This thesis seeks to discuss the ways in which canonical Francophone Algerian authors, writing in the late-colonial period (1945 - 1962), namely Kateb Yacine, Mohammed Dib, Mouloud Feraoun, Mouloud Mammeri and Assia Djebar, approached the representation of Algerian women through literature. The thesis, divided into five chapters, each focusing on the late-colonial oeuvre of one writer, initially makes use of Bourdieusian conceptions relating to a gendered "dissymétrie fondementale" and concomitant Spivakian notions of representation, to argue that a masculine domination of public fields of representation contributed to, if not ensured, a post-colonial marginalization of women and a reduction of their public role. However, it is the principal argument of this thesis that the canonical writers of the period, who were mostly male, both textually acknowledge their inability to articulate the experiences and subjectivity of the feminine Other, to represent women, and deploy a remarkable variety of formal and conceptual innovations in an attempt to tentatively produce evocations of Algerian femininity that seek to upset or highlight the structural imbalance of masculine symbolic hegemony in literary and socio-political milieux. Though this thesis does not shy from investigating those aspects of its corpus that produce ideologically conditioned masculinist representations, it chiefly seeks to articulate a shared reluctance concerning representativity and an omnipresent literary subversion of a masculine subject pole. It deploys formal narrative analysis, Lacanian psychoanalytical frameworks and a conceptualisation of "pessimistic" form to achieve these ends and to argue that the texts of its corpus discreetly militate for a communal feminine self-representation to be inaugurated, before outlining in its conclusion a post-colonial Algerian feminine literary tradition, in particular contemporary symbolic conduits such as la bande dessinée that might serve as effective motors for progression in gender relations.

The aim of the paper is to explore the dominating perception of the Other after the conflict regarding the Danish Mohammed caricatures. How Swedish newspapers have portrayed Arabs, which role they have been given in society and what problems they are struggling with is going to be the focus of this thesis. As methodological approach I chose discourse analysis, since it presents a view where language defines and structures our understanding of reality. Through the study of various Swedish newspaper articles, this essay tries to illustrate the implicit yet existent negative image of the Arabs as a group and potential alternative ways of understanding the Other. The perception of Arabs is a product of a necessary imaginary foe, a mirror image of the bad and strange in contrast to the idyllic and safe Swedish nationality. The rhetoric’s of the discourse are therefore constructed between a politics of acknowledgement and a will to culturally dominate the Other. To challenge this view the citizens of a nation must accept it as nothing more than an imaginary design.

Magister Legum - LLM / This mini-thesis is based on the presumption that the Danish cartoons and the anti-Muslim clip posted on YouTube as forms of expression, ridiculed the religious beliefs and practices of Muslims which in turn affected the exercise of religious freedom as it violated the dignity of the bearers of the right to freedom of religion and therefore a conflict between the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression exists. The above incidence of conflict between the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression involves infringing the freedom of religion of the Islamic community. Blasphemy in Islam is speech that is insulting to God, but during the course of Muslim history it has become increasingly linked with insult to the Prophet Muhammad. In Islam the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in any way is strictly forbidden and is considered blasphemous.

This paper studies subjectivity in the Mail Online journalism with a focus on judgmental reporting from the male sphere. The Background research presents the current paradigm of what is acceptable when writing subjectively in journalism and concludes that it is acceptable and is no longer seen as the antithesis to objectivity. However, there remain rules as to what is too much subjectivity such as ‘falsehoods’. The background continues and discusses what the male sphere is, what it means to report from the male sphere, and how one must behave within this sphere to be a ‘true’ woman or ‘true’ man. The study located and categorised both Direct and Indirect Judgment from the male sphere in articles from the Mail Online. Articles about Shamima Begum and Mohammed Emwazi were chosen because of their similarities and because of the very different way reporters chose to present their stories. Locating and categorising Judgment using the framework Appraisal and Journalistic Discourse Theory worked well with the ideological focus of the male sphere. The theoretical framework allows for individual subjective utterances to be categorised as Direct Judgment as well as whole extracts to be analysed, and categorised as Indirect Judgment. The results show that in the case of Shamima Begum, negative Judgment was inferred from the male sphere in the form of Indirect Judgment which needed to be read in context. In the case of Mohammed Emwazi both positive and negative Judgment was inferred which was both Direct and Indirect. Both actor’s results directly correspond to Judgment of gendered characteristics from the ‘Male Sphere’ explained Background. This paper concludes with a discussion of the judgments from the male sphere of both actors with examples from the extracts, finishing with limitations of the study and future research considerations.

