This thesis investigates the formation of the Japanese nation-state from the angle of children’s literature. On the one hand, it elucidates how premodern warrior legends were canonized and adapted... Show moreThis thesis investigates the formation of the Japanese nation-state from the angle of children’s literature. On the one hand, it elucidates how premodern warrior legends were canonized and adapted in children’s literature and textbooks of the Meiji (1686-1912) and Taishō (1912-1926) period to shape the dispositions of young citizens according to various modern ideals. On the other hand, it analyses the role of children’s literature in Japan’s transition to modernity and the identity-formation of the adults involved. This thesis challenges the idea that ‘books for children’ did not exist before the Meiji period by placing the material within the contemporary context. Focusing on the work of the author Iwaya Sazanami (1870-1933), it consequently re-assesses the development of modern children’s literature in Japan through the lens of Yuri Lotman’s theory on cultural memory. The re-appropriation of warrior legends in a modern literary genre for young citizens contributed to the coherence of culture during Japan’s transition to modernity. The new genre moreover signified Japan’s status as a modern society that separates the sphere of childhood from adulthood, thereby providing the latter with a sense of Selfhood and the right to guide both real and metaphorical children in their development. Show less
This dissertation analyzes the changing discourses of Turkish nationalism between 1950s-1980 through the reproduction of political myths in nationalist action/adventure films with historical... Show moreThis dissertation analyzes the changing discourses of Turkish nationalism between 1950s-1980 through the reproduction of political myths in nationalist action/adventure films with historical settings. How myths narrate the nation’s spatial, ancestral, temporal roots, present situation, future, and mission is examined in seventy-one films that recreate the past within the frameworks of different historical-political contexts. The central question is: How does the depiction of the past change through time with the increasing polarizations hence nationalist militancy in the country? With a close reading in combination with film analysis, the depictions of the ideal representative of the Turkish nation, the national leader, warrior, enemies, friends, women, children, the national space, religion, and national mission are revealed. Show less
In the art world of the late 18th. and the entire 19th. century, there appeared to have been a widespread notion of sea painting as a bearer of national pride. An idea that was directly related to... Show moreIn the art world of the late 18th. and the entire 19th. century, there appeared to have been a widespread notion of sea painting as a bearer of national pride. An idea that was directly related to the economic prosperity of the 17th-century Republic, which stemmed from the shipping industry of the time. An impression emerged of how the interaction between art and society can take shape. The role of sea painting within 19th. century nationalism was a striking aspect, but the effect that the label of a national genre had on its practice and appreciation also stood out. Sea painters started to work with it and art critics included it in their judgements. For a long time, traditional style criteria were maintained; the 17 th. century was never far away in many respects.This led to a framing of sea painting in an artistic tradition, which resulted in a certain inability to keep up with innovations in painting. The love of the ship and the specialist nautical knowledge of the sea painters were for a long time a unique quality, but they ultimately proved to be their Achilles' heel. When at the end of the 19th century the artistic tradition of the 17th-century Dutch school was definitively broken, sea painting disappeared from the canon of the visual arts. Show less
Before 1936, musical practices in Palestine relied heavily on colloquial poetry, especially in rural communities, which constituted most of the population. During the first half of the twentieth... Show moreBefore 1936, musical practices in Palestine relied heavily on colloquial poetry, especially in rural communities, which constituted most of the population. During the first half of the twentieth century, Palestinian music evolved as a reflection of the social, cultural, and political evolution of Palestinians. Palestinian music-making evolved exponentially resulting in the expansion of various folk tunes into shaʿbī songs, the creation of the Palestinian qaṣīda song genre, new compositions of instrumental music for traditional and Western music formations, the establishment of choirs and children music programing, and active engagement in composing in the styles of the dominant Egyptian genres of the time as well as muwashshaḥāt.In 1948, the vast majority of Palestinians were displaced, and musicians found themselves at the frontier of implementing new political and cultural visions in the countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Therefore, the continuation of the musical narrative in the West Bank did not seem attainable. By the early 1950s, Palestinian musicians and intellectuals developed a vocabulary that reflected the topography, scenery, culture, dialects, and history of al-Mashriq, one that is independent of Egypt’s. Their input, intuition, experience, and convictions of various Palestinian musicians helped to make the music scene in Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan what they are today. Show less
