This thesis investigates the participation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-2011) in a tradition of nominally feminist fantasy literature that challenges patriarchal values...Show moreThis thesis investigates the participation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (1996-2011) in a tradition of nominally feminist fantasy literature that challenges patriarchal values commonly found in the genre. By close-reading the characters of Arya, Sansa, and Brienne, this thesis argues that the novels act as a subversion of common fantasy tropes while at the same time standing in opposition to nominally feminist fantasy literature that centers on female protagonists overcoming the patriarchy through skill at arms. By emphasizing the struggle of everyone living under the patriarchy, Martin's series instead highlights the need for cultural revolution in attitudes towards gender.Show less
This thesis argues that the story about Melibeus must be read as a call for peace, and that each version was written to comment on specific events. The versions of Jan van Boendale and Dirc Potter...Show moreThis thesis argues that the story about Melibeus must be read as a call for peace, and that each version was written to comment on specific events. The versions of Jan van Boendale and Dirc Potter are compared and examined against the political and cultural background of their writers.Show less
When the reversion of Okinawa occurred in 1972, the island already was a complex amalgamation of various identities: heirs of indigenous Ryukyu culture, second-class Japanse citizens subjected to...Show moreWhen the reversion of Okinawa occurred in 1972, the island already was a complex amalgamation of various identities: heirs of indigenous Ryukyu culture, second-class Japanse citizens subjected to discrimination and war victims betrayed by its own government and colonised by a foreign force. Literally rising from the ashes, Okinawa has been reformulating its identity once again in face of challenges resulting from their marginal position amidst two greater powers. These include war trauma, economic rebuilding, continued discrimination by the mainland and persisting US base issues. Similar to a kaleidoscope, one can reposition individual elements to create a new constellation. Depending on the observer, different views and meanings can be constructed and interpreted. This thesis examines how Okinawans as a minority have emphasised and/or rearranged certain cultural symbols or narratives, creating new identities and using them as weapons, in order to negotiate a better standing within Japan following the period after the revision. Some developments that immediately come to mind are the emergence of civil society based on universal values of democracy, peace and ecology and the embedding of Okinawans as historical victims of the Japanese government and the mobilization of historical memory. I will be primarily focussing on contemporary post-reversion literature in my analysis, intending on researching the presence of these new identitities within contemporary novels. My objective is to observe if and/or how the ‘main model’ mentioned above is reflected and if the tendencies of modern literature have shifted accordingly.Show less
This thesis studies the modernity of Nima Yushij's first major poem Afsaneh (1921) through a theoretical framework of semiotic change. The thesis draws from sources such as Nima's private letters,...Show moreThis thesis studies the modernity of Nima Yushij's first major poem Afsaneh (1921) through a theoretical framework of semiotic change. The thesis draws from sources such as Nima's private letters, speeches and personally translated fragments from the poem Afsaneh. It compares Nima's own theory of poetic modernity with literary ideologies such as Socialist Realism and Romanticism. Selected metaphors from the poem are analyzed to explore the modernity of the poem through semiotic analysis.Show less
Bujangga Manik is a fifteenth-century story from Sundanese-speaking West Java about an ascetic who travels around Java and Bali before ascending to heaven. Its central narrative trope, of narrating...Show moreBujangga Manik is a fifteenth-century story from Sundanese-speaking West Java about an ascetic who travels around Java and Bali before ascending to heaven. Its central narrative trope, of narrating the ascetic's journey through a recitation of place names, has no clear parallels in South Asian literature, and I argue that it derives from an ancient Malayo-Polynesian tradition, similar to what the anthropologist J. J. Fox named the 'topogeny'. I attempt to show this through a dissection of Bujangga Manik and detailed comparison with ethnographic data from the Malayo-Polynesian-(Austronesian-)speaking world.Show less
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the social composition of the mechanical devices portrayed in E. M. Forster’s novel The Machine Stops and of Franz Kafka’s In der Strafkolonie and how...Show moreThe purpose of this study is to demonstrate the social composition of the mechanical devices portrayed in E. M. Forster’s novel The Machine Stops and of Franz Kafka’s In der Strafkolonie and how this can be effectively used in order to interpret their imminent implosion within the stories. Beyond providing allegorical expressions for the destruction of Forster’s and Kafka’s machines, I will confront these devices with scholarly literature that highlight the social aspect of the machinic concept and, simultaneously, propose its transcendental dimension that exceeds its material structure and expands within social fields. Thus, the machines within Forster’s and Kafka’s stories are not merely operational structures or tools, but social entities with affective propositions.Show less
