Artur Dinter’s The Sin Against the Blood (1918) was among the most popular antisemitic documents of the Weimar Republic. The novel portrays Jews as race defilers and the embod-iment of materialism,...Show moreArtur Dinter’s The Sin Against the Blood (1918) was among the most popular antisemitic documents of the Weimar Republic. The novel portrays Jews as race defilers and the embod-iment of materialism, which the protagonist, Hermann Kämpfer, must overcome to achieve transcendence. Through the narration of a dualistic struggle, Dinter constructs both a collec-tive and individual modern German identity, with masculinity at its core. This struggle con-stitutes a dynamic dialectical movement and can be considered a response to the tensions faced by the male subject in modernity, evident in Dinter’s writings, his biography and con-temporary right-wing agitation. While Dinter remained committed to a spiritual revolution, a new generation of Nazis resolved the tensions of modern masculinity by transforming Din-ter’s heroic idealism into a heroic realism and integrating the alienated individual into the collective of the Männerbund. Understanding the gendered dimension of this subjectification process is crucial, as masculinity structures not only historical Nazism but also present-day political discourse.Show less
This study looks into how the Islamic State (IS) recruits both men and women by using genderspecific narratives in its online magazine Dabiq. The study focuses on the themes of the narratives and...Show moreThis study looks into how the Islamic State (IS) recruits both men and women by using genderspecific narratives in its online magazine Dabiq. The study focuses on the themes of the narratives and frequency of specific words used by IS to appeal to various gender identities by performing a content and discourse analysis of 15 Dabiq magazines. The research shows that IS targets men and women using several gender-specific narratives. The most common topics among men are violent ones, emphasising martyrdom and violence in particular. Women, on the other hand, tend to focus more on social and personal issues, with a particular focus on motherhood. The data also shows that IS uses several gender narratives to appeal to both men and women. The prevailing narrative for men reinforces traditional masculine norms by focusing on ideas of bravery, protection and heroism. Contrarily the dominant narrative for women centres on stereotypes of motherhood and caregiving, which are consistent with traditional conceptions of the roles and obligations of women. According to these findings, IS customises its recruitment techniques to consider men's and women's distinct motivations and objectives, relying on gender-specific narratives to engage people in their particular gender identities. The study clarifies the part played by gender in online radicalisation and emphasises the significance of taking gender dynamics into account in counterterrorism efforts.Show less
Directly or indirectly, diplomacy affects us all, it is thus important to have diverse representation. However, this is not an easy feat. This research focuses on the reasons for the low percentage...Show moreDirectly or indirectly, diplomacy affects us all, it is thus important to have diverse representation. However, this is not an easy feat. This research focuses on the reasons for the low percentage of women in senior diplomacy compared to the number of women in the field altogether. This was researched by conducting a case study in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where 12 employees were interviewed. A literature review combined with in-depth interviewing showed three main obstacles that prevent equal representation in senior diplomacy. Diplomacy is still associated with men, who are associated with having hard skills. Women are associated with soft skills and thus less likely to be seen as suitable candidates for leadership. Moreover, women carry out gender specific actions that add pressure on top of their work, which can increase the likelihood of women leaving the field. Gender specific actions are related to dealing with misidentification, undervaluation, and the lack of access to old-boys’ networks. Networking is essential in promotion rounds and as women are often kept out of these circles, levelling up becomes a challenge. In addition, the career of a women can differ from that of a man, around which diplomacy is structured, due to part time work related to family responsibilities or due to maternity leave. This takes a gap out of a woman’s career path and can make it difficult for women to catch up to men and reach the senior levels. Based on the findings, research must be done to combat these challenges to create equal opportunities for women in diplomacy to reach the diplomatic top and break the glass ceiling.Show less
