Existing studies of popular culture and popular politics in the long eighteenth century over-favour either the ‘culture’ or the ‘politics’. This thesis contributes to debates on the making of both national and class identity in Britain via intensive analysis of popular song culture, in the context of the Napoleonic Wars. Portrayals of Napoleon himself are used to shape the thesis’ source material and the forms of discussion. It argues for the necessity of sympathetic, informed contextualisation of political issues within contemporary cultural processes: that an understanding of the composition/production and performance/ consumption of song is a prerequisite of determining songs’ relevance and reception. In so doing, it uncovers a nuanced array of attitudes towards both Napoleon and British patriotism, of unsuspected breadth, assertiveness, and idiosyncrasy. The thesis is divided into two stages of argument. Part I consists of a close and contextualised reading of songs as literary and musical objects. Chapter One, after close historiographical engagement that moves to a focus on Colley’s Britons and revisionist arguments about British society, discusses those songs originating after Waterloo. Chapter Two considers songs from 1797-1805. Chapter Three considers songs from 1806-15. Part II builds upon the themes and conclusions of Part I by situating these songs within a lived context. Chapter Four looks at the role of songwriters and printers; Chapter Five at singers; Chapter Six at audiences and reception. Chapter Seven elaborates the overall argument in a synoptic case study of Newcastle. The conclusion is followed by an appendix, listing the songs most pertinent to the thesis, giving additional bibliographical information. A hard copy (USB) of recordings of a representative selection of these songs is also included. These appendices reinforce the thesis’ methodology: to consider songs, not as passive evidence of expression, but as active, dynamic objects.

No description available.

