinary fashion, these constructions merge...Show moreScattered across the whole of southern Africa, impressive North Korean monuments celebrate the rise of young, independent African nations. In an extraordinary fashion, these constructions merge typical North Korean socialist realism with African nationalism. The research question of this thesis is why the regimes of Namibia and Zimbabwe use the services of the North Korean firm Mansudae Overseas Projects to construct their National Heroes’ Acres. This phenomenon can be explained through the historical connections that existed between the southern African liberation movements and the DPRK, that have been fostered since the 1960s. The DPRK funded southern African liberation movements during their struggle for independence and thereby strengthened their ideas on post-colonial history writing. It will be argued that the Heroes’ Acres can be understood as potent symbols of nationalist history, used to legitimize the rule of the former liberation movements and inspired by the example that the DPRK has set for their African allies.Show less
Hoofdvraag: welke interne en externe factoren bepaalden het verloop bepaalden van de negotiaties van Ferrand Whaley Hudig tussen 1759 en 1797? Met interne factoren worden de kenmerken van het...Show moreHoofdvraag: welke interne en externe factoren bepaalden het verloop bepaalden van de negotiaties van Ferrand Whaley Hudig tussen 1759 en 1797? Met interne factoren worden de kenmerken van het negotiatiecontract zelf bedoeld. Externe factoren zijn de invloeden die buiten het contract vallen.Show less
This paper explores how ‘foreignness’, in the form of recipes, was included and excluded from nineteenth century Dutch cookbooks. This was a time of low migration in the Netherlands. However, while...Show moreThis paper explores how ‘foreignness’, in the form of recipes, was included and excluded from nineteenth century Dutch cookbooks. This was a time of low migration in the Netherlands. However, while other factors, such as political developments, the rise of the middle class and the development of more cosmopolitan identities were all important, the influence of migrants over the inclusion of foreign content in the cookbooks should not be discounted. The openness of Dutch society to these culinary innovations was indicative of attitudes in other spheres.Show less
In 1961 Banbury Borough Council signed the Town Development Act, giving them licence to expand Banbury and double the population. This thesis looks at central and local government policies to...Show moreIn 1961 Banbury Borough Council signed the Town Development Act, giving them licence to expand Banbury and double the population. This thesis looks at central and local government policies to analyse why the Borough Council decided to make this decision that would drastically change Banbury from a small market town into an industrial centre for many different businesses. In order to do this it looks at the build up to signing the Act and what the main motivating factors were. It tests five hypotheses of why the Council decided to expand: opportunism, the desire to increase the rateable value of Banbury, the need to diversify industry, the Borough Council's need to increase their own power, and finally, fear of the town dying.Show less
Return migration among Ghanaian migrants is claimed to be a growing fenomenon. During this research, this proved not to be the case for nurses. The research thus focusses on why, if other Ghanaians...Show moreReturn migration among Ghanaian migrants is claimed to be a growing fenomenon. During this research, this proved not to be the case for nurses. The research thus focusses on why, if other Ghanaians are indeed returning to Ghana, nurses are not.Show less
