Josephus (‘Jef’) Carel Franciscus Last (1898-1972) was a Dutch leftist writer, polyglot, and Spanish Civil War volunteer. Though he never became an influential name in Dutch literature in the same...Show moreJosephus (‘Jef’) Carel Franciscus Last (1898-1972) was a Dutch leftist writer, polyglot, and Spanish Civil War volunteer. Though he never became an influential name in Dutch literature in the same way some of his contemporaries managed to, he did maintain several high-profile intellectual friendships across Europe and the Dutch East Indies. He was moreover one of the most dynamic leftists from the Netherlands during the 1930s, travelling to many different countries, as well as constantly developing his precise political allegiances, often leading him to joining new political movements and organisations. This MA thesis is concerned with how this development of his political allegiance precisely materialised, and whether his experiences in the Spanish Civil War definitively cemented his disillusionment with communism towards the late 1930s.Show less
This thesis explores the debate around the application of the law on the separation of Church and State of 1905 from France in Colonial Algeria from 1890 to 1914. The unique status of Algeria made...Show moreThis thesis explores the debate around the application of the law on the separation of Church and State of 1905 from France in Colonial Algeria from 1890 to 1914. The unique status of Algeria made it so that it was legally part of France, the three départements of Oran, Alger and Constantine were all counted as French départements. Thus it seemed logical that law would be applied in Algeria as there would be no exceptions to any French territory at the time from the law. The application of the law in Algeria nevertheless sparked controversy as the context in which the law would operate was not the same as in France. The presence of an indigenous Muslim population and the dependency of the local Catholic Church on state subsidies raised concerns whether applying the law in Algeria was wise. The French administration in Algeria had also created a special form of hierarchised and centralised Islam with which the laic state could interact with and control. This was achieved through the control of the medersas, by censoring what was taught in these and the fatwas issued by the ulamas, and the recruitment of imams, ulamas and muftis which were proven to be apolitical and loyal to the French state. The Catholic Church in Algeria also served as an assimilative institution as many non-French European immigrants, from Catholic Countries such as Italy, Spain, Malta and Poland, came to Algeria. The application of the law in Algeria would on paper force the French authorities to give up the control they exerted over the unique form of Islam they had created in Algeria, but also give up the unofficial partnership with the Algerian Church with whom the colonial administration cooperated. The debate that originated in France and opposed Catholics and republicans made its way to Algeria and opposed these two ideological camps. What this thesis attempts to do through the analysis of newspaper articles, is to understand what the public opinion on this issue was in Algeria, to bring a nuanced perspective on the debate by highlighting differences within these two ideological camps, and differently from the scholarly literature adopt an approach not based on institutional archives.Show less
In order to come to a new understanding of Austrian and even Central European history, this thesis questions the notion of 1918 as a watershed moment through an analysis of Linz’s festive culture...Show moreIn order to come to a new understanding of Austrian and even Central European history, this thesis questions the notion of 1918 as a watershed moment through an analysis of Linz’s festive culture in the period 1908-1928. This thesis illustrates the existence of a wide array of continuities in three layers of territorial identification – local, regional, and national – inherent in the city’s festive culture and divides this process into three categories: community building, ascribed commonalities, and feelings of belonging. The interaction between layers of identification provided a sustainable foundation for identity, which could overcome major upheavals like the First World War and the fall of the Habsburg Empire. In addition to interpreting these layers as nested identities, this thesis explores the importance of rhythms as a source for continuity in daily life. Preserving traditions and customs in practices often outweighed other considerations, such as displaying political views, in organizing local festivities. The repetition of a set of practices transcended party lines and shows that Social Democrats, Christian Socials, and German Nationalists all valued the use of these practices, albeit using them to create different territorially bounded narratives. Finally, this thesis argues that an overemphasis on capitals and crises in historiography has created a distorted view of this period and, consequently, advocates a new focus on localities, regions and stability.Show less