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) are fast becoming a permanent structure in international security. PMSCs are made up of two groups, namely Private Military Companies (PMCs) and Private Security Companies (PSCs). Antagonism towards their existence and involvement in African civil wars is the result of some damaging effects of PMSCs- more specifically PMCs- including misconceptions. Both PMCs and PSCs are compared to mercenaries and definitional issues plague the private security industry. Private Military and Security Companies however are legal entities, different to mercenaries. This is why PMCs are sometimes referred to as "corporate warriors". As private companies PMCs often fill the security gaps left by international responses to African civil wars. Their contracts with legitimate governments offer a cheap and effective end to the violence of civil war. In recent years the use of PMSCs has increased among both weak and strong states. Antipathy however remains the prominent attitude in the international community, thus challenging the use of PMSCs. From this point of view, they are a ¡°scourge¡± because PMCs are not only likened to mercenaries of old who fight for private gain, but the arguments are also that they undermine the sovereignty of weak states, that they are unaccountable to the citizens of these states, that they violate human rights, that they don't solve root causes and that they contribute to militarization. The increase of civil conflicts in Africa and the surplus of military professionals after the Second World War meant that mercenaries became involved in African liberation struggles. By the end of the Cold War however- in an era that favours liberal economic practices and privatisation- professional legal Private Military and Security Companies were established to supplement the security gap left at the end of the Cold War. As mentioned, these are legal companies that don.t breach international conventions; are accountable to some home state legislation's and brought peace to Angola and Sierra Leone. International responses to security concerns- especially those in Africa- are burdened by the plethora of complex civil conflicts that simultaneously demand attention from the United Nations. PMCs may be equipped to execute Chapter VII mandates of the UN Charter, as these deal with robust enforcement functions at a time when the West is reluctant to intervene. What is perhaps required is more accountability (also to host state legislation) and oversight. The services of PMCs are beneficial to a number of stakeholders. These include the states in which they are registered, the states in which they operate, the citizenry that they protect, and they are profitable to the shareholders of the PMCs and diamond and oil companies they are contracted to. It is thus the conclusion of this thesis that Private Military Companies provide a faster and more cost- effective option for peacemaking in Africa. As private companies they are not bound by protocols and conventions but they must satisfy the company and its shareholders. And although the use of Private Military Companies is not dependent on the regulation of the industry, the PMSC industry would benefit from more self- regulation in the market place. Thus with relevant and more effective regulation, PMCs could become Africa's solution to her civil conflicts. Unlike in the Ballesteros report, the UN has to recognise this role. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Private Militere- en Sekuriteitsmaatskappye (PMSMe) is vinnig besig om 'n permanente struktuur in privaatsekuriteit te word. Skadelike uitwerkings van hierdie PMSMe, wanpersepsies ingesluit, is 'n gevolg van die antagonisme teenoor die maatskappye en hul betrokkenheid in burgeroorloë. PMSMe word met huursoldate vergelyk en gevolglik word die privaatsekuriteitsindustrie met kwessies rondom definiering gekwel. PMSMe, anders as huursoldate, is egter wettige entiteite. Om hierdie rede word PMSMe dikwels as "korporatiewe krygsmanne" (corporate warriors) beskryf. PMSMe, as private maatksappye, vul dikwels die sekuriteitsgapings wat deur die internasionale reaksies tot burgeroorloë in Afrika gelaat is. Hul kontrakte met legitieme regerings bied 'n goedkoop en effektiewe middel om die geweld van burgeroorloë te beëindig. Die gebruik van PMSMe het, gedurende die afgelope jare, in beide swak- en sterk state toegeneem. Antipatie dien steeds as in vername afkeur in die internasionale gemeenskap. Dit daag dus die gebruik van PMSMe uit. Hulle word steeds met huursoldate in die internasionale gemeenskap verwar. Terselfdertyd word geargumenteer dat PMSMe die soewereiniteit van swak regerings ondermyn, dat hulle nie verantwoordbaar aan die burgers van hierdie state is nie, dat hulle inbreuk maak op menseregte, dat hulle nie die kernoorsake van konflik oplos nie, en dat hulle tot militarisering bydra. Die toename in burgerlike konflikte in Afrika, tesame met die oorskot militêre vakkundiges na die Tweede Wereldoorlog, het gemaak dat huursoldate in Afrika se vryheidstryde betrokke geraak het. Teen die einde van die Koue Oorlog - gedurende 'n tydperk waar liberale ekonomiese praktyke en privatisering voorrang geniet het - was professionele wettige PMSMe byderhand om die sekuriteitsgaping aan te vul. Hierdie is dus wettige maatskappye wat nie internasionale konvensies skend nie, wat verantwoordbaar is aan sekere tuisstaatwetgewing, en wat vrede in Angola en Sierra Leone meegebring het. Internasionale reaksies tot sekuriteitskwessies - veral die sigbaar in Afrika - word deur 'n oormaat van komplekse burgerlike konflikte, wat gelyktydig aandag van die Verenigde Nasies (VN) verg, belas. Hiervolgens is dit moontlik dat PMSMe wel toegerus mag wees om Hoofstuk II-mandate van die VN Handves uit te voer. Die rede hiervoor is dat die PMSMe wel toegerus is om robuuste toepassings funksies te verrig. Dit het veral vorendag gekom gedurende 'n tydperk toe die Weste huiwerig was om by sekuriteitskwessies in te meng. Hoer vlakke van verantwoordbaarheid en oorsig word moontlik meer vereis. Die dienste van PMSMe is voordelig vir vele belanghebbendes. Hierdie sluit die state in waar hul gekontrakteer het, die state waarin hulle optree, die burgers wat hulle beskerm, die winsgewendherd vir aandeelhouers van die PMSMe en die diamant- en oliemaatskappye deur wie hul gekontrakteer mag wees om installasies te beskerm. Die gevolgtrekking van hierdie tesis is dus dat PMSMe 'n vinniger en meer koste-effektiewe opsie vir vredemaking in Afrika bied. Al is die gebruik van PMSMe nie afhanklik van die regulering van die industrie nie, sal die PMSMe-industrie by 'n verhoging in self-regulering in daardie sektore baat vind. Met relevante en meer effektiewe markregulering, kan PMSMe dus as 'n oplossing in Afrika se burgerlike konflik dien. Anders as in die Ballesteros verslag, sal die VN dit moet erken.

