Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of History, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-58).

The following comparative case study of Iraqi Kurdistan and Democratic Federation of Northern Syria-Rojava seeks to fill a gap in literature on the viability of democracy in cases of de facto statehood. There is yet to be an assessment of the potential influence of support from patron states on the degree to which democratization in de facto states is possible. This research expands upon on the argument that the decision to recognize de facto states is at least partially dependent upon the national interests of influential third party states. Syria Rojava has relied heavily on the strength of its internal sovereignty for survival where Iraqi Kurdistan received significant external support in vital phases of the state building process and was not reliant entirely on the strength of its internal unity. Where Kurdistan received essential major power support from permanent UN Security Council members early in the state-building process, as well as afterwards in constructing a divided system of governance, Syria Rojava has received little external support and faces an international community that denies its existence. It is estimated that in the following research the support of Major Powers early in the state-building process fundamentally changes the nature of internal sovereignty. More specifically the strength and weakness of conditions of internal sovereignty influence the type of governance that is practiced in the cases under analysis. Where the conditions of internal sovereignty are strong, the viability for democratization decreases; where the conditions of internal sovereignty are weak, the viability for democratization increases. In the case of Iraqi Kurdistan, the relatively weak conditions of internal sovereignty, while resulting in conditions that are more conducive to democratization, subjects the region to increased dependence on external powers for survival. Whereas in Syria Rojava, the relatively strong conditions of internal sovereignty while resulting in conditions that are less conducive to democratization, subjects the region to less dependence on external powers for survival. Theories that seek to affirm the possibility of democratization in de facto states have so far eschewed consideration of the military and diplomatic support of patron states in the early de facto state building process. There is a need for research that takes into consideration the specific events that lead to the creation of de facto states so as not to overlook the possibility that external actors play a role in shaping conditions of internal sovereignty.

O trabalho tem o objetivo de apresentar a homossexualidade na Bíblia Hebraica através das passagens de Levítico 18:22, 20:13, Deuteronômio 22:5, 23:18-19, 1º Reis 14:24, 15:12, 22:46 e 2 Reis 23:7; analisar as relações da prostituição cultual masculina dos termos encontrados em Deuteronômio 23:18-19 (qadesh e keleb); os termos da região do Oriente Próximo com o papel da adoração ritual homossexual (qaditu e assinu); as deidades rituais com o rito masculino (Asherah de 2º Reis 23:7 e a Astarte de Kítion do Chipre relacionada ao keleb em Deuteronômio 23:18-19) as quais estão relacionadas aos ritos de fertilidade; trabalhar o contexto histórico no qual a homossexualidade ritual se desenvolveu em Israel e Judá (1º Reis 14:24, 15:12, 22:46 e 2º Reis 23:7); e com a questão das abominações e interditos tanto da homossexualidade (Levítico 18:22 e 20:13) quanto do travestismo (Deuteronômio 22:5). A pesquisa será realizada através de diversos estudos de acadêmicos que discorreram sobre o tema da homossexualidade na Bíblia Hebraica e sobre as suas questões levantadas e conclusões. / The work has the objective to present the homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible through the passages of Levíticus 18:22, 20:13; Deuteronomy 22:5, 23:18-19; 1st King 14:24, 15:12, 22:46; and 2nd Kings 23:7; to analyse the relations of prostitution cultual masculine of terms found in Deuteronomy 23:18-19 (qadesh and keleb); region of the Near Easts terms made a list to ritual homosexual worships role (qaditu and assinu); ritual deities with the masculine rite (Asherah of 2 Kings 23:7 and Astarte of Kítion in Cyprus connected with keleb in Deuteronomy 23:18-19) what they are with the fertility rites; to work the historical context in which the ritual homosexuality was developed in Israel and Judá (1st Kings 14:24, 15:12, 22:46 and 2nd Kings 23:7); and the question of the abominations and injunctions so much of the homosexuality (Levíticus 18:22 and 20:13) how much of tranvestism (Deuteronomy 22:5). The research will be carried out through several academic\'s studies which wrote about the subject of homosexuality in the Hebrew Bible and on his lifted questions and conclusions.

