International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion online publications
Not a member yet
484620 research outputs found
Sort by
The Poetics of Vulnerability:Early Modern Women's Poetry, 1560-1665
Full text linkThis thesis takes vulnerability as its starting point to examine early modern women’s lyric poetry written in English between 1560 and 1665. Adopting a capacious approach to vulnerability that attends to both the exposure to possible harm—both physical and emotional—as well as more dynamic relational affects, this research examines lyric poems by Anne Lock (c. 1534-before 1602), Isabella Whitney (fl. 1567-1573), Aemilia Lanyer (bap. 1569-1645), Hester Pulter (1605-1678), and Katherine Philips (1632-1664). At a time when the sheer breadth of women’s literary agency is being uncovered, why should we concern ourselves with a return to questions of vulnerability in early modern women’s poetry? The answer, this thesis argues, lies in recognising the multivalent function of vulnerability—including its overlapping philosophical, ethical, religious, political, and aesthetic dimensions—in early modernity. With particular attention given to the granular workings of poetic form as well as the affordances of lyric poetry in early modern English literary culture, the five case studies in this thesis collectively demonstrate that vulnerability offers a mode of storytelling, a language of faith, and a framework for thinking about virtuous self-governance and the ethical dimensions of care
Derailing the belt and road:Film, social media screen culture, and globalization from China
Full text linkThis dissertation examines the cultural dimensions of China’s most significant geopolitical project—the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Rather than offering a comprehensive account of a meticulously planned BRI, the focus lies on how the initiative is continually derailed, particularly through its negotiation and contestation within the cinematic sector.To trace these derailments, the dissertation begins by positioning the BRI within China’s broader globalization strategy from a cultural perspective. By exploring why the initiative is named after the ancient Silk Road, it reveals how the BRI embodies China’s new globalization imagination. Building on this premise, the dissertation investigates why such an alternative vision is so strongly desired. It argues that the failure of Hollywood in China proves that nationalism and cultural confidence play a critical role. The key transformation, it suggests, lies in a shift of cultural confidence—from how China is seen by others to who is authorized to represent China globally.In this context, although China’s imagined globalization may appear coherent in official discourse, the dissertation shows how it becomes fragmented in practice. For instance, at events such as the Silk Road International Film Festival, state narratives encounter competing actors pursuing their own agendas. The dissertation concludes that such derailment is not only common but inevitable. In today’s globalized world, China’s state power is not absolute; it must frequently negotiate and compromise—even with less powerful actors. It is precisely these moments of negotiation, contestation, and creative resistance that form the heart of this study
1 Week/1 Dag/1 Werk. Der Agitator (1929) van George Grosz:[Bespreking van tentoonstelling: George Grosz (1929) Der Agitator, vaste opstelling Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2022]
No full textDeze week schrijft elke dag een van onze auteurs over een werk dat dit jaar grote indruk op hen heeft gemaakt. Vandaag ziet Florian Göttke het heden weerspiegeld in een schilderij dat sinds kort in de vaste opstelling van het Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam te zien is: Der Agitator van George Grosz uit 1929
Roberto Bolaño and the labyrinthine mode:Navigating neoliberal modernity
Full text linkThis project analyses how the textual strategies deployed by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño contribute to a critical (re)framing of neoliberal modernity. To do this, it proposes an understanding of Bolaño’s fiction through ‘the labyrinthine mode’: a literary poetics that replicates the effects of trying to navigate a labyrinth. Not only is the labyrinth metaphor consistently used to describe Bolaño’s fiction, it also has a rich cultural heritage within Latin American literature more generally. For instance, in the work of Bolaño’s predecessors – immortalised under the banner of the Latin American boom – the labyrinth was synonymous with national solitude and the struggle to achieve modernity, particularly as a result of the legacies of colonialism. Bolaño’s labyrinthine mode represents a challenge to this escape-driven narrative. Writing in the wake of the dictatorial instalment of neoliberalism in his native Chile and beyond, Bolaño posits the labyrinth as an inescapable structure that also operates within the space-time of the globalised present. In doing this, he prepares the ground for an immanent critique of neoliberal modernity – a critique that foregrounds the networks of violence that underpin late capitalism whilst simultaneously establishing narrative and affective lines of flight through which hope may emerge
Derailing the belt and road:Film, social media screen culture, and globalization from China
Full text linkThis dissertation examines the cultural dimensions of China’s most significant geopolitical project—the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Rather than offering a comprehensive account of a meticulously planned BRI, the focus lies on how the initiative is continually derailed, particularly through its negotiation and contestation within the cinematic sector.To trace these derailments, the dissertation begins by positioning the BRI within China’s broader globalization strategy from a cultural perspective. By exploring why the initiative is named after the ancient Silk Road, it reveals how the BRI embodies China’s new globalization imagination. Building on this premise, the dissertation investigates why such an alternative vision is so strongly desired. It argues that the failure of Hollywood in China proves that nationalism and cultural confidence play a critical role. The key transformation, it suggests, lies in a shift of cultural confidence—from how China is seen by others to who is authorized to represent China globally.In this context, although China’s imagined globalization may appear coherent in official discourse, the dissertation shows how it becomes fragmented in practice. For instance, at events such as the Silk Road International Film Festival, state narratives encounter competing actors pursuing their own agendas. The dissertation concludes that such derailment is not only common but inevitable. In today’s globalized world, China’s state power is not absolute; it must frequently negotiate and compromise—even with less powerful actors. It is precisely these moments of negotiation, contestation, and creative resistance that form the heart of this study
