This thesis explores a conception of the EU as a modified confederal system of sovereign member peoples and their states. A confederal conception which demonstrates how, contrary to popular belief,... Show moreThis thesis explores a conception of the EU as a modified confederal system of sovereign member peoples and their states. A confederal conception which demonstrates how, contrary to popular belief, European integration does not conflict with sovereignty or democracy. For, properly conceived and constituted, the EU reasserts the sovereignty of the member peoples, and liberates national democracy from the confines of the state. To this end, this thesis reconnects the EU to two classic constructs of constitutional theory: confederalism and sovereignty. Two powerful but unfashionable constructs whose joint potential for European integration remains largely unexplored and undervalued. The primary instrument to explore this potential is comparative. The EU is contrasted with the rather unknown but rich example of the American Articles of Confederation, and their evolution into the now famous American federate system. A comparison with the confederal roots of the United States which is revealing for both confederalism and sovereignty, and illustrates the potential of linking both for a constructive constitutional theory of the EU. A theory which does not have to overcome history and the statal system it has created, but connects with it. A theory, therefore, that may help to recapture the EU and the increasing authority it wields, both in theory and in practise. The thesis is subdivided in three parts. Part I addresses confederalism. It demonstrates how the constitutional system of the EU combines a confederal foundation with a federate superstructure, and explores the particular strengths, weaknesses and limits of this modified confederal system. Part II discusses sovereignty. It first demonstrates how the EU forms a logical confederal evolution of popular sovereignty, and how European integration does not conflict with sovereignty. Subsequently, it shows how the concept of confederal sovereignty equally helps to dispel the presumed conflict between statism and pluralism, how it respects and conciliates national and EU claims to supremacy, and how it allows a confederal evolution of national democracy, which updates democracy to the global reality it is to control. Part III applies the findings of Part I and II to the EMU crisis and the challenge of establishing an effective democratic foundation for the EU at the national level. An application which demonstrates the concrete and attractive contributions a confederal approach can make to addressing some of the core challenges facing the EU. Show less
Scientists rarely take ‘paranormal experiences’ seriously. Furthermore, in the recent past the concept of the ‘paranormal’ did not even exist in philosophy. William James, who extensively studied... Show moreScientists rarely take ‘paranormal experiences’ seriously. Furthermore, in the recent past the concept of the ‘paranormal’ did not even exist in philosophy. William James, who extensively studied mediumistic phenomena, labelled them ‘wild beasts of the philosophical desert’.This book demonstrates that to important philosophers – from Kant to Derrida – controversial phenomena like telepathy and clairvoyance were serious topics. The authors of this collection have studied relevant texts that have hitherto received little attention, and illustrate how each of the philosophers in question thoughtfully interpreted exceptional experiences that seem to go beyond our understanding. Show less
The ancient Persian storytelling tradition has survived until the present day among the Tajik villages in the Gissar mountains of Uzbekistan. This book explores the story of Barzu and demonstrates... Show moreThe ancient Persian storytelling tradition has survived until the present day among the Tajik villages in the Gissar mountains of Uzbekistan. This book explores the story of Barzu and demonstrates that the historical Transoxania, since the time of Alexander the Great, has always been a melting pot of diverse shared cultures. In the village of Pasurxi, near Boysun in the Surxandaryo region of contemporary Uzbekistan, a vivid oral tradition exists on the basis of stories from the Persian Book of Kings or Šohnoma (Shahnama), composed more than a thousand years ago by the poet Firdavsi (Ferdowsi). These stories deal with the hero Barzu who is presented in the stories from Boysun as the offspring of Suhrob, one of the most tragic heroes of the Šohnoma, and his father, the legendary champion Rustam, ruler of Sistan. The storytellers Jura Kamol and Mullo Ravšan composed two different versions of the story of Barzu in the Tajik as spoken in the Surxandaryo region. They used to tell their stories during evening gatherings in the village. Show less
Timmer, Nanne; Ruisánchez, José Ramón; Klinger, Diana; Cino, Waldo Përez et al. 2013
