This dissertation examines the ways in which socio-cultural, economic and religious ideologies shape discourses on women’s rights, higher education and empowerment in Ghana. The study starts from the premise that female identity in Ghana is constructed through discourses of reproduction that produce and reproduce unequal gender relations that negatively impact women’s higher socio-economic and educational attainments. Consequently, discourses of women’s rights and empowerment are inextricably linked to normative reproductive labour expectations. Using a postcolonial feminist theoretical framework, I argue that women’s rights and empowerment issues must be located within particular historical, local and global socio-cultural and political discourses in postcolonial societies. Subsequently, this study situates women’s rights concerns within the larger framework of global systemic inequalities that reinforce the local socio-cultural, political and economic disadvantages of women in Ghana. I interviewed women’s rights activists, conducted focus group discussions with male and mostly female participants during an intensive six-month field study. In line with postcolonial feminist epistemologies, I consider participants as knowledgeable subjects in the production of knowledge about their lived realities, by centering their voices and experiences in my analyses. The experiences of research participants (heterogeneous as they are) provide excellent insights into transnational feminisms, gendered postcolonial landscapes, and global cultural patriarchal hegemonies. These experiences also illustrate how global discourses of rights provide leverage to simultaneously challenge and politicize colonial discourses of race and gender in the global south. / Thesis (Ph.D, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2013-01-31 11:45:32.468

This thesis uses the example of Yugoslavia-the land of the South Slavs (also known as the Balkans) - to study how the twists and turns of historical evolution have been reflected in communal understanding of that history.

This thesis uses the example of Yugoslavia-the land of the South Slavs (also known as the Balkans) - to study how the twists and turns of historical evolution have been reflected in communal understanding of that history.

Although research has previously connected comic books and national ideology, there has yet to be a study examining the role of villains in this relationship. By analyzing representations of evil and villainy in the long-running series Captain America and understanding them in light of the model of the circuit of culture, the transforming imaginary space of the American nation can be traced.

This thesis examines the unstable nature and dynamic impact of contemporary nationalism on the arduous process of reconstituting a modern multinational state. The basic research question concerns the relationship between nationalism and multinational democracy, or more specifically how nationalist forces may facilitate or impede the intricate process of political transition, democratic transformation and stabilization of the newly formed Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state. The findings indicate that nationalism and exclusive ethno-nationalist politics create serious inter-group security challenges and significantly hinder the process democratization, state-building and political transformation. The main obstacle to a coherent political system is based on the fact that nationalism causes an unconstrained reconfiguration of political space. This is apparent in BiH where exclusive nationalist politics continue to dominate the domestic and inter-national political agenda, thus limiting the capacity for political reforms, security and stability. As nationalism is a grave security threat to multinational states, there is a pressing need to manage nationalism with confidence building mechanisms that strengthen the state’s capacity to ensure enduring security and stability. / May 2006

