This thesis aims to shed new light on the Chinese character xia 侠 and the literature and history of the Republican Era (1912-1949) that revolves around it. Xia refers to either a concept (identifiable with kindness, altruism, righteousness, etc.) or to a person who practices this concept. Ever since its arrival in Chinese texts in the sixth century BC, it has created controversy for some and sympathy for others. In Modern China, xia became the central aspect of a literary genre that reached its zenith in production and consumption in the Republican Era, i.e. wuxia fiction 武侠小说, which can be translated as “using martial arts (wu 武) to obtain xia”. The concept of xia was an integral part of presumably the most widespread literary genre of the time, but why were Republican-era readers so interested in it? Why did they relate to xia and what do the themes of these novels say about the chaotic Republican Era? To answer these questions, this thesis presents a case study of a wuxia pentalogy written by Wang Dulu at the end of the Republican Era and attempts to identify the topics and aspects most reflective of that historical period, showing that, despite the heavy criticism of intellectuals of that time, these “easy” popular novels contain innovative and modern aspects and can become today of great historical importance. The thesis starts with two literature reviews. The first determines that the term xia has not received enough scholarly attention, calling for a reassessment. The second literature review focuses on Republican Era wuxia fiction, showing how there is a gap in scholarship on this period. This is followed by a discussion of the methodology used for the analysis of the case study on Wang Dulu’s Crane-Iron Series written in Qingdao (1938-1944), presented in the final three chapters of the thesis. Chapter one analyses the origins of the term xia in texts from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), presenting new interpretations for a more comprehensive understanding of the term. Chapter two gives a historical overview of xia¬-related literature and addresses the historical reasons for the changes that xia underwent throughout Chinese history. Chapter three includes a historiography of the Republican Era in combination with the life of the author Wang Dulu and identifies the aspects of the author’s life that will become important in the textual analysis in the chapters to follow. Chapter four focuses on xia in the Crane-Iron Series. After having collected the terms and identified the semantic spheres that include the Chinese character xia, the chapter demonstrates how the story of one of the series’ protagonist can be seen as an personification of Republican-era China, proving the historical dimension and value of these novels. Chapter five analyses yi 义 (righteousness) and represents the virtuous aspect of xia, concluding that, according to Wang Dulu, for the concept of xia, virtue is more important than being trained in martial arts (wu). Chapter six focuses on the literary figure of the baobiao 保镖 (protector) and is seen as the commercialisation of martial arts not necessarily linked to xia, showing how entrepreneurship and violence were characteristics of the time.

This study investigates information inequality and poverty in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Its purpose is to explore and elucidate strategies for public libraries to support the alleviation of this type of inequality and poverty within their communities. In Chapters 1 and 2, in-depth discussions of information inequality and poverty are presented. An historical perspective of libraries in South Africa is presented in Chapter 3. The theoretical framework used for this study is explained in Chapter 4. This research is based mainly on the critical theories of Pierre Bourdieu, Paolo Freire, Martha Nussbaum, and Shiraz Durrani. In addition, a new integrative approach to information inequality and poverty based on this critical theoretical framework is presented. Chapter 5 will explain the qualitative research design and methodology of this study. A rationale for choosing to conduct two case studies is provided. The choice of constructivist, critical paradigms are explained as is the decision to use a quantitative survey to supplement the design. In Chapter 6, uMhlathuze municipality and the case study libraries is discussed in depth. The findings of the data collection are presented, collated under five main themes based on the main research questions. Chapter 7 interprets and discusses the research findings in three primary analytic categories. An explanation of the steps to apply the new integrative approach to information inequality and poverty is provided. Final conclusions for addressing the problem is presented in Chapter 8 along with recommendations for libraries wishing to alleviate information inequality and poverty. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / PhD / Unrestricted

This Master thesis examines Czech literary fiction as a historical source, which can be used as a teaching instrument for understanding the normalisation era. In its theoretical part, the thesis summarizes contemporary Czech historical discourse about the normalisation era. It analyzes the influence of culture and memory on historical consciousness, and the goals and methods of contemporary history teaching. More specifically, it investigates how primary sources can be used in teaching and how cultural historical sources-and fiction literature in particular-can be analyzed. It utilizes constructivist teaching methods with the goal of achieving historical competence. It its practical part, the thesis describes five history lessons that apply findings from the theoretical part. In the lessons, pupils first have the opportunity to explore a wide range of sources, and consequently to research, analyze and interpret them. Later, they work with film excerpts, historical documents and literary fiction. In a final section, the thesis connects the theoretical and practical findings in a reflection of the history lessons.

