From the era of Daoud Khan to the rise of the Taliban, Pashtun-centric ideology has consistently influenced Afghan political discourse. This thesis investigates the impact of colonial legacies,...Show moreFrom the era of Daoud Khan to the rise of the Taliban, Pashtun-centric ideology has consistently influenced Afghan political discourse. This thesis investigates the impact of colonial legacies, Orientalist paradigms, and power dynamics on the shaping of Afghanistan's socio-political landscape. By analyzing the connections between national identity formation and ethnicization, the study aims to deepen the understanding of Afghanistan's complex political dynamics. Ultimately, it seeks to promote a more inclusive and diverse dialogue on Afghan politics and identity.Show less
What is Western philosophy? The established narrative of 'our' intellectual tradition begins with classical Greek reason: championed by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, revived and perfected in...Show moreWhat is Western philosophy? The established narrative of 'our' intellectual tradition begins with classical Greek reason: championed by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, revived and perfected in Enlightenment rationalism and empiricism, to culminate in the modern European canon of Kant, Frege or Nietzsche. Conspicuously absent are any 'Middle Eastern' sources, notably Arabic and Persian philosophy. 'Islamic golden age' Aristotelians are often seen as babysitting rationality during a supposed mediaeval 'Christian dark age'. But the original impact on contemporary thought by the likes of al-Ghazali (d.1111) or Suhrawardi (d.1191) is ignored. Analysing this conspicuous absence reveals a deep binary structure in the narrative. Our canon is in fact made universally valid by excluding everything deemed mystical and arbitrary: Eastern religious thought. All religious traditions — especially Islam — represent this non-Western un-philosophy, simultaneously 'foreign' and 'archaic'. To recover our proper intellectual history, beyond this colonialist binary, we can employ a provocative redefinition: North-Atlantic (modern European) philosophy as "Far Western", and all broadly Mediterranean (Greco-Judaic and Islamo-Christian) philosophy as "Middle Western". This foregrounds the relations within the West, further suggesting its interdependence with all philosophies, including Sino-Indic ones.Show less
Catalogues have been a staple library feature for the last several centuries, a useful finding tool for readers and organizational aid for librarians; they are also a representation of a particular...Show moreCatalogues have been a staple library feature for the last several centuries, a useful finding tool for readers and organizational aid for librarians; they are also a representation of a particular place and time. The form and content of a catalogue can provide insights into the social norms and scholarly interests of the era in which it was created. Employing a longitudinal and comparative approach, this thesis examines the published catalogues of Leiden University Library’s Hebrew manuscripts collection throughout its four centuries of existence. I compare these catalogues, mark the differences in the ways they describe Hebrew manuscripts, and illuminate the social changes or emerging scholarly fields that likely influenced their creators. Throughout this thesis, I argue that when it comes to Hebrew manuscripts, any examination of historical cataloguing trends or choices cannot be complete without also considering that era’s societal attitudes toward Jews, the original creators of the language and texts contained in said manuscripts. I conclude that there exists a direct correlation between the quality of the catalogues’ manuscript descriptions and the cataloguer’s knowledge of the Hebrew language and of Jewish literature and culture; I extrapolate the implications of this conclusion for the future of manuscript cataloguing in the digital age.Show less
This thesis examines the ways in which the People's Republic of China is portrayed in Dutch newspapers between 2019 and 2021. It uses Sinological-orientalism for its theoretical framework and...Show moreThis thesis examines the ways in which the People's Republic of China is portrayed in Dutch newspapers between 2019 and 2021. It uses Sinological-orientalism for its theoretical framework and applies a critical discourse analysis on 120 newspaper articles. It seeks to understand the relation between power and the knowledge of the People's Republic of China that is present in these newspaper articles.Show less
