Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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This thesis explores how digital representations of Indigenous movements influence the political outcomes of these movements in settler colonies. Since the beginning of its development, digital...Show moreThis thesis explores how digital representations of Indigenous movements influence the political outcomes of these movements in settler colonies. Since the beginning of its development, digital technology has been utilized by Indigenous people to connect, share and learn but also to advocate. Historically indigenous people have been demanding recognition and indigenous rights, and in the current digital age, this fight has partly moved to the digital sphere, on social media. Here, Indigenous people are less dependent on mainstream media and their prejudices and can spread their perspectives on their struggles and what it means to be Indigenous. I look at the political effects of this new form of activism by analyzing three different case studies. Two of the cases are located in Canada, Idle No More and MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls), and the third is situated in America the NoDAPL movement. These cases show that the use of social media can shift power relations between governments and Indigenous movements and that Indigenous people have more control over how they are portrayed. Though, this thesis also shows the weaknesses of using social media as a activism strategy.Show less
This research considers the manners in which the social value of two photographs can be understood in relation to their placement as part of an album in 1905 and part of the Nederlands Nationaal...Show moreThis research considers the manners in which the social value of two photographs can be understood in relation to their placement as part of an album in 1905 and part of the Nederlands Nationaal Archief in 2021. Through a varied conceptual framework, visual analysis of the photographs, historical research, and archival research, different uses, presentations and spheres of circulation are shown to have influence on the way these photographs are valued. The study concludes with a critical reflection of these photographs as objects of historical study and leaves an open ended conclusion for the dispute and addition of further research.Show less
This thesis examines the evolution of the constructs of gender and sexuality in precolonial, colonial, and independent Zimbabwe and Botswana, with focus on the Shona, Ndebele, and Tswana during the...Show moreThis thesis examines the evolution of the constructs of gender and sexuality in precolonial, colonial, and independent Zimbabwe and Botswana, with focus on the Shona, Ndebele, and Tswana during the (pre)colonial era, and the BDP (Botswana Democratic Party) and ZANU(PF) (Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front) in the late colonial and postcolonial period, to identify what particularities in Botswana’s and Zimbabwe’s historical trajectories explain the divergence between the stance of BDP and ZANU(PF) leadership on the decriminalization of same-sex relations (SSR). The Shona, Ndebele, and Tswana started with a similar outlook on SSR, and in both countries, the British colonial administration imposed penal codes that criminalize(d) SSR. Yet, while BDP leadership grew gradually more supportive of the eventual decriminalization of SSR in 2019, ZANU(PF) leadership has strongly opposed to repealing the colonial-era penal codes. The different (de)colonization process and degree of colonial domination in each country appear to have the strongest explanatory power for these diverging outcomes. Many scholars have linked homophobia to masculinity and patriarchy. At the same time, colonial rule is widely believed to have undermined African masculinities and destabilized existing gender roles, and scholars have argued that misogyny, hyper-masculinity, and homophobia in African nationalist movements can be seen as a reaction to feelings of emasculation among African men. Colonial rule was significantly less invasive in Botswana, and the transition to independence mostly peaceful. Resultantly, there was no strong feeling of colonial domination among Botswanans, and anti-(neo)colonial rhetoric had little value as a source of political support. Thus, homosexuality never became conflated with (neo)colonialism in BDP nationalism, because it never centered on anti-(neo)colonialism to begin with. In contrast, Zimbabwe’s invasive colonial experience and arduous independence struggle created a strong sense of colonial domination among male independence leaders, who experienced it as ‘emasculation,’ and used misogyny and homophobia in attempt to restore a position of patriarchal power. At the same time, the rejection of homosexuality became a way to challenge colonial narratives about African sexuality and masculinity that were used to justify their abasement. Resultantly, the conflation of emasculation and homosexuality with colonial subjugation featured prominently in ZANU(PF)’s anti-colonial nationalism. The influence of Fanonesque and Marxist-Leninist thought further deepened homophobic sentiments in ZANU(PF) nationalism, while these schools of thought were absent from BDP nationalism. There is also scholarly consensus that European missionaries played an active role in codifying homosexuality as ‘immoral’ in Africa, and scholars argue that as Christianity became heavily politicized in the region, so did homosexuality. In that sense, homophobia, much like Christianity, is a political tool in contemporary Africa. Limited imposition of colonial rule and Tswana-controlled integration of Christianity may have further limited the inculcation of European (missionary) notions of sexuality and immorality in BDP nationalism. Moreover, unlike BDP nationalism, ZANU(PF) nationalism was organized around anti-colonialism, and this social glue lost its power once independence was achieved. This necessitated the creation of a new common enemy, while socioeconomic underperformance and declining public support incentivized the creation of a scapegoat to deflect criticism. Political homophobia became part of the creation of this new common enemy and scapegoat, and gained its legitimacy from Zimbabwe’s (de)colonization experience. With steady economic development and widespread public support after independence, there was less of an incentive for the BDP to use sexual minorities as a scapegoat.Show less
This research aims to explain why specific statues in the Netherlands have become the focal point of discussions regarding societal problems. Although these memories are always present in the...Show moreThis research aims to explain why specific statues in the Netherlands have become the focal point of discussions regarding societal problems. Although these memories are always present in the public space, they only periodically provoke the existing Dutch historical narrative. The Jan Pieterszoon Coen statue and the Nederland-Indië monument are used as devices around which debates about social injustice are held. By analysing this function, this thesis makes an argument for keeping these colonial statues in place. The author contends that, in Dutch cultural remembrance, statues and monuments of colonial history reveal pasts that do not match the main historical narrative by applying and reformulating some fundamental concepts of the book Emerging Memories written by Paul Bijl. These statues and monuments continue to emerge and submerge while retaining their provocative presence. In two-fold these sites of remembrance aggravate communities whilst there is also room for new monuments. There is an ambiguity wherein the symbolism of memorial heritage is pursued by two groups, one for its celebration of colonial and national heroes and the other for the remembrance of colonial victims and their descendants. Without these colonial heritage sites, provocative memories are lost, and communities are not pushed to change the existing narrative.Show less