This is a study of autobiographical letters written in the early 1950s by seven Swedish sailors. The letters were contributions to a project at the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm aiming to collect and publicize workers' autobiographical narratives. The aim of this thesis is to analyze how the sailors composed their narratives in dialogue not only with heroic epics and other oral and written literary traditions but also with folklore studies and with contemporary public conversations about Sweden. According to Bachtin, any given text must be understood as a dialogue with the entire history of literature and the analysis in this study shows that the sailors' narratives are composed according to the pattern of the returning Homeric hero: the hero by destiny, the hero by action, and the hero by tradition. In terms of contents the letters are centered on two major themes: the two world wars and the transformation of Sweden from a poor rural society into a modern well-fare state. These themes are dramatized in plots, test-conflicts, motifs, and motif-complexes (functions, motiphemes), well-known from oral traditions and classical drama. An experiment in which two of the letters are subjected to “ethnopoetic transcription” shows the nature and extent of the oral idiom used by the writers. Two other writers display their literary ambitions through an abundance of paraphrases and hidden quotations. For the museum staff, the sailors' contributions were problematic. The verbal artistry of the writers challenged assumptions that workers' life narratives should be “simple and ingenious descriptions” and transparent sources of ethnological data. Furthermore, the sailors' frankness about Sweden's and their own part in the world wars challenged the myth of the neutrality and peacefulness of the Swedish folkhem.

<p>Предмет проучавања докторске дисертације је заступљеност античке прошлости у уџбеницима историје на простору данашње Србије, у Краљевини СХС и Краљевини Југославији, у периоду између два светска рата од 1918. до 1941. године. Рад се бави и проучавањем утицаја античких вредности на васпитање и образовање српске омладине. Основни предмет истраживања у раду су уџбеници на српском језику са тематиком из области античке прошлости, који су се користили у средњим школама у периоду између два светска рата. Поред уџбеника и наставних планова и програма, у раду је представљен и шири друштвени контекст изучавања античке прошлости, најзначајнији професори и предмети на свим смеровима, где се проучавала античка прошлост на Универзитету у Београду. Радом су пропраћени и поједини чланци о античкој прошлости и просвети, који су се појављивали у периодици тога доба.</p> / <p>Predmet proučavanja doktorske disertacije je zastupljenost antičke prošlosti u udžbenicima istorije na prostoru današnje Srbije, u Kraljevini SHS i Kraljevini Jugoslaviji, u periodu između dva svetska rata od 1918. do 1941. godine. Rad se bavi i proučavanjem uticaja antičkih vrednosti na vaspitanje i obrazovanje srpske omladine. Osnovni predmet istraživanja u radu su udžbenici na srpskom jeziku sa tematikom iz oblasti antičke prošlosti, koji su se koristili u srednjim školama u periodu između dva svetska rata. Pored udžbenika i nastavnih planova i programa, u radu je predstavljen i širi društveni kontekst izučavanja antičke prošlosti, najznačajniji profesori i predmeti na svim smerovima, gde se proučavala antička prošlost na Univerzitetu u Beogradu. Radom su propraćeni i pojedini članci o antičkoj prošlosti i prosveti, koji su se pojavljivali u periodici toga doba.</p> / <p>The theme of study of this doctoral thesis is to what extent the antique past was included in the textbooks for history which were published and used in the area of present Serbia, The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and The Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the period between the two world wars from 1918. to 1941. The thesis deals with studying of influence of the antique values on upbringing and education of Serbian youth. The basic theme of research in the thesis are the textbooks written in Serbian dealing with the antique past and which were used in secondary schools between the two world wars. Besides the textbooks, and teachers&rsquo; plans and syllabus broader social context of studying antique past, the most important teachers of the subject at all the streams studying the antique past at the University of Belgrade are presented in the thesis. The thesis includes some articles about the antique past in education which were published at that time.</p>

