This thesis research is about the symbols that appear in the interview reports of the spiritual experiences of seven Iranian Armenians. It analyzes these symbols using a Durkheimian approach, which...Show moreThis thesis research is about the symbols that appear in the interview reports of the spiritual experiences of seven Iranian Armenians. It analyzes these symbols using a Durkheimian approach, which is comprised of Émile Durkheim’s (1858-1917) and Wilbur Urban’s (1873-1952) theories. Specifically, the social functions of symbols are researched, following Durkheim, and the meaning layers of symbols are analyzed, following Urban. The Iranian Armenian symbols turn out to vary in their social function, and consist of a concrete and an abstract meaning layer. Most of them trace their origin to the participants’ Armenian Orthodox Christian denomination. The symbols that do not, are still influenced by the group religion concerning their meanings. This implies that the group religion is important for the meaning assignment of individuals.Show less
Despite the increase of secularism, implicit religious and spiritual (jointly termed “supernatural”) reasoning persists even in individuals who identify as nonbelievers; however, previous studies...Show moreDespite the increase of secularism, implicit religious and spiritual (jointly termed “supernatural”) reasoning persists even in individuals who identify as nonbelievers; however, previous studies have used behavioral implicit measures to examine differences between implicit and explicit belief. The aim of this research was to investigate these differences in atheist and spiritual-but-not-religious (SBNR) individuals using event-related potentials, and explore the N400-effect as an implicit marker of (un)belief. We conducted two studies: Study 1A (N = 101) examined supernatural attitudes and study 1B (N = 109) examined supernatural beliefs. Participants were presented with positive/negative (1A) and belief/disbelief (1B) religious, spiritual, and control statements, and were asked to provide their explicit evaluation (i.e., agree/disagree) of the statements while ERPs were being recorded. The results showed inconclusive evidence of the utility of the N400 as an implicit measure of belief. Specifically, we did not find significant differences between atheists and SBNR individuals in the N400- amplitude between positive and negative (1A), or belief and disbelief (1B) religious, spiritual, and control statements. In light of the lack of statistically significant results, exploratory analyses were performed, and implications and limitations of our study, as well as suggestions for future research, were discussed.Show less
Bachelor thesis | South and Southeast Asian Studies (BA)
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This thesis researches in what ways the practices of Ayurveda in Ayurvedic practices in the Netherlands are diverging from their Indian prototypes and counterparts, and why.
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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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
This study examines the role of spirituality and religion in daily life of people with psychopathology. Attention is paid on the influence of spirituality and religion on their mental health. I...Show moreThis study examines the role of spirituality and religion in daily life of people with psychopathology. Attention is paid on the influence of spirituality and religion on their mental health. I distinguish between the positive and the negative influences of spirituality and religion on the mental health of people with psychopathology. Furthermore, the attitudes of psychiatrists regarding spirituality and religion are examined. These attitudes are placed in the broader framework of the paradigm shift, that is coming up nowadays. This means the development of the new psycho-spiritual paradigm. In the old bio-psycho-social paradigm, everything must be rational. All spirituality was viewed as pathological. In the new paradigm, spirituality is recognized as essential human. According to this paradigm, spirituality and religion should be taken into account in the treatment of people with psychopathology. I argue that the development of the new psycho-spiritual paradigm is a desirable one.Show less
