Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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Unconditional love is theorized across different fields to be key for making our politics more forgiving and our social justice more effective. This is because of love’s 1) willed character in...Show moreUnconditional love is theorized across different fields to be key for making our politics more forgiving and our social justice more effective. This is because of love’s 1) willed character in contrast to mere sentimentalism, 2) its dynamic tendency towards turning love into action and help, 3) the forgiveness it brings that is necessary for embracing the heterogeneity of politics, 4) the purpose and embrace it can give to the anger that sprouts out of societal injustice, 5) the embodiedness and personal touch that they give to policies of care, and 6) a common interest with justice towards giving loveable people what they deserve. However, this is not just theory, and as a proper anthropologist I have shown how different actors longing for social justice put this love-justice relation into practice. Ranging from meditating to embody love and turn political and societal ideals of embrace into a reality, to seeing love as entailing and impulsing a drive towards LGBT+ inclusion campaigns and justice, all across the world love is employed as a vital component for making a better world. I have argued that unconditional love has a wide variety of benefits it can bring to social justice, both seen by academics and by actors that put this into practice. Because in the end, love’s dynamic character cannot let us sit still when we see that those we love deserve better.Show less
This thesis explores the conflicted experience of reading boy's love manga, based on intimate interviews with a handful of non-japanese readers. How are issues such as consent, representation and...Show moreThis thesis explores the conflicted experience of reading boy's love manga, based on intimate interviews with a handful of non-japanese readers. How are issues such as consent, representation and stereotypes perceived, and how does that perception influence reading choices? Boy's love is examined not only as an experience in itself, but also in connection with broader questions with regards to female sexuality and pornography.Show less
Even though the Weinstein scandal and the #metoo movement opened the debate about feminism across societies, it seemed that the debate did not happen in Japan. After doing some research, one can...Show moreEven though the Weinstein scandal and the #metoo movement opened the debate about feminism across societies, it seemed that the debate did not happen in Japan. After doing some research, one can see that mass media in Japan do not echo any feminist ideas. Throughout the years, the mass media have neglected feminist debates and even generated negative discourse on feminism. However, if one looks into more alternative media sources, it becomes obvious that the feminist debate is actually well established in Japan. There are media sources such as feminist journals that open discussions on topics like gender roles and sexual liberation. Feminist publications have existed in Japan since the beginning of the 20th century. However, as those journals challenge Japanese societal norms, they are categorized as niche media with quite a small readership. On the other hand, manga is another type of alternative media with a large readership that highlights a feminist debate. Within manga literature, there are specific genres that target a female readership from teenagers (shoujo) to adults (josei). I argue that among manga, shoujo and josei manga genres are the most read outlets of feminist ideas within Japanese media.Show less
The main topic of this thesis is yakuwarigo in translation. Yakuwarigo, the Japanese word for role language, is a type of language use often used in works of fiction which evokes the image of a...Show moreThe main topic of this thesis is yakuwarigo in translation. Yakuwarigo, the Japanese word for role language, is a type of language use often used in works of fiction which evokes the image of a certain type of character, such as an old man or a young girl, by using certain first-person pronouns, copula and sentence-ending particles (Kinsui 2013). Translating yakuwarigo can be extremely challenging because the Japanese language has many opportunities for variation where English does not. For that reason, yakuwarigo is often standardised in the target text, even though this negatively impacts the uniqueness of the characters (Terada, 2015). While there is quite a bit of literature available on yakuwarigo, hardly any research has been done on the topic of yakuwarigo in translation. In this thesis, the feasibility of translating yakuwarigo from Japanese to English using a foreignising translation strategy is examined. The research question is: “To what extent is it possible to translate yakuwarigo from Japanese to English with a foreignising translation strategy?”. The answer to this question is formed by two parts: a theoretical framework and a case study. In the theoretical framework, a number of different topics are discussed, such as translation strategies, equivalence, and stereotyping. In the case study, six characters of a manga (Japanese cartoon) are analysed in the original version as well as in a fan translation. Additionally, a new translation of is proposed based on the acquired information. It was found that despite the fact that it is impossible to translate yakuwarigo to English perfectly, it is possible to translate characters in such a way that their language reflects their main personality traits. This is done by adapting the font, punctuation and lexical choices, among others, to the character’s personality as a way of compensating for the original yakuwarigo.Show less
The aim of this paper is to give a qualitative analysis of the Japanese version of the popular manga ‘Death Note’, its official English translation and a (fan-made) scanlation. The materials used...Show moreThe aim of this paper is to give a qualitative analysis of the Japanese version of the popular manga ‘Death Note’, its official English translation and a (fan-made) scanlation. The materials used in this research are the original version of the manga Death Note that is written by Ohba Tsugumi, twelfth edition December 2004, the official English translation by VIZ Media, twenty-sixth printing, April 2015 and the scanlation from www.mymangaonline.us. Differences between the translations that have been found in the data comparison will be discussed, as well the specific characteristics of each type of translations.Show less
