What is Western philosophy? The established narrative of 'our' intellectual tradition begins with classical Greek reason: championed by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, revived and perfected in...Show moreWhat is Western philosophy? The established narrative of 'our' intellectual tradition begins with classical Greek reason: championed by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, revived and perfected in Enlightenment rationalism and empiricism, to culminate in the modern European canon of Kant, Frege or Nietzsche. Conspicuously absent are any 'Middle Eastern' sources, notably Arabic and Persian philosophy. 'Islamic golden age' Aristotelians are often seen as babysitting rationality during a supposed mediaeval 'Christian dark age'. But the original impact on contemporary thought by the likes of al-Ghazali (d.1111) or Suhrawardi (d.1191) is ignored. Analysing this conspicuous absence reveals a deep binary structure in the narrative. Our canon is in fact made universally valid by excluding everything deemed mystical and arbitrary: Eastern religious thought. All religious traditions — especially Islam — represent this non-Western un-philosophy, simultaneously 'foreign' and 'archaic'. To recover our proper intellectual history, beyond this colonialist binary, we can employ a provocative redefinition: North-Atlantic (modern European) philosophy as "Far Western", and all broadly Mediterranean (Greco-Judaic and Islamo-Christian) philosophy as "Middle Western". This foregrounds the relations within the West, further suggesting its interdependence with all philosophies, including Sino-Indic ones.Show less
This thesis provides an analysis on the J-horror film Kairo (Kurosawa Kiyoshi, 2001) and Studio Ghibli's Pom Poko (Takahata Isao, 1994) and their connection to the concept of furusato. Furusato, a...Show moreThis thesis provides an analysis on the J-horror film Kairo (Kurosawa Kiyoshi, 2001) and Studio Ghibli's Pom Poko (Takahata Isao, 1994) and their connection to the concept of furusato. Furusato, a nostalgic longing for the countryside as metaphorical "old home", is expressed very differently in these films: while Pom Poko heavily emphasises this nostalgia, furusato is implicitly present in Kairo through its absence.Show less
How did the distinct cultural, ethnic, and linguistic groups, who originated from valleys separated by natural barriers, and their cultural traditions, become one 'homogenous' constitutional monarchy?
Bachelor thesis | Film- en literatuurwetenschap (BA)
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In this thesis, I will analyse the techniques in Gummo (Harmony Korine 1997) through cinema and photography theory to find out how the film is placed within the existing film tradition, and how...Show moreIn this thesis, I will analyse the techniques in Gummo (Harmony Korine 1997) through cinema and photography theory to find out how the film is placed within the existing film tradition, and how this is experienced by the audience. My research focuses on the narrative structure, cinematography style, and acting performances in Gummo. Furthermore, the comparison between Gummo and the work of the photographers Larry Clark, and Nan Goldin is made to see whether Gummo makes use of elements from another art form. To illustrate where Gummo could be placed, I have made resemblances with three films which are all part of different cinematographic fields, these concern: Even Dwarfs Started Small (Werner Herzog 1970), Elephant (Alan Clarke 1989), and Pixote: a Lei Do Mas Fraco (Héctor Babenco 1981). By doing this research, I aim for a better understanding of how Gummo is an interesting film which makes use of various techniques from different film genres and art forms to create an experience of reality for the audience.Show less
