This book explores chronologically, for the first time, the representation and redefinition of Indonesia__s regional cultures through recording media, from the introduction of the gramophone record... Show moreThis book explores chronologically, for the first time, the representation and redefinition of Indonesia__s regional cultures through recording media, from the introduction of the gramophone record through the current video compact disc (VCD) era, taking as case study the Minangkabau ethnic group. Based on extensive fieldwork and historical research, the author follows the Dutch East Indies colonial society__s initial encounter with recording media and the later adoption and social uses of various types of recording media among the Minangkabau of West Sumatra and its diaspora. The transformation of Minangkabau culture and identity that came with the extensive reproduction of Minangkabau cultural sounds on commercial recordings is examined. This transformation was facilitated by the West Sumatran recording industry, founded in the early 1970s along with the spread of the audio-cassette in Indonesia. The author describes the workings of the West Sumatran recording industry and how its products become the preferred medium of cultural expressions of the Minangkabau ethnic group to hold on to its identity and existence in the face of a changing world. The representations of Minangkabau culture in regional commercial recordings explored in this study demonstrate the use of recording media technology by a local society to contextualize and maintain the viability and existence of their culture and identity, whose features are changing, adaptive, and fluid Show less
For most, J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy books are just fiction, but for a small group of people, they are much more than that. Across the world, individuals and small groups have created religious... Show moreFor most, J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy books are just fiction, but for a small group of people, they are much more than that. Across the world, individuals and small groups have created religious rituals and traditions based on Tolkien's works. These practitioners of ‘Tolkien religion' invoke the supernatural beings from Tolkien's stories in rituals inspired by modern witchcraft, or they make shamanic journeys to Middle-earth to visit those beings there. Some believe that they are ‘awakened elves': they have discovered that their ancestors were elves, or believe to be elven souls trapped in human bodies. Tolkien religion can be identified as an example of fiction-based religion, for it is religion based on fiction rather than on texts that claim to be true history. There are more fiction-based religion besides Tolkien religion - Star Wars-based Jediism is one - and in the book, a theoretical apparatus is developed for the study fiction-based religion in general. I first formulate a theory of the ‘religious affordances' of texts, on basis of which it is possible to predict whether a given piece of fiction is usable as an authoritative text for religion. Tolkien's stories have religious affordances, partly because Tolkien suggests that the supernatural entities in his stories might exist, both in the prologue to The Lord of the Rings and in many of his letters. Second, a theory is developed of the dynamics of belief in religious tradition. I argue that the core of all religions, including Tolkien religion, consists of rituals in which contact is sought with supernatural agents. Personal beliefs and doctrinal systems must be seen as second-order phenomena that explain and justify ritual practice. In the case of fiction-based religion, a key function of these beliefs is to legitimise the very use of fiction as a source of religious inspiration. The spiritual Tolkien milieu is tiny, but it makes visible three important trends in contemporary religion: the individualisation of religious authority, the psychologisation of religious practice, and the increasing use of fiction as a source of religious inspiration. Show less
Kurdish dengbêjs are singer-poets who are trained in singing and telling stories. For a long time, the dengbêjs and their art were suppressed and forgotten, and only recently did they return into... Show moreKurdish dengbêjs are singer-poets who are trained in singing and telling stories. For a long time, the dengbêjs and their art were suppressed and forgotten, and only recently did they return into public life. Today the dengbêjs are seen as guardians of Kurdish history and culture. This vision tells much about recent socio-political developments and should be understood in the context of the evolving story of Kurdish nationalism. The dengbêjs and their songs create a Kurdish home set within the landscape of Turkey and the surrounding (nation-)states. Since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the political landscape of the Kurdistan region was marked by conflict and turmoil that greatly affected the lives of millions of people. The art the dengbêjs, and the negotiation about what it means to be a dengbêj today, reflect this difficult history. From a theoretical perspective the dissertation gives an ethnographic account of narrative. The variety of narratives circulating in a society at a particular time and place are presented and analyzed. The narratives do not only tell us a story about Kurdish society in Turkey, but also about the larger global stories of modernity, nationalism, and Orientalism. This gives the study a wider relevance. Show less