This thesis is a complete edition of the album amicorum of Dorothea Petronella (Dora) Bohn (1846-1930). Dora Bohn, was a member of the Bohn family of booksellers and publishers active in nineteenth...Show moreThis thesis is a complete edition of the album amicorum of Dorothea Petronella (Dora) Bohn (1846-1930). Dora Bohn, was a member of the Bohn family of booksellers and publishers active in nineteenth-century Haarlem. The album is a poetry book, known in the Netherlands as ‘poesiealbum’, at the time traditionally offered to young girls to keep memories of their youth. The remarkable longevity of this album with a span of 23 years, from 1861 to 1884, expands its significance beyond the recording of friendships. It contains handwritten inscriptions by members of her family and by a network of friends, including the family’s professional contacts. The album reveals certain aspects of the multiple relations that linked the professional society of Haarlem, at that time known as the centre of the publishing industry in the Netherlands, with the family firms working within a network of professional and personal bonds. The edition aims mainly to map Dora Bohn’s network of family, friends and acquaintances, the literature popular in this network and the related authors, and the story of her life as it is recorded in the album.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Afrikaanse talen en culturen (BA)
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Analysis of witchcraft as literary motif in the novels: Ceux qui sortent dans la nuit by the Cameroonian writer Mutt-Lon and Elonga by the Gabonese writer Angèle Rawiri. Focussing on how witchcraft...Show moreAnalysis of witchcraft as literary motif in the novels: Ceux qui sortent dans la nuit by the Cameroonian writer Mutt-Lon and Elonga by the Gabonese writer Angèle Rawiri. Focussing on how witchcraft is described in the novels and to what extent this image is determined by the author's own interpretation of and view on witchcraft or by research.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
In this thesis i explore the changing boundaries of gender and sexuality in nineteenth century Iran. Iranian society was greatly influenced by European modernity and tried to combine this met...Show moreIn this thesis i explore the changing boundaries of gender and sexuality in nineteenth century Iran. Iranian society was greatly influenced by European modernity and tried to combine this met Iranian tradition and Islam. By analyzing the books The Vices of Men and The Education of Women i show how traditional upper-class Iranians dealt with the modernization of gender and sexuality in society.Show less
This thesis examines the theme of gender hierarchy in William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy The Taming of the Shrew (1592). The gender relations in the play are complex: its title, referring to the...Show moreThis thesis examines the theme of gender hierarchy in William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy The Taming of the Shrew (1592). The gender relations in the play are complex: its title, referring to the taming of Kate by her husband-to-be Petruchio, already suggests that women are going to be put down as the inferior sex. However, it is not as simple as that. Throughout the play, the question remains of whether Petruchio actually does tame Katherine. If he does, moreover, it is worth examining the precise meaning of this ‘taming’, and the ‘taming’ methods which Petruchio employs. In addition, the meaning of the play depends to a significant extent on the staging decisions made by the director. For example, different stagings may invite different responses to the wager, in the closing scene, on who has the most obedient wife. All of this has caused scholars and directors alike to interpret this play in very different ways, attributing widely divergent labels to it, ranging from ‘patriarchal’ or even ‘misogynistic’, to ‘satirical’ and ‘pre-feminist’. I have studied commentaries by scholars with interpretations on both ends of the spectrum to identify the foundation for their particular analyses. I also offer a close-reading of the play, focusing especially on those scenes which have drawn attention with regard to gender relations. Thus I shed light on how the play allows for such different readings. In chapter 2, I have applied this knowledge to a recent Globe production of the Taming of the Shrew, directed by Toby Frow. There I examine how this staging interprets the questions surrounding gender hierarchy that are so central to The Shrew.Show less
A selection from the Dutch edition of Bernhard von Breydenbach's travel journal, in which he describes his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The result is a historical-critical edition.
In 2010 the BBC launched a new series called Sherlock, a contemporary adaption of the Holmes stories. In this recent adaption created by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gattis, the original characters are...Show moreIn 2010 the BBC launched a new series called Sherlock, a contemporary adaption of the Holmes stories. In this recent adaption created by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gattis, the original characters are presented with a modern twist. Gattis and Moffat are known for their work on the BBC series Dr Who, a programme with a central character himself notably indebted to Holmes. The villains in the BBC series Sherlock challenge Sherlock to commit wicked deeds, and therefore perhaps to become a villain himself. This thesis will argue that in this way the show sets out to destabilize and call into question notions of an essential distinction between heroism and villainy.Show less
An analysis of three Indian-English novels, researching the functions of spirituality in contemporary Indian-English novels. Reading with religious sensibility, Nadieh Rijnbergen uncovers some...Show moreAn analysis of three Indian-English novels, researching the functions of spirituality in contemporary Indian-English novels. Reading with religious sensibility, Nadieh Rijnbergen uncovers some functions of spirituality. Spirituality represents, among others, a pre-colonial identity which questions modern day neo- or post-colonial identities.Show less