This study focuses on the issue of a “moral crisis” which was a widely discussed topic among the Ottoman intelligentsia. Moving on from the common view that the “moral crisis” reached a peak... Show moreThis study focuses on the issue of a “moral crisis” which was a widely discussed topic among the Ottoman intelligentsia. Moving on from the common view that the “moral crisis” reached a peak during the First World War, this study investigates how morality was related to the war and the preconditions that created the perception of a crisis in morality. The study argues that morality was a contested space among the intellectuals and explains how rival ideologies set forth their political positions depending on differing understandings of morality. For the state, on the other hand, moral decline became a matter of national security during the war. The study demonstrates how wartime rivalries were reflected in the cultural sphere through morality discourses. In public opinion and political circles, immorality was generally considered a social problem that had been imported from European countries. At the social level, the study focuses on family, women, and morality related crimes with an emphasis on the impact of war on traditional family order. The dissertation sheds a light on the place of morality in lawmaking processes, the ideas of reform and progress, and plans for a new society. Show less
The corpus of the Ottoman Turkish literary utopias is little known. It has not received its due share of attention in Ottoman Turkish literary history, and many works of this kind have sunken... Show moreThe corpus of the Ottoman Turkish literary utopias is little known. It has not received its due share of attention in Ottoman Turkish literary history, and many works of this kind have sunken into oblivion. The present dissertation aims at unearthing these works and at performing a comprehensive examination of this corpus which furnishes valuable insight into the Ottoman Turkish political, cultural, and literary history in the 19th and 20th centuries. It also demonstrates that the Balkan War of 1912-1913 represents a significant rupture in the trajectory of this literature. This dissertation argues that the catastrophic defeat suffered by the Ottomans in the Balkan War, along with its tragic consequences, produced profound shock and trauma in the Ottoman Turkish public and intelligentsia. The state’s teetering on the brink of collapse transformed and radicalized political and ideological positions on the country’s future. At the same time, this extreme setback transformed literature as well, assigning to it the mission of narrativizing this trauma and envisioning a future for Turkey. Accordingly, in the period following the Balkan War, many utopian works were produced in Ottoman Turkish literature, and some of these works have been helpful in the creation of new categories of identity. Show less
This present dissertation explores how domestic political power struggles in Greece and Turkey during the Cold War engaged with the ongoing conflict in Cyprus. Furthermore, it demonstrates how... Show moreThis present dissertation explores how domestic political power struggles in Greece and Turkey during the Cold War engaged with the ongoing conflict in Cyprus. Furthermore, it demonstrates how political parties in both states used – and often maintained – the unsettled and contentious legal positioning of Cyprus in order to reinforce their own political prowess domestically and vis-à-vis one another. In so doing, the thesis traces how socialist and left-leaning parties in Greece and Turkey developed into nationalist ones, and their relation with nationalism in general, adopting ideologies that in effect claimed Cyprus as their own. After presenting a lengthy and analytical account of the Greek and Turkish legal socialist parties and their political agenda, focusing not only on Cyprus but in domestic and international affairs also, the study moves with an explorative contrast and comparisons between the two parties. In five comparative chapters, the study aims to demonstrate how socialist parties in Greece and Turkey struggled with the concept of the “nation” in battling for power and political positioning within their own capitals. 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
This study discusses the transformation from a colonial into a national economy in Indonesia and Vietnam. It focuses on two intertwined processes of economic decolonization and reconstruction in... Show moreThis study discusses the transformation from a colonial into a national economy in Indonesia and Vietnam. It focuses on two intertwined processes of economic decolonization and reconstruction in the two countries after the Second World War, paying special attention to political and institutional factors involved in these processes. The study demonstrates that, although differences in the political situations resulted in the adoption of divergent strategies, Indonesia and Vietnam were in fact pursuing similar long-term goals, namely: attaining a national independent economy. The Indonesian government was determined to get rid of the economic legacy of Dutch colonialism by placing the whole economy under the strong state control and ownership, in accordance with the spirit of Guided Democracy and Guided Economy in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. This effort resembled much the socialist transformation of North Vietnam in the 1950s and the various means by which the government of South Vietnam concentrated economic power in its hands during the late 1950s and the early 1960s. 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