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Abstract: The African continent has been riddled with conflict for many years. Angola and Somalia are prime examples of countries having experienced protracted wars. During those wars, warlords have played a definite role in perpetuating the fighting. The thesis investigates warlordism in Africa. Specifically, it is a comparative analysis of Jonas Savimbi of Angola and Farah Aideed of Somalia. The thesis investigates the concept of warlords and uses the examples of Aideed and Savimbi to illustrate the impact of warlords on the respective countries. The examples of Aideed and Savimbi are further used to show that there are different ways to becoming ultimately labelled as a warlord. The role of state weakness and ethnicity will be investigated in the two cases. The discussion will highlight the points that state weakness (i.e. lack of governmental functionality) and the use of ethnicity play a profound role in the rise and survival of warlords. The case studies of Aideed and Savimbi will emphasise the influence of state weakness and ethnicity in their formation as warlords. The concept of state weakness is defined and the thesis illustrates that there are different levels of state weakness. The thesis compares Angola and Somalia, and shows that Savimbi and Aideed acted under vastly different conditions as warlords. Ethnicity is defined and linked to the idea that the effects of colonialism played a profound role in creating ethnic divisions, enabling warlords such as Aideed and Savimbi to use their ethnic backgrounds to mobilise followers to wage war. The thesis investigates how Aideed and Savimbi maintained their military organisations. Their ability to do so is related to both state weakness and ethnicity. State weakness and ethnicity create conditions which are conducive to the emergence of warlords.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Durant le IVe millénaire, la Mésopotamie et ses voisins ont été reliés via un vaste réseau commercial, établi par des Urukéens lors de leur expansion en Iran et dans le Nord mésopotamien. À la fin du IVe et au début du IIIe, la Mésopotamie et ses voisins ont connu une phase de crise dont les causes nous sont toujours obscures en raison de l’absence des documents écrits remontant à cette phase. A cette phase, le réseau commercial urukéen et la colonisation urukéenne en Iran et en Mésopotamie du Nord, s’étant effondrés, les sites urukéens ont été abandonnés, ainsi qu’un grand nombre de sites indigènes qui ont été abandonnés. Le contact entre le Nord et le Sud mésopotamien fut suspendu. Pourtant, d’autres sites furent fondés que ce soit en Iran ou en Mésopotamie. Bien que la culture céramique mésopotamienne ne se soit modifiée profondément à cette phase cruciale, des traditions peintres réapparaissent soudainement alors que les Mésopotamiens les avaient abandonnées depuis 9 siècles (au Post-Obeid). Trois aires à céramique peinte apparaissent en Mésopotamie : en Irak du centre, de l’Est, du Nord (horizon de Ninive 5) et l’Iran a employé massivement la peinture. Cependant, le Sumer a conservé les traditions urukéennes qui ne connaissent pas de peinture. A noter que la peinture en Iran a été employée avant et durant l’expansion urukéenne. De plus, il semble avoir existé un corridor de contact reliant le West iranien aux trois zones à peinture en Mésopotamie. Mais comment peut-on expliquer ce phénomène de la réapparition de la peinture en Mésopotamie centrale et du Nord : s’agit-il des déplacements des groupes iraniens en Mésopotamie, ou des simples influences ? On ne peut pas traiter de la question de la fin du IVe/début du IIIe millénaire sans confronter, d’une part au problème concernant le destin des Urukéens. Ces derniers ont vécu plus de 4 siècles dans la périphérie durant l’expansion. Et d’autre part on est confronté au problème de la fondation des sites urbain aux touts début du 3e millénaire (Mari, Terqa, Kharab Sayyar et Chuera).Pour répondre à ces questions, nous avons choisi des sites-clés en Iran et en Mésopotamie. Leur céramique (et d’autre matériel) est étudié tout d’abord dans leur position stratigraphique, site par site, puis selon leur répartition dans l’espace. Au même temps, cette étude strato-céramique a été combinée avec une étude portée sur les changements dans l’occupation dans l’espace (abandon et fondation) et sur les transformations culturelles, surtout en Iran du Nord-Ouest et de l’Ouest où le phénomène de l’expansion transcaucasienne s’étend jusqu’au Kermanshah et le Nord du Luristan dans le Zagros central).Basant sur des comparaisons céramiques et sur d’autres aspects archéologiques, nous avons tenté de corréler entre la stratigraphie des sites étudiés. Nous avons évité de faire d’un site ou d’une région le « centre du monde ». Nous avons plutôt regardé chaque site et région à partir de ses voisins. A la fin de chaque partie ou chapitre, nous avons relié entre les régions étudiées, du point de vue culturel, stratigraphique et occupationnel, pour tenter de tirer une conclusion historique concernant le passage entre le IVe et le IIIe millénaires.Vers 2700-2600 av. J.