The Rif War and the subsequent proclamation of the Rif Republic marked a watershed for anti-colonial movements during the interwar period. Traditional historiography tended to categorize the...Show moreThe Rif War and the subsequent proclamation of the Rif Republic marked a watershed for anti-colonial movements during the interwar period. Traditional historiography tended to categorize the episode as an isolated tribal revolt. Nevertheless, recent studies shed light on the international significance the conflict had on the emergence of global anti-colonial solidarity. This thesis uses Orientalism to analyze how transnational anti-colonial solidarity associated with the Riffians was perceived by the Spanish intelligence and interpreted by colonial military officers. It argues that orientalist and essentialist assumptions caused colonial officials to misinterpret transnational anti-colonialism, exaggerating the Riffian rebellion's dimension and altering their sense-making of foreign and domestic politics.Show less
This thesis explores how Pim Fortuyn, Geert Wilders and Thierry Baudet manage to be both controversial and successful with their language. It places their rhetoric within contexts of populism,...Show moreThis thesis explores how Pim Fortuyn, Geert Wilders and Thierry Baudet manage to be both controversial and successful with their language. It places their rhetoric within contexts of populism, Orientalism, and Foucault's concept of discourse.Show less
Abstract: Sultan Abdulhamid II, is considered by many to be the creator of Pan-Islamism. An ideology that seeks to unite Muslims around the world under political leadership of one ruler. Today,...Show moreAbstract: Sultan Abdulhamid II, is considered by many to be the creator of Pan-Islamism. An ideology that seeks to unite Muslims around the world under political leadership of one ruler. Today, this idea, which originated in a different colonial context, is still very much alive. That Abdulhamid was after a political instrument that undermined colonial authority is also accepted in historiography to this day. This research explains how this idea became accepted in academia and the public sphere due to a transnational network of Orientalists. Although each country had a different relationship towards the Ottoman Empire under Abdulhamid, Orientalists from those countries conducted their research on the Orient together in a connected international network. With the increasing academic achievement and connectedness of this network, their specific conclusions started to weigh more heavily. Internationally connected scholars influenced the knowledge formation during Abdulhamid’s reign between 1876-1909 to the extent that they introduced and adjusted certain terminology. Based on preserved correspondences, academic output and involvement in public debates traced in Dutch digital databases of newspapers, the understanding of the terminology they introduced themselves fell under their own authority. In the same era we also find a new form and changing practice of Orientalist research. The Orientalists started to travel more often and actually went to the Orient to carry out their fieldwork. As a result, more attention was paid to the religiopolitical sphere of the Orient fostering integration both ways. A shift in the perception of what was regarded science was the outcome. Scholars were expected to provide practically useful knowledge to one’s own country. As in the case of Snouck Hurgronje for the Netherlands, this turned the innovative Orientalist scholar into an authority who could provide the government practically useful knowledge. Scholars started to travel more often to the Orient while simultaneously staying involved in the European public and academic spheres. As a consequence, they were also seen as authorities in Europe. Because, who could better interpret the area than he who had seen it himself? Snouck Hurgronje and Arminius Vámbéry were two of the innovative mobile Orientalists that influenced knowledge formation regarding pan-Islam in the European continent from outside of it. Due to the authority their new method of Orientalist practice gave them, they found themselves in a position to be officially and publicly involved in matters related to Islam. Snouck Hurgronje’s acquired practical knowledge in the Dutch-Indies provided the international Orientalist network with an empirical gateway to the contemporary world of their subjects. Also, in the European public the same authority gave them a voice. Pan-Islam as a term was introduced, adapted and adjusted by independent Orientalist who conducted their field work for their own countries’ sake, but at the same time influenced academic and public opinion as well. Pan-Islam lends itself as a case study to understand knowledge formation as connected to colonial contexts, because the term was introduced and adapted by Orientalists whose authority derived from their new practical way of knowledge formation in the Orient.Show less