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China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) deeply wounded the collective identity of the nation’s population, as it caused dramatic chaos and violence in every social arena, bringing the country into a decade-long crisis. In the 1980s and 1990s, a wave of autobiographical works was published in China and overseas, commemorating the authors’ (mainly former Red Guards) participation in the Cultural Revolution and post-1968 Rustication Movement (1968-1980). Focusing on the Red Guards, the main participants of the movements, this research inquiries how autobiographical works reflect the impacts of their direct engagement in the history on their self-identification. This study applies a theoretical framework combining Maurice Halbwachs’s insights into collective memory and Jeffrey C. Alexander’s conceptualization of cultural trauma, with trauma and identity as the cores of textual analysis. This research analyses two selected works in each region to observe how the different cultural and social contexts in China and North America affect former Red Guards’ self-identification and their navigation of the traumatic past. Textual analysis of the four selected works shows that Red Guard autobiographies embody the nexus between individual memory and the social framework of the collective memory of the Cultural Revolution and Rustication Movement, as the latter reveals itself in the forms of narrative chronology, verbal conventions, and recurring scenes in the texts. While the social framework of collective memory shapes the Red Guard writers’ textual representations, the Red Guard writers engage in the collective remembering process and construct a victimhood-oriented narrative of the two movements through concentrating on the narrator or other characters’ tragedies. In social and practical aspects, Red Guard autobiographies have multiple roles in the trauma process of the events: the channel for emotional catharsis, the discursive field for former Red Guard writers’ exploration of their memories, and the medium through which the former Red Guard writers articulate their identities. Published in distinctive cultural and political contexts, China and North America, the Red Guard autobiographies embody authors’ different claims: the domestic Red Guard writers remain ambiguous in attribution of the undesired outcomes of the two movements and provide no clear identity of the victims, whereas the expatriate Red Guard writers in North America claim the movements’ experimental nature with stress laid on the inner-party struggles and identify the generation of the Red Guards and educated youths as the victims. Concentrating on collective memory and cultural trauma, this thesis provides new angles to understand the relations among personal narratives, social and cultural contexts, and national history. This study analyzes Red Guard memoirs’ functions in the working-through process of the two unsuccessful mass movements, showing how literary representations assist individuals and collectives with trauma healing and self-reflection. / Graduate

Es gibt kaum etwas, worauf unsere Zivilisation stolzer ist als auf die Eindämmung von Säuglingssterblichkeit, Infektionen und Seuchen. Die modernen medizinischen Bemühungen scheinen für das Leben des einzelnen ein Segen zu sein. Beziehen wir größere Zeiträume ein, so müssen wir feststellen, daß auf die Dauer als einziges Resultat dieser Bemühungen das übrigbleibt, was wir zur Zeit als den größten Schock dieses Jahrhunderts erleben: das explosionsartige Anwachsen der Menschheit. Mit den damit zusammenhängenden Problemen beschäftigen sich mehr oder weniger alle Kapitel dieses Buches. (aus dem Text)

The aim of the thesis is to reflect on selected modernization reforms of Reza Shah in the first period of the Pahlaví dynasty (1925-1941) from the point of view of women who studied, started families and tried to work in this period. The basic source is women's memoirs published in 2018 in Iran, by Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani. The thesis examines the reaction of women to the Shah's reforms, the consequences of social changes and, more generally, a role these women played in the process of modernization of Iran. The reforms that the work focuses on are related to the position of women in society and have had an immediate impact on their lives: for example, amendments to family laws, education, job opportunities, social activities and the type of clothing. The work is divided into two parts. The theoretical part examines the political and economic background of Iran in the second half of the 19th century and in the early 20th century until the 1940s. It also discusses Reza Shah's government and its plans and reforms for modernizing Iran, and finally the living conditions of Iranian women during this period. It describes the conditions in which they lived, what limitations they faced and what activities they engaged in. In the practical part, it examines in detail the reforms of Reza Shah in the field of...

