The emergence of Ottoman Turkish popular erotic narratives coincided with the proclamation of the Second Constitution in 1908. Thereafter, the publication of these narratives continued for... Show moreThe emergence of Ottoman Turkish popular erotic narratives coincided with the proclamation of the Second Constitution in 1908. Thereafter, the publication of these narratives continued for around two decades until they were prohibited in the early years of the Turkish Republic on the grounds that they would damage public morality. This dissertation comprehensively reads examples of Ottoman Turkish popular erotic narratives. It provides insight into newly emerging discourses on gender and sexuality in the twentieth-century Ottoman Empire. In addition to investigating the emergence of new discourses on gender and sexuality through which the transition from sexual practices to construction of sexual identities unfolded, this dissertation is intended to demonstrate the Ottoman Empire’s political transition to modernity as well as to the nation state in relation to those newly emerged discourses. Show less
Our view of the body as passive biological matter has been tested in the face of gene editing, stem cell research and tissue engineering. Now biotechnological research tells us that bodies may... Show moreOur view of the body as passive biological matter has been tested in the face of gene editing, stem cell research and tissue engineering. Now biotechnological research tells us that bodies may be dead and alive; they may be human and non-human; multiple and yet one. The way we think about bodies, and the way we practice them, marks a particular tension in the way biotechnology treats our bodies. This book explores the conditions of thinking and practicing bodies within affect. In order to grasp the continuity of thought and practice of bodies, I focus on the concept of affect at work in Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy, in particular, in his reading of Baruch Spinoza and Jakob von Uexküll. The notion of affect is used to understand the relational, contaminating materialities of our bodies, and the term “affect” confronts us with the actual implications of its practicing. I argue that affect, as a transformative relationality, is induced by bioartists and biodesigners who work with living bodies as an artistic medium. Therefore, looking closely at how artists use the relational capacities of bodies in their work, I search for the conditions for practicing bodies within affect. Show less
This dissertation aims to identify women’s participation in the manuscript culture of the “Twelfth-Century Renaissance” (c.1075 – c.1225) in Western Europe. Historically considered to be a... Show moreThis dissertation aims to identify women’s participation in the manuscript culture of the “Twelfth-Century Renaissance” (c.1075 – c.1225) in Western Europe. Historically considered to be a period dominated by men, this study will argue that women actively participated in book culture. By paying attention to the books that women owned, commissioned and copied, this study will assess the female experience as reader, scribe and patron. Unique to this proposal is the examination of gender in relation to manuscript studies, specifically codicology (the study of books as physical objects). First, this study examines the types of books owned by both religious and secular women (prayer books, books of hours, poetry) and the types of books they produced (liturgical books, theological works, correspondence). Here, the study will consider questions related to women’s education and literacy, social status and reading patterns. Second, it aims to identify specific physical characteristics that are unique to the appearance of medieval manuscripts produced by women and for women, such as reading aids, page layouts and script. Can these features illustrate the explicit and implicit demands of women for various types and styles of books? Show less
Through photography, people share what landscapes mean to them. In her dissertation, which is interdisciplinary between art history, cultural geography and landscape architecture, Van den... Show moreThrough photography, people share what landscapes mean to them. In her dissertation, which is interdisciplinary between art history, cultural geography and landscape architecture, Van den Heuvel introduces a new methodology that consists of three steps: ‘georeferencing’, ‘geospecific comparison’ and ‘geogeneric comparison’. The method helps to analyse how landscape pictures create meaning of a location or – to speak with Yi-Fu Tuan – ‘make place’. Van den Heuvel first applies her method to three case studies in the Dutch landscape: the Haarlemmermeer area around Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam as photographed by Theo Baart and published in the photobook Werklust. Biography of a Landscape in Transition (2015); a tree nursery in the banks of the Lower Rhine as photographed by Gerco de Ruijter for the photograph Baumschule #2 (2009) and the nature reserve of a heath area near Laren in the Gooi-area in the Central Netherlands as photographed by Kim Boske for the photograph Mapping 5 (2008-2009). Conclusively is stated, that photographers do not only work with the physical elements that appeared before their cameras. Also, the photographer workds rhetorically with compositions and motives that persist from famous landscape painting to create meaning of a place. Show less
This thesis represents a discussion of gender roles in traditional healing practices in the Bantu ethnic society of Busoga, in the Eastern part of Uganda. Traditional healing practices are an... Show moreThis thesis represents a discussion of gender roles in traditional healing practices in the Bantu ethnic society of Busoga, in the Eastern part of Uganda. Traditional healing practices are an integral element of the life of Busoga society. Traditional medicine is practiced within the parameters of the socio-cultural, economic, religious and political constructions of society. Traditional healing practices among the Basoga are an important resource to all socio-economic groups. The rich and poor, rural and urbanized, illiterate and educated, men and women, seek the services of traditional healers during their lifetime, though each of the social class’s access to traditional medicine is determined by its social positioning and gendered expectations. Traditional medicinal practice is an arena for the production and maintenance of social power relations between men and women. Power relations prevalent in traditional healing are a continuum of the wider gender relations between women and men, which subsequently determine their roles in society. The way society constructs the roles and associated expectations of men and women has not left the practice of traditional medicine unaffected. Busoga society interpretation of health connects with people’s ability to fulfill their basic social expectations, with clear distinctions between men’s and women’s roles. Show less
