Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
closed access
When the reformist Mohammad Khatami (b. 1943) became president of Iran in 1997, most socioeconomic strata, workers and students in particular, expected changes to Iran’s political and economic make...Show moreWhen the reformist Mohammad Khatami (b. 1943) became president of Iran in 1997, most socioeconomic strata, workers and students in particular, expected changes to Iran’s political and economic make-up. These expectations were largely grounded in Khatami’s rhetoric of social justice and the promises of more socio-political and cultural freedoms that he voiced during his electoral campaign. In practice, however, these promises did not materialise and disappointed workers and students alike. Khatami continued the economic neoliberalisation that his predecessor Rafsanjani (r. 1989-1997) had begun and the supreme leader, Khamenei (r. 1989-), heavily resisted his attempts to create more relaxed academic settings. Although the existing literature explains why Khatami and Khamenei, which respectively represented the reformist and conservative sides of the political spectrum, embraced different labour policy-paths, it does not seek to understand how both officials constructed their social reality such that it made sense for them to do so. Presuming that the meaning of political factions is objectively defined, the literature therefore foregoes enquiring after the discursive context in which they constructed their ideologies and how these related to their policy-paths. However, as policies do not originate in an intellectual and institutional vacuum but are made possible in a political context where competing discourses interact, examining them from a discursive perspective clarifies how rather than why these officials perceived them as meaningful paths to pursue. This focus on ideology construction then leads to enquiring how both constructed Iran’s identity and, by implication, that of workers and students. Taking a poststructuralist approach, this thesis therefore enquires how Khatami’s and Khamenei’s evolving discursive negotiation on Iranian identity was co-constitutionally related to the approved labour policies that concerned workers and students during Khatami’s presidency (r. 1997-2005).Show less
This thesis investigates how Chinese exchange students have come to experience Dutch society during their time in the Netherlands in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this thesis...Show moreThis thesis investigates how Chinese exchange students have come to experience Dutch society during their time in the Netherlands in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this thesis also investigates how this experience abroad has made Chinese exchange students reflect on their own national identity.Show less
This thesis addresses verbal and non-verbal aspects of Russian identity, namely word order and smiling. It aims at investigating whether Russian national identity is shifting and can be qualified...Show moreThis thesis addresses verbal and non-verbal aspects of Russian identity, namely word order and smiling. It aims at investigating whether Russian national identity is shifting and can be qualified as ‘Western’. In order to examine these aspects, the Matched Guise Test was used, which proved its efficiency in measuring verbal and non-verbal sociolinguistic aspects that existed in a particular language community. For this experiment, native Russian speakers (n=22) were offered to participate in two tests that focused on common and uncommon word order use and use of a sincere smile in a situation where it was not commonly used. In the first task, native Russian speakers were asked to evaluate two equivalent Russian phrases produced by a guise. The phrases were different in their word order. During the second task, a video scene was shown to participants where a stranger smiled sincerely when making eye contact with another stranger. Participants were supposed to assess both tasks across seven characteristics on Likert scales. The results of the first task were compared and correlated with gender and age, as were the findings of the second task. Overall, participants pointed out that uncommon word order and a genuine smile to a stranger could not be regarded as a Russian way of verbal and non-verbal behaviour. This led to the conclusion that participants were sensitive towards these aspects. Also, their responses supported the idea that both aspects contributed to Russian identity formation. Apart from that, the study revealed that female participants were more conservative concerning uncommon word order use, and younger participants were more sensitive towards the sincerity of a smile received from a stranger. However, according to previous research, more studies are needed in order to outline a clear-cut sociolinguistic situation in Russia, especially in measuring attitudes of its population by means of the matched-guise technique.Show less