'Dit boek bundelt veertien essays over de culturele productie van de contemporaine Latijns-Amerikaanse stad. Vanuit diverse invalshoeken wordt de stad en haar schrijven geanalyseerd. De nieuwe en... Show more'Dit boek bundelt veertien essays over de culturele productie van de contemporaine Latijns-Amerikaanse stad. Vanuit diverse invalshoeken wordt de stad en haar schrijven geanalyseerd. De nieuwe en veelvoudige stedelijke routes die hierdoor ontstaan – door en over elkaar heen – zijn de lijnen die de chaotische postmoderne stad in beeld brengen. Die verbeelding voedt zich zowel uit vergane steden als futuristische beelden, en maakt zo verschillende vormen van interventie in de polis zichtbaar. De ruimte wordt opnieuw vormgegeven via kunst en literatuur. Romans met nieuwe cartografieën, performances in São Paulo en Santiago de Chile, performance poetry in México, getuigenissen van geweld en van migratie in steden als Medellín en Lima, blogs van virtuele gemeenschappen uit Havanna en San Juan, zijn enkele van de uitingsvormen die worden belicht in dit boek. Dit alles rond de onderliggende vraag: hoe de gemeenschap die komen gaat zichzelf betekenis geeft te midden van een onzekere tijd wat betreft belonging en identiteit.' Show less
The sculptors of the Roman Baroque, including masters such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Alessandro Algardi, and Giuliano Finelli, managed to achieve an unprecedented vivaciousness in their works. And... Show moreThe sculptors of the Roman Baroque, including masters such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Alessandro Algardi, and Giuliano Finelli, managed to achieve an unprecedented vivaciousness in their works. And yet, the apparent life of these sculptures is persistently obscured by their materiality. Soft, undulating flesh, dramatic movements, and fluttering draperies are captured in hard and lifeless marble. Thus, sculpture challenges the beholder, is cause for confusion or frustration. Taking the manner in which the beholder’s engagement with sculpture is played out in contemporary poetry and other sources as a point of departure and also introducing ideas from modern-day psychology, this study explores the various ways contemporary viewers dealt with sculpture’s double character. As a result, a new light is shed on some of the unquestionable masterpieces of European art. Show less
The use of testimonies in performance is enjoying increased artistic and critical popularity on contemporary world stages and has a long and rich tradition on South African stages. Both... Show moreThe use of testimonies in performance is enjoying increased artistic and critical popularity on contemporary world stages and has a long and rich tradition on South African stages. Both internationally and locally, emerging and established playwrights working on migration and refugee issues are seeking to incorporate the testimony of asylum seekers into their work. This necessitates a need to critically reflect on the influences that shape and structure the staging of testimonies. This study argues that increased migration and the mounting number arrivals of asylum seekers on South African shores, has motivated at times violent interaction between host communities and the new arrivals. These incidents have inspired a distinct trend of testimonial performances around the concept of asylum. This dissertation uses Narrative analysis to read examples of contemporary theatre of testimony plays that examine this phenomenon. The study examines how playwright positioning informs the structuring of asylum testimonies on stage in addition to contextualising the ethical and moral complexities the playwright's positionality places on their practice. Through three case studies, the study interrogates how playwright positioning informs notions of authorship, authenticity, truth, theatricality and ethics. The study further investigates the challenges speaking for 'self' and speaking for the 'other' place on testimonial playwrights. Chapter One explores the use of testimony in the documentary theatre tradition. The chapter defines terms and associated terminologies in fact-based theatre to explore the insights various epistemologies reveal about the development and evolution of the documentary tradition to its multiple contemporary manifestations. Chapter two outlines the methodological frame that informs the reading of the body of work under investigation. Chapter Three presents the first case study The Crossing, (2008) which is an autobiographical work written and presented by an asylum seeker Jonathan Nkala. The chapter investigates how the playwright's positioning informs the structure of the testimony and concludes by examining what the testimony itself communicates about the asylum condition. The study argues that the testimony forecasts the escalation of violence against migrants and asylum seekers. Chapter four problematizes the work of a playwright who used testimonies solicited from survivors, perpetrators and witnesses of the 2008 mass violence against foreign nationals in South Africa in The Line (2012) by Gina Shmukler. The chapter concludes by interpreting the mass violence presented in the testimonies as constituting acts of genocide. Chapter Five is a critical and reflexive analysis of the researcher's own practice in devising a play Asylum:Section 22 from the testimony of asylum seekers. The chapter explores the devising and creation process from interview to writing. The chapter also examines the significance of the site of testimony production in the dramaturgical choices. Show less