The process of transition from the Ottoman Empire to nation states witnessed dramatic changes in the demographic and socio-economic structures of the once imperial lands. The history of the Ottoman... Show moreThe process of transition from the Ottoman Empire to nation states witnessed dramatic changes in the demographic and socio-economic structures of the once imperial lands. The history of the Ottoman county of Foçateyn, and its boomtown Eski Foça, in Western Anatolia, represents a microcosm of this larger transition. Foçateyn initially expanded and transformed as a result of the incorporation into world capitalist markets and the Ottoman reform movement. Eski Foça became a cosmopolitan boomtown. However, after the end of the Balkan Wars in 1913, Foçateyn became one of the contested zones of Greek and Ottoman Muslim nationalisms. In 1914, Young Turk clandestine operations ousted the Greek majority of Foçateyn right before to outbreak of the World War I. This marked the beginning of the local transition from empire to nation-state. In the end, in 1922, the economy and the demography of Foçateyn were 'nationalised'. The history of Foçateyn is thus an important contribution to understanding non-Western modernisation and nation-state building Show less
Can you imagine a radically different world? In our times dominated by neoliberal capitalism, we seem to lack not only viable alternatives, but also the capacity to envision anything outside of the... Show moreCan you imagine a radically different world? In our times dominated by neoliberal capitalism, we seem to lack not only viable alternatives, but also the capacity to envision anything outside of the status quo. In this PhD thesis, I show that videogames can be a potential source of inspiration and stimuli for radical political imagination beyond the known. To do so, I develop a theoretical and methodological framework for the study of videogames as ideational spaces and stimuli to the imagination, and demonstrate the initial claim by applying this framework in an analysis of several Japanese sf games Show less
Dit boek gaat over de relatie tussen de Marokkaanse overheid en Marokkaanse Nederlanders. Het perspectief van Marokkaanse Nederlanders staat hierin centraal. Wat zijn hun percepties over,... Show moreDit boek gaat over de relatie tussen de Marokkaanse overheid en Marokkaanse Nederlanders. Het perspectief van Marokkaanse Nederlanders staat hierin centraal. Wat zijn hun percepties over, ervaringen met en reacties op de zogenaamde ‘lange arm’ van Marokko?De Marokkaanse overheid voert actief beleid om banden te onderhouden met Marokkaanse Nederlanders; er is een Marokkaans ministerie van Marokkanen in het Buitenland, Stichting Hassan II organiseert zomerreizen naar Marokko en de overheid heeft programma’s om investeerders met een Marokkaanse achtergrond te begeleiden bij ondernemingen in Marokko. Deze relatie is in Nederland onderwerp van discussie, omdat ze als problematisch wordt ervaren. Er bestaat maatschappelijke en politieke onrust over dubbele nationaliteiten en het contact tussen burgers en een vreemde overheid.De Nederlandse discussie richt zich voornamelijk op het optreden van de Marokkaanse overheid. Er is opvallend weinig aandacht voor wat de Marokkaanse Nederlanders hiervan merken en wat zij hiermee doen. Marokkaanse Nederlanders blijven uit beeld of worden voorgesteld als enigszins weerloze ontvangers van de boodschappen en belangen die de Marokkaanse overheid over ze uitspreidt. Dit boek laat zien dat dit beeld onvolledig is: voor de daadwerkelijke uitvoering van het Marokkaanse overheidsbeleid vervullen Marokkaanse Nederlanders zelf een cruciale rol Show less
The Amorites are known throughout the history of the Ancient Near East: they occur in texts from the Ur III empire (2100–2000 bc), but also in the Bible. In the Old Babylonian period (2000–1600 bc)... Show moreThe Amorites are known throughout the history of the Ancient Near East: they occur in texts from the Ur III empire (2100–2000 bc), but also in the Bible. In the Old Babylonian period (2000–1600 bc), several dynasties of Amorite kings ruled all over the Middle East. They came to power in the early Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000–1800 bc).This thesis explores several aspects of these Early Old Babylonian Amorites. A philological and bibliographical chapter shows the state of research up until now. The role that ‘Amorites’ had in texts from the period is explored, as well as the matter of Amorite ethnicity and their distribution among the local population.The main part of this thesis is in the last chapters where the role of the Amorites and Amorite rulers in the early Old Babylonian period is reappraised Show less
