Thesis (D. Min.)--Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, 1987. / Includes 1 pamphlet attached to leaf 197 and 1 folded tract attached to leaf 204. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-137).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, 1987. / Includes 1 pamphlet attached to leaf 197 and 1 folded tract attached to leaf 204. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-137).

Drawing from tourism studies, travel literature, and cultural studies, this dissertation uses textual analysis to explore the implicit ideological agendas of international development in a selection of popular narratives written to describe efforts of Spanish individuals to combat poverty in “developing” countries: Pura vida (1998) by José María Mendiluce, Una maestra en Katmandú (2002) by Victoria Subirana, Sonrisas de Bombay (2007) by Jaume Sanllorente, and Los colores de un sueño (2013) by Alba de Toro. This study provides a sociological framework for understanding the politics of production, distribution, and reception of such narratives and examines the discourse of individual altruism by juxtaposing the fields of mass tourism, international development and contemporary popular literature. Although development-themed narratives present themselves as depictions of charity work, they are also stories of touristic exploits. This dissertation explores how the colonial myth of the explorer is refurbished in narratives of altruistic development within the postmodern mood of “global consciousness”, which is triggered by globalization, commodification and a sense of uncertainty—factors that produce a relentless drive to “save the world”. Despite the postmodern gloss, however, these narratives exoticize “non-modern” scenarios in which the narrators (adventure development tourists) represent themselves as intrepid white saviors in the style of explorers, missionaries and survivors of the past. In this sense, these narratives depend on traditional travel literature tropes. The deliberate status of these popular narratives as commodities is highlighted, exposing their utility as marketing tools for NGOs. To this end, this dissertation connects the idea of “a good story” to a publishing objective. Reception is approached by exploring the role of interpellation: the subliminal ways in which readers become financial supporters within the context of “global consciousness” wherein altruistic impulses are commodified and incorporated into lifestyles. In this sense, literature plays a key role in formulating and naturalizing the discourse of development. This dissertation exposes the double mechanism at work in development-themed narratives: the pursuit of progressive development used to veil complicity with exploitation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons and motivations behind voluntourism in reference to working with children, and how these can be understood and analyzed within the framework of voluntourism research. A qualitative approach was used, and data was collected through semi-structured interviews and then evaluated with the use of a thematic analysis. This data was then analyzed in correlation to previous voluntourism research and through the theoretical frameworks of postcolonialism and neocolonialism. Eight interviews were conducted, with six voluntourists and two representatives from voluntourist organizations. Our findings were that the respondents had well-meaning intentions, along with complex and nuanced thoughts in relation to culture shocks, reflections, relationships with the children and rules and regulations given by the voluntourism organizations they traveled with. The conclusions drawn from these findings were that while intent does not trump impact, this phenomenon should be examined in relation to power dynamics and the privatization of development work.

Waverley; or ’Tis Sixty Years Since is an historical novel written by the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott which follows the adventures of Edward Waverley through the Scottish Highlands during the 1745–1746 Jacobite rebellion. It is, as has been suggested by previous research, a novel with a clear imperialistic bias and this essay adds to that discourse by applying the modern concept of the white savior complex. The white savior complex argues that white characters, in certain works, act as and are described as intelligent and moral saviors of non-white characters, who in turn are portrayed as unintelligent and immoral. Only by the actions of the white savior can they be saved. The complex is present mainly in the novel’s protagonist who drags the seemingly backwards society of the Scottish Highlands into a modern future as part of Great Brittan. This essay argues that the move from a backwards and archaic society to a modern and prosperous one would have been possible even without using the framework the white savior.

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Authors: Karin Lindberg & Erika Losciale Title: The West and the Rest Level: BA Thesis in Media and Communication Studies Location: Linnaeus University Language: Swedish In today's media, the use of stereotypes and simplifications of the world and of different groups are common. It is a part of how humans make sense of the world. The problem is that these simplifications tend to encourage false notions of reality. The way charities communicate in advertising is important in order to engage the audience to donate. This study aims to examine how the non-profit organization SOS Barnbyar Sverige portray underprivileged individuals in their commercials. We have chosen to focus on two different commercials in relation to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. The first commercial has no relation to the crisis and the second one is an attempt to show the viewer the situation of a refugee. We have studied the material through a qualitative semiotic method, also using colonialism, stereotypes and representation as theoretical frame- work in order to examine whether or not certain notions and simplifications are reproduced in the commercials from this organization. Our study has shown that there were a lot of colonial ideals and stereotypes to be found in SOS Barnbyars commercials, thus fueling the polarization of us and them and the Other.