François de Lorraine, duc de Guise, fut l’un des principaux acteurs politiques du royaume de France de 1547 à sa mort en 1563. Célèbre, il n’a pourtant pas fait l’objet d’une étude historique approfondie alors que les matériaux sont nombreux pour retracer son parcours. Plus qu’une biographie traditionnelle, le doctorat a eu pour visée d’articuler la problématique de l’identité aristocratique et la question de l’engagement d’un homme qui se pensait entre Dieu et le Roi. Prince de la Renaissance, François de Lorraine construisit son rôle en se fondant d’une part sur l’intégration d’un riche capital identitaire en grande partie constitué de la geste de son lignage lorrain, et d’autre part sur la force qu’il tirait de la maison de Guise, en particulier grâce à l’association étroite de son frère Charles, cardinal de Lorraine. Le duc poursuivit sa quête de salut divin et de reconnaissance sociale dans deux contextes très différents qui déterminèrent des oscillations dans son jeu d’acteur. Le premier est celui du règne d’Henri II (1547-1559), durant lequel il s’imagina être le bras armé du Roi Très-Chrétien en vue d’établir une monarchie universelle. Le second (1559-1563) fut marqué par la crise profonde et multiforme du royaume de France : le duc aspira à être alors le défenseur des catholiques face au calvinisme qu’il associa à une hérésie et contre lequel il assuma d’être tel un nouvel envoyé de Dieu aux côtés des jeunes rois François II puis Charles IX. / François de Lorraine, duc de Guise, was one of France’s most influential politicians from 1547 to 1563, at the time of his death. Although a potent figure, he hasn’t been the subject of any serious historical study. Yet, historical sources are numerous. This thesis is much more than a traditional biography : it aims at questioning the identity of De Guise as an aristocrat and his commitment as a man who figured himself as standing between God and his king.Prince of the Renaissance, François de Lorraine built up his influence by relying on both his heritage and identity as a member of the Lorraine family and his power derived from the de Guise family and his close association with his brother Charles, the Bishop of Lorraine. The duke undertook his quest for divine salvation and political recognition in two different historical contexts which determined and influenced his actions. First, under the reign of Henry II (1547-1559), he acted as the Christian king’s executioner with the view to establishing a universal monarchy.Then, between 1559 and 1563, when the kingdom of France suffered from crises which were deep and manifold, the duke posed as the protector of the Catholics against Calvinism which he considered as heresy. He resisted it by assuming the role of a protector sent by God to assist the two young kings, François II and Charles IX.

Internationellt resande är en uppskattad och naturlig del av livet för många människor som lever i Sverige idag. Resande kan vara avslappnande, äventyrligt och en härlig upplevelse men det kan även innebära risker. Brottslighet, hälsoproblem, politisk instabilitet och terrorism är alla reala risker som turister kan råka ut för på sina resor. En risk innebär en osäkerhet om, och i så fall när det kan inträffa och det går inte att förutsäga. Denna osäkerhet innebär att turister får förlita sig på sin uppfattning av hur riskabelt det är att exempelvis besöka en destination med hög brottslighet. Personers riskuppfattning i samband med internationella resor har fastställts påverkas av yttre faktorer och inre faktorer. Personer motiveras även av olika faktorer till att resa och har olika åsikter och preferenser för vad de vill uppleva på sina internationella resor. En del av denna skillnad mellan turister har förklarats med att personer har olika behov av att uppleva nya, spännande och äventyrliga händelser på sina resor. Andra motiveras istället av att ta det lugnt och på ett säkert sätt uppleva vad destinationen och turistindustrin kan erbjuda. Turister kan särskiljas i två extremer. En extrem är människor som motiveras av äventyr och överraskningar, så kallade noveltysökare. Den andra extremen är människor som vill ta det lugnt och resa på ett tryggt sätt så kallade familiaritysökare. Personer kan även motiveras av delar en blandning från båda dessa extremer och kan då kallas för neutrala resenärer.   Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka riskuppfattning vid internationella resor samt att undersöka om det efter en indelning av respondenterna i novelty-familiaritysökande grupper går att fastställa några skillnader i hur riskabla de upplever att riskerna är under internationella resor. För att undersöka detta utförs en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Med det teoretiska ramverket och den kvantitativa enkätundersökningen har slutsatser dragits utifrån uppsatsens syfte och frågeställningar.   Respondenterna i undersökningen upplever att terrorism, politisk instabilitet, brott och hälsoproblem utgör risker under internationella resor. Terrorism var den risk som i högst grad påverkade respondenternas beslut rörande resande. Med sambandstester fastslogs att det finns samband mellan respondenternas uppfattning rörande riskerna och deras relations till yttre och inre påverkan.   Respondenterna kunde utifrån deras preferenser och motivation för internationellt resande delas in i de tre grupperna familiaritysökande, neutrala resenärer och noveltysökande. Respondenternas tillhörighet i turistgrupperna och deras svar på hur riskabelt de upplever att de fyra riskerna är, sambandstestades. Utifrån detta går det att fastställa att noveltysökande turister upplever att riskerna terrorism, politisk instabilitet och hälsoproblem utgör en lägre risk under internationella resor än vad de familiaritysökande turisterna gör. Detta ger stöd till tidigare forskning som fastställt att ett sådant samband existerar.

