Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This research charts the political and visual economies of asọ ebì in urban Lagos from 1960 to 2010. Under political economy I address the politics of asọ ebì dress in Lagos: the contestations surrounding the use of asọ ebì among friends, family members, organizations, among others. Under visual economy I engage the role of photography and other visual cultural practices in the practice of asọ ebì. From the 1960s asọ ebì began to be redefined in line with the cultural and socio-economic changes that came with late global capitalism. Within asọ ebì practice in the city of Lagos meanings of friendship, solidarity, camaraderie and wealth have undergone radical transformation as more people migrate to the city after Nigeria’s independence. From the 1970s through the 1980s, individuals were compelled by the economic conditions to adopt new modes of asọ ebì practice. For example new types of textile materials used for asọ ebì expanded to include cheaper textiles imported from China and elsewhere. Instead of offering aso ebi free, individuals sold it to their friends and within such transactions, politics of exclusion and inclusion ensued. From the 1990s through the 2000s, the rise of digital photography and the emergence of radical printing technology ushered a new mode of fashioning asọ ebì. In the process, photography and fashion magazines became a means of negotiating sartorial elegance and cosmopolitan modernity. In this thesis, therefore, the central argument resides in the contestations surrounding the use and meanings of asọ ebì within these transformations in the city of Lagos.

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More than two-and-a-half million people currently use the Tor network to communicate anonymously via the Internet and gain access to online media that are not accessible using standard Internet technology. This sphere of communication can be described as the hidden web. In part because this phenomenon is very recent, the subject has scarcely been studied in the social sciences. It is therefore the purpose of this paper to answer four fundamental questions: What is the hidden web? What characterises the communication sphere of the hidden web in contrast to the “normal Internet”? Which reasons can be identified to explain the development of the hidden web as a new communication sphere? And, finally, what is the social significance of the hidden web? / Über zweieinhalb Millionen Menschen nutzen gegenwärtig das Tor Network, um anonym über das Internet zu kommunizieren und Zugriff auf Online-Medien zu erhalten, die mit gewöhnlicher Internettechnik nicht nutzbar ist. Diese Kommunikationssphäre kann als Hidden Web bezeichnet werden. Unter anderem weil es sich um ein sehr junges Phänomen handelt, liegen bisher nahezu keine sozialwissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zu dem Thema vor. Dementsprechend werden hier vier grundlegende Fragen beantwortet: Was ist das Hidden Web? Welche Eigenschaften weist die Kommunikationssphäre des Hidden Web im Vergleich zum „normalen“ Internet auf? Welche Gründen lassen sich identifizieren, die die Entstehung des Hidden Web als neue Kommunikationssphäre erklären können? Und welche gesellschaftliche Bedeutung kommt dem Hidden Web schließlich zu?

More than two-and-a-half million people currently use the Tor network to communicate anonymously via the Internet and gain access to online media that are not accessible using standard Internet technology. This sphere of communication can be described as the hidden web. In part because this phenomenon is very recent, the subject has scarcely been studied in the social sciences. It is therefore the purpose of this paper to answer four fundamental questions: What is the hidden web? What characterises the communication sphere of the hidden web in contrast to the “normal Internet”? Which reasons can be identified to explain the development of the hidden web as a new communication sphere? And, finally, what is the social significance of the hidden web?:1 Introduction 2 Linguistic differentiation of the hidden web and an overview of the literature 3 Characteristics of communication via the hidden web 4 The creation of the hidden web as a response to the development of the visible web 5 The social significance of the hidden web 6 Summary and prospects / Über zweieinhalb Millionen Menschen nutzen gegenwärtig das Tor Network, um anonym über das Internet zu kommunizieren und Zugriff auf Online-Medien zu erhalten, die mit gewöhnlicher Internettechnik nicht nutzbar ist. Diese Kommunikationssphäre kann als Hidden Web bezeichnet werden. Unter anderem weil es sich um ein sehr junges Phänomen handelt, liegen bisher nahezu keine sozialwissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zu dem Thema vor. Dementsprechend werden hier vier grundlegende Fragen beantwortet: Was ist das Hidden Web? Welche Eigenschaften weist die Kommunikationssphäre des Hidden Web im Vergleich zum „normalen“ Internet auf? Welche Gründen lassen sich identifizieren, die die Entstehung des Hidden Web als neue Kommunikationssphäre erklären können? Und welche gesellschaftliche Bedeutung kommt dem Hidden Web schließlich zu?:1 Introduction 2 Linguistic differentiation of the hidden web and an overview of the literature 3 Characteristics of communication via the hidden web 4 The creation of the hidden web as a response to the development of the visible web 5 The social significance of the hidden web 6 Summary and prospects