This paper examines the tensions found between J.B. Shank and M. Feingold in their discussion of Newton's integration in 17th-century French-Enlightenment. Our perception today of this period in...Show moreThis paper examines the tensions found between J.B. Shank and M. Feingold in their discussion of Newton's integration in 17th-century French-Enlightenment. Our perception today of this period in history wherein a major cultural, social, and methodological shift with regards to science, history, and notions of modernity occured, can be seen to harbor the potential ambiguities generated by a historicist lense. To attempt to understand how a period perceived as foundational for scientific modernity may become historicized itself and become a figurehead of a new tradition, a comparative historiographic analysis of our current accounts of the French integration of Newtonian science may help understand how we come to understand historical moments of intellectualism when it is interlinked with current hegemonic tradition.Show less
This thesis looks at the development of new female identities in Taishō Japan (1912-1926) through the lens of kimono, answering the following research question: How was kimono modernised in the...Show moreThis thesis looks at the development of new female identities in Taishō Japan (1912-1926) through the lens of kimono, answering the following research question: How was kimono modernised in the Taishō period and how does this factor into the formulation of new female identities? The short economic burst that followed World War I resulted in a new middle class that had more money to spend on things like homeware and clothing. Developments in the textile industry and the abolishment of sumptuary laws in the Meiji period (1868-1912) provided people with the opportunity to purchase more affordable kimono, in styles that suited their own tastes. Department stores became popular, offering people a new, noncommittal way of shopping. Mass-media emerged and disseminated advertisements and articles featuring the icon of the moga, the 'modern girl'. This icon, often dressed in western clothing, working the white-collar jobs newly available to women, offered women an ideal to strive after that went against the ideal of the 'good wife, wise mother', which had been promoted since the Meiji period. However, the moga gained a superficial, hedonistic, even promiscuous reputation, and the Meiji ideals of womanhood remained influential. Most women continued to wear kiono, which allowed them to express their modern tastes through hair, accessories and kimonopatterns if so desired, while still complying with the Meiji ideal of the woman as preserver of tradition.Show less
This thesis focuses on Nagai Kafū’s lighting representations (both natural and manmade light) in the first decade of twentieth century, exploring how Kafū manipulates light, as well as the light...Show moreThis thesis focuses on Nagai Kafū’s lighting representations (both natural and manmade light) in the first decade of twentieth century, exploring how Kafū manipulates light, as well as the light-shadow contrast in his urban-based texts selected from different time. The analysis follows a timeline divided in roughly three parts: debut years before his journey abroad (1900-1903), journey in America and France (1903-1908) and few years after returning to Japan (1908 and after). Given the technological gap between Japan and the West in modern period and thus reflected in Kafū’s writing, knowledge of the innovations in lighting technology will be mentioned when necessary. This thesis argues that the drastic transition of his lighting passion from manmade light to natural light after his returning to Japan in 1908 shall be examined as a significant message. As an urban writer, his transition in light preference not only reveals his critical thinking of Japan’s modernization after experiencing what had been completed in the West, but also gives his vision in terms of what contributes to a livable modern city in which the inhabitants are deeply resonated with the urban fabrics, especially in a spiritual sense. Last but not the least, to some extent, the transition in lighting representations could be considered as a presage of the writer’s stylistic reverse few years later.Show less
A negative and controversial stigma shrouds the notion of tattoos globally. As of recently, societies globally have increasingly become more tolerant of the exposure of tattoos in public and in...Show moreA negative and controversial stigma shrouds the notion of tattoos globally. As of recently, societies globally have increasingly become more tolerant of the exposure of tattoos in public and in particular, professional environments or workplaces. This increased tolerance can predominantly be found in Western society. Often times, this increased tolerance is perceived to be applicable globally, credited largely to Western-dominated mainstream media. However, the negative stigma associated with tattoos persists in many East Asian societies and is largely regarded as taboo. These notions of taboo are largely attributed to associations with gangs, violence and criminal activities represented through different mediums like movies, newspapers, and word of mouth (see Figure 2). Despite this, East Asian societies like that of Japan's, still possess dedicated tattoo artist that practice tattooing, whether this is in "Japanese-style" tattooing or numerous other styles. The idea of Japanese tattoos is a largely sought-after style of tattooing not only within Japan but also in numerous Western societies, such as the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). It would not be in the wrong to presume that in fact, Japanese-style tattoos are in greater demand outside of Japan than within and are seen in less-controversial limelight than that of Japan, which leads us to a possible inquiry and the investigation of this thesis, how can there be such a difference of perspective of tattoos between Japan and Western nations like the US and UK in Japan-style tattoos? I use aspects of Edward Said's notion of Orientalism (1978) and Primitivism as the theoretical