Phénomène d'actualité à consonances politiques, économiques et juridiques, la mondialisation et la régionalisation - dans leurs formes supra et infra-étatique - viennent remettre en question la place prépondérante de l'Etat. Érosion de l'État par le haut et par le bas, crise de l'État-nation, décentralisation, et perte ou abandon de souveraineté, telles sont les allégories qui informent les hypothèses de départ de ce travail. Fondée sur une approche interdisciplinaire, la présente recherche a pour but d'établir un parallèle entre deux formes de régionalisation, l'une supra- ou in ter-nationale- et l'autre infra- ou trans-nationale-, lesquelles agissant toutes deux sous l'impulsion de facteurs économiques globalisés viennent tisser des liens entre deux sphères distinctes du droit, l'interne et l'international, et se manifestent dans les réformes des structures du pouvoir régulateur de l'État. Dans un premier temps, nous procéderons à une présentation générale des postulats soutenant l'établissement de liens entre le droit international économique ( D I E . ) de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (O.M.C.) et les structures politiques infra-étatiques, à travers la présentation de trois arguments. Il s'agira en premier lieu d'aborder la question du pouvoir normatif déclinant des États, puis de relever l'importance de la responsabilité juridique de ces derniers, avant de traiter des implications du traitement des investissements dans le dialogue entre régionahsmes. Par la suite nous tenterons d'éclaircir, dans un contexte de mondialisation, la question de la reconnaissance des processus de régionalisation dans un système multilatéral, en partant de la notion ainsi mise en évidence de régionalismes qui dans leurs formes internes et leur réalité socio-économique, défient les fondements interétatiques de l'O.M.C. Finalement, nous aborderons la question de la restructuration du pouvoir normatif de l'État au profit de ses sub-divisions, en concentrant l'analyse sur le cas de l'Union européenne (U.E.). Dans ce cadre nous traitons notamment des thèmes afférant aux processus de décentralisation et de crise de l'État-nation, afin de mettre en lumière la place prépondérante, à travers l'exercice de la paradiplomatie, les activités des gouvernements locaux, tant dans les affaires internes qu'internationales des États. Cette recherche a permis de renforcer à bien des égards l'idée maintenue par d'autres que le D.I., à la lumière des développements socio-économiques actuels, est quelque peu rigide. Pourtant même si une refonte générale du droit international ne peut (et ne devrait) pas être envisagée sur la seule base de cet examen sectoriel du droit international actuel, il nous a paru pertinent de remettre en cause la structure étatique laquelle, à la fois fiction du droit international et acteur parmi d'autres dans le droit interne, assume aujourd'hui une position et des responsabilités nouvelles en conjuguant, coordonnant ou même organisant une multitude de réseaux. Ces réseaux relient et rallient des structures régionales supra-étatiques et înfraétatiques, ainsi que des structures internationales, et permettent ainsi de compenser quelque peu la rigidité du D.I., évacuant de ce fait la fiction d'une correspondance entre la place formelle de l'État souverain unitaire et la réalité de son contrôle normatif sur la société et les flux de la mondialisation. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Mondialisation, Régionalisation, États, Décentralisation, Droit international.

L'étude des phénomènes identitaires a connu des avancées importantes depuis le début des années 1980, notamment à cause d'un regain d'intérêt pour la question du nationalisme. Malgré ces avancées, certaines difficultés théoriques persistent quand vient le temps d'utiliser les concepts de « nation », de « race » et « d'ethnie » à des fins analytiques. La place qui doit être accordée à ces concepts ne fait pas consensus. Ce mémoire propose de convoquer des éléments de la théorie des champs pour contourner ce problème et augmenter la portée analytique de ces concepts, en particulier de celui de « nation ». En considérant les « nations » les « races » et les « ethnies » comme des catégories de la pratique, il devient possible d'envisager le nationalisme, le racisme et l'influence de ces catégories sur les rapports sociaux en s'affranchissant des impératifs propres au débat politique. Cela permet de mieux distinguer les phénomènes identitaires entre eux, de mieux cerner leurs rapports mutuels et de favoriser un rapprochement entre l'analyse des rapports sociaux et celle des « identités ». ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Nations, Nationalismes, Théorie de l'identité, Théorie des champs, Rapports sociaux, Ethnicité, Racisme.