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The United Nations Special Committee on Palestine is now a past history, along with the seventeen previous Committees and commissions which had reported on the Palestine problem. But this Committee had several unusual features. It was a United Nations Committee and the Big Powers had no part in it. It was instructed to complete its work in one hundred and twenty days. The Committee visited four continents, heard many advocates and collected nearly two hundred pounds of typed or printed evidence. Lastly it was the first international Committee to study the problem of Jewry inside and outside Palestine. I was in Palestine during the Committee's hearing in Jerusalem in 1947 and I was in the United States when the United Nations, under Pressure of Politics, voted for the Committee's decision- the partition of Palestine. Since then, it was my privilege to give a first hand account of the Arab-Jewish conflict by all that I saw, read and heard. I thought it might be useful to share with others the political education which it \vas my privilege to obtain in my own country.

ENJEUX ÉTHIQUES ET ESTHÉTIQUES DE QUELQUES REPRÉSENTATIONS LITTÉRAIRES DES CONFLITS AU PROCHE-ORIENT AU XXe SIÈCLERésumé : Le corpus à partir duquel cette thèse construit sa réflexion est composé des œuvres de :Myriam ANTAKI, Les Versets du pardon, en1999 ; d’Anouar BENMALEK, L'Amour loup, en 2002 ; de Hubert HADDAD, Palestine, en 2007 ; de Sahar KHALIFA, Chronique du figuier barbare, en 1978 ; de Jean-Marie Gustave LE CLÉZIO, Étoile errante, en 1992 ; de S. YIZHAR, (Sipur Hirbet Hiza, 1949), Hirbat-Hiza, en 2010 (trad. franç.).Pour ces écrivains, les crises apparaissent comme un puissant générateur d'écriture et permettent d’apprécier selon différents points de vue les conflits du Moyen Orient. En effet, d'aires géographiques et culturelles différentes, les auteurs retenus sont tous sensibles aux questions de conflits qui fragilisent cette partie du monde, leur écriture est un moment intense qui invite le lecteur à plonger dans cette histoire. Cette thèse ambitionne donc d’investir, à partir de six textes littéraires contemporains français et francophones, les conflits du Proche-Orient en général et singulièrement le conflit qui oppose l’État d’Israël aux Arabes palestiniens à partir de 1948 date à laquelle le statut des Juifs a été transformé par la création d’un État et où parallèlement celui des Palestiniens a été transformé en statut de peuple sans terre. Si la thématique pointe le Proche-Orient dans son ensemble, la lecture est davantage orientée sur le conflit israélo-palestinien comme générateur principal des guerres qui se jouent dans cette partie du monde depuis 1946 ; étant entendu que la majorité des conflits du Proche-Orient sont inextricablement liés les uns aux autres et tirent leurs origines dans la question palestinienne. Cette réflexion ne prétend pas résoudre ou trouver des solutions aux problèmes que connaît le Proche-Orient : telle n'est pas l'intention de la littérature. Les textes affrontent l’Histoire mais exposent, par des moyens littéraires et romanesques, ces tensions en représentations possibles de la vie des peuples et des sociétés en jeu. Elle propose un point de vue sur des écritures en quête d’altérité tout à la fois esthétique, éthique et épistémique, et tente d’apprécier la lucidité des personnages toujours à la recherche de l’Autre, afin de poser de nouveaux rapports entre Juifs israéliens et Arabes palestiniens. Non plus des rapports conflictuels de haine et d’intolérance mais des rapports de considération et de reconnaissance réciproque.Mots-clés : représentation, Shoah, Nakba, altérité, relation, éthique / Ethnic and aesthetic issues of literary representations of conflicts in the Middle-East during the twentieth centurySummary:The program (corpus) around which the reflexion this thesis revolves, is based on the literary books below:Myriam ANTAKI, Les Versets du pardon, 1999 ; Anouar BENMALEK, L’Amour loup, 2002 ; Hubert HADDAD, Palestine, 2007 ; Sahar KHALIFA, Chronique du figuier barbare, 1978 ; Jean-Marie Gustave LE CLÉZIO, Étoile errante, 1992; S. YIZHAR, (SipurHibertHiza, 1949), Hirbat-Hiza, 2010 (French trad.).For these writers, crisis acts as a powerful source of inspiration for their artworks and enable us to look upon and appreciate from numerous points of view the conflicts occurring in the Middle-East. Indeed, coming from different geographical and cultural regions of the world, the authors quoted above are significantly conscious about the conflict matters which disrupt this particular part of the world. And their writings enable the reader to experience a real submersion in this particular world. Thus theaim of this thesis, based on these six contemporary, modern literary artworks, is to commit to these conflicts of the Middle-East and have an overview of the matter, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which aroused from the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and intercommunal violence in Mandatory Palestine between Jews and Arabs. Despite the fact that the theme aims the Middle-East in general, the argument is focused on the Israeli-Palestine conflict. The latter being the main source of conflict and wars occurring in this part of the world since 1946, provided that the majority of these conflict matters are inextricably linked to each other and furthermore that they erupted due to the Palestinian matter in particular. This thesis will not attempt to solve or provide answers to the problems faced in the Middle-East: it is not the aim of literature. The texts face History but, by means of literary and Romanesque writings, they provide an overview, a picture of the lives of these societies, these nations out there. It provides with an angle on and about writings in search of otherness in both an aesthetic and ethnic way and furthermore in an epistemological way. Also, the latter tries to appreciate the lucidity of the characters which are in an everlasting search of otherness, in order to alight new relations between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs. No more conflictual relationships based on hatred and intolerance but relationships based on mutual consideration, appreciation and acknowledgement.Key words: representation, Shoah, Nakba, otherness, relationship, ethnic