framework into three distinct periods: Meiji era (1868-1912) and the Contemporary era (1945-2020), and implement Richard Rogers' theory of cultural appropriation (2006) as a methodology to dissect ukiyo-e art, diaries from royal "western" figures, interviews and documentaries that depict experiences with Japanese tattooing practices. In the postwar era (1945-) Japan underwent tremendous political, cultural, and economic change under the Allied powers as a result of World War II. It is for this reason that the contemporary era is framed from 1945-2020 to portray the approach Japan took when it came to Japanese-style tattoos. As well as how Western society, in particular the United States, exported Japanese-style tattoos to audiences globally, due to American tattoo artists coming in contact with Japanese tattoo artists first. The overall aim of the investigation will shed light on how the previous mediums have historically engaged with cultural appropriation and orientalism in Japan, to create what we know of today as Japanese-style tattoos.Show less
During the late nineteenth and twentieth century newspaper front pages have evolved quite homogeneously across Western society. At the same time, the general public became much more familiar with...Show moreDuring the late nineteenth and twentieth century newspaper front pages have evolved quite homogeneously across Western society. At the same time, the general public became much more familiar with images and imagery thanks to the rise of photography and the growing popularity and accessibility of art. In this thesis, it is researched how newspaper front pages function as free-standing images themselves. First, the technological, societal, and cultural history of newspapers is discussed. Next, several art historical theories on composition are discussed. These two elements are put together in the third chapter for a case study of 100 years of front pages of Nieuwsblad van het Noorden. The compositions of the front pages of this Dutch regional newspaper aren't very pleasing from an art historical perspective, but do tend to some form of balance. The recognisability of newspaper front pages is confirmed with this research.Show less
The omnipresence of references to nostalgia in contemporary culture confirms its popular reputation as the strongest drug. The nostalgia market is booming: from entertainment and business to...Show moreThe omnipresence of references to nostalgia in contemporary culture confirms its popular reputation as the strongest drug. The nostalgia market is booming: from entertainment and business to politics. The very status of the emotion of affection for things past, however, remains a passionately contested notion on many fronts. What is there that can be said about the virtues of nostalgia? In brief, is nostalgia good or bad for us? I will approach these questions by exploring the answers already available in the academic discourses of psychology and historiography. There are two features particular to nostalgia: it is an emotion and it is concerned with the past; hence, psychology and historiography were selected here as the two disciplines most closely engaged with the said areas. The pool of studies from these two disciplines selected here represent strikingly opposing perspectives on nostalgia and thus an investigation of the viewpoints which they exemplify promises fertile learning grounds.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
Dealing with a close literary reading of selected narratives from colonial Korea this thesis aims to how the authors depicted a certain image of the Manchurian space in order to confront the...Show moreDealing with a close literary reading of selected narratives from colonial Korea this thesis aims to how the authors depicted a certain image of the Manchurian space in order to confront the question of the self. The thesis hopes to contribute to that body of work which seeks to unveil the complexities in conceiving identity under colonialism.Show less
Research master thesis | History: Societies and Institutions (research) (MA)
open access
A system of subprime plantation mortgages was created by the Dutch in the second half of the 18th century. A credit structure was set up that would link Dutch investors with their West Indian...Show moreA system of subprime plantation mortgages was created by the Dutch in the second half of the 18th century. A credit structure was set up that would link Dutch investors with their West Indian colonies, by providing plantation mortgages (called negotiaties) for those dreaming of becoming planters. Interest rates were high: attractive for investors, but all too cumbersome for the new plantation owners. Many planters, mostly producing coffee, could not repay their loans, leading to the demise of the system as many bankrupt planters returned home and investors lost their capital. That is the case in Suriname at least, because in the near-by colonies of Essequibo and Demerara the plantation economy had only just took-off and continued to expand. This thesis tries to explain that divergence, next to identifying the winners and losers in the system and testing several explanatory concepts in order to gain a better conceptual understanding of the negotiatie structure. Results are that winners and losers were different than previously thought: investors could still be winners, while the fund managers could easily be losers. Additionally, the negotiatie system should be termed a classic mania, that could persist only for a limited time because of the Ponzi aspects, visible in the need for continuous refinancing. Lastly, the plantation mortgage structure could be seen as a failed transition to modernity, one that tried to bridge the commercial and financial interest of the Dutch economy, but was too much rooted in mercantilist thought. This was less the case for Essequibo and Demerara, where an open, but partly illegal, connection with the rest of the Atlantic was more important than the obligatory relationship with the metropolis. Next to legal supplies, illegal trade occurred on a large scale and proved crucial for the development of the two colonies.Show less
