/library/oar/handle/123456789/30982 2025-12-24T23:57:30Z 2025-12-24T23:57:30Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/49185 2020-04-20T12:14:29Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Representing Palestine : conflict, narrative and conflicted narratives : a study of how selected literature by Mahmoud Darwish and Joe Sacco portrays war and trauma in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle Abstract: Since the middle of the twentieth century, Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank have been in a state of military occupation. Today, they are still struggling to get their voice heard as a political blockade prevents the region from thriving. Despite the positive influence that literary representations of Palestine may have when drafting international law and defending human rights, literature’s role in such spheres is often overlooked. This research counters this attitude by proving that literature is an ideal vector for conveying the Palestinian experience. Through the discussion of Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco and State of Siege, Memory for Forgetfulness and Journal of an Ordinary Grief by Mahmoud Darwish, it demonstrates that the literary medium has the power to overcome the ethical and linguistic challenges (amongst which are trauma-transference, traumatropism and alexithymia) that face all narratives of suffering. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that the literary, more than any other medium, is capable of piercing through the apathy that rules the international community in order to bring about real change — on a national and international scale — to the lives of those in pain. Description: M.A.ENGLISH

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/49095 2020-04-20T12:22:29Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Style and the self : between subculture and individuality Abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to explore the function of style in relation to both the individual and the community within a subcultural context. Apart from analysing fashion- and music-based subcultures like the Punk, Goth and Metalhead subcultures, this study also considers Geeks as an online subculture. Therefore, the function of style in digital subcultures and how it is influenced by the media are also considered. In the end, it is found that style is linked not only with appearance but also with purchases made. Appearance acts as the embodiment of a person’s thoughts and values, while purchases represent what an individual believes will best reflect its self. Style is the difference between each person’s possessions. In a subculture, appearance and merchandise display adherence to the community. In online subcultures, however, appearance and material possessions are not as crucial, and style takes the place of knowledge, status and inventory possessed by the online user. Hence, style remains important in digital subcultures to identify between one individual or subcultural community to another, but it loses its physicality to adapt to the virtual world. Description: M.A.ENGLISH

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/49088 2020-04-20T12:20:37Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Are animated cartoons sugar-coating or distorting reality? Abstract: Upon thinking of the word ‘animated cartoons’, several people would define animated cartoons as a television series drawn either digitally or by hand in striking colours and tend to be seen as children’s shows. Nevertheless, a variety of animated cartoons attempt to both convey and subvert sinister themes. This combination indicates that there is an element of duality in animated cartoons and other mediums such as picture books. For the purpose of this dissertation, an attempt will be made to show whether animated cartoons are sugar-coating or distorting reality. The literature review explains how the following chapters approach the topic through analysing and discussing what previous scholars state on the duality of innocence and the cute. Furthermore, the topics of innocence and the cute are mainly applied to two animated cartoons which serve as case studies. The last chapter serves as a comparison between these case studies to two other picture books, while the conclusion reveals the findings of this study and suggests other approaches that could be taken. Description: M.A.ENGLISH

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/49078 2020-04-20T12:18:58Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The ‘falling man’ and other stories : issues in the production, distribution and reception of photojournalism Abstract: Within the contemporary media culture, can photojournalism be a tool for social change and improvement? Are photographs of suffering able to move the audience into taking action to end or lessen the suffering of others? This dissertation attempts to answer these questions by tackling three major aspects of photojournalism: its production by the photojournalist, its distribution by the media, and its reception by the audience. The opening chapter explores the meaning of photographs: how it is created, and how it is extracted. It explores the photograph’s universality while also highlighting the fact that photographs are still not understood by everyone. One of the major limitations of the photograph is discussed — its inability to record the passing of time. This has an effect on how the audience perceives the suffering shown by the image. It is concluded that the photograph is ambiguous by nature, and that this makes its interpretation and meaning subjective to each individual. The second chapter explores the photograph’s characteristics through a discussion of the four sites involved in the production, distribution and reception of press photographs: the site of production, the site of the image, the site of circulation and the site of audiencing. The two different modes of photography — inside and outside — are explored, together with the semiotics of photography, wherein it is argued that at the site of the image, signs are not enough to tell the subject’s story. Finally, this chapter discusses the role of the audience in the circulation and viewership of press photographs. It is argued that despite the limitations of the photograph and other factors which may influence the nature of the press photograph, the audience holds the power to decide whether action is taken or not. The third chapter explores issues external to the photograph itself, related to the media’s use of press photographs. These issues influence the audience’s response to photographs of suffering irrespective of their own knowledge of signs and cultural awareness, and of the photograph’s defining features and limitations. This chapter presents a discussion of the notion of compassion fatigue, criticism directed at the publication of photographs showing suffering and death, as well as the ways in which photojournalism is shown by the media and seen by the audience. The latter also includes propaganda by the media as well as the manipulation of photographs, which affect the audience's level of believability. It is concluded that while the limitations of the photograph are an important factor to consider, the social and political context of a photograph, determined by the media and the ways in which it uses the image, is perhaps an even stronger determiner of how photojournalism is received by the audience. In light of the arguments raised throughout this dissertation, it is concluded that there are three major pillars which influence the audience’s reception of photojournalism: the photojournalist, the media, and the audience itself. Each of these three has a responsibility, to ensure that the stories communicated by press photographs are as truthful, accurate and informative as can possibly be. The more of these values a photograph has, the better it is likely to be received by the audience. Description: M.A.ENGLISH

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z