Westernization as a historical process of universalizing western cultural and societal norms has, in terms of global education, evolved into a narrative of competition, resource-hoarding, erasure, and general accumulation of capital by the few. Universities and colleges are hubs for the production and reproduction of ideologies and ways of knowing that permeate the highest echelons of the global milieu and contribute to the creation of the global imaginary. The research questions that guided this study asked how Western hegemony is dialogically reinforced in global higher education at the regional and supranational level, and how historical determinants have impacted the regional and supranational translation and manifestation of Western educational models. Through a framework of world system theory and world society theory, I analyzed narratives and calls for improved global higher education at the regional and supranational level to identify mechanisms that have upheld western hegemony within global higher education. I employed a comparative-historical, mixed-methods analysis that utilized two qualitative approaches: historical narrative inquiry through a systematic review of journals and discourse analysis of documents published by the supranational and regional organizations sampled in this study. The overarching mechanisms that allowed for the maintenance of westernization were capacity in Africa, identity in LATC, and affect in Europe. The biased operationalization of global quality indicators has allowed for contemporary reproductions of colonial representations. Historical processes of colonization have evolved to maintain the global imaginary of world society while concretizing the asymmetric relationships of a networked society within the world system. These findings contribute to the body of literature on the manner in which global higher education systems interpret, mediate, sustain, and resist processes of westernization.

This thesis is an exploratory one, which examines the relationship between Western influences (such as the media, education, work, travel, and friendships) and traditional values in South Korea (such as those related to family, social relationships, nationalism, social order, leisure time, work, religion and women’s issues). The relationship between these was investigated in light of modernization theories and Riesman’s stages of societal progress. Furthermore, a survey was conducted among 579 individuals from the younger and older generations in Seoul and Daegu, to determine the degree of Western influences among the generations, and the adherence to traditional values. It was found that the younger generation clearly had more exposure to Western influences, and also adhered much less to traditional values, while the opposite held true for the older generation. A case was made that South Korea’s unprecedented development following Independence opened the country, especially the younger generation, to influences from the West as they had never experienced before. The generation gap that came as a result of this is extreme, and without express effort to preserve those traditional values that have shaped Korean society for so long, there may be serious ramifications for Korean society in the future.

This thesis is an exploratory one, which examines the relationship between Western influences (such as the media, education, work, travel, and friendships) and traditional values in South Korea (such as those related to family, social relationships, nationalism, social order, leisure time, work, religion and women’s issues). The relationship between these was investigated in light of modernization theories and Riesman’s stages of societal progress. Furthermore, a survey was conducted among 579 individuals from the younger and older generations in Seoul and Daegu, to determine the degree of Western influences among the generations, and the adherence to traditional values. It was found that the younger generation clearly had more exposure to Western influences, and also adhered much less to traditional values, while the opposite held true for the older generation. A case was made that South Korea’s unprecedented development following Independence opened the country, especially the younger generation, to influences from the West as they had never experienced before. The generation gap that came as a result of this is extreme, and without express effort to preserve those traditional values that have shaped Korean society for so long, there may be serious ramifications for Korean society in the future.

Eye contact is a research and installation projects about the westernization process of bridal costume from 1900 to 2012 in both China and the Chinese immigrant community in America. The project focuses on the bride’s wedding costume to present the development of social status of women in both China and Chinese immigrant community in America. / text

Since the establishment of the republic in 1923 there has never been a consensus over Turkey‘s national identity, either internally or externally. Westernization was a top-down project that fostered societal resistance from the outset and which received only partial recognition from the West itself. The end of the Cold War has further intensified the debates over Turkish identity both in Turkey itself and in the wider world. This thesis examines the implications of a complex and insecure identity for Turkey‘s political development and in particular its ability to develop an international role commensurate with its size and capabilities. In doing so, it demonstrates the connection between different notions of Turkish identity and foreign policy preferences whilst emphasising also the important role of the international institutional context (for example membership of NATO and the EU) in shaping the preferences of diverse state/societal actors within Turkey in the post-Cold War period. The focus in this regard is on the military, political parties and business/civil-society groups. The thesis engages recent debates between constructivists and rationalists and argues that a constructivist account of Turkish foreign policy is more helpful than a rationalist explanation, through the case studies of Turkey‘s relations with the EU, Greece and the Middle East in the post-Cold War period. It shows how rational actor assumptions operate within a constructivist context and aims to shed light on the relationship between identity, political interests and foreign policy. The thesis also demonstrates that an insecure identity is a barrier to pursue consistent foreign policy goals, thereby lending support to the view that a secure identity is a condition of developing a stable and influential role in the post-Cold War system.