After the 9/11 attacks, the world reacted in shock. Never before had the U.S. been attacked so close to the heart of the nation. As the dust settled, a dominant narrative took hold of the country....Show moreAfter the 9/11 attacks, the world reacted in shock. Never before had the U.S. been attacked so close to the heart of the nation. As the dust settled, a dominant narrative took hold of the country. This narrative cast America as a victim on the geopolitical stage, and through this narrative America’s leadership committed itself to overcoming its victimhood and becoming the hero by waging a war on terror. One of the earliest symbols used in this narrative was the FDNY - these brave firemen, who had rushed into danger to help civilians as the tower collapsed, came to symbolize both the national trauma and the heroism of the U.S. Many works have been written which analyze this narrative from many different angles, with the main takeaway being that this narrative succeeded in mobilizing the population of the U.S. towards war. Due to this heavy focus on this dominant narrative and the road it paved to war, some elements have not received their due attention in academic literature. This thesis will focus on two of these elements. This thesis focuses not on the impact of this dominant narrative on geopolitics, but on the impact of these narratives on its protagonists: the “heroes” of the FDNY. This thesis traces the changes in narratives surrounding these firemen with particular attention to the presentation of masculinity and trauma in these narratives. To discuss these narratives, this paper focuses on three publications: the documentary 9/11 by the Naudet brothers, the book American Ground by William Langewiesche, and the FX TV show Rescue Me. In these cultural objects, the masculinity of the FDNY firemen is presented very similarly, but the authors situate that masculinity completely differently in a gendered power order. All three narratives also address the impact of that “situating” on the trauma suffered by firemen after 9/11. This thesis finds that each of these narratives objectifies firemen in different ways and that this objectification causes further difficulties in providing firemen with mental health support.Show less
“Gender studies has mostly concentrated on femininity in issues of patriarchal power. Men’s studies are an emerging field that take feminist scholarship and adds a new viewpoint to it by looking at...Show more“Gender studies has mostly concentrated on femininity in issues of patriarchal power. Men’s studies are an emerging field that take feminist scholarship and adds a new viewpoint to it by looking at the social structure around males. This article defines hegemonic and marginalized masculinities in Egypt and seeks to map out the influence the state has on creation, reproduction, and manipulation of these concepts. Rising from the context of neoliberal reforms, the security state is discriminating against a certain part of the population, especially working-class young men. They feel emasculated by the state authorities, while simultaneously manipulated into conforming to the hegemonic masculinity that the state promotes. Looking at the influence of the Egyptian security state on gender dynamics opens up a possibility to place gender topics into the wider understanding of the significant global patterns.”Show less
In this thesis I examine concerns about incompetent and effeminate Chinese masculinities within the context of modern Chinese history, with a focus on the works 'Half of Man is Woman' by Zhang...Show moreIn this thesis I examine concerns about incompetent and effeminate Chinese masculinities within the context of modern Chinese history, with a focus on the works 'Half of Man is Woman' by Zhang Xianliang, 'Beijing Comrades' by Bei Tong, and 'Shanghai Baby' by Wei Hui.Show less
Research master thesis | African Studies (research) (MA)
open access
War ravaged northern Uganda for over two decades after its start in 1986. During this time, over 80% of the Acholi population living there was internally displaced. This occurrence has disrupted...Show moreWar ravaged northern Uganda for over two decades after its start in 1986. During this time, over 80% of the Acholi population living there was internally displaced. This occurrence has disrupted social life in more ways than often acknowledged in policy-making and discourse surrounding displacement. This thesis draws focus to personal experiences of people who moved to Pabo – the former site of one of the displacement camps – during the war, and who have not left this place since. Using data from life histories collected in Pabo during seven months of fieldwork, it explores motivations for non-return and shows that displacement is more than a forced move from one geographical location to another; it involves economic, social, and cosmological considerations and touches upon identity and belonging. This thesis also explores the long-term effects of displacement on life by zooming in on social relations within the household. Using the concept of anomie, it is argued that, in this particular post-conflict context, there is lessened social guidance on desirable goals and accepted behavior as well as a discrepancy between goals that are still valued and the means available to achieve them. Building upon the life histories, the argument is constructed that the situation of anomie has contributed to intergenerational friction and to families breaking up. The goal of this thesis is to lay bare the interface between structure and agency, and to counter the trend of turning internally displaced people as well as refugees into abbreviations and subjects without a voice.Show less