The main topic of this thesis is yakuwarigo in translation. Yakuwarigo, the Japanese word for role language, is a type of language use often used in works of fiction which evokes the image of a...Show moreThe main topic of this thesis is yakuwarigo in translation. Yakuwarigo, the Japanese word for role language, is a type of language use often used in works of fiction which evokes the image of a certain type of character, such as an old man or a young girl, by using certain first-person pronouns, copula and sentence-ending particles (Kinsui 2013). Translating yakuwarigo can be extremely challenging because the Japanese language has many opportunities for variation where English does not. For that reason, yakuwarigo is often standardised in the target text, even though this negatively impacts the uniqueness of the characters (Terada, 2015). While there is quite a bit of literature available on yakuwarigo, hardly any research has been done on the topic of yakuwarigo in translation. In this thesis, the feasibility of translating yakuwarigo from Japanese to English using a foreignising translation strategy is examined. The research question is: “To what extent is it possible to translate yakuwarigo from Japanese to English with a foreignising translation strategy?”. The answer to this question is formed by two parts: a theoretical framework and a case study. In the theoretical framework, a number of different topics are discussed, such as translation strategies, equivalence, and stereotyping. In the case study, six characters of a manga (Japanese cartoon) are analysed in the original version as well as in a fan translation. Additionally, a new translation of is proposed based on the acquired information. It was found that despite the fact that it is impossible to translate yakuwarigo to English perfectly, it is possible to translate characters in such a way that their language reflects their main personality traits. This is done by adapting the font, punctuation and lexical choices, among others, to the character’s personality as a way of compensating for the original yakuwarigo.Show less
This thesis primary examines how historical memory in East Asia manifests itself into popular culture, specifically comic books. In both China and Japan there are many examples of media pertaining...Show moreThis thesis primary examines how historical memory in East Asia manifests itself into popular culture, specifically comic books. In both China and Japan there are many examples of media pertaining to national tragedy. These narratives often seek to educate their readership, in addition to entertaining readers. Historical comics are often overtly written with the aim of explaining or educating about national tragedies such as the Atomic Bombings in Japan and the Nanjing Massacre in China. This thesis seeks to position comic histories as a legitimate form of alternative historical narrative. Furthermore, it seeks to show that alternative narratives about national tragedy often align with or compliment canonical narratives within a nation-state.Show less
This thesis, submitted as a graduation thesis for the BA International Studies at Leiden University, discusses how contemporary manga can serve as a medium for political messages and ideas. Due to...Show moreThis thesis, submitted as a graduation thesis for the BA International Studies at Leiden University, discusses how contemporary manga can serve as a medium for political messages and ideas. Due to its unique features vis-à-vis other forms of comics, manga has been a powerful tool for the production and consumption of cultural meaning by both its author and audience. Indeed, manga artists, such as Shigeru Mizuki and Osamu Tezuka, have actively used their works to convey various political messages and ideas, thereby forming public opinion on certain matters. However, scholar Hiroki Azuma claims that contemporary manga lack such capabilities, stating that they merely provide fan-service to consumers. Since no other author challenges Azuma’s claim, this thesis performs qualitative analyses on contemporary manga about the Japanese constitution and constitutional revision, in order to disprove Azuma’s claim, and to prove that contemporary manga, too, can have a political narrative. Analysing one government manga (Honobono Ikka no Kenpo Kaisei tte Nani?), two instructional manga (Ishinomori Shotaro no Manga Nipponkoku Kenpou and Manga de Wakaru Nipponkoku Kenpou), and one story manga series (Time Slip), this thesis reveals the various messages on constitutional change these contemporary manga seek to convey. Ultimately, this thesis disproves Azuma’s claim, showing that contemporary manga, too, can act as carriers of political meaning, and that they can either challenge or assert a certain hegemonic discourse.Show less
This thesis has two major purposes: (1) to identify and determine what the preferred translation methods are for Japanese mimetics in the official English translated version of the manga Azumanga...Show moreThis thesis has two major purposes: (1) to identify and determine what the preferred translation methods are for Japanese mimetics in the official English translated version of the manga Azumanga Daiō, and (2) to investigate whether the translations of Japanese mimetics found in the the English edition of the manga sufficiently convey the sound-meaning correlations, which are established by previous studies. The thesis is divided as follows. First, a theoretical framework regarding the sound-meaning correlations of Japanese mimetics is provided. This is followed by the analysis, which consists of two parts. In the first part, the results of the quantitative analysis of Japanese mimetics and their translation methods are presented. The results show that giongo are often translated into equivalent sounds by using existing mimetics. Gitaigo and gijōgo, on the other hand, are usually translated into words that can be divided into multiple translation methods (hybrids). In the second part, the qualitative analysis investigates whether the translations of the Japanese mimetics found in the English edition of the manga Azumanga Daiō are true to their original meaning. That is, whether they sufficiently convey the established sound-meaning correlations of their Japanese counterparts. The results show that in this manga, this is not always sufficiently done. Thus, the translations run the risk of missing nuances, resulting in loss or undertranslation.Show less