-C., les traditions peintes disparaissent à nouveau de la Mésopotamie, au moment où le contact a été rétabli entre les Sumériens et le Nord mésopotamien (Mari-Brak-Chuera). Concernant cette reprise de contact, nous mettons plus l’accent sur les changements observés dans la stratigraphie (sites abandonnés et/ou incendiés) pour parler d’un phénomène que nous avons appelé la « Sumérianisation ». Nous avons tenté de repérer ce phénomène par le biais de quelques inscriptions datées du Dynastique Archaïque III (vers 2600-2500 av. J.-C.). / During the 4th millennium, Mesopotamia and its neighbours were connected by a vast trade network which was established by Urukians throughout their expansion into Iran and Northern Mesopotamia. At the end of the 4th millennium and at the beginning of the 3rd, all those regions faced a phase crisis whose causes are unknown for us because of the absence of the written documents dated to this phase. At this phase, the Uruk trade network and colonization in Iran and Northern Mesopotamia were collapsed. Uruk sites have been abandoned. In addition, a large number of indigenous sites were abandoned. The contact between Northern and Southern Mesopotamian was suspended. However, other sites were founded in Iran and Mesopotamia. Although, with this crucial phase, the Mesopotamian ceramic culture did not change deeply, the painting traditions reappeared suddenly whereas the Mesopotamian had abandoned them since 9 centuries c. (in Post-Obaid).Three zones with painted ceramics appear in Mesopotamia: centre of Iraq, Eastern Iraq, North Iraq and North-Eastern Syria. Also, Iran employed massively the painting. However, the land of Sumer conserved the Uruk traditions which aren’t painted. Worthily to be noted that the painting traditions existed in Iran before and even during the Uruk expansion. Moreover, a corridor of contact seems to have existed linking Western Iran to those three zones. But, how can one explain this reappearance phenomenon of this painting in the centre and North Mesopotamia: is-it because of the displacements of the Iranian groups into Mesopotamia or is it a simple influence? Likewise, one cannot treat the question of the end of the 4th millennium without being confronted with the problem of the destiny of the Urukians colonists. Those latter lived in the periphery more than 4 centuries during the expansion. On the other hand, one is confronted with the problem of the foundation of urban-cities with the all beginning of the 3rd millennium (Mari, Terqa, Kharab Sayyar and Chuera). To answer these questions, we chose site-keys in Iran and Mesopotamia. First of all, we studied, site by site, their ceramic (and others materials) according to their stratigraphical position (strato-ceramic), and then based on their distribution in the landscape. At the same time, those strato-ceramics analyses have been combined with another study concerning changes in the occupation of landscape (abandonment and foundation), and the cultural transformations, especially for the North-Western and Western Iran where the transcaucasian expansion extends to Kermanshah and Northern Luristan in central Zagros.Based on ceramic comparisons and on other archaeological aspects, we attempted to correlate between the stratigraphy of the studied sites. We avoided making of a site or of a region the “Center of the World”. We rather looked at each site and region starting from its neighbours. At the end of each part or chapter, we linked between the studied regions, from the cultural point of view, stratigraphic and occupational, in order to try to draw a historic conclusion concerning the passage between the 4th and the 3rd millennium.Towards 2700-2600 B.C., the painting traditions disappeared once again from Mesopotamia, at the time when the contact was restored between the Sumerians and Northern Mesopotamian (Mari-Brak-Chuera). For this resumption of contact, we set the accent more on the changes observed in the stratigraphy (abandoned sites or burned) to speak about a phenomenon which we called “the Sumerianisation”. Moreover, we tried to identify this phenomenon by the means of some inscriptions dated to the Dynastic archaic III (towards 2600-2500 B. C.).