This thesis will study the influence of different colonial ruling by Japan on the modernising of prison systems in its colonies. The period of enlightenment saw the change from flogging based...Show moreThis thesis will study the influence of different colonial ruling by Japan on the modernising of prison systems in its colonies. The period of enlightenment saw the change from flogging based punishment to penal servitude. As imperial power started to venture around the world, modern thought was able to reach as far as East Asia and thus Japan. After a victory over China, it came in the possession of Taiwan, its first colony and not much later Korea too became part of the Japanese empire. Both of the newly acquired colonies were put through modernising reforms on prisons constructing new modern buildings and adjusting the treatment to be more humane and implementing prison labour but were not the same in the end. This thesis argues that there are multiple reasons for the differences such as the national unity of Korea that caused resistance and subsequently military oppression. Although Taiwan had a less modernised prison system, they also had less problems within the prisons as resistance was less frequent. This would mean that the way of ruling did not in so far influence the modernisation of prisons, as it did the treatment of prisoners.Show less
In light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in...Show moreIn light of development plans by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration recently threatening to evict street vendors, this thesis takes a historical perspective onto notions of development in Thailand from 1945 to 1997. The research question of this thesis is as follows: to what extent are changing public spaces in Bangkok representative of the dynamics of economic development and urbanisation in Thailand? Through the use of theories of development – development economics and the modernisation theory – this thesis unlocks new insights into the contingent relationship between development, modernisation, and urbanisation. The final conclusion of this thesis is that sustained development has brought Thailand economic and social growth in all aspects. Economic development helped garner a state of modernity, however increased urbanisation as a cause of sustained development came at the cost of social implications in the form of friction in urban aspects of identity, modernity, and the notion of development itself. The conclusions drawn from this research provide insight into the understanding of Thai development of the previous century, as do they lay a foundation for the understanding of Thai development of the 21st century.Show less
The Mecca of today displays a concrete image of a modern city. Contemporary buildings and planned communal spaces following the rules of 21st century architecture dominate the plains of this...Show moreThe Mecca of today displays a concrete image of a modern city. Contemporary buildings and planned communal spaces following the rules of 21st century architecture dominate the plains of this religious hub. This process of change on the Meccan cityscape can be traced through a number of factors; population growth, the globalization of the world, oil and its ties with the West. However, one factor lies key in triggering these changes - the Saudi-Wahhabi takeover of 1916. During the early beginnings of the First World War the Ottoman Empire was coming to a gradual end, loosing her power and influence on the lands under her rule. Challenged with fighting enemies on the western front, Ottoman focus on the Hijaz region shifted, offering a leeway for the Wahhabi faction to gain in strength and overthrow the Anatolian control, acclaiming the area known today as Saudi Arabia. This thesis aims to focus on what the consequential influences of the Wahhabi takeover in the 1920s were for the cityscape of Mecca through discussing: the differences between Mecca’s administrative styles under the diverging rule of the Ottoman Empire and the current Saudi decree; the religious background and effects the main principles of Wahhabism played on Meccan architecture; the discovery of oil and its repercussions of modernization and globalization; and the possible instigation of a new Islamic paradigm of Mecca, since its image has been altered so drastically. A time frame will be placed2, starting from the early stages of the 20th century, where the Ottoman Empire’s reign came to an end, up until the modern day Wahhabi rule.Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
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It is simply undeniable that Jean-Jacques Rousseau played his vital part inspiring the world to modernisation, including China. There is also no gainsaying the fact that he had countless ...Show moreIt is simply undeniable that Jean-Jacques Rousseau played his vital part inspiring the world to modernisation, including China. There is also no gainsaying the fact that he had countless ‘apprentices’ in late Qing China, and apparently many Chinese intellectual elites during that period thought so as well. In the field of literature, Émile, ou de l'éducation inspired Chinese intellectual circle, especially realms of literature and publication, and stirred up a trend of ‘novel of education’. In addition, Rousseau’s writings and his image frequently appeared in the new-styled prints in late Qing China. Yet if we make a general survey of Chinese history evolving towards the point of modernisation and afterwards, the course of history in China was essentially advancing forward in its own way. All in all, I will claim that the interpretation, misinterpretation and internalisation of Rousseau’s thoughts in China was a highly complex progress. The new community of modern intellectuals in late Qing China took and adapted what they needed from Rousseau without pursuing Rousseau’s original intention, and such tendency and the transformation of the men of knowledge themselves were underlain by both the macro framework of Chinese society and the internal development within Chinese society that had started several centuries before the Western impact.Show less