Kashechewan, a flood-prone remote First Nation in northern Ontario, is the focus of this thesis. It is an exploration into the factors that have contributed to the community’s decline and current state. By looking at how these factors influence built form, the principles, possibilities, and concepts that are latent within it are used to re-establish ways in which the people can view, value, and act upon the land to create lasting change. The discussion has larger implications about how we, as Canadians, live with the land and built forms, and react to one another both as a collective, and as individuals. It is an attempt to dissolve the distinction between ‘aboriginal’ and ‘colonizer’ to open up greater design possibilities. Composed as a series of explorations into the physical and spiritual form of the community, this thesis weaves together three parts of its larger story connected with the thread of narrative poem. Part I opens a discourse that considers the impact of the system and establishment of Aboriginal Reserves on the community. Part II explores the notion of remoteness alongside methods of movement and transportation of people and materials. Part III engages the ephemeral, discussing memory and the meaning of transient moments. Stemming from these streams of exploration, three individual designs are proposed. The first explores flood-resilient architecture as a sensitive response to the river and engages the future expansion of the community beyond the walls of the dike. The second envisions an integration of movement into a centralized community hub. The third lays out an approach to abandoning the site while preserving its sacred spaces. In each case, the design explores built form as a tool for fusing back together the spirit of the land and the narrative of the people. Through the metaphor of flooding as a conversation between the light and the dark, this thesis looks at the history of abuse between aboriginal and colonizer, and the current abuse of substance and soul from which an architectural premise moves forward. The thesis attempts to embrace the complexity and difficulty of designing with such inherent obstacles to overcome by taking inspiration from the simple and sublime beauty of the place and distilling it into built form.

Abstract Title: To Market a Company with the Help of Nationality – A study in how marketing and branding works and is being perceived when it focuses on nationality Author: Frida Hansson Subject: Media and Communication Studies C Period: Fall semester 2010 Length: 38 pages Tutor: Else Nygren Aim: Companies and various corporations are always on the hunt for the next big thing in marketing. One idea to market themselves and give them a chance to separate themselves from the cluster of companies aspiring to take your costumers away could be to market themselves with nationality. To investigate why and how some company’s chose to market themselves with nationality, and also study how this kind of marketing is being perceived by customers and non –costumers. Method: The research is conducted through personal interviews with representatives from IKEA and MediaMarkt and also focus group interviews with an association test. Theory: Three theories will be the theoretic base for this essay; nation branding, Country of Origin and Product-Country Images. Main results: For companies marketing with the help of nationality is a good way to separate themselves from other similar companies. Although, they need to be cautious about which country they want to be linked to. Commercials with stereotypes from certain countries are fun, but not when you are the one the commercial are making fun of. Some countries are also seen as better than others when it comes to marketing and branding. If you want to associate your company with a country, you should first se where the potential country ranks for an optimal result. Finally, it is also that presented companies around the world works with this kind of marketing strategy and most of them successfully. Furthermore they work consciously or non-consciously with the three theories. Keywords: nation branding, Country of Origin, Product-Country Images, IKEA and MediaMarkt

<p>Realism, Race and Citizenship: Four Moments in the Making of the Black Body, Colombia and Brazil, 1853 - 1907 investigates the visual and literary mechanisms used to refurbish racial and social hierarchies in Brazil and Colombia in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery. Chorographic paintings, scientific photographs, identification documents, and naturalist literature are taken to together to argue that: on the one hand, the slave is the fleshy object that defines freedom and, in the postcolonial moment, citizenship. In "Realism, Race and Citizenship: Four Moments in the Making of the Black Body, Colombia and Brazil, 1853 - 1907," I propose that in geo-political spaces where the abolition of slavery and the re-branding of work were intensely debated and violently fought over, realist programs of representation facilitated the propagation of modern racializing schemas. Chapters 1 and 2 study the watercolors created for the Comisión Corográfica (the pre-eminent mapping project of nineteenth century Colombia) and scientific photographs produced in Brazil. These chapters uncover the stylistic conventions that make possible the staging of blackness as visible and immutable biological inferiority and as cumulative category that encompasses a variety of physical and social characteristics including but not limited to skin color, occupation, costume, and physical environment. Chapters 3 and 4 argue that the disavowal of slavery structures Brazilian naturalist novels such as O Cortiço (Aluísio Azevedo, 1890) as well as legislative debates about the nation and the citizen. By focusing on the visual and narrative orchestration blackness, my dissertation provides a critical framework for understanding how realist aesthetic conventions configured (and continue to animate) discourses of race and citizenship in Brazil and Colombia.</p> / Dissertation