By the late nineteenth century, art history was immersed in the construction of national identities in Europe. Museums and exhibitions were vital players in communicating these identities at home...Show moreBy the late nineteenth century, art history was immersed in the construction of national identities in Europe. Museums and exhibitions were vital players in communicating these identities at home and abroad. Art historians increasingly appropriated painters and sculptors for their own countries as artists and their creations added significantly to a country’s prestige and increased cultural influence on the world stage – known in France as rayonnement culturel. Michela Passini’s magisterial La Fabrique de l’Art National (2013) focussed no longer only on politics and art but on the interaction of politics and art historiography instead. Since then there is a growing interest in the impact of nationalistic politics on the formal and institutional evolution of French art history from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The historiographical research of Passini and other scholars reflects the fact that art historians at that time were predominantly interested in art of the Renaissance and the Middle Ages. The understanding of the process of what could be called ‘nationalisation of modernist art’ in France, however, has not yet benefitted thoroughly from this shift towards art historiography. Traditionally, the period has either been analysed from the perspective of another Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes or seen through the lens of xenophobic sentiment towards Jewish and foreign modernist in the aftermath of the Dreyfus-Affair. This thesis focuses on ‘Maîtres de l’Art Indépendant’, an encyclopaedic exhibition organized at Paris’ Petit Palais to coincide with the world fair of 1937. It was the first officially endorsed retrospective of French modernism and included Cubism and Fauvism which had previously been conspicuously absent from most museums in the capital. My study aims to demonstrate that the decision to promote French modernism in 1937 was steeped in very similar nationalist priorities as those held by a previous generation of art historians investigated by Passini and others.Show less
In dit onderzoek is de rol van muziek in de Joegoslavische Burgeroorlog onderzocht. Dit is onderzocht aan de hand van een tekstuele analyse van verschillende Kroatische en Servische liederen die...Show moreIn dit onderzoek is de rol van muziek in de Joegoslavische Burgeroorlog onderzocht. Dit is onderzocht aan de hand van een tekstuele analyse van verschillende Kroatische en Servische liederen die tijdens de oorlog zijn uitgebracht. Ook zijn de visuele aspecten van de liederen, zoals de videoclip, in dit onderzoek meegenomen. In dit onderzoek licht de nadruk vooral op de natievormende rol van deze muziek.Show less
The present thesis looks through popular women’s magazines published during the period of the Greek Junta (1967-1974) in order to answer the following question: "To what extent did popular women's...Show moreThe present thesis looks through popular women’s magazines published during the period of the Greek Junta (1967-1974) in order to answer the following question: "To what extent did popular women's magazines during the Greek Junta reflect the regime's ideology on gender roles?". The analysis is divided into three chapters regarding representations of the female body and sexuality, work and marriage, and politics respectively. The thesis also highlights the underlying tension between modernity and tradition in far-right ideologies and the way it is mirrored through women's representations in the magazines.Through the analysis, the thesis concludes that these magazines promoted a considerably more liberal view of womanhood than that expected and desired by the Junta for Greek women. It also points out that this liberal image of women was not necessarily opposed by the regime since it too promoted itself as liberal. Finally, the thesis demonstrates that this particular inconsistency between presentation and expectation reveals a gendered facet of the tension between traditionalism and modernization documented in the magazine pages of the Greek Junta.Show less
De restauraties van de Alte Nationalgalerie en het Rijksmuseum hebben de gebouwen waarin de musea zich bevinden, teruggebracht naar de 19e-eeuwse staat. Daarnaast hebben ingrepen in de collectie en...Show moreDe restauraties van de Alte Nationalgalerie en het Rijksmuseum hebben de gebouwen waarin de musea zich bevinden, teruggebracht naar de 19e-eeuwse staat. Daarnaast hebben ingrepen in de collectie en de presentatie ervan plaatsgevonden. Deze scriptie onderzoekt in hoeverre en hoe deze veranderingen nationaal besef bij de bezoekers stimuleren en/of versterken.Show less