Diploma thesis Honors Righteous Among the Nations in the context of the Second World War: the life stories of the awarded deals with The Righteous Among the Nations Award, which is awarded to people of Jewish origin, who during the Second World War selflessly helped the Jewish people survive. The aim is to increase awareness of the aforementioned awards and especially bring specific fates of people who have received it. Examined and interpreted sub- themes that determine the specifics of how to obtain this award. These issues include the motivation to help others during everyday concealment, friendship etc. Individual interviews with bearers that bring unique and direct evidence are placed in the broader context of the Second World War, which focuses primarily on the issue of the final solution of the Jewish question. Examination of the Second World War is underpinned by a rich resource base that supports the overall character of the text.

During the Victorian period marriage proved to be a dominant theme in fiction. Female writers especially focused on the topic of marriage and wrote stories of women whose first marriages were imperfect. Anne Brontë and George Eliot dedicated themselves to portraying in their stories realistic heroines who deal with their own flaws as well as those of the men they marry. Their heroines distance themselves from their expected roles, moving beyond their first failed marriages to wiser second marriages. Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall follows Helen Huntingdon as she attempts to fulfill the self-appointed role of Savior to her husband. Her rash first marriage opens her eyes to her frank inability to redeem and reform her reprobate husband. Along the same lines George Eliot warns readers in her prelude to Middlemarch that Dorothea Brooke will never fulfill all her saintly capabilities because of the unaccommodating social structure of her time. She marries an elderly scholar in the hopes of being enlightened intellectually and spiritually by the alliance. Instead she finds herself stymied in a claustrophobic marriage. Both women are liberated, in a sense, by the deaths of their husbands and regain their free will at that point. This thesis explores the psychological pathway from first to second marriage. Marriage serves as the prime educator for Helen and Dorothea. Both women move from blind adoration to despair and hatred at the failure of their first marriages. Both eventually seek a second marriage and wed men who are in turn wiser for their association with these women and who love and respect them. The treatment of marriage in the two novels hinges on the realistic portrayal of life and reflects the era the authors lived in as well as serving as a vehicle for the heroines' character development and growth. Brontë and Eliot create remarkably similar stories beginning with marriage and focusing on heroines who survive the refiner's fire and in the end attain a sense of self as well as a measure of peace.

Colonization adversely impacts the psychological health of the colonized. To heal psychologically, economically, and culturally and break chains of colonization in a post-colonial society, the colonized must be grounded in understanding and embrace of their cultural and historical heritage. This embrace and remembrance of the ancestors will inspire and create a spiritual and mental revolution. Prominent literary works from 16th to 20th century, such as Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition and "Dave’s Neckliss", William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" and Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, explore the psychological and cultural demise of people of African descent due to colonization and racial oppression. While these works give voice to spiritual leaders, ancestors, and bondaged individuals who strive to overcome and survive adverse circumstances Eurocentric society has imposed upon them, these texts also explore characters who kneel at the altar of White hegemony and embrace Whiteness as the Ark of God, even to the characters’ and their community’s safety and well-being. These I term Black Eurocentric Saviors, characters who sacrifice themselves and their community for safety and saving of Whites. Through application of French West Indian psychiatrist Frantz Fanon's theories of colonization which posits that imposed psychological domination of the colonized by Europeans cultivated the belief in White superiority and the subsequent desire for White approval and blessings by any means necessary, including worshipping Whiteness, betraying other persons of African descent, and/or willing to kill self or other Blacks for both the continued prosperity of White societies and gained prosperity for self. Chesnutt, Shakespeare, and Behn depict oppressed people who (un)consciously appear to embrace with open arms historical narratives and cultural traditions that relegate them to second-class citizens and are thus unable to nurture mythical origins and pride in their ancestral history and legacy. When they seek to conjure their African ancestors, they do so, not for their freedom or elevation, but for betterment of White society. Through the application of Fanon's theories on colonization to select literary works of Chesnutt, Shakespeare, and Behn's, this dissertation asserts that the diasporic African’s embrace of White superiority resulted and continues today in both real life and literature.