Uitvoerig onderzoek naar de Bromance als genre-hybride in film. Ten eerste wordt de traditie van de term retrospectief belicht. Ten tweede wordt gekeken hoe de Bromance zich verhoudt tot reguliere,...Show moreUitvoerig onderzoek naar de Bromance als genre-hybride in film. Ten eerste wordt de traditie van de term retrospectief belicht. Ten tweede wordt gekeken hoe de Bromance zich verhoudt tot reguliere, klassieke genres zoals sciencefiction, horror of comedy. Is de Bromance als afzonderlijke genre-categorie te beschouwen of heeft de Bromance altijd een samenhang met een ander genre? Om deze vraag te beantwoorden, kijkt deze scriptie eerst naar specifieke genres die met terugwerkende kracht duidelijke kenmerken hebben van de Bromance: de western (hoofdstuk 1), de road movie (hoofdstuk 2), en klassieke comedy's (hoofdstuk 3). Vervolgens wordt in hoofdstuk 4 nagegaan hoe de films die vandaag de dag tot Bromance gerekend worden zich hiervan onderscheiden, en daarbij de vraag te beantwoorden of dat verschil rechtvaardigt dat de Bromance als een op zichzelf staand genre kan worden beschouwt met eigen (vertel)conventies.Show less
In this thesis, I have taken a look at military conscription in South-Korea and how the system intersects with and is influenced by gender and citizenship. To do so, I have used the Korean military...Show moreIn this thesis, I have taken a look at military conscription in South-Korea and how the system intersects with and is influenced by gender and citizenship. To do so, I have used the Korean military variety show 'Real men' as a case study, analyzing this show and the way in which it portrays both masculinity and gender roles. I argue that military conscription in Korea is a system deeply shaped by concepts of hyper masculinity and socially constructed gender in relation to citizenship. At the same time, conscription amplifies these concepts and processes of gender creation, and thus works as an intermediary and magnifier of hyper masculinity and gendered citizenship within Korean society.Show less
This thesis focuses on the representation of masculinity in the Sherlock Holmes character, both in the original stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as...Show moreThis thesis focuses on the representation of masculinity in the Sherlock Holmes character, both in the original stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as well as in the modern BBC interpretation which first aired in 2010. It employs a Foucauldian notion of gender, which sees masculinity as a socially constructed concept and as such perceptible to change. The Sherlock Holmes stories were written over a forty-year time period. Two major historical events from this period could be said to have influenced the definition of masculinity, namely the Oscar Wilde trials and the First World War. Furthermore, Joseph Kestner has argued that Conan Doyle’s Holmes stories aimed to promote an ideal form of masculinity, which led us to consider the representation of Victorian masculinity in the Holmes character. Moreover, this thesis analyses the adaptation of Victorian Holmes in BBC’s Sherlock. Having defined Victorian and twenty-first-century masculinity, we will see that Conan Doyle’s Holmes aligns with numerous Victorian traits that were seen as masculine, and is portrayed as the ideal man. He is heroic, strong, brave, moral, rational and creative. Similarly, BBC Holmes aligns with masculine ideals of the twenty-first century but does not seem to personify the ideal man. He is strong, rational and creative, but his heroism is ambiguous, as well as his morality.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
closed access