This paper looks at the 15th Istanbul Biennial (2017) titled “a good neighbour” predominantly from Edward Said’s orientalist and Homi Bhabha’s postcolonial frameworks. Istanbul’s geographical...Show moreThis paper looks at the 15th Istanbul Biennial (2017) titled “a good neighbour” predominantly from Edward Said’s orientalist and Homi Bhabha’s postcolonial frameworks. Istanbul’s geographical positioning of being situated between the East and the West effectively suggests the presence of an orientalist binary, as well as a transcultural ‘third space’ in light of these theoretical frameworks. This research traces an absence of the orientalist attitude, and moves beyond the boundary lines of cultural difference in analyzing the curatorial strategies and the conceptualization of “a good neighbour”. The curatorial statement of the biennial, as well as the selected artworks mentioned here reveal the layers of hybridity and embody a state of ‘in- betweenness’ of “a good neighbour”. In its critical approach, this paper draws on relevant sources and the historical context of Turkey in order to shed light upon the geographical and ideological characteristics of Istanbul’s contemporary art scene.Show less
The word “kimono” in the Western mindset evokes different images: a traditional item of clothing from Japan, the notion of a dressing gown to be worn indoors sometimes in intimate or even erotic...Show moreThe word “kimono” in the Western mindset evokes different images: a traditional item of clothing from Japan, the notion of a dressing gown to be worn indoors sometimes in intimate or even erotic settings, a coded femininity and a fashionable item. The object of this research is to look at three ways in which the kimono was introduced and subsequently integrated into the Western artistic, material and imaginary landscape of the turn of the 20th century: as a collectible material object, a theme in paintings and photographs as well as an influencing force in the realm of female fashion. The main idea of this paper is understanding why the kimono had such an immense popularity across these fields and audiences in the West as well as to point to the high adaptability of the garment. It is capable of undertaking several, sometimes contradictory, meanings and its simple shape, yet intricate esthetic, made it the ideal recipient of global and local dynamics of the 19th and 20th century int he West. In material culture it was presented as an Oriental accessory enabling fantasist imaginary spectacle. In art and in visual mediums, it framed the female, white body: domestic, exotic and erotic. In fashion, its slow assimilation into female dress participated into a still Orientalist but nonetheless modernizing dynamic, motivating the invention of practical and simpler garments for women living in a new world.Show less
This thesis will explore the research question “How does the unveiling of the Muslim women represent a power relationship between the Muslim Orient and the European Occident?” by looking into two...Show moreThis thesis will explore the research question “How does the unveiling of the Muslim women represent a power relationship between the Muslim Orient and the European Occident?” by looking into two case studies that represent the European desire to ‘unveil’ the Muslim women with their ‘fetishization’ and ‘voyeuristic gaze’, connecting to the concept of orientalism. It will analyze the case studies from the discipline of postcolonial feminism, developing from the mainstream postcolonial theory that aims to subvert the authority of the colonizer by highlighting the voice of colonized subjects.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
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The colossal statue of Fridtjov the Bold, donated to the Norwegian people by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1913, can be described as excessive in many ways - from an art historical perspective, because of...Show moreThe colossal statue of Fridtjov the Bold, donated to the Norwegian people by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1913, can be described as excessive in many ways - from an art historical perspective, because of its melodramatic stance, and from the perspective of anthropology because of its transgression of gifting norms. The statue also raises the question of the power of the German discourse of the North, which, I claim, had similarities with the Foucaultian discourse described by Said in Orientalism. In this thesis all these forms of excess are explored and an answer is attempted at the question why the Kaiser created the statue.Show less
Amidst rising global tensions, astute political analysis is as crucial as ever. This analysis can often be clouded by biases and falsehoods - within analysis of the Middle East this often comes in...Show moreAmidst rising global tensions, astute political analysis is as crucial as ever. This analysis can often be clouded by biases and falsehoods - within analysis of the Middle East this often comes in the form of Orientalism. This study shall demonstrate that Orientalism is extant within the academic field of strategic culture with regards to Iran, thus bringing into question the validity of this academia, and furthermore strategic culture as a concept.Show less
