Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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The Corded Ware culture (c. 2900-2450 BCE; CWC) was a prehistoric phenomenon encountered throughout Europe, characterized by standardized material culture and burial practices. Recent studies...Show moreThe Corded Ware culture (c. 2900-2450 BCE; CWC) was a prehistoric phenomenon encountered throughout Europe, characterized by standardized material culture and burial practices. Recent studies incorporating new scientific methods such as ancient DNA and stable isotopes suggest that this phenomenon was the result of mass migrations from the Pontic Caspian steppe, thus confirming traditional hypotheses regarding the origin and fast spread of this archaeological culture. Moreover, the grand narrative of this period includes a notion of a strict binary gender symbolism and even of a ‘male-dominant’, patriarchal society. Such an interpretation of CW gender is however largely rooted in andro- and ethnocentric, Western assumptions, in which biological sex is equated with gender, and weapons (i.e. the CW ‘battle-axe’) are associated with masculinity. This thesis aims to investigate to which extent the CWC indeed had a notion of binary gender, and to better understand how CW gender was expressed through material culture and its selective deposition in different contexts. A practical methodology with a comparative and multi-contextual approach is developed in order to study CW gender. Two case studies have been selected: the Danish administrative region of Southern Jutland, known for its very typical Single Grave practices, and the state of Bavaria in Germany, which is expected to be a focal point in the mobility of people and the exchange of raw materials. The emphasis is placed on the co-occurrences between different object categories and their ‘embodiment’, and different depositional contexts: the funerary context as well as depositions (i.e. buried objects without a body) and single finds. Strikingly, CW gender appears to have been constructed through an interplay of supra-regional and local burial styles and artefacts. The binary dichotomy seen in the funerary context is more likely the result of normative ideas regarding a supra-regional CW identity and – more idiosyncratic – local identities, although gender clearly played a role in these norms. The prehistoric reality of CW gender may thus have been more locally variable than the grand narrative would suggest.Show less
Research master thesis | African Studies (research) (MA)
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The UN Sustainable Development Goals acknowledge ‘that all cultures (…) are crucial enablers of sustainable development’. In academic literature on Africa, however, cultural diversity is analysed...Show moreThe UN Sustainable Development Goals acknowledge ‘that all cultures (…) are crucial enablers of sustainable development’. In academic literature on Africa, however, cultural diversity is analysed as a problem, rather than as an enabler. Africa is either seen as one culturally homogeneous whole or as incredibly diverse and fragmented – there seems to be nothing in-between. Therefore, the picture is incomplete at best. Yet information on culture is used as the basis for assertions on Africa and its problems in economic and other areas. This thesis questions both visions of African cultures, using Vansina’s theory on the autonomy of cultural traditions as its starting point. Methodically, it uses an approach developed in cross-cultural psychology. Cultures are described here as value systems that serve as common points of reference to peoples. Using the cultural dimensions approach of Hofstede and Minkov a new exploratory analysis has been made of current self-perceptions of Africans, using data from the World Values and Afrobarometer surveys. This leads to information on differences and similarities in cultural values between more than 200 ethnolinguistic groups from over 30 African countries. The information has been partly triangulated through Focus Group Discussions in Ghana and in Southern Africa and by comparing information from those countries with ethnographic and other literature. The thesis sheds new light on cultural differences and similarities in Africa. It shows that there are considerable cultural differences within Africa; not all cultures in Africa are equally ‘collectivist’, for example. The essentially Eurocentric shorthand method of equating language with culture cannot be used in Africa: in many cases, cultural areas share different languages; in other cases, one language may be shared by people with different cultures. The thesis shows that such situations may be relatively common in Africa. The thesis calls for a new perspective on African identities and draws attention to the need for rebuilding cultural autonomy, based in African languages.Show less
Ancient Roman notions of the feminine were ambiguous: on the one hand the feminine was defined as wild, irresponsible and dangerous, but on the other hand the feminine was defined as a cultured,...Show moreAncient Roman notions of the feminine were ambiguous: on the one hand the feminine was defined as wild, irresponsible and dangerous, but on the other hand the feminine was defined as a cultured, productive and essential element of society. Pearls regularly feature in Roman discourses about the feminine, and posess a similar ambiguity. Pearls were used as a symbol or metaphor for both sides of the ambiguous identity of the feminine in literary, visual and archaeological sources. This thesis analyses the underlying thoughts and connections between pearls and the ambiguous notions of feminine identity in the Roman world.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This paper examines the use of the medium of sculpture in the public sphere in Roman East Midlands including sculpture in the round, reliefs, architectural decoration, tombstones and inscriptions....Show moreThis paper examines the use of the medium of sculpture in the public sphere in Roman East Midlands including sculpture in the round, reliefs, architectural decoration, tombstones and inscriptions. The aim of the research is to analyse the social aspects of the public display of the sculptural medium in order to understand what role sculpture had within the society and the reasons behind choices such as subject matter, form and style. All of the sculptures and inscriptions from the chosen study area between and including Lincoln, Leicester and Water Newton are examined in detail and discussed within the context of their find location. The visual effect of sculpture is examined in terms of location in the landscape, the composition of the image and the visual impact of style. The question of identity is also discussed in terms of the commissioning and use of sculpture and the choice of style. In order to gain a better understanding on the fragmented nature and poor survival of sculptures in the area, their fate in terms of re-use and the scale of possible loss is also examined. Although the poor survival of Romano-British sculpture in the East Midlands makes them a difficult area of study, the aim of this paper is to examine different ways of viewing the material in order to gain more insight into the society who acquired and used such sculptural displays.Show less
Research master thesis | History: Societies and Institutions (research) (MA)
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This thesis is about the Parsis, a special Indian minority group who came to India more than a millenium ago. The Parsis became very wealthy and influential under British colonial rule and acquired...Show moreThis thesis is about the Parsis, a special Indian minority group who came to India more than a millenium ago. The Parsis became very wealthy and influential under British colonial rule and acquired great esteem as a colonial elite. After decolonisation of the British Indies, this picture completely turned upside town and a lot of Parsis left India for a western country such as the UK and the US. Thus, they had to reconstruct their identity both in India and the US and the UK. This thesis examines this double identity reconstruction by means of a combination of literary analysis and discourse analysis.Show less