The Joys of Motherhood reveals the deeply traumatizing experience of a woman in postcolonial, urban Lagos, unfairly forced into positions and expectations because of her gender, and weighed down...Show moreThe Joys of Motherhood reveals the deeply traumatizing experience of a woman in postcolonial, urban Lagos, unfairly forced into positions and expectations because of her gender, and weighed down with shouldering more responsibilities than the men in her life. Separated from the discoursive space of her hometown and settled into the confusing metropolis of Lagos, The Joys of Motherhood’s Nnu Ego is stripped of the conventional means for agency and power, and instead has to resort to adapting to a wildly different environment, which means she often has to scramble for survival. Stéphane Robolin, in her Gendered Hauntings, wastes no time exposing the link Emecheta creates between womanhood and slavery in The Joys of Motherhood, and divulges on Nnu Ego’s powerlessness in Lagos with a stunning critique of Honi Bhabha’s concepts of hybridity, showing how Nnu Ego fails to gain ground in this space and how Emecheta does not view it as a space of possibility. I stressed, however, that in the book Nnu Ego often attempts to claim a form of agency and fails, but at least succeeds at showing the painful process of adaptation. In addition, I asserted that The Joys of Motherhood is also a testament to the strength of women, not only a mourning of it.Show less
Dutch newspaper nrc.next reported on April 13th 2015 that large Japanese companies are trying to get their employees to work shorter hours. These employees, often referred to as ‘salaryman’, are...Show moreDutch newspaper nrc.next reported on April 13th 2015 that large Japanese companies are trying to get their employees to work shorter hours. These employees, often referred to as ‘salaryman’, are constantly fatigued. Long hours at work, after work drinking, and long commutes with little sleep in between workdays causes them to make more mistakes and portray diminished productivity. It will not lead to firing by the company due to the understood loyalty between employer and employee that has existed for decades. These salarymen can neither assist with housework nor with the care for children because of the grueling work hours. This issue had never been perceived as a serious problem, as their wives accepted the late night drinking sessions in return for a stable lifestyle for decades. Now that women have extended their independence through gainful employment, starting and supporting a family has become increasingly harder for both sexes. Despite these changes salarymen are still expected to make the same hours, sometimes driving them to karoshi – “death by overtime.” The ‘salaryman’ is viewed as the ideal representation of the typical Japanese man by people both inside and outside Japan. This current image of the ‘salaryman’ is a far cry from the ‘salaryman’ image that arose in the 1980s with which the ‘salaryman’ is most often associated. The ‘salaryman’ was an ideal that not only Japanese men pursued and Japanese women wanted as their partners: he was seen in the West as the leading example for a loyal employee who complied willingly to and worked harmoniously in his company, ensuring a job until retirement as part of a tacit social contract. Dubbed as a ‘corporate warrior’, the ‘salaryman’’s diligent work ensured him a slow but steady rise through the ranks on the basis of age, and whose dark blue suit and leather briefcase are standard issue. All this was necessary to provide for his housewife and children, who went to the top schools and universities to follow in their father’s footsteps. The worn out employee and ‘corporate warrior’ are both strong images on opposite sides of the ideal employee-spectrum. Yet both images are signified by the same term: the ‘salaryman’. The thesis will focus on the development of the ‘salaryman’ image from the 1980s until now, and the different functions of this image. This period is of special interest because Japanese business management and businessmen were viewed as examples for Western business in the 1980s and 1990s. Japan owed its leading role to its consistent economic growth from the mid-1950s onward, being the number two economy in the world, only outperformed by the United States in terms of GDP per capita. When the US’ economic performance dipped in the 1980s, Japan’s economy remained relatively stable. This prompted both researchers and journalists to find an explanation for Japan’s economic performance, which they found in Japan’s business sector and its salarymen. This thesis argues that the term ‘salaryman’ is outdated in reference to new white-collar recruits in large Japanese companies. The decline in regular employment, the changing focus of seniority-based wages to merit-based wages and the waning of company union participation all indicate significant changes in ‘salaryman’ realities since the 1990's. As the ‘salaryman’ benefits have changed, so too have new recruits’ views on and expectations of their company and their jobs. To reflect these changes, a new term that better suits new recruits is suggested.Show less
This thesis is focused on the foreign reception of visual kei performers. Through an analysis of the concept of masculinity and the online fan community this thesis attempts to grasp the different...Show moreThis thesis is focused on the foreign reception of visual kei performers. Through an analysis of the concept of masculinity and the online fan community this thesis attempts to grasp the different discourses on masculinity that exist within Japan and beyond.Show less