This work aimed at providing a better understanding of the involvement of Ottoman (Muslim) women, both as object and as subject, in the regeneration of nationalism through their activities as... Show moreThis work aimed at providing a better understanding of the involvement of Ottoman (Muslim) women, both as object and as subject, in the regeneration of nationalism through their activities as individuals and in female associational life. By describing and analyzing the feminist, philanthropic/charitable, and patriotic/nationalist activities of Ottoman Muslim women during the period 1908-1918, the study sought to get a better understanding of the identity claims which are part of the particular form of discourse which nationalism is and to show how the processes of community and/or nation building and the creation of state indentity/identities in the late Ottoman Empire were gendered. It shows that Ottoman Muslim women with their organizations and activities not only reflected the multi-tier identities prevailing in late Ottoman society, but actively took part in shaping, shifting and reshuffling them and that knowledge of the activities of Ottoman (Muslim) women in the many feminist, philanthropic and patriotic organizations which existed during the last decades of the Ottoman Empire is indispensible for a better understanding of the development of nationalism(s) in the late Ottoman era and the identity claims involved in it. Show less
This dissertation explores the appropriation of Greek antiquity by Byzantine scholars in Renaissance Italy. The Byzantines had traditionally seen themselves as Romans, yet Byzantine scholars in... Show moreThis dissertation explores the appropriation of Greek antiquity by Byzantine scholars in Renaissance Italy. The Byzantines had traditionally seen themselves as Romans, yet Byzantine scholars in Italy claimed to be the descendants of the ancient Greeks. This study explains for what reasons these scholars changed their traditional self-image and charts the rhetorical strategies with which they substantiated their new claim. The first part of the study shows that their distinctively Greek self-representation had been prefigured in 15th-century Byzantium and was stimulated by humanist bias and stereotypes in Italy. Whereas Hellenism remained suspect in Byzantium, ‘being Greek’ could be socially advantageous in the context of Italian humanism. The second part of the dissertation offers four case studies dealing with the self-representation of, chiefly, Bessarion, George Trapezuntius of Crete, Janus Lascaris, and Johannes Gemistus. Exploring a variegated range of underexposed sources in Greek, Latin, and Italian, these chapters show how Byzantine scholars in different contexts used notions such as cultural ownership, ethnic kinship, and territoriality to authenticate their claim that they were the legitimate heirs and descendants of the ancient Greeks. The case-studies also illustrate how (post-)Byzantines could use this claim to advance their social and political agendas in Italy. Show less
This dissertation explores the diversity and complexity of Korea__s colonial history (1910-1945) through interdisciplinary approaches. It focuses on religion and literature, because they... Show moreThis dissertation explores the diversity and complexity of Korea__s colonial history (1910-1945) through interdisciplinary approaches. It focuses on religion and literature, because they inextricably intertwined with politics during that period. Other scholars have understood this intimate relationship to indicate simply how much artistic and cultural activities contributed to the national ideals and goals of independence from Japanese colonialism. However, this dissertation attempts to diverge from the dominant politicized understanding by adopting four diverse perspectives: postnationalist, postcolonial, feminist, and religious. By using a group of writers as a microcosm, this dissertation examines how Korean writers were fully aware of their role in a colonial society and how they coped with socio-political problems by accepting religion (Buddhism in particular) as the fundamental solution to them. My close investigation presents how their literary and religious narratives provided new and alternative views of significant events in colonial society, from nation-building to pro-Japanese collaboration. These literary sources also intimate a more richly nuanced colonial experience and a more complex response to colonialism than does the dominant scholarship on colonial Korea. Show less
