This thesis examines the evolution of zombie symbolism in George Romero's Living Dead series (1968-2009), reflecting post-World War II neoliberal capitalist societal changes and shifting cultural...Show moreThis thesis examines the evolution of zombie symbolism in George Romero's Living Dead series (1968-2009), reflecting post-World War II neoliberal capitalist societal changes and shifting cultural fears and values regarding power, class, and race in the United States. Initially depicted as mindless, flesh-eating monsters, Romero’s zombies gradually evolve into complex, sympathetic beings, contrasting with the devolution of human survivors into unsympathetic creatures driven by one-dimensional desires. This contrast critiques neoliberal societal and economic developments over the decades, providing a unique perspective on American culture and its embrace of developing capitalist ideology. Utilizing Nietzsche's concept of transvaluation, the thesis explores how Romero's zombies transcend their traditional roles to become adaptive symbols that critique contemporary American societal issues, including racism, consumerism, class inequality, and human coexistence.Show less
This thesis studies the way in which colonists and revolutionaries defined the value of the French Revolution and its relation to the colonies. It does so by looking at the issue of citizenship for...Show moreThis thesis studies the way in which colonists and revolutionaries defined the value of the French Revolution and its relation to the colonies. It does so by looking at the issue of citizenship for free people of colour in Saint-Domingue. This question was central to the colonial debate between the colonist lobby, the Club d’hôtel Massiac, and the revolutionaries of the Société des Amis des Noirs. Both these pressure groups used the press to influence the public. A look at some of the relevant newspapers shows how revolutionary discourse developed throughout 1790 and 1792 and how colonial events were shaped in the narratives of the Revolution. By reconstructing this colonial debate in the press, this thesis argues that the colonial question became an essential part of revolutionary and counterrevolutionary ideologies throughout the years 1790-92. In these two years, revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries appropriated the colonial issue in their developing political identities. Questions of colonial reform changed from pragmatic considerations in 1790 to an ideological struggle between revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries in 1792. The integration of the colonial question in revolutionary narratives was stimulated by domestic developments and by the complex connection between metropole and colony. The discourse in the press showed how much the colonies affected the development of ideologies and narratives in the French Revolution and how the colonial issues were appropriated in pre-existing discourses in France. Despite recent attention to the impact of the Haitian Revolution, little is known about the French reaction to the events on France’s most important colony. However, as this thesis argues, the colonial debate was essential to the experience of Revolution.Show less
Because classical interpretations of Southern antebellum literature focus almost solely on slavery as an economic system, they neglect the fact that these novels are preoccupied with legitimizing...Show moreBecause classical interpretations of Southern antebellum literature focus almost solely on slavery as an economic system, they neglect the fact that these novels are preoccupied with legitimizing the entirety of white superiority. It is more accurate to regard the literary proslavery movement as part of a broader defense of political, economic, and cultural white domination, defending them against external, as well as internal threats to white supremacy.Show less
The Dutch historical narrative on slavery and slave trade is part of a debate in which ignorance tends to be painted as the source of contemporary disputes. This refers to the debate around racial...Show moreThe Dutch historical narrative on slavery and slave trade is part of a debate in which ignorance tends to be painted as the source of contemporary disputes. This refers to the debate around racial inequality that arose in early 2020 in which racism was claimed to be institutionalized. With slavery being an obvious example in history that shows how racism took on a structural and institutionalized form, it is essential to critically analyze how the narrative on the inhumane and degrading treatment of black Africans is told. In this thesis, two senior year havo-level secondary school history textbooks, Feniks and Geschiedeniswerkplaats, will be analyzed using a Critical Discourse Analysis. The storyline on the slavery period will be assessed critically, focusing on the selection of narratives and phrasing. The results show the presence of the Color-blind discourse, in which storylines take on a passive voice, and Racially essentialist discourse, where the selection of black Africans is biologically justified. Both textbooks lack a description on the wider social opinion towards the black community and therefore fail to address these racist attitudes.Show less
This paper examines contemporary racism in the Netherlands, and in particular the Dutch denial of racism, by looking at the debate surrounding the controversial statues of Jan Pieterszoon Coen and...Show moreThis paper examines contemporary racism in the Netherlands, and in particular the Dutch denial of racism, by looking at the debate surrounding the controversial statues of Jan Pieterszoon Coen and Joannes van Heutsz. By applying critical discourse analysis in the examination of newspaper articles from the moment that the statues were placed to the contemporary debate and their perceived solutions, this paper illustrates how the manner through which the Netherlands commemorates its colonial past is related to the contemporary denial of racism. By doing so, I will argue that racism in the Netherlands, as well as the statue debate, are both the result of a reconstructed past that came with the establishment of the Dutch nation-state and a distinct national identity. Illustrating how the statue debate reflects, but also contributes to, understanding the general place of racism and the habit of denial in the Netherlands.Show less
White supremacist extremism was thought to have been pushed to the fringes of society, but has steadily become more prominent in mainstream society. There are many possible reasons as to why this...Show moreWhite supremacist extremism was thought to have been pushed to the fringes of society, but has steadily become more prominent in mainstream society. There are many possible reasons as to why this is the case, such as technological advancements making it easier to connect to likeminded individuals or the increased presence of populism in right-wing politics. However, in this thesis I will make the case that President Donald Trump has played a significant role in appealing to, and encouraging white supremacists by using overt and covert racial language.Show less
When Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his...Show moreWhen Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his administration’s stage to illustrate their moralistic foreign policy which was based on the promotion of human rights. Whereas Carter’s commitment to human rights was motivated by his personal experiences during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, his National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was led by strategic considerations which could advance the American position in the Cold War. These conflicting approaches to a human rights policy resulted in a vague, often hypocritical, and quickly shifting policy, which started with a strong moral undertone and focus on human rights, yet ended with economic and strategic considerations as the top priorities of the administration. Through its in-depth analysis of primary sources, this study has sought to research the change in the Carter administration’s human rights policy towards South Africa, thereby also discussing the general changes within the foundations of the administration’s foreign policy.Show less
This thesis discusses the potential connections between hate crime and xenophobia in the United States during the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Drawing upon the academic debate on...Show moreThis thesis discusses the potential connections between hate crime and xenophobia in the United States during the first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Drawing upon the academic debate on violence and the potential connections between different levels of violence, this thesis aims to contribute by researching the potential connections between a form of structural violence and a form direct violence. Through an analysis of White House documents and the FBI’s hate crime statistics, this study has sought to discuss the influence of Trump’s political xenophobia towards Arabs and Latinos on the number of hate crime incidents with either Arab or Latino victims. The case studies have illustrated that there is clear correlation between political xenophobia and hate crime towards Arabs and Latinos in the US, as the number of hate crimes towards these group increased after periods of clear xenophobic sentiment from the Trump administration. This thesis, therefore, argues in favor of a broader approach to the concept of violence, as acknowledging the true width of violence in societies is the only way to eradicate it.Show less
This thesis analyses the racial relations and political participation of the Brazilian public during the reign of ex-president Lula da Silva, (2003-2011). This thesis realises an analysis of...Show moreThis thesis analyses the racial relations and political participation of the Brazilian public during the reign of ex-president Lula da Silva, (2003-2011). This thesis realises an analysis of national identity and identity politics between the years 2003-2011 in combination with an analysis of racial representation within the government, but also within Brazilian society during this time in relation to the legacy of the theory of racial democracy. This thesis analyses whether or not the socio-economic setting for ethnic minorities such as Afro-Brazilians has improved since the colonial era.Show less
The agon is the democratic political arena in which all social groups are meant to participate in. Historically, however, certain social groups have been systematically denied this access to the...Show moreThe agon is the democratic political arena in which all social groups are meant to participate in. Historically, however, certain social groups have been systematically denied this access to the agon. Using Chantal Mouffe's theory of agonism and antaongism I will explore a new term, anti-agonism, to demonstrate how certain groups violently deny other groups this access. The two key periods involved are political protests surrounding Selma (1965) as well as key protests surrounding Ferguson (2014). Anti-agonism is always based on the othering and dehumanization of others, in this case it is othering of African Americans by White Americans, specifically police and state officials. This framing of African Americans as the Other allows for anti-agonism to thrive. This paper aims to reframe the conflict, illustrating that the problem is not whether disenfranchised social groups attempt to access the agon peacefully or through violence, but the response to that is problematic. While disenfranchised groups are othered, it remains difficult for them to partake in the political arena.Show less
Amid the ongoing controversy over Affirmative Action in the admissions policies of elite colleges in the US, the term “model minority,” and its implicit racial link with the Asian American...Show moreAmid the ongoing controversy over Affirmative Action in the admissions policies of elite colleges in the US, the term “model minority,” and its implicit racial link with the Asian American community, has once again resurfaced in American national discourse. As such there is an increasing need to understand the Model Minority Myth in a wider, historical perspective. Drawing on Claire-Jean Kim’s racial triangulation theory, this thesis examines how Japanese American newspapers in California during the 1930s engaged in discursive self-essentialization, and dissociation from other non-white minorities as a means of survival in American society, and by doing so inadvertently contributed to the further perpetuation of a white-dominated racial hierarchy in the United States and a further solidification of the reputation of Asian Americans as an alleged Model Minority. It then critically analyzes the work of two contemporary Asian American authors known for their embrace of the Model Minority Identity, Amy Chua and Yukong Zhao, and demonstrates how the tactics they deploy in their works reiterate discursive strategies used by their Japanese American predecessors during the Depression Era. Rather than viewing model minority discourse as a strictly American phenomenon or a product of white American agency, this thesis argues for a wider, transnational lens with which we view patterns of discrimination across borders and time, taking into account conflict and compliance, action and reaction. In this way the thesis aims to contribute to an improved understanding of systems of discrimination and oppression and, more importantly, how to dismantle them.Show less
This Thesis offers a close look at abolitionist white women and the activism they practiced despite the limitations they faced because of their gender. It also studies the prejudices and outright...Show moreThis Thesis offers a close look at abolitionist white women and the activism they practiced despite the limitations they faced because of their gender. It also studies the prejudices and outright racism within the texts these women wrote, which was often informed by their own limitations. It offers an insight on both the complications of intersectionality, and of its necessity when abolitionist texts written by women are judged.Show less