The ongoing debate in Canadian and Australian societies about the meaning of multiculturalism and the associated discussion of belonging, citizenship and national culture cannot be divorced from...Show moreThe ongoing debate in Canadian and Australian societies about the meaning of multiculturalism and the associated discussion of belonging, citizenship and national culture cannot be divorced from the consideration of a major social element in both societies: the original inhabitants of the territories prior to their colonization by the European settlers. This group of people, which over the course of the national histories of these two countries was reduced to the status of minority on its own ancestral land , has since the early 1960s demonstrated increased agency by mounting a campaign of political, cultural, economic and social mobilization to reclaim its rights, most notably through the recognition of sovereignty, and to re-negotiate its relationship with the settler majority societies. The outcome of this mobilization is often portrayed in an interesting account that shows Canada to have gone further than Australia in the accommodation of indigenous rights and the righting of the historical injustices towards them. This thesis will be an attempt to reassess the veracity of this portrayal through a comparative study of the struggle for indigenous rights in both countries.Show less
The relationship between Britain and Singapore was tied under colonial history, and it is known that post- colonial relationships are sensitive in nature. In order to determine the nature of the...Show moreThe relationship between Britain and Singapore was tied under colonial history, and it is known that post- colonial relationships are sensitive in nature. In order to determine the nature of the relationship, there is another significant figure that shared parallel political endeavours with Lee Kuan Yew, and that is Britain’s first female prime minister Margaret Thatcher. On top of that, both prime ministers shared the same reputation of being tenacious and often acted dictatorially. Among two other British prime ministers during Lee Kuan Yew’s tenure, Margaret Thatcher had a significant relationship with the Singaporean prime minister. They also both ended their premierships on the same day, 28th November 1990. A country’s prime minister can act as the main representative of the government and often the leader reflects the country’s policy. Therefore, this BA thesis will analyze the questions: How does the relationship of Lee Kuan Yew and Margaret Thatcher illustrate the alliance between the former coloniser and the colonised? And how did they perceive each other as prime ministers?Show less
This study investigates two different type of indigenous students from Indonesia who earned their degree from Faculty of Law Leiden University in the late colonial period. Their family background,...Show moreThis study investigates two different type of indigenous students from Indonesia who earned their degree from Faculty of Law Leiden University in the late colonial period. Their family background, academic support in Leiden, nationalist movement and also the different life that they must encountered in the Netherlands shifted their choice once they came back to the colony. The first type of Leiden graduate associated themselves with the colonial legal system in order to sustain colonial authority in Indonesia. The second type was them who decided to either work under the colonial administration but showing nationalistic stance or them who stood against colonial authority by opening law firms independently and joining political activities. The main focus of this thesis is to explore more on some cases which portrays the outcome of these Leiden graduates and their involvement in colonial legal system in the Dutch East Indies.Show less
This thesis is a comparative study of the works of two artists from the Low Countries, Frans Balthazar Solvyns and Jan Brandes, who worked in two different cities - Calcutta and Batavia - in the...Show moreThis thesis is a comparative study of the works of two artists from the Low Countries, Frans Balthazar Solvyns and Jan Brandes, who worked in two different cities - Calcutta and Batavia - in the late 18th century. In doing so, it identifies connections between the art produced and the existing discourses of ethnography, natural science and art. The thesis uses insights from these discourses to understand knowledge production in the period and the role played by art in this process. The cultural context of this art production is also explored through an examination of publications of the Asiatic Society and the Bataviaasch Genootschap - “learned societies” that were founded in the late 18th century in the two colonial cities. Thus, the thesis attempts: a) to describe the knowledge production activities of the late-18th century in the colonies, with art as the focus and point of departure, and b) to thereby analyse and understand the period in terms of the transition from rariteitenkabinets of the post-Renaissance period to the state sponsored knowledge creation of the 19th century. In doing so, the thesis addresses the links between knowledge and power and analyses essentialism as an effect of the application of scientific thought and illustration to ethnography.Show less
The Japanese colonial scholar Yanaihara Tadao (1893-1961) has long been considered a liberal scholar who, despite wartime Japan's totalitarian regime and contrary to popular opinion, heroically...Show moreThe Japanese colonial scholar Yanaihara Tadao (1893-1961) has long been considered a liberal scholar who, despite wartime Japan's totalitarian regime and contrary to popular opinion, heroically defended the rights of the colonised. Nevertheless, much of what he wrote was based on imperialist assumptions of backward, undeveloped, barbaric 'natives' and the idea that colonialism as a system of global politics is fundamentally just and even desirable. In this thesis, I trace the origins of the positive image of Yanaihara “the liberal thinker”, and contrast this image with a reading of Yanaihara as an “imperialist.” In doing so, I show that for a good understanding of the nature of Yanaihara's thought, it is crucial to be aware of both these sides to his work. To illustrate the relevance of this awareness, I also discuss the findings of two recent publications concerning Yanaihara that fruitfully abandon the unequivocally good opinion earlier scholarship had formed of him.Show less