This oral project draws upon Gypsies’ and non-Gypsies’ narratives of forced dislocation from the town of Bayramic in 1970 with a focus on the recruitment of categories of Gypsyness and Turkishness.... Show moreThis oral project draws upon Gypsies’ and non-Gypsies’ narratives of forced dislocation from the town of Bayramic in 1970 with a focus on the recruitment of categories of Gypsyness and Turkishness. It reveals different perspectives and memory constructions along with the positions taken in the attacks and the socioeconomic structure. It displays how and why the social categories functioned by underlining the flexibility of the category of Gypsyness and Turkishness in the town’s context. It discloses how ethnic and other identities represented in cultural spheres can be employed to conceal socio-economic and political inequalities. Thus, the general constitutions of the aforementioned categories in relation to citizenship, nationalism, class and ethnicity in Turkey with an urge for a critical thinking on the logic of national historiography through a particular case and its reflections on ordinary people’s lives are presented. Our particular case will also exemplify how different categories work in relation to national identity, discourse and practices. How nationalism takes different forms and identifications, how and/or when Turkishness is realized and practiced differently, how Gypsyness is constructed in relation to dominant perceptions especially on Turkishness are among the issues of this research. Show less
The purpose of the research presented in this thesis was to gain insight into social-psychological mechanisms that underlie negative attitudes towards the Roma, i.e. Romaphobia, among adolescents.... Show moreThe purpose of the research presented in this thesis was to gain insight into social-psychological mechanisms that underlie negative attitudes towards the Roma, i.e. Romaphobia, among adolescents. Drawing from the threat theory (Stephan & Stephan, 1996, 2000), we found evidence that the perception of economic and symbolic threat mediates relationships between national in-group attitudes and acculturation preferences, on the one hand, and Romaphobia on the other. Perceived threat to the continued transmission of and support for one’s heritage culture and economic welfare was the basis for nationalistic adolescents’ Romaphobia. Moreover, adolescents who endorsed ethnocentric acculturation strategies, characterized by a relative degree of rejection of Roma’s culture (assimilation), contact with Roma (segregation), or both (marginalization), perceived more threat and Romaphobia. In contrast, youth who favored Roma integration perceived lower levels of threat and more favorable attitudes toward the Roma. This model of relationships appeared to be structurally similar between the Netherlands and Serbia, two countries that clearly differ with respect to minority proportion and status. Explanations are discussed as well as implications for theory and prejudice reduction in diverse intercultural settings. Show less
To figure out how to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits, we need to understand all dimensions and types of diversity. Research shows that some diversity characteristics have a larger... Show moreTo figure out how to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits, we need to understand all dimensions and types of diversity. Research shows that some diversity characteristics have a larger impact than others (Tsui, Egan, & O’Reilly, 1992). One type of diversity that could have a significant impact on workgroup interaction is national diversity. Every member, however, enters the workgroup with a set of personal and social attitudes and beliefs. These pre-programmed attitudes and beliefs may largely affect one’s perceptions and thus behaviors. Whether diversity will have positive or negative consequences may be explained by investigating attitudes of the group members. For this reason, I investigate nationalistic attitudes as exacerbators of conflict in nationally diverse workgroups. A set of studies investigates propositions that members with diverse national backgrounds, especially if they have strong nationalistic attitudes, are likely to experience more conflict than nationally homogenous groups (and/or if members do not hold strong nationalistic views). Other moderators of conflict and outcomes in nationally diverse workgroups that I examine using multiple methods (field, scenario, and lab studies) include social distances, national stereotypes, similarity preferences, and perceived respect. Show less
=========ABSTRACT=========It is tempting to think of precolonial India as a harmonious society, but was it? This study brings evidence from new and unexpected sources to take position in the... Show more=========ABSTRACT=========It is tempting to think of precolonial India as a harmonious society, but was it? This study brings evidence from new and unexpected sources to take position in the sensitive debate over that question. From the investigation of six conflicts in the Deccan region it draws conclusions about group behaviour that put modern clashes in context. Some of the conflicts under investigation appear odd today but were very real to the involved, as the antagonism between Left and Right Hand castes was for about a thousand years. Other conflicts continue to the present day: the seventeenth century saw lasting changes in the relationship between Hindus and Muslims as well as the rise of patriotism and early nationalism in both India and Europe. This book carefully brings to life the famous and obscure people who made the era, from the Dutch painter Heda to queen Khadija and from maharaja Shivaji to the English rebel Keigwin=========NOTES=========First Leiden University Press edition, 2009. Entirely revised from the author’s dissertation Xenophobia and Consciousness in Seventeenth-Century India: Six Cases from the Deccan, 12-Mar-2008. Show less
