This thesis assesses the relation between the novelistic work of French author Michel Houellebecq and the theoretical work of French Indologist and esoteric polemicist René Guénon. While this...Show moreThis thesis assesses the relation between the novelistic work of French author Michel Houellebecq and the theoretical work of French Indologist and esoteric polemicist René Guénon. While this relationship has been noticed before, it hasn’t been addressed in a more extensive study. This work questions how the concept of ‘tradition’, which is a key idea in Guénon’s theoretical work, can be interpreted in Houellebecq’s novels, and especially his 2015 novel Soumission. To adequately address this question, the first chapter sets out to explain and contextualize Guénon’s works Introduction to the Study of the Hindu Doctrines (1921) and The Crisis of the Modern World (1927). It explains the most important concepts of Guénon’s work, particularly the semantics of ‘tradition’. The author stresses that ‘tradition’, however a supposedly a-historical notion, is embedded within Guénon’s understanding of History as a gradual disintegration of authentic spirituality. The second chapter investigates how the concept of modernity is represented in several of Houellebecq’s novels. The author uses secondary literature by Van Wesemael, Betty and Sweeney to argue how the representation of modernity throughout Houellebecq’s novels is polyphonic, both progressive and reactionary. Within Houellebecq’s critique of modernity, the third chapter explores how Houellebecq’s novel Soumission fictionally represents Guénon’s idea of tradition. It poses that the representation of traditionalism in Soumission, as an expression of the rejection of modernity that is present throughout Houellebecq’s oeuvre, could be seen as part of a general current of Guénonian influence in Houellebecq’s oeuvre. This influence however, as the thesis concludes, should always be regarded from within the limits of literary representation.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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Instagram has added a new dimension to the performance of one's religous Islamic identity online. This dimension has created a spectrum of online expressions of religiosity where 'being a pious...Show moreInstagram has added a new dimension to the performance of one's religous Islamic identity online. This dimension has created a spectrum of online expressions of religiosity where 'being a pious Muslim' and 'being modern' are compatible.Show less
This thesis examines traditional Korean elements and their use in the growing trend of K-pop. While the genre has grown into a worldwide phenomenon partly because of its easily identifiable musical...Show moreThis thesis examines traditional Korean elements and their use in the growing trend of K-pop. While the genre has grown into a worldwide phenomenon partly because of its easily identifiable musical elements, fashion and English lyrics, some K-pop artists have recently chosen to incorporate elements that do not fit the so-called "K-pop formula". By looking at two case studies that have strayed from the proven formula, this thesis aims to answer the question of what the purpose is in the use of traditional elements such as specific clothing and Folk music.Show less