Historians have overwhelmingly dismissed the ´Arab Kingdom´ policy as a failed colonial doctrine, stressing its inconsistencies and arguing that the implementation of Napoleon III’s policies in the...Show moreHistorians have overwhelmingly dismissed the ´Arab Kingdom´ policy as a failed colonial doctrine, stressing its inconsistencies and arguing that the implementation of Napoleon III’s policies in the 1860s contrasted his Saint-Simonian and indigènophile aims. By reconstructing the experiences of North-African men in the Armée d’Afrique during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71, this thesis highlights the inconsistencies inherent to this policy. Additionally, it argues that the colonial military’s formal aspects, such as pay, pensions, promotions and treatment in the military justice system, challenge the current discourse that the ideology was merely imperial rhetoric without substance. In line with the ´new´ military history’s focus on the relationship between war and society, this thesis draws on a myriad of sources to explore a wide range of aspects of colonial deployment during the Second Empire, including: recruitment, uniforms, mobilisation, decorations, religion, food, language, health and hospitalization, housing, combat performance, casualties, public image and treatment as prisoners of war (POWs). It thereby elucidates how the fall of the Second Empire at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, in many ways proved a break with the Third French Republic in terms of the status and treatment of French colonial soldiers.Show less
A case study of the infra-municipal/departmental decentralization in the city of Paris during the period in which Jacques Chirac was mayor of Paris (1977-1995), which shows that the institutional...Show moreA case study of the infra-municipal/departmental decentralization in the city of Paris during the period in which Jacques Chirac was mayor of Paris (1977-1995), which shows that the institutional reform led to improved local representative democracy.Show less
Een onderzoek die de verandering van de plaats van de herinnering betreffende de Algerijnse onafhankelijkheidsoorlog in Frankrijk onderzoekt, door de reacties op twee vergelijkbare werken die...Show moreEen onderzoek die de verandering van de plaats van de herinnering betreffende de Algerijnse onafhankelijkheidsoorlog in Frankrijk onderzoekt, door de reacties op twee vergelijkbare werken die dertig jaar na elkaar waren uitgegeven onderzoekt.Show less
The focus of this thesis is on the role of the Dutch national identity in the perceptions and experiences of a wide array of Dutch Spainfighters, who volunteered to fight on the Republican side in...Show moreThe focus of this thesis is on the role of the Dutch national identity in the perceptions and experiences of a wide array of Dutch Spainfighters, who volunteered to fight on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. It aims to understand how the volunteers dealt with the potential for clashes between the imagined communities of the Dutch nation-state and the border transcending, transnational appeal of their left-wing ideology. This thesis demonstrates that they felt loyalty both to the transnational community of left-wing and communist sympathizers, and the national Dutch community. It argues that the motivation of the Spainfighters is closely linked to their national identity, which they tried to construct in symbiosis with their transnational thoughts via the message of anti-fascism. As such, the thesis adds to the understanding of the phenomenon of foreign fighters. Next to the conscious building of national identity, national sentiments and practical culture played a considerable role in the daily reality of the Spainfighters, which is especially relevant if the rather mythical image of the International Brigades as a classic example of a transnational army is taken into account. As the case of the Dutch Spainfighters illustrates, the International Brigades provided space and even recognition for national identity as an organizing entity and as such functioned more as an ideologically motivated international army. For this reason, this thesis suggests that the fundaments of the supposedly transnational movement of support to the Spanish Republic may partly be built on national tensions and the resulting compromises. While studying transnational movements in the twentieth century, it therefore may be worth the effort to analyze the role of national identity, of national political culture.Show less
For several decades in the twentieth century, the order of Friars Minor Capuchin was entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing and administrating Colombia's public education system. This...Show moreFor several decades in the twentieth century, the order of Friars Minor Capuchin was entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing and administrating Colombia's public education system. This thesis assesses their role as a nationalizing agent in the Colombian Amazon on the border with Brazil and Peru.Show less
Deze scriptie werpt licht op de zoektocht naar een nieuwe Andalusische identiteit van de culturele regionalisten achter het tijdschrift Bética, dat gelieerd was aan El Ateneo de Sevilla.