The Iran-Iraq war began on September 22, 1980 when Iraq attacked the border towns of Iran. The war lasted for eight years. The Iran-Iraq war is the longest conventional battle since World War II.... Show moreThe Iran-Iraq war began on September 22, 1980 when Iraq attacked the border towns of Iran. The war lasted for eight years. The Iran-Iraq war is the longest conventional battle since World War II. It is estimated that on both sides there is about one million dead and three million wounded, thousands of prisoners, millions of homeless, and many cities were badly damaged. 2 On July 17, 1988, Iran accepted the United Nations Security Council Resolution 598. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, compared accepting the Resolution to “drinking poison”.3 The Resolution asked two countries to observe ceasefire and return to their homeland.4 The fight was legitimized by defining it as conflict between Islam and blasphemy, and aimed to overthrow and to punish the Baath party in Baghdad. The roots of this conflict are not clear. Some scholars say that it was the result of a personal conflict between Saddam Hosein (1937-2006) and Ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1998). Some researchers trace the reason for the war back to antiquity and the relationship between their predecessors. For several historians it is a conflict of Arabs versus Persians rooted in the Muslim invasion of Iran. For others, it is the result of a struggle between the Sunni Ottomans and the Shiite Safavids in the sixteenth century.5 Finding the historical roots of the conflict, and geo-political issues ended to the war are beyond the scope of this study to examine. The chief aim of this study is to explore how classical Persian poetry and the Persian mysticism that is interwoven with the poetry have been used in the new politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially during the Iran-Iraq war Show less
This thesis studies the relationship of the town al-Fusṭāṭ, located at the southern end of the Nile delta in Egypt, and its hinterland in the period between the town’s foundation in A.D. 641 and... Show moreThis thesis studies the relationship of the town al-Fusṭāṭ, located at the southern end of the Nile delta in Egypt, and its hinterland in the period between the town’s foundation in A.D. 641 and the arrival of the Abbasids in 750. Non-literary sources such as papyri and inscriptions (Arabic, Coptic, and Greek) and archaeology form the main source material of this thesis. Some topics, however, cannot be addressed but via medieval historical sources. The thesis presents four case studies: on (1) the administrative relationship between al-Fusṭāṭ and Alexandria, (2) the economic development of Alexandria after the foundation of al-Fusṭāṭ, (3) al-Fusṭāṭ’s role in the military administration of Upper Egypt, and (4) al-Fusṭāṭ and the legal administration of Upper Egypt. This thesis’s main findings are that the relationship between al-Fusṭāṭ and the rest of Egypt before 750 developed in three main steps: (1) c. 641 until c. 661, a period in which fiscal and military aspects dominated this relationship; (2) c. 661 until c. 700, a first period of centralization (civil, military, and legal administration) coinciding with the Sufyanids’ come to power; and (3) 700 until 750, a second period of centralization (civil, legal, and economic) coinciding with the Marwanid reforms.Egypt, al-Fustat, Alexandria, capital, military, economy, law, papyrology, early Islam Show less
The study addresses and explains the issue of negative descriptions of the Arab Other in modern Iranian thought. It attempts to understand and illustrate what the notion of the Arab means for... Show moreThe study addresses and explains the issue of negative descriptions of the Arab Other in modern Iranian thought. It attempts to understand and illustrate what the notion of the Arab means for Iranians and how Arabs are portrayed and by examining how they depicted, It describes why they depicted in modern time in such a way, linking this portrayal to a range of ideologies in modern Iran. In doing this research, the researcher has limited his analysis to a certain body of fiction and non-fiction texts. he has selected writings produced by prominent Iranian authors of a variety of ideological affiliations, including literary works such as short stories, novels, historical stories and works published in academic or semi-academic journals, as well as some works in the field of historiography, all of which were written in Persian by Iranian writers between the 1850s and the 1950s. In a broader sense, the study offers an analytical model for the understanding of the Iranian notions of Self and Other in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It investigates the ethnic and racial attitudes of a number of Iranian writers and thinkers toward Arabs, contributing to an understanding of the way in which the Iranian identity has been shaped in modern times. Show less
