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
This thesis illuminates the idea of a cross-cultural genre comparison within the field of Literary Studies. Commonly, this means focussing on a certain genre and its characteristics within the...Show moreThis thesis illuminates the idea of a cross-cultural genre comparison within the field of Literary Studies. Commonly, this means focussing on a certain genre and its characteristics within the literatures of two or more different cultural contexts. However, as an experiment, this thesis assumes the narrative status of literature and contemporary popular culture to be similar. This would mean that it is possible to compare genres cross-culturally within literature and within other types of media. After discussing the field of World Literature and the existence of transcultural narratives, the thesis will move on to a case study between American and Japanese authors. To clarify the potential and usefulness of cross-cultural genre comparisons, three genres will be looked at: gothic, mystery/detective and Lovecraftian weird tale literature. The first two will be explored in short stories by American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) and those by three Japanese writers, namely Tanizaki Junichirō 谷崎潤一郎 (1886-1965), Akutagawa Ryūnosuke 芥川龍之介 (1892-1927) and Edogawa Rampo 江戸川乱歩 (1894-1965). The third genre will be used to see how the literary characteristics of weird tales by American author H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) have been used, not only in Japanese literature, but also in Japanese popular culture, like manga and anime. As such, it will eventually show how key conventions within the genres of gothic, mystery/detective and Lovecraftian weird tale literature cannot be explained from within one national or cultural context alone and how cross-cultural and cross-media studies add to the international potential of Literary Studies.Show less