The aim of the thesis is to explore depictions of sexuality in popular science fiction film and television through a focus on storytelling, narrative, characters and genre. The thesis analyses science fiction as a film and television genre with a focus on the conventions, interpretations, and definitions of genre as part of larger contexts. Central to the argumentation is films and television series, from Star Wars and Star Trek, to Firefly and Torchwood. The approach allows a consideration of how the storytelling conventions of science fiction are, and have been, affected by its contexts. Through a consideration of a historical de-emphasis on narrative complexity and character formation in science fiction, the thesis displays and analyses a salient tendency towards juvenile and heteronormative narratives. This tendency is represented by a concept that I call the Star’verses, through which this dominant idea of science fiction as a juvenile, techno-centred, masculine, and heteronormative genre became firmly established. This generic cluster has remained a dominant influence on science fiction film and television since the 1980s. However, as argued, a major discursive shift took place in science fiction at the turn of the millennium. This adult turn in science fiction film, and television in particular, is attributed to contextual changes, but also to the influence of television dramaturgy. It explains why science fiction in the 21st century is not as unfamiliar with depictions of sexuality as its predecessors were. This turn does not signal a total abandonment of what the Star’verses represent; it instead contributes to a change to this dominant idea of the generic identity of science fiction. While sexuality has been disassociated from much science fiction, it is also argued that the science fiction narrative has extensive queer potential. Generic conventions, such as aliens and time travel, invite both queer readings and queer storytelling; the latter however is seldom used, especially in science fiction film. A majority of the examples of science fiction narrative that use this queer potential can be found in television. In cinema, however, this progression is remarkably slow. Therefore, the thesis analyses whether the storytelling techniques of Hollywood cinema, to which science fiction film owes much of its dramaturgy, could be considered heteronormative. A comparison is made to television dramaturgy in order to display the possibilities for the serialised, character-focused science fiction narrative. Ultimately, the thesis investigate the possibility for subversive storytelling and whether a normative use of dramaturgy needs to be overthrown in order to tell a subversive story.

Pierre de L'Estoile (1546-1611) kept an extraordinary diary and collection in Paris during the Wars of Religion, recording everything from high-political scandals to low-life criminality during this crucial turning point in early modern history. The first extensive study of L'Estoile in any language, this thesis demonstrates how he negotiated and commemorated the conflicts that divided France as he engaged creatively with the rumours, ephemeral prints, poems, pictures, and books that he assembled in his diary and cabinet. It argues that the story of his life and times is the history of the civil wars in the making. While historians and literary scholars depend on L’Estoile’s diaries as an essential source of information, citing him as a mere passive observer, this thesis instead explores his subjectivity and interprets a wide range of hitherto unseen or neglected manuscript evidence that situates him in the Parisian society of royal office-holders and demonstrates his significance in the republic of letters. It follows a microhistorical approach to L'Estoile and his world in order to challenge established interpretations of his sources as evidence of a widespread mentality of eschatological anxiety in sixteenth-century France, instead focusing on L’Estoile’s personal responses to pieces in his collection. In this way, it critiques a common trend in cultural history to roam freely among ‘collective representations’ and argues for the importance of a precise analysis of social context, materiality, and individual subjectivity in reception studies.

Although historians have written extensively on both the early modern era and the development of an absolute monarchy, the history of Jewish communities in France and the role they played has been largely ignored. Beginning with the French Wars of Religion, this study analyzes to what extent France’s religious situation affected the growth of absolutism and how this in turn affected the Jews. Taking advantage of the fractured nature of the early French monarchy, Jews began settling in provinces along the border of both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Affected by economic jealousies and cultural perceptions of Jews, the treatment of these communities by local officials led to requests by Jews for royal intervention in these regions. Perceptions of Jews evolved through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the French Enlightenment influenced the way Jewish characters were presented. This study then ties these perceptions of Jews to the political and economic reality of these communities in an attempt to create a unified history of France’s early modern Jewish population.