Research master thesis | Latin American Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis analyses in what sense the culinary archive la biblioteca básica de las cocinas tradicionales colombianas [the basic library of traditional Colombian cuisine], that was erected in 2012...Show moreThis thesis analyses in what sense the culinary archive la biblioteca básica de las cocinas tradicionales colombianas [the basic library of traditional Colombian cuisine], that was erected in 2012 by the Ministry of Culture, contributes to the construction of the national identity. It evaluates the incentive behind the message of diversity and equality that is claimed to be conveyed by the archive, methodized by food genealogy and presents a menu of recipes that are subject to deconstruction. The shifting representations of the selected food practices with indigenous origins that have been subject to globalization are traced within four major historical periods and their associated dynamics: the precolonial period (original formation), the colonial era (reformation), the Republic (nationalisation), and eventually contemporary time (gentrification). Additionally, it illustrates the flaws of substantiation of the written mission of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs by placing the archive into dialogue with the hinterland of the recipes’ foodways, illustrating the dangerously fine line between gastronomic multiculturalism and culinary colonialism.Show less
This thesis examines the tradition of the Great American Novel (GAN). Against current academic trends, this literary canon is not understood to safeguard conservative hegemonies. Here, it is rather...Show moreThis thesis examines the tradition of the Great American Novel (GAN). Against current academic trends, this literary canon is not understood to safeguard conservative hegemonies. Here, it is rather studied as an ongoing discourse that has questioned ostensible certainties in American national identity throughout the twentieth century. A select number of GANs are shown to have survived in the canon for decades, and to share an even more select number of archetypes which the novels consistently problematise. The continued resonance of these narratives is argued to be indicative of inherent ambiguities that fester on in American identity as cultural unfinished business. An added relevance is the fact that those uncertainties cropped up precisely during periods when US nationalism seemed to peak, a pattern that forms a surprising, alternative cultural history. The term “Great American Novel” was coined in 1868 by John William DeForest, who called for realist American novels to equal European ones, and to present an imagined US community that overcame post-Civil War regional divisions. Ever since, the tradition has been alluring to American authors seeking to establish their cultural weight. Yet the canon as we know it today only took shape after the confidence-boosting outcome of the First World War, when critics and academics renounced the European, realist ideals of their predecessors in favour of “Romance”, a symbolical style which they claimed had always been the basis of literary American exceptionalism. Retroactively, The Scarlet Letter, Moby-Dick and Huckleberry Finn were canonised as the Romance-edifice, as if they had always been just that. Their archetypes, namely individualism, the American Dream and the frontier spirit, together became a national mythology of sorts, so successful was this invented tradition. Soon it was so familiar, that subsequent authors who sought to reflect on American identity could do so by alluding to those three ultimate GANs. The canon thus became an ongoing discourse, a cultural conversation in which a limited set of rules and clichés were contemplated as national roots. Authors from the Great Depression were the first to demonstrate this. They took the three tropes mentioned, and superimposed them onto topical stories of economic hardship. GANs from the era thus romanticised the canonical archetypes as the eternal foundations of American exceptionalism, precisely by linking their betrayal to contemporary, “un-American” injustices. The years following the Second World War, by contrast, saw such a boost to national confidence that they were named a “Golden Age.” Yet a new generation of authors showed its teeth by digging up GAN-archetypes and weaponizing them, especially those related to frontier-adventurism, against contemporary ideals of dull material comfort. Indeed, the canon’s role as underminer of cultural certainties became fixed in these years. Hence the nadir in GAN-output amid the blows to American superiority of the 1960s and 1970s: the eras of Vietnam and Watergate required no reminding of American problems. The Reaganist 1980s did, however. Especially black authors began to attack Americans’ sense of innocence regarding their history, by again returning to the GANs’ archetypes: taken as the roots of US exceptionalism, they were rewritten as shared traumas. Far from weakening the canon’s position, this attack on its traditions actually revitalised its function as ongoing discourse. Consequently, the 1990s saw more (critically acclaimed) GAN-attempts than any other decade. Within them, authors indicated how the end of the Cold War not only boosted American exceptionalism, but also left it without a signifying Other, and thus without direction and narrative. Again, cultural confidence in the wake of a victory in a major global conflict was being undermined by GANs’ exposing hidden ambivalences in national mythology. The GAN’s imagined community has always destabilised American certainties. The canon forms a surprising, alternative cultural history, in which anxieties invisible in other histories come to the fore, precisely when one would least expect them to. Understanding canons as mere conservative bastions is thus argued to be highly reductive, and damaging to their rich analytical promise in cultural analysis. NB: Dubbelscriptie t.b.v. de opleidingen MA Literary Studies en MA GeschiedenisShow less