Even though virginity in Turkey is commonly defined, thus gendered, as losing the hymen, in Turkish society, discourses of virginity connect to broader discussions, such as modernity, morality, social honor/shame, religion, family values, and even medicine (vaginismus and artificial hymen surgery). Previous scholarship on women’s rights in Turkey outlines how historical approaches by Kemalist secularism were not enough to diminish oppressive social norms such as virginity and how the current conservative government and elements of traditional Turkish society perpetuate virginity as an important virtue for unmarried women. This study adds seven Turkish mothers’ interpretations of what I am calling the contemporary Turkish discourse of virginity, as well as the mothers’ descriptions of their pedagogical practices on the topic of premarital sex with regard to their adult children. Here I report the semi-structured interviews I conducted with heterosexual urban Turkish mothers, 45-60 years old, college-educated, and socioeconomically privileged, living in Western Turkey, a region more closely aligned with European ideals. Participant mothers self-identify as Kemalist women, meaning secular, and use this perspective in describing virginity and its role in the contemporary Turkish society. I argue, first, that the “modern” participant mothers speak from an interstitial location, which is the result of contradictions between secular and conservative ideals in Turkey. Second, the participant mothers discuss virginity tactically from three different subjectivities: modern women who believe in women’s rights, modern mothers who respect their daughters’ choices regarding premarital sex, and caring mothers who worry about the social consequences of their daughters’ choices in a society that still stigmatizes the loss of virginity. Third, as a result of these shifting subjectivities, participant mothers observe as well as participate in a subtle social change in urban Western Turkey, which I argue is moving the politics of virginity from a social imperative toward covert practices of choice. The transcripts also show the underlying presumption of heterosexuality not only among participant mothers’ negotiations of virginity but also in the broader modern Turkish discourse of virginity. By bringing forward the voices of these participant mothers, this study aims to portray the complex structure of Turkish society and document interpretations of a discourse that oppresses Turkish women.