The aim of the thesis is to reflect on selected modernization reforms of Reza Shah in the first period of the Pahlaví dynasty (1925-1941) from the point of view of women who studied, started families and tried to work in this period. The basic source is women's memoirs published in 2018 in Iran, by Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani. The thesis examines the reaction of women to the Shah's reforms, the consequences of social changes and, more generally, a role these women played in the process of modernization of Iran. The reforms that the work focuses on are related to the position of women in society and have had an immediate impact on their lives: for example, amendments to family laws, education, job opportunities, social activities and the type of clothing. The work is divided into two parts. The theoretical part examines the political and economic background of Iran in the second half of the 19th century and in the early 20th century until the 1940s. It also discusses Reza Shah's government and its plans and reforms for modernizing Iran, and finally the living conditions of Iranian women during this period. It describes the conditions in which they lived, what limitations they faced and what activities they engaged in. In the practical part, it examines in detail the reforms of Reza Shah in the field of...

The UK-China "Golden Era", which began in 2015, is one of the evidence for further intimacy between the UK and China. On the basis of building consensus, the UK and China have continuously deepened cooperation in all aspects. However, the Brexit process that began in 2016 has changed the environment in which the "Golden Era" has developed. This study used the methods of comparative study and case analysis to analyse the impact of the Brexit process on the UK-China "Golden Era" development during the period from October 2015 to April 2019, and draw conclusions about the UK-China "Golden Era" is well developed now and has a great possibility to continue or even accelerate development in the future.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Integration of indigenous leaders into modem political structures and process of local government has been a source of contention for several decades on the African continent. This study describes, analyses and assesses efforts made by postcolonial, apartheid and the liberal democratic government to incorporate indigenous leaders in their governmental structures and processes. Based on this examination, the study presents elements of a model on how a democratic South Africa could in grate indigenous leaders into the current liberal democratic structures, especially in rural municipal authorities of the Northern Province. Data used for the study was collected from government documents, articles, law books and anthropological sources. In the discussion and analysis, attempts were made, wherever appropriate to cite experiences of other African countries. Such experiences were designed to inform certain aspects of this study, especially in the manner in which traditional leaders were integrated into local government. Further, data regarding current attitudes among stakeholders were collected from questionnaires administered to women, youth, traditional leaders, national, provincial and local government officials and legislators The study revealed several aspects of leadership such as the system employed by French and British colonizers (i.e. 'direct' and 'indirect' rule system). These colonial powers both identified traditional rulers as a link between their governments and indigenous communities. To confirm this, both appointed puppet traditional rulers and deposed authentic traditional rulers who were opposed to colonial rule. Since traditional leaders form part of indigenous people's background, colonial powers subjected indigenous rulers stances at different places. If traditional rulers were conquered, their powers were drastically reduced, suppressed, their power-base was weakened and authority on land and matters of justice were usurped. On the other hand, those traditional rulers who signed treaties with the colonial government received favours such as sending their family members abroad to further their education and the traditional ruler retained the status of 'King'. The British government introduced a policy of indirect rule. This rule had echoed even in South Africa after the British rule through to the days of apartheid. This rule prescribed that each tribe was to be supervised by a Paramount chief for centralized authority with sub-chiefs who were in charge of regions. This system continued through the apartheid era. The current democratic government has entrenched in the constitution a provision for the recognition of the institution of traditional rulers, but it lacks clarity on the role and function of traditional leaders at local government level. Thus, chiefs ought to be genuinely engaged in modem governance and face realities of change and adapt to the new order for their future existence and continue serving their communities in the northern province in particular and South Africa in general.