This thesis investigates the topic of nationalism in Weibo posts that discuss the detention of Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei. After the arrest, Weibo users quickly connected...Show moreThis thesis investigates the topic of nationalism in Weibo posts that discuss the detention of Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei. After the arrest, Weibo users quickly connected this case with broader nationalist topics, resulting in different types of nationalist reactions. This study describes how these reactions reflect, create or shape a nationalist discourse. This was done in three parts: first of all, I examined how the countries of Canada, the US and China are described. The analysis reveals that the comments describe the US as the active culprit and Canada as a more passive, docile country. Secondly, the question was formulated as to how Meng was described, as a person, as CFO of Huawei, and as a Chinese, in order to gain more insight into how these different layers of her identity coincide or contrast. This part concludes that most commenters express their support for Meng, but that her wealth and unclarity regarding her citizenship can result in a decrease of support. Finally, I investigated the ways in which nationalism can be converted into action. It became clear how consumption and nationalism can be linked: many Weibo users suggested to initiate a boycott, mainly against Apple. Simultaneously, others also reflected on the efficacy of such measures.Show less
Several studies have shown that media play a huge role in constructing national identities. These studies are often carried out in the context of ‘othering’, since a collective dissociation of ‘the...Show moreSeveral studies have shown that media play a huge role in constructing national identities. These studies are often carried out in the context of ‘othering’, since a collective dissociation of ‘the other’ in many cases strengthens the feeling of nationalism. Studies on how African media play a role in the formation of national identities are scarce, however. A regularly used example of ‘the other’ is the refugee and one of the largest refugee-hosting countries world-wide is Uganda. This thesis therefore studies how the New Vision, one of the biggest Ugandan newspapers, covers news on refugees and how the New Vision then contributes to the construction of a national identity in Uganda. Three methods were used: a participatory research in the form of an internship, a discourse analysis of text and finally a discourse analysis of pictures. The results show that the New Vision focuses on the idea that the government does everything in its power to help refugees and portrays ‘the Ugandan’ as very welcoming towards refugees.Show less
The heightened tensions between Russia and the West, of which the ongoing crisis in and around Ukraine is a good illustration, pose a security threat to the Euro-Atlantic region. This thesis aims...Show moreThe heightened tensions between Russia and the West, of which the ongoing crisis in and around Ukraine is a good illustration, pose a security threat to the Euro-Atlantic region. This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of Russian foreign policy within the OSCE as well as Russia’s stance towards Euro-Atlantic security issues. It addresses the question how Russia discursively constructs its national identity within the OSCE in the period 2008-2018 and whether these discourses reveal any changes and/or contradictions. This thesis fills an important research gap, because no previous research has been done on Russia’s national identity within the OSCE. A comprehensive understanding of a state’s national identity in its foreign policy is relevant, as it provides insights into the ideological factors that drive how a state defines and pursues its national interests and subsequently foreign policy. A poststructuralist discourse analysis is conducted of the Russian statements delivered at the yearly OSCE Ministerial Council Meetings in the period 2008-2018. The discourse analysis provided insights into how Russia perceives and would like to promote itself within the OSCE. It demonstrated that Russia presents itself within the OSCE as a redeemer of OSCE unilateral actions and an advocate of multilateralism, as a leading, responsible and moral actor that wants to be perceived and treated as a great power, and lastly as a guardian of traditional values and the Russian Orthodox Church.Show less
In this thesis I examine concerns about incompetent and effeminate Chinese masculinities within the context of modern Chinese history, with a focus on the works 'Half of Man is Woman' by Zhang...Show moreIn this thesis I examine concerns about incompetent and effeminate Chinese masculinities within the context of modern Chinese history, with a focus on the works 'Half of Man is Woman' by Zhang Xianliang, 'Beijing Comrades' by Bei Tong, and 'Shanghai Baby' by Wei Hui.Show less