By approaching the book of Jonah historical-critically, it has been indicated that the book of Jonah likely dates to the Persian Period (more neutrally the post-exilic period), is a parody on the prophetic traditions, and has a unified structure. It has been proposed by some that the book of Jonah was written for the Yehudite elite, as a meant, by the author, for his audience to reflect critically on themselves. When a literary-exegetical analysis was conducted of the book of Jonah, it was indicated that the author of the book employed various literary and stylistic techniques that contributes to the unified structure of the book of Jonah. It has also been indicated that all the prayers in the book is poetry, and serves to pause the narration, and are employed to emphasise their content. The author also inverts the typical Ancient Near Eastern values in his characterisation of the role players to thwart the reader's typical expectations of each. The application of social-scientific criticism then supports the theory that the book of Jonah is indeed a parody, and that its main theme in the book of Jonah relates to the compassion and mercy of Yahweh/God which outweighs his desire to destroy the inhabitants of Nineveh and their animals, and appears to be conditional, as repentence is a requirement. / Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Ancient Languages / DLitt / Unrestricted

Scholarship on the onomastics of the ancient Near East typically evaluates a single text corpus or collection of names from a specific region, with a focus on names of a variety of linguistic origins from either alphabetic or cuneiform source material. This dissertation serves as a compilation of Aramaic names from both alphabetic and cuneiform sources geographically delimited to Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Levant (excluding Egypt and Anatolia) during the first half of the first millennium BCE. The product of a methodic evaluation of ancient Near Eastern texts and inscriptions, utilizing both linguistic and conceptual criteria in its selection, this compilation of names is analyzed according to the established taxonomic systems that have been developed in the study of Hebrew, Akkadian, and other Semitic names throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century. Additional analyses in this volume include a comparative anthroponomy, a study of theophoric elements, an overview of names based on their morphological features, and various explorations of the elements found within them. Ultimately, this study serves to catalog the individuals with Aramaic names leading up to the time when Aramaic was the lingua franca of the greater ancient Near East, / 2021-09-07T00:00:00Z

When dealing with missionary endeavors abroad most writers tend to concentrate on the evangelical aspect. However, missionaries have played a much more extensive role than this. In the case of Iran, the evangelical impact of the missionary effort was minimal in comparison to both the medical and educational branches of their work. In spite of their original intent of revitalizing the native Christianity, it was through their educators and doctors that the missionaries had their greatest influence on 19th and 20th century Iran. For centuries Iran had been relatively isolated from the outside world and its advances. Such conditions were to change as other countries acquired an interest in Iran. The British viewed Iran as a buffer for their Indian Empire and the Russians sought territorial gains. As a matter of fact, it was the Perso-Russian Wars (1813 and 1827) that suddenly awakened the Iranian government to the power of the Western nations. In order to compete, in order to survive, Iran, too, had to master Western technology. Yet this transition was to require almost a century. The 19th century witnessed the beginning of change within Iran and the American missionaries played a role in this process. Because of the lack of educational opportunities within Iran, as well as the need for medical care, the missionaries provided such services until the government was able to do so. They maintained this role for approximately one hundred years, during which time they made innumerable contributions. However, these contributions were not made without opposition. The introduction of the new force infringed upon the status quo. Many Iranians felt their position threatened. The missionary presence aroused the antagonism not only of the hierarchy of the local Christian churches, but also local officials, the Muslim ulama and the Persian government. This conflict was further intensified by the fact that the Christian minorities began to look to the missionaries, rather than their own leaders, to mediate disputes. This, is addition to their role of educator and doctor, the missionary also become arbitrator on behalf of the Nestorians. In tracing the development of the American missionary activities in Iran from their origins in 1834 through the year 1941, it becomes apparent that this was a century of changing political climate and social conditions within the country. The year 1941 is not an arbitrary date but was chosen because at this point the government had taken over all ' foreign operated schools and had established laws that limited the medical practice of the missionaries. Such measures are indicative 'of the effort made by Reza Shah Pahlavi, prior to his abdication in 1941, to consolidate power and decrease foreign control. As a result of the continuing efforts of Reza Shah to concentrate power in his hands, the missionaries' role in education and medicine was absorbed by the State.