In deze thesis wordt het argument verdedigd dat de manier waarop geometrische patronen als decoraties functioneren precies laat zien hoe representatie werkt. Het argument ontvouwt zich onder... Show moreIn deze thesis wordt het argument verdedigd dat de manier waarop geometrische patronen als decoraties functioneren precies laat zien hoe representatie werkt. Het argument ontvouwt zich onder meer door middel van een uitgebreide analyse van het recente ‘core knowledge’ paradigma uit de cognitieve psychologie. Core knowledge onderzoekers stellen dat culturele fenomenen zoals muziek, taal en visuele patronen, geworteld zijn in aangeboren kennissystemen bijvoorbeeld op het gebied van geometrie en nummer. Hieruit wordt duidelijk dat iedereen over dezelfde mentale bouwstenen beschikt om abstracte patronen te herkennen en te maken. Een analyse van onderzoek uit de antropologie en de semiotiek toont aan dat ook het vermogen om abstracte tekens als representatie van een ander object, lichaam of idee te zien, in elk mens aanwezig moet zijn. Met behulp van theorieën over representatie uit de kunstgeschiedenis, zoals die van Leon Battista Alberti en Gottfried Semper, wordt ten slotte duidelijk hoe het maakproces verloopt door middel waarvan abstracte tekens representaties worden. Geconcludeerd wordt dat als zodanig geometrisch decoratieve patronen op z’n minst en per definitie altijd naar een menselijke maker verwijzen en daarmee naar intentionaliteit. Show less
The dissertation, Grand Tour naar het Noorden, investigates the relations between Dutch and Nordic architecture during the period 1890-1965 from a comparative perspective. The starting point of the... Show moreThe dissertation, Grand Tour naar het Noorden, investigates the relations between Dutch and Nordic architecture during the period 1890-1965 from a comparative perspective. The starting point of the research is that in the reference books on Dutch architecture only limited attention is given to the relations with Scandinavia and Finland. The aim of the study is to draw conclusions about the importance of the reciprocal relations for the architectural history of the Netherlands and that of Scandinavia and Finland. In order to form a balanced opinion about these connections an investigation was also conducted into the relations between Nordic architecture and that of Great Britain and Germany. Show less
The Third Avant-garde investigates radical art manifestations in Southeast Asia, which took place around the mid-1980s, when postmodernism started to gain force in the region. It proposes that... Show moreThe Third Avant-garde investigates radical art manifestations in Southeast Asia, which took place around the mid-1980s, when postmodernism started to gain force in the region. It proposes that the advent of postmodernism in Southeast Asia is anchored in the materiality of traditional arts, an aspect that renders it different from its Western equivalent. The dissertation distinguishes two sets of postmodern manifestations: first, practices that use traditions in a celebratory way, and second, a set of works which use traditional arts radically. This study proposes that the second possibility manifests a double dismantle—first, against local patronizing forces that were enforcing artists to practice academic art and Western media (such as painting and sculpture), and second, a distancing attitude from Western art intelligentsia, who acted as ‘owners of the discourse’, and regarded ‘non-Western’ practitioners as followers rather than as trendsetters. For this investigation, the discipline of anthropology was called in, as was the art historical category of the avant-garde. The two approaches combined reveal how contemporary art from Southeast Asia that reprocesses traditional arts can be regarded as avant-garde. These gestures are novel, and result from practicing art in a certain location, and which is bound to a specific socio-political context. Show less
At the end of the eighteenth century the Enlightenment brought forth new ideas on colonial relations and colonial policies. How did these ideas manifest themselves in early nineteenth-century... Show moreAt the end of the eighteenth century the Enlightenment brought forth new ideas on colonial relations and colonial policies. How did these ideas manifest themselves in early nineteenth-century literary fiction?Vaders en dochters (Fathers and daughters) focusses on three narratives about dramatic events in Moluccan history: a narrative poem by Jan Fredrik Helmers (1812), a short story by Maurits Ver Huell (1837) and a historical novel by Willem Ritter (1844). In all three the main characters are a father and a daughter. These narratives are extensely researched and analyzed. By taking in account more recent historical and antropological findings, an attempt is made to trace the emergence, rise and downfall of Enlightenment idealism in nineteenth-century historical romance.The stories of Helmers, Ver Huell and Ritter inspired other nineteenth century narratives, both literary and historical. In time some parts were integrated into Bandanese and Ambonese local histories, while the female character of Ver Huells story nowadays is considered a national heroine of Indonesia. In conclusion a postcolonial novel by Y.B. Mangunwijaya, likewise about a father and daughter in the turmoil of Moluccan history, is discussed to highlight the merits and deficiencies of Dutch colonial fiction. Show less
Thisinterdisciplinary research argues how a scrupulous reading of the medium ofphotography, through geography and philosophy, can shed light on thespatiotemporal account of the concept of place. To... Show moreThisinterdisciplinary research argues how a scrupulous reading of the medium ofphotography, through geography and philosophy, can shed light on thespatiotemporal account of the concept of place. To do this, it breaks down theparticipatory elements of photography into six tropes: the photographer, thecamera, the photograph, the photographic image, the spectator, and thephotographic genre. Subsequently, it looks at each of the aforementioned tropesthrough the lens of place, indicating how a place cannot be the content of adefinite representation, as if fixed in time and space. In other words, insteadof analysing place through space, this research gives precedence to the formerto argue how place creates space (the photographer), how it fixes space (thecamera), how it passes through space (the photograph), how it interpolatesspace (the photographic image), how it promises space (the spectator), and howit operationalizes space in-between the text and the image (the photographicgenre). Therefore, rather than viewing space as an abstract entity thatcontinually evades representation, this dissertation demonstrates theimperceptible, intangible, and intractable aspects of each partaker ofphotography through its unprecedented theoretical approach. Show less