Roberto Bolaño and the labyrinthine mode:Navigating neoliberal modernity
Full text linkThis project analyses how the textual strategies deployed by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño contribute to a critical (re)framing of neoliberal modernity. To do this, it proposes an understanding of Bolaño’s fiction through ‘the labyrinthine mode’: a literary poetics that replicates the effects of trying to navigate a labyrinth. Not only is the labyrinth metaphor consistently used to describe Bolaño’s fiction, it also has a rich cultural heritage within Latin American literature more generally. For instance, in the work of Bolaño’s predecessors – immortalised under the banner of the Latin American boom – the labyrinth was synonymous with national solitude and the struggle to achieve modernity, particularly as a result of the legacies of colonialism. Bolaño’s labyrinthine mode represents a challenge to this escape-driven narrative. Writing in the wake of the dictatorial instalment of neoliberalism in his native Chile and beyond, Bolaño posits the labyrinth as an inescapable structure that also operates within the space-time of the globalised present. In doing this, he prepares the ground for an immanent critique of neoliberal modernity – a critique that foregrounds the networks of violence that underpin late capitalism whilst simultaneously establishing narrative and affective lines of flight through which hope may emerge
The Poetics of Vulnerability:Early Modern Women's Poetry, 1560-1665
No full textThis thesis takes vulnerability as its starting point to examine early modern women’s lyric poetry written in English between 1560 and 1665. Adopting a capacious approach to vulnerability that attends to both the exposure to possible harm—both physical and emotional—as well as more dynamic relational affects, this research examines lyric poems by Anne Lock (c. 1534-before 1602), Isabella Whitney (fl. 1567-1573), Aemilia Lanyer (bap. 1569-1645), Hester Pulter (1605-1678), and Katherine Philips (1632-1664). At a time when the sheer breadth of women’s literary agency is being uncovered, why should we concern ourselves with a return to questions of vulnerability in early modern women’s poetry? The answer, this thesis argues, lies in recognising the multivalent function of vulnerability—including its overlapping philosophical, ethical, religious, political, and aesthetic dimensions—in early modernity. With particular attention given to the granular workings of poetic form as well as the affordances of lyric poetry in early modern English literary culture, the five case studies in this thesis collectively demonstrate that vulnerability offers a mode of storytelling, a language of faith, and a framework for thinking about virtuous self-governance and the ethical dimensions of care
Complementing the factor H protein family:From assays to outcomes
Full text linkAs part of the European consortium SciFiMed (Screening for Inflammation to Initialize Personalized Medicine), this thesis addressed key challenges in studying the factor H (FH) protein family, with a particular focus on the FH-related (FHR) proteins. These challenges include longstanding controversies surrounding FHR protein function, the lack of consensus on their physiological concentrations, and the absence of standardized assays. In this thesis, we first developed highly specific reagents targeting individual FHR proteins and, together with SciFiMed partners, optimized and validated existing and novel immunoassays. This resulted in standardized, robust immunoassays enabling reliable and specific quantification of the entire FH protein family. These tools allowed us to resolve inconsistencies in reported protein concentrations and to further unravel the biological roles of the FHR proteins in physiological and complement-associated pathological contexts (cancer and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)). Next, using these assays, we further characterized the dynamics, kinetics and distribution of FHR-1 and FHR-2 dimers in a large cohort of healthy individuals and demonstrated how genetic variants influence their abundance. Moreover, we showed that the four most common CFH haplotypes in the European population give rise to distinct and classifiable protein expression profiles, establishing characteristic protein ratios between FH, FHL-1, and the FHRs. Finally, in a well-characterized cohort of patients with AMD, we showed a tissue-specific haplotype and disease-associated shift in protein concentrations, potentially explaining their strong association with this debilitating disease. Altogether, these findings highlight the significant role of the FHR proteins in fine-tuning complement regulation across different anatomical sites.</p
Challenging the HIV DNA integration dogma:Integration-independent HIV replication to escape from integrase inhibitors
Full text linkLike other retroviruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has an RNA genome that is converted into a linear DNA molecule upon infecting host cells. This viral DNA is then integrated into the host’s cellular DNA by the viral integrase and subsequently used for the production of new virus particles. Integrase inhibitors, such as dolutegravir (DTG), effectively block DNA integration and inhibit virus replication, and are therefore widely used in antiretroviral therapy. HIV typically escapes the effects of inhibitors by acquiring mutations in the gene encoding the targeted protein. Accordingly, mutations in the viral integrase have been linked to resistance to DTG. However, this thesis describes an alternative mechanism of DTG resistance involving mutations in the viral 3’-polypurine tract (3’PPT), an RNA sequence element that serves as a primer for the regular reverse transcription of HIV RNA into DNA. These mutations inactivate the 3’PPT element, leading to the production of circular, rather than linear, HIV DNA. This circular HIV DNA does not integrate into the host genome but still allows the production of new virus particles. As a result, the virus can replicate in the presence of integrase inhibitors, thereby reducing the effectiveness of these antivirals. Moreover, this integration-independent replication pathway challenges the prevailing dogma that integration is an essential step in retrovirus replication