Suchergebnisse

The rise and fall of French Empires throughout a period of 400 years are outlined. Two central and parallel concepts in French political discourse, "grandeur" and "decadence", are used to analyze the French Empire. The article starts by commenting on the rise of the empire, including its geographical reach and direct and indirect political structures and systems. The French imperial policy of assimilation of colonies is examined as a political function to legitimize imperialism as a "mission civilisatrice"; to bring French civilization and liberty to the colonies. The article argues that French imperial rhetoric and propaganda to colonial populations were influenced by social Darwinism, racism, and military interests to display superiority of the French Empire. The article comments on the use of instruction and education in colonial administration and colonial history to maintain and develop the Empire once established. The article discusses the fall and decolonization of the French Empire, and concludes with lessons learned from the empire that applies to modern day France, including French exceptionalism. This article is one in a series of articles on the topic of empires. References. E. Sundby

In this article, the 9/11 events are analysed from a gender perspective -- both the terror attacks & the military responses upon them. Gender is shown to be relevant in several aspects, as gendered arguments have been used to justify acts of violence on both sides. Concerning the cultural construction of femininity, women were made invisible in the Western media debate that followed upon the terror attacks. At the same time, Afghan women were constructed as victims & became the alibi for the American military responses to the 9/11 attacks. Further, cultural gender norms of masculinity coloured the American rhetoric that justified the wars in both Afghanistan & Iraq. Finally, the analysis in the article shows how the terror attacks might be interpreted as a way to (re)construct a masculinity men in certain contexts might feel they are entitled to, after an experienced emasculation. The conclusion in the article is that a gender analysis deepens our understanding of the war on terrorism, & at the same time it shows how gender has become a central aspect of global politics. References. Adapted from the source document.

The article examines three processes, running parallel in time, that have contributed to the Islamization of the Chechen separatist movement. The first war in Chechnya between 1994 & 1996 resulted in the radicalization of several Chechen warlords & politicians. These individuals came to play an influential role during the interwar period & have increasingly defined the rhetoric & language of the separatists in the second war. This local impetus toward radicalism was reinforced by the attempts on the part of international Islamists to co-opt the Chechen conflict as part of their global struggle. At the same time the Russian policies on Chechnya have become increasingly hard & uncompromising, not least after the advent of the global war on terror. The article argues that these processes have contributed to marginalize the moderate players in the Chechen separatist movement & have rendered the conflict so polarized that there is little hope for peaceful resolution. 42 References. Adapted from the source document.

"There is a widely held notion that death is not particularly visible in our culture; death is something we do not talk about. The premise for Døden i livet has been to challenge this preconception from a variety of perspectives and disciplines.

The authors argue that death is present in our lives in many ways. We see it and experience it in our physical surroundings, for example in the various arrangements we make to remind ourselves of the dead. We hear or read about it in speeches, poems, music lyrics, psalms, obituaries, biographies, picture books, novels and newspapers. We talk about death in conversations with each other, in characterizing the dead and in clinical language about illness and death. We reveal our understanding of death through visual forms such as newspaper images, illustrations in books and in the imagery and metaphors we employ when we describe it.

Døden i livet is a mult-disciplinary, scientific anthology consisting of 12 peer-reviewed chapters geared towards scholars and students interested in broader appreciation of how death is present in our culture. The chapters are written by researchers working in such diverse fields as health, pedagogics, idea history, religion, literature studies, linguistics and rhetoric." - "Det er en utbredt oppfatning at døden er lite synlig i vår kultur og at vi snakker lite om den. Utgangspunktet for antologien Døden i livet er å utfordre disse forestillingene fra ulike perspektiv og fagfelt.

Forfatterne understreker at døden er til stede i våre liv på mange måter. Vi ser den og opplever den i våre fysiske omgivelser, for eksempel der hvor vi har innrettet oss for å minnes de døde. Vi hører den eller leser om den i taler, dikt, musikalske tekster, salmer, nekrologer, biografier, bildebøker, romaner og avistekster. Vi uttaler oss om død i samtaler med hverandre, i karakteristikker av avdøde og gjennom fagspråk om sykdom og død. Vi viser vår forståelse av døden gjennom visuelle uttrykk som i avisbilder, i bokillustrasjoner og i de språklige bildene og metaforene vi bruker når vi omtaler den.

Døden i livet er en tverrfaglig, vitenskapelig antologi. Boken består av 12 fagfellevurderte kapitler og henvender seg til forskere og studenter som har interesse av å sette seg inn i hvordan døden er til stede i vår kultur. Kapitlene er skrevet av forskere fra ulike fagfelt som helsefag, pedagogikk, idéhistorie, religionsvitenskap, litteraturvitenskap, språkvitenskap og retorikk."