Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
closed access
An anthropological research into the human-to-car relationship, specifically considering those who acknowledge themselves as “car enthusiastic” beyond its functions of mobility, based in and around...Show moreAn anthropological research into the human-to-car relationship, specifically considering those who acknowledge themselves as “car enthusiastic” beyond its functions of mobility, based in and around Stuttgart, Germany. The capital of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart is the birthplace of the internal combustion engine [ICE] automobile as we recognise it today. Revolutionary at its point in time, the ubiquity of the ICE automobile in modern society is now one of the world’s leading causes of pollution. As the EU pushes the industry to move away from the familiar, this research zooms into those whose object of passion is being forced to transform. Four months of multi-sited fieldwork, engaging predominantly with methods of photography during drive-along interviews and participant observation, gave rise to a discussion of the human-car relationship through the prevalent conceptual lenses of ‘value’ and ‘play’. A photobook, as the multimodal counterpart of this ethnographic project, elaborates on the diversity and ambiguity of the human-car experience. Drawing on an implicit argument that newer technologies do not immediately make older ones redundant, the book format invites the reader to reflect on their own relationship with the (ICE) automobile through a compilation of photos from the field placed in montage, alongside anecdotes and questions.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
under embargo until 2025-08-31
2025-08-31T00:00:00Z
Northern Gaul in Merovingian times (450-650 CE) is well known for its characteristic pottery assemblages in settlement- and burial sites consisting of wheel-thrown ceramics. Rooted in Roman...Show moreNorthern Gaul in Merovingian times (450-650 CE) is well known for its characteristic pottery assemblages in settlement- and burial sites consisting of wheel-thrown ceramics. Rooted in Roman traditions, these ceramics were produced in specialized potters workshops of which the majority was located along the rivers Rhine and Meuse. Another group of pottery, the handmade ceramics, however, are often given less attention. These handmade pots have often been perceived and described by archaeologists as rudimentary, poorly made and of low quality. In addition, they have been associated with Germanic culture. This is often followed by the assumption that this type of pottery is, in stark contrast to the wheel-thrown ceramics, made by unskilled potters, and therefore made locally on an occasional level in a household setting by woman and children. These claims are however based on modern assumptions only, since the production aspects of these handmade ceramics have hardly been studied. Furthermore, they show a strong bias that is rooted in our history with the industrial revolution and capitalism, and in value-associations and preconceptions regarding Roman and Germanic culture. The way archaeologists perceive and value these handmade ceramics should therefore not be mistaken for the perception and valuation of these ceramics by the early medieval societies that created and used them. By using an integrated chaîne opératoire approach that considers the technological, social and symbolic dimension of the production of ceramic vessels, this thesis attempts to gain insights on the production, perception and value of these handmade ceramics in the early medieval societies of Northern-Gaul. The ceramic assemblage of the recently excavated Merovingian cemetery of Nijmegen-Lentseveld (The Netherlands) was chosen as a case-study. At this site, roughly dating to the 6th century, an notably high concentration of handmade ceramics was found, together with well-known wheel-thrown vessels. This provided the unique opportunity to study both handmade and wheel-thrown ceramics together. A technological analysis, using a combination of macroscopic-, petrographic- and chemical techniques, was performed on the Lentseveld assemblage as well as on several local reference ceramics and clay samples. The results show that the production of the handmade ceramics found at the cemetery of Nijmegen-Lentseveld, was more complex than the assumed local household production. It is demonstrated that a large majority of the handmade ceramics from the site were made with a clay with very similar properties, that does not match with the clay samples collected in the vicinity of the site, nor with the known local ceramic productions. Although it was not possible to conclude with certainty whether the exact same clay source was used to create all ceramics and determine the location of such clay source, it can be concluded that the clay most likely was collected further away from the site and should be sought at a more regional level. The fact that there appears to be a consensus on the type of clay deemed suitable to create these ceramics and a similar or the same clay source was used for a large group of handmade ceramics, suggest the clay collection was rather well organized. This contradicts the previous assumptions of local household production whereby each household collects their own clay at a source near their house. The integrated chaîne opératoire approach used in this thesis has furthermore shown that production entails more than just technological actions, and also has a strong social and symbolic dimension. It uncovered the many material-, social – and imagined values that could have been associated with (the production of) handmade ceramics, such as the act of crafting itself, the transformation by fire and the value of materials. This shows that the perception and values attributed handmade ceramics by the early medieval societies of Northern Gaul who created and used them were mostly likely very different from negative perception and values projected onto these ceramics by archaeologists. This thesis therefore shows that there is a strong need for a re-evaluation and foremost a re-valuation of these handmade ceramics, and has taken the first step in doing so by taking a different approach to analysing them with the help of a case-study.Show less