The psychological relationships that people have with celebrities or idols can influence communal cohesion. Almost everyone in modern society relates to non-present or distant others. Our idols can...Show moreThe psychological relationships that people have with celebrities or idols can influence communal cohesion. Almost everyone in modern society relates to non-present or distant others. Our idols can affect the way we perceive ourselves and others. Generally, people associate more with national than with foreign idols. This creates a more communal national appreciation and contributes to the national ‘imagined communities.’ People from the same nation associate with each other through their shared idols. Therefore, idols can be used as a nation-building mechanism. For many African countries, nation-building has been crucial due to the formation of states by colonial powers. This has resulted in the separation of relatives and the grouping of distinct societies. One of the African countries with a rich colonial history and a diverse ethnic landscape is Namibia. In this context, the thesis examines the contribution of idolisation of local heroes to national identities, specifically in the case of Namibia’s freedom fighter Hendrik Witbooi. Through a literature review and interviews with Namibians, different idolisation mediums have been identified, including newspapers, television broadcasts, visual representations, stories, and songs. The contribution that these idolisation mediums have made to national identity is the promotion of a communal shared history, one of the key elements of a ‘nation.’ In the case of Namibia, this consists of a shared history of traumatic events, specifically the German and South African colonisation and the ‘Namibian genocide,’ however, it includes heroes that rose up against the perpetrators of these injustices. Consideration is given to the influence of the SWAPO-government and comparable cases of idolisation in other countries.Show less
Kazakhstan is indeed known for its considerable Russian minority, and Russian was the language of communication. However, in 2017, the Kazakh president Nazarbayev seemed to lead the country in a...Show moreKazakhstan is indeed known for its considerable Russian minority, and Russian was the language of communication. However, in 2017, the Kazakh president Nazarbayev seemed to lead the country in a different direction as he proposed a script change for the Kazakh language from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet. The immediate question that comes to mind is why Kazakhstan that is close to Russia now would want to propose this. This thesis concludes that there are three common reasons found in previous cases of post-Soviet Latinization that are also applicable to the Kazakh case, namely: the development of a national identity and the rejection of a Soviet identity, illteracy, and the desire to modernize and WesternizeShow 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
Since the 1979 revolution, the idea that the West has been involved in a conspiracy against Iran has become one of the most important national myths of the Islamic Republic. In recent years this...Show moreSince the 1979 revolution, the idea that the West has been involved in a conspiracy against Iran has become one of the most important national myths of the Islamic Republic. In recent years this national narrative has found new meaning as the “soft war”. A modern iteration of the myth of foreign conspiracy, it stipulates that Western powers seek to infiltrate the moral fabric of Iranian society through Western cultural products and media channels and by extending support to Iranian civil society. Since the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests the soft war has become one of the defining features of Iranian governmental discourse. The election protests relied to a large extent on digital communication and social media platforms to mobilize the opposition to the re-elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013). The soft war narrative was the primary justification for the increasing control of the Iranian authorities over their country’s cybersphere which accompanied the regime’s crackdown on the 2009 demonstrations. While the topics of digital repression and the soft war during the terms of president Ahmadinejad have received their share of scholarly attention, a review their status under the current Iranian president of Hassan Rouhani is lacking. This thesis aims to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing how the soft war narrative has been used in Iranian governmental discourse to justify control of Iran’s media environment and in particular, control of Iran’s internet, during the tenure of president Rouhani as compared to during the Ahmadinejad era. Particular attention is paid to the legacy Western imperialism in Iran, factional politics in contemporary Iran and the influence of the country’s political economy on the Iranian state’s restrictions on internet freedom under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani.Show less