Mauritiana 5, het vijfde deel van de tweetalige serie catalogi in Nederlands en Portugees,is het resultaat van de samenwerking van Braziliaanse en Nederlandse instanties die beiden als doelstelling... Show moreMauritiana 5, het vijfde deel van de tweetalige serie catalogi in Nederlands en Portugees,is het resultaat van de samenwerking van Braziliaanse en Nederlandse instanties die beiden als doelstelling hebben de Nederlandse archieven betreffende Nederlands Brazilië in de zeventiende eeuw voor onderzoekers toegankelijk te maken. De geschiedenis van Nederlands Brazilië betrof maar een korte periode, namelijk van 1624 tot en met 1654, maar de voorbereidingen tot dit veroveringsproject en de politieke en financiële nasleep, na de verdrijving van de Nederlanders in 1654, bedroegen meer dan een eeuw. Show less
The quantity of scholarship on Persian literature is enormous. Yet works of literary criticism and analytical studies are a minute and newly-added portion of its entirety. With few and noteworthy... Show moreThe quantity of scholarship on Persian literature is enormous. Yet works of literary criticism and analytical studies are a minute and newly-added portion of its entirety. With few and noteworthy exceptions, the works are agglomerated around the names of such giants of Persian literature as Hafez, Rumi, and Ferdowsi. In this book Solati demonstrates the influence of Hafez on the thoughts, poetic language, and philosophy of the nineteenth and twentieth century Persian poets, writers and critics. Show less
Within discourses on farm worker empowerment the views of farm workers themselves are an often overlooked aspect. This thesis fills this void by examining farm worker priorities and perceptions on... Show moreWithin discourses on farm worker empowerment the views of farm workers themselves are an often overlooked aspect. This thesis fills this void by examining farm worker priorities and perceptions on empowerment. These are contrasted to the priorities and perceptions farmers have. Data for this thesis were collected between August 2012 and January 2013 during fieldwork in Stellenbosch, South Africa. A combination of interviews, focus group discussions, self-administered surveys and secondary sources make up the data. This research shows that the farm worker community is heterogeneous in regard to their priorities. Farm worker needs are a mix of priorities relating to material, immaterial, short-term, long-term, personal and impersonal objectives. Increased salary is the most important priority for farm workers and this is acknowledged by farmers. Work enjoyment is also highly important to farm workers yet overlooked by farmers. Farmers, more so than farm workers, are aware of the limitations to empowerment. The limitations in terms of scope and speed to empowerment will result in many farm workers not being greatly empowered leading to disappointment. Furthermore, empowerment as it currently stands will benefit those with permanent employment contracts while it might further marginalize non-permanent farm workers. Show less
Boin, M.; Polman, K.; Sommeling, C.M.; Doorn, M.C.A. van 2013
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 42 (2013).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 42 (2013). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
This bilingual Walking Guide celebrates 400 years of Arabic Studies in Leiden. Twenty nine sketches of people and places written by specialists in the field offer a unique insight into the history... Show moreThis bilingual Walking Guide celebrates 400 years of Arabic Studies in Leiden. Twenty nine sketches of people and places written by specialists in the field offer a unique insight into the history of Leiden's longstanding relationship with the Arabic and Muslim world. Find out more about Leiden's first inhabitant from North Africa and the history of the crescent moons on Leiden's city Hall while exploring the many, often unknown and hidden treasures of Leiden's Islamic past and present. Show less
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 43 (2013).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 43 (2013). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
Belle, Hilde van; Tindale, Christopher W.; Zenker, Frank et. al 2013
Since Aristotle, the study of rhetoric has focused on the persuasive aspect of verbal discourse in the political, forensic and ceremonial domains. Rhetoric deals with doxa, with public discourse... Show moreSince Aristotle, the study of rhetoric has focused on the persuasive aspect of verbal discourse in the political, forensic and ceremonial domains. Rhetoric deals with doxa, with public discourse and persuasion as they develop in a world with no absolute knowledge, certainty or fixity. Changing cultural and political conditions urge us to discuss the status, scope and value of rhetorical studies as a discipline. One of these conditions is the increasing influence of visual communication. This collection brings together work that examines how rhetoric functions at this moment and how it balances tradition and renewal. It discusses new theoretical perspectives and it proposes different rhetorical analyses of actual topics. A substantial part of the collection focuses specifically on the issue of (new) media discourse and visual rhetoric as it appears in pictures, graphics, cartoons, documentaries and videos Show less
