At the moment of its unification, in 1861, Italy was one of the most linguistically, culturally, and economically fragmented country in the European stage. As a consequence, more than any other...Show moreAt the moment of its unification, in 1861, Italy was one of the most linguistically, culturally, and economically fragmented country in the European stage. As a consequence, more than any other Nation it necessitated to be subjected to a process of national identity building driven by the ruling cultural élite. This BA thesis, through the lenses of constructivist theories on identity introduced by Anderson, Hobsbawm, et alia, surveys the top down approach with which (Italian) national identity has been constructed, promoted and enforced. In the majority of identity-building discourses, a cultural-linguistic element is usually taken as a term of reference and linchpin for such a construction. In this research, Italian Renaissance figurative arts are the cultural artefact will be analysed: it will indeed be surveyed how the intelligentsia of the time employed Renaissance arts in three retrospective exhibitions to promote a sense of national identity and belonging: the “Exhibition on the Italian Portrait” (Florence, 1911), the “ Exhibition on Italian Art 1200-1900” (London, 1930), and the expo “L’Art Italien de Cimabue à Tiepolo” (Paris, 1935). Finally, a discussion on the usage of Renaissance images on Italian cash money will follow. This study will show that Italy is a very diverse and fragmented country, whose unity and identity have been in truth strategically and artificially constructed and enforced. Nonetheless, it will also emerge that Renaissance figurative arts sincerely and surely are a ‘second language’ for Italians.Show less
After the Arab Spring, social media have been attributed great potential for democratization and enhanced political accountability, which has raised hopes for Africa’s stagnant democracies....Show moreAfter the Arab Spring, social media have been attributed great potential for democratization and enhanced political accountability, which has raised hopes for Africa’s stagnant democracies. Research is, however, inconclusive on whether this potential is seized and what this means in practice. Moreover, no research on political accountability in Africa has used social media as a primary source yet. Therefore I have studied the everyday Nigerian political accountability dynamics on social media as participant observer for 75 days. The observations exhibited four important shifts in accountability dynamics on social media away from traditional, offline accountability practices. First, social media has created an incessant and two-directional accountability cycle in which citizens find a unified voice through hashtags and the government replies to accountability demands instantly. Secondly, social media facilitate the traditionally much sought proximity between citizens and their leaders, as a channel for complaining, reassurance and interaction. Third, clientelist accountability dynamics have shifted from only demands for private and club goods, to mostly demands for collective and public goods, despite some deviations. Lastly, social media also allowed for slacktivism, but this did not inhibit the success of one online campaign. These shifts are significant, as they strengthen political accountability and thus democracy, even though the limits of the impact of online accountability and its meaning to the average Nigerian put the democratizing powers of social media in perspective. The observations nevertheless highlight the new opportunities and new dimensions to traditional accountability in Nigeria, and possibly Africa, enabled and channelled by social media.Show less
The advent of new technologies is continually changing the dynamics of political communication, making social media (especially Twitter) a direct linkage between politicians and the public,...Show moreThe advent of new technologies is continually changing the dynamics of political communication, making social media (especially Twitter) a direct linkage between politicians and the public, different from, for instance, TV interviews. Thus, it is generally believed that parties can take advantage of these new channels to spread their messages, and populist Eurosceptic parties are particularly expected to utilize them as a way to expand their support and visibility within the political field. Given this, further considerations could be raised on how these parties use social media. While some may argue that social media acts only as a complementary platform to maximize the reach of proposals, many scholars have pointed out that these parties use social media to make their discourse even more colloquial, mobilizing and radical. The research question to be addressed is: what is the discursive strategy of populist Eurosceptic parties on Twitter compared to the one on TV interviews?Show less
This thesis analyses the use of six features of African American English in tweets containing #BlackTwitter and #BlackLivesMatter. Six features of the African American English are indentified (i.e....Show moreThis thesis analyses the use of six features of African American English in tweets containing #BlackTwitter and #BlackLivesMatter. Six features of the African American English are indentified (i.e. y’all, ain’t followed by a negative, aspectual be, finna, ’bout, and tryna), and the historical background of variety is discussed. The tweet IDs of corpus of 1489 tweets are included in the Appendix.Show less
Since the rise of Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall, both had the same goal: putting an end to racism and white supremacy. Although it would be logical that both movements follow a similar...Show moreSince the rise of Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall, both had the same goal: putting an end to racism and white supremacy. Although it would be logical that both movements follow a similar path, Black Lives Matter seems to be more popular and Rhodes Must Fall protests seem to be more violent. This research is about analyzing the differences in success between the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and the Rhodes must Fall movement from South Africa. Success can be measured in a way of looking at accomplishments, but this literature study will compare successes in mobilization strategies. Grievances from institutionalized racism created comparable grievances in The United States and South Africa. Other factors that will be analyzed in this study are resource mobilization, mobilization strategies, networking strategies and media representation. This research will argue that the Black Lives Matter movement adapted better mobilization strategies overall.Show less
In the context of the upcoming elections in Kenya in August 2017, debates on Twitter have highlighted the gap between the political elite’s electoral agenda and the population’s daily struggles of...Show moreIn the context of the upcoming elections in Kenya in August 2017, debates on Twitter have highlighted the gap between the political elite’s electoral agenda and the population’s daily struggles of surviving and coping with harsh realities. Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, recently launched an online campaign calling for voters registration – #UhuruDabChallenge – which was met with fierce protestations online, formalised under the #DabOfShame. This thesis will analyse the framing of this clash of priorities on Twitter by looking at the spread and use of one hashtag in particular – #DabOfShame – and one of the subtheme the #KOT community highlighted, that is the country’s hunger and drought crises. Indeed, analysing the #DabOfShame highlights the gap between the state discourse and the subsequent online responses, which has a huge impact on the way pertaining daily issues and their realities are depicted online. In particular, looking at Kenya’s most salient and recurrent difficulties – the hunger and drought crises – pinpoints how the users shed light on the problems, thus “framing” an opposition of concerns, and pushing the political elite to address them. Interestingly, the users and content analysis of this specific hashtag give insights into the political socialisation processes that Twitter enables and the platform it provides for the Kenyan connected generation to express its grievances in the everyday context. Eventually, this can inform discussions on the possibility of social media to influence the government’s agenda and produce a united common front in a context of political polarisation. This, however, also reveals concerning trends in the way Twitter is used by the political elite in Kenya, in particular by its president, which suggests that social media are possibly developing into new podiums on which political legitimacy is fought and gained.Show less
This thesis argues that within the #EUandME campaign the construction of a ‘European identity’ is grounded upon a bottom-up strategy emphasizing practical shared interests which are founded upon...Show moreThis thesis argues that within the #EUandME campaign the construction of a ‘European identity’ is grounded upon a bottom-up strategy emphasizing practical shared interests which are founded upon shared values. This is in contrast with the popular approach to European identity that focusses on solely shared values. In doing so an analysis will be made of concepts such as social constructivism, identity and constitutional patriotism. Next to this theoretical approach empirical data will be included based on a closer look of the #EUandME young film makers campaign, and how these concepts relate to the identity construction advanced in this campaign.Show less