The twentieth century saw the spread of Western art music across the world as Western ideology and values acquired increasing dominance in the global order. How did this process occur in China, what complexities does it display and what are its distinctive features? This thesis aims to provide a detailed and coherent understanding of the Westernisation of Chinese music in the 20th century, focusing on the ever-changing relationship between music and social ideology and the rise and evolution of national identity as expressed in music. This thesis views these issues through three crucial stages: the early period of the 20th century which witnessed the transition of Chinese society from an empire to a republic and included China's early modernisation; the era from the 1930s to 1940s comprising the Japanese intrusion and the rising of the Communist power; and the decades of economic and social reform from 1978 onwards. The thesis intertwines the concrete analysis of particular pieces of music with social context and demonstrates previously overlooked relationships between these stages. It also seeks to illustrate in the context of the appropriation of Western art music how certain concepts acquired new meanings in their translation from the European to the Chinese context, for example modernity, Marxism, colonialism, nationalism, tradition, liberalism, and so on.

The main assumption of this thesis is existence of traditional and modern values in the Chinese society. The author of this paper believes that this characteristic differentiates that market from other luxury markets and drives the way luxury is consumed. The study tries also proving that the perception of luxury and conspicuous consumption can be changed in time in the process of bigger internationalization of the country. The research focus is put primarily on psychology of luxury consumer in China and what stands behind their motivation of purchasing high-end products. / Program: Master in Fashion Management with specialisation in Fashion Marketing and Retailing

The purpose of this study is to explore the past, present and future of the development of Western piano culture in Northeast Asia and the musical, social, political and economic facets thereof. Western piano was first introduced to general public as part of the Westernization process during and after World War II in Asia. During the second half of the twentieth century, Asian piano culture has experienced a period of rapid development and mass popularization along with dramatic cultural, economic and technical developments. Quantifiable evidences for this are given in the number of competition winners and graduates of prestigious institutions with Asian heritage. Piano sales and manufacture of Asian companies gives further testament to the popularity of piano in Asia. Finally, the paper acknowledges the achievements identified and suggests ways in which Asia could become a fully independent culture central for piano in the future, with a close look at factors such as the diversity and quality of education programs and syllabi, social norms formed as a result of rapid modernization, and the constituent ratio of Asian decision-makers in eminent music organization.

O Japão de meados do século XX apresentava um contexto em que influências advindas do ocidente desde a abertura dos portos mesclavam-se à tradição japonesa. Nesse contexto viviam as irmãs Makioka, personagens centrais do romance de Junichiro Tanizaki e objeto principal da presente pesquisa. Por meio da figura de cada uma delas temos acesso ao modo como essas influências adentraram no dia a dia de parte da sociedade japonesa, mais especificamente da família Makioka, tradicional da região de Osaka, e seu círculo social. Para desenvolver esse estudo, faremos a contextualização do período vivido pelo autor e pelas personagens por ele criadas, bem como de que maneira os acontecimentos tiveram participação na formação das mesmas. Também será feita uma análise das personagens secundárias a fim de ampliar a visão acerca das principais. E, finalmente, de acordo com conceitos a respeito da construção de personagem, faremos um estudo das quatro irmãs, levando em consideração aquilo que estava mais na superfície, acessível num primeiro olhar, além dos elementos que compunham o modo de ser de cada uma delas, com as amálgamas e sobreposições resultantes do período. / Japan in the mid-twentieth century displayed a context which influences brought from western culture since the opening of the ports blended to Japanese tradition. The Makioka sisters, central characters of the novel by Junichiro Tanizaki and main subject of this research, lived in this cultural context. Through each one of these characters, we can access the way these influences entered everyday life of part of Japanese society, especially Makioka, a traditional family from Osaka area and their social circle. For the purpose of this study, we will contextualize the period lived by the author and his created characters, as well as how events contributed for their construction. The secondary characters also will be analyzed in order to amplify the view about the main characters. Finally, according to concepts about literary character construction, we will study the four sisters, considering what relies on the surface, accessible at first glance, such as elements that create the profile of each one of them, alongside amalgams and overlaps resulting from this period.

The main object of this paper is an attempt to illustrate the present situation of TeheranUniversity Central Library and its 17 faculty libraries. The main aspects of these librarieswhich will be discussed are collections, staffing, management, shelving, cataloguing and thelibrary users. The findings of a survey which was conducted by the author in Iran in thesummer 1995 form the main basis of the discussions.Some of the problems in these libraries are mentioned and the possible solutions arerecommended.The study also examines the role and effect of the Islamic Revolution and de-westernizationpolicy of the present regime on these libraries.A historical background of higher education, foundation of the University of Teheran,librarianship and the whole range of libraries in Iran are discussed briefly.