In this thesis I examine the future of Artificial Intelligence at work. My goal is to investigate whether the replacement of human labor is imminent and whether the use of AI is a source of...Show moreIn this thesis I examine the future of Artificial Intelligence at work. My goal is to investigate whether the replacement of human labor is imminent and whether the use of AI is a source of celebration or worry for labor. I first present some of the hopes and fears around fully-automated, labor-replacing AI technology. I then argue that any predictions are best-situated within the historical and material parameters of value and profit. I aspire to examine how these relate to human-labor, set the pace and shape the limits of the use of AI and labor-replacement. I conclude this thesis by investigating whether it is possible for AI to dominate production within the current economic framework, or not.Show less
Value in nature has often been studied from two perspectives, either externally or internally. Schools of intrinsic value like deep ecology have been found extreme in the past, their implications...Show moreValue in nature has often been studied from two perspectives, either externally or internally. Schools of intrinsic value like deep ecology have been found extreme in the past, their implications undesirable to humans. External perspectives like anthropocentric value judgements, for example ecosystem-service arguments, or considerations of intergenerational justice have become increasingly common and well researched. However, this thesis starts from the observation that anthropocentric value based morality does little to protect ecosystems for their own sake. Instead, it merely focuses on those parts that either appeal, service, or otherwise are useful to humans. It is especially this perception of ecosystems that lies at the root of current and past exploitation of the ecosystem. The result is nearly irreversible damage to the ecosystem. This thesis argues for pro tanto moral rights for the ecosystem, on the basis of interest-based moral considerability. I will show that previous arguments for or against the moral considerability of nature lack sufficient knowledge of ecological processes. If ecological processes are properly understood, the ecosystem can be said to have an interest. This interest, or wellbeing, is the striving towards homeostasis. This means that the ecosystem has moral considerability and is a moral patient. It is therefore eligible for moral rights. These rights-relations occur between moral agents and moral patient when there is contact. This will be explained through developing the Contact-Theory.Show less
This thesis makes the claim that the distinction made between positive and negative freedom (as well as between competing claims of freedom more generally) are not, and should not be about...Show moreThis thesis makes the claim that the distinction made between positive and negative freedom (as well as between competing claims of freedom more generally) are not, and should not be about disagreements as to what ‘real’ or ‘true’ freedom is, but are instead expressions of which freedoms align with certain philosopher’s broader ideas of justice. What I believe this means is that it is wrong to claim that only a purely negative or positive concept of freedom is the only coherent concept of liberty, and that instead the disagreement and the distinctions made are in fact done so on disagreements about which freedoms are valuable and why. The overall value of instances of freedom is in turn derived from our theories of justice and the ethical commitments which comprise these theories. Therefore I argue, referring to the work of Carter, that a complete and coherent concept of freedom must be both value-neutral in that it does not give superiority to any particular ethical claims made in regards to freedom, and as value-free in that we do not define freedom as only those instances which are also just. It is because of this that I will defend an altered version of MacCallum’s triadic formulation of liberty, which I believe is most successful at encompassing what it is we mean when we’re talking about freedom, by presenting freedom as a relationship between agent, preventing condition - as well as a fulfilment condition that I have added - and an action or behaviour. In this way my altered version of MacCallum’s concept sets the foundations for what I will argue is a value-neutral and value-free concept of freedom, which gives a structure for us to make sense of all intelligible expressions of freedom and gives a neutral base from which to introduce other commitments and values to argue for certain types of freedom over others.Show less
In de archeologie van het Nabije Oosten zijn zegels veel en uitgebreid bestudeerde objecten. Deze studie richt zich echter vooral op de afbeeldingen op de zegels, en op de rol van de zegels in...Show moreIn de archeologie van het Nabije Oosten zijn zegels veel en uitgebreid bestudeerde objecten. Deze studie richt zich echter vooral op de afbeeldingen op de zegels, en op de rol van de zegels in handel. In deze scriptie kijk ik naar de rol en de waarde van zegels in een Bronstijd samenleving op Bahrein, niet in eerste plaats aan de hand van de afbeeldingen erop, maar vooral naar de archeologische context van de zegels. Ik behandel de verschillende plaatsen in het dorp waar de zegels gevonden zijn, en aan de hand daarvan probeer ik mijn onderzoeksvragen te beantwoorden.Show less
