Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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Why do boys seem to prefer the films rather than the books? In this thesis I try to come up with an answer by comparing the representation of gender within two Young Adult books and their...Show moreWhy do boys seem to prefer the films rather than the books? In this thesis I try to come up with an answer by comparing the representation of gender within two Young Adult books and their adaptations (The Hunger Games and Divergent). And analyse the way in which stereotypes are being represented and if these stereotypes are in any way appealing to the young boy or girl reader.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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Het nietsdoen heeft een lange geschiedenis in zowel film als literatuur. In deze scriptie zal ik mij richten op twee onproductieve figuren in het bijzonder: de slacker en de flaneur. Ik zal deze...Show moreHet nietsdoen heeft een lange geschiedenis in zowel film als literatuur. In deze scriptie zal ik mij richten op twee onproductieve figuren in het bijzonder: de slacker en de flaneur. Ik zal deze figuren met elkaar vergelijken en hierbij uitweiden over hoe de flaneur van het einde van de 19e eeuw en het begin van de 20e eeuw zich verhoudt tot de slacker van het einde van de 20e eeuw en het begin van de 21e eeuw in film en literatuur. Is de slacker simpelweg een moderne flaneur of zijn de twee figuren en de werken waartoe zij behoren wezenlijk anders? Bestaan er 19e-eeuwse slackers of 21e-eeuwse flaneurs en zijn er flaneur films of slacker boeken of zijn deze figuren onlosmakelijk verbonden met hun gebruikelijke periode en medium?Show less
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
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In this thesis I want to create an intersectional, queer intervention in animal studies taking previous animal, critical race studies and queer theory intersections – ecofeminism, material feminism...Show moreIn this thesis I want to create an intersectional, queer intervention in animal studies taking previous animal, critical race studies and queer theory intersections – ecofeminism, material feminism and queer ecology – into account within the context of literary studies and cultural analysis. Therefore, I want to ask: In what way do intersectional alliances – both theoretical and artistic – formed from an animal and queer studies perspective, affirmatively (re)imagine (material) queer intimacies human-nonhuman relations to contribute to an nonanthropocentric framework? To answer this question, I want to employ the term/concept queer as both a critical and productive tool that enables transgression of disciplines and even the academy itself, into the material reality of non-human animals to examine human-animal relations and intimacies.Show less
A brief analysis of two books written by authors who were children during the independence war and nakba of 1948. The two are compared in the way that they present nationalism to children.
In deze scriptie staat de kwestie centraal of de bewerker(s) van een roman voor het theater erin slagen om de prangende (politiek-maatschappelijke) kwesties, die in romans gethematiseerd worden,...Show moreIn deze scriptie staat de kwestie centraal of de bewerker(s) van een roman voor het theater erin slagen om de prangende (politiek-maatschappelijke) kwesties, die in romans gethematiseerd worden, overtuigend voor het voetlicht te brengen in een bewerking voor toneel? Blijft de complexiteit van de roman ook bewaard in die bewerking, of wordt de roman gereduceerd tot zijn actuele thema? Wat is, kortom,het politieke effect van de toneeladaptatie van romans in het Nederlands theater? Voor het beantwoorden van deze vraag wordt de roman Het Hout van Jeroen Brouwers vergeleken met de gelijknamige bewerking en theateropvoering ervan in de regie van Michiel van Erp geproduceerd door International Theatre Amsterdam/ Toneelgroep Amsterdam. Aan de hand van deze casestudy wordt blootgelegd welke ingrepen in de bewerking van Het hout gedaan zijn en wat de consequenties daarvan zijn voor de betekenis van het, op het toneel gebrachte, kunstwerk, vergeleken met de brontekst. De hypothese van deze scriptie is dat de politieke betekenis van de roman Het Hout in de toneeladaptatie gereduceerd is. De enscenering blijkt ongevoelig voor ambiguïteit en werkt eerder taboebehoudend dan taboedoorbrekend.Show less
This thesis examines the gender representation in the animated series Avatar: the Last Airbender by analyzing several male and female characters of the series. Gender theories by Judith Bulter...Show moreThis thesis examines the gender representation in the animated series Avatar: the Last Airbender by analyzing several male and female characters of the series. Gender theories by Judith Bulter served as the main sources for this thesis.Show less
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
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
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
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
