This research is about the untold history of intersexuality during a time when androgyny in juvenile boys was desirable and men performed female roles on stage. Moreover, it introduces the role of...Show moreThis research is about the untold history of intersexuality during a time when androgyny in juvenile boys was desirable and men performed female roles on stage. Moreover, it introduces the role of the body in the story about gender ambiguity in pre-modern Japan. Until now, studies on the history of gender and sexuality have focused on the role of culture in sex determination. However, this study proposes that biology was equally important. Through a critical analysis of visual material produced during Japan's pre- modern times, the intersexed character may be revealed as an essential figure for understanding the construction of gender, sex and sexuality in historical and contemporary times. In the Heian-period (794-1185), the intersexed character was presented as an absurd sexual deviant in the Yamai no Shōshi. The Genroku-period (1688- 1704) depicted intersexuality as a female deficiency in the work Kōshoku Kinmō-zui by Yoshida Hanbei, which was also reproduced around one and a half century later in Ryōsuitei Tanekiyo's Kaiin Suikōden Sho-hen. Towards the end of the Edo-perdiod (1800-1868) more graphic works of intersexed bodies appeared. Keisai Eisen's Makura Bunko invoked a gaze of shameless fascination and pity, whereas Utagawa Kunitora's Otsumori Sakazuki put intersexuality into the realm of erotic fantasy. Ultimately, this research asks the question: What do early images of intersexuality reveal about attitudes towards gender, sex and sexuality in pre-modern Japan? The answer to this question reveals how intersexed bodies, in various periods of time, were to be looked at with humour, curiosity, pity and sexual desire.Show less
The purpose of my research is to study the dominant discourse on China’s Belt and Road Iniative in Africa within news articles published by the Chinese news agency Xinhua, and how China perceives...Show moreThe purpose of my research is to study the dominant discourse on China’s Belt and Road Iniative in Africa within news articles published by the Chinese news agency Xinhua, and how China perceives its own role in Africa.Show less
The thesis explores the uses of the skull-cup and the thighbone trumpet in Tibet, their employment from the pre-Buddhist religion to Tibetan Buddhism. It also compares their symbolism as deity's...Show moreThe thesis explores the uses of the skull-cup and the thighbone trumpet in Tibet, their employment from the pre-Buddhist religion to Tibetan Buddhism. It also compares their symbolism as deity's attributes in the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist religious art of Tibet.Show less
This research provides new insights into Japanese society and the importance to food consumption onboard trains in Japan. Food and the consumption thereof play a part in every society. In the urban...Show moreThis research provides new insights into Japanese society and the importance to food consumption onboard trains in Japan. Food and the consumption thereof play a part in every society. In the urban areas of Japan there is no getting away from the consumption of food, especially in and around stations. One of the most common products consumed onboard the trains during long journeys is the ekiben. Another service providing food onboard trains is the dining car (shokudōsha). While the ekiben continued to thrive, the shokudōsha were discontinued completely in 2002. This thesis explains why this difference in prosperity exists through an examination of the history of the shokudōsha and the ekiben. Thereafter, it explains how societal changes influenced the cultural significance of both services. The thesis concluded that there was a difference in cultural significance between the shokudōsha and the ekiben. This thesis aims to contribute to the comprehensive research of food culture in Japan and to stimulate more English research into the shokudōsha to expand the knowledge of food culture in Japan.Show less
This study will first analyse the historical background of Shakespeare in China, which begun with the introduction of the English author as a storyteller during the late Qing dynasty (1640-1911),...Show moreThis study will first analyse the historical background of Shakespeare in China, which begun with the introduction of the English author as a storyteller during the late Qing dynasty (1640-1911), followed by the publication of official translations in Chinese at the beginning of the twentieth century , the posterior abrupt tragic decrease of the studies under the Communists and its complete death with the beginning of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) , which did not allow Shakespeare to resuscitate until the end of the 70s . The second chapter will be focused on the methods of translations and the theories put forward between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in China, while the third chapter of this study aims at observing how Chinese translators overcame the historical, grammatical and cultural differences between Shakespeare and China, how they rendered the most important traits of the Shakespearean works in Chinese. To conclude, the fourth chapter will be concentrated on the comparison between the original English version of the famous drama of “Romeo and Juliet” and its Chinese.Show less
This thesis explores the relationship between feminism and popular culture in Malaysia. It looks at the different media of popular culture and analyses the different expressions of feminism in...Show moreThis thesis explores the relationship between feminism and popular culture in Malaysia. It looks at the different media of popular culture and analyses the different expressions of feminism in these media. The evolution of feminism during the different phases is examined and the role of ethnicity and class in understanding the complex and multifaceted movement is evaluated. I argue that there is a growing sense of feminism in popular culture, but that it is restricted to specific popular culture categories-that of independent media- and upper class women. This growing sense of feminism results in entrepreneurialism and individuality among upper class women of primarily Malaysian ethnicity.Show less
Propaganda exists in many shapes and sizes: pamphlets, stories in newspapers and magazines, film, leaflets or speeches on the radio. Around the world, this type of psychological warfare has been...Show morePropaganda exists in many shapes and sizes: pamphlets, stories in newspapers and magazines, film, leaflets or speeches on the radio. Around the world, this type of psychological warfare has been used to convince the enemy that their cause is lost and the home front that they are on the winning side.The same was the case in Southeast Asia during the Asia-Pacific War, where Japan propagated a Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. For this thesis I will examine Japanese propaganda in Indonesia and - more specifically - if this propaganda has developed or contributed to Indonesian national consciousness.Show less
The purpose of this research is to show how Asian countries appear to be aestheticized in documentary photographs, often considered as reliable evidence of reality, and to understand to what extent...Show moreThe purpose of this research is to show how Asian countries appear to be aestheticized in documentary photographs, often considered as reliable evidence of reality, and to understand to what extent this is influencing the knowledge “Western” countries have on Asia. Starting from the analysis of current theories on photography and art, I will see how they can be applied to documentary photography, regarded as a practice that only aims at informing the public. Then, tracing back to colonial photography, I will show how documentary photography appears to present an aesthetic of its own, which has had a fundamental role in the structuring and circulation of fantasies, sentiments and ideas between “Western” countries and Asia. Besides, I will determine to what extent this aestheticization of Asian countries has been fostered by contemporary magazines, such as National Geographic. Finally, through the analysis of some of the most iconic images by the documentary photographer Steve McCurry, I wish to show how in the name of artistry, the documentary practice is failing in providing the viewer with visual documents.Show less
