Selected Theses 2007
Among the 30 theses submitted in January 2007, four theses were seleced to be published in the Centre working paper series. The theses are:
LiLian Lau, Poverty and Sustainability Issues of Microfinance
in China: A Case Study in Fu’an, Fujian
LiLian Lau’s
thesis deals with the very topical issue of microfinance and micro
insurance in China and contributes to the field in the specific Chinese
context. The thesis is based on a case study of a NGO providing micro
credits in rural China. The author is well reflected with respect to the
methods applied, data collection, sample characteristics as well as
limitations. The thesis provides an excellent review of the field and
formulates a strong argument for microfinance as a means for poverty
relief.
Louise Nolle, The Two-Sided Family: The Impact of the Family
and Everyday Life on Women's Political Participation in Rural Karnataka
Louise
Nolle’s thesis gives a richly contextualised analysis of the nature and
scope of women’s political participation in the South Indian state of
Karnataka. The thesis reveals a commendable awareness and sensitivity
during fieldwork and interviews. The core of the fieldwork consists of
the political life stories of nine women elected to the local governance
system, Panchayati Raj. The thesis provides new findings with respect to
how women negotiate family life and political work. The thesis advances
the notion of proxy, according to which the husband does most of the
political work on behalf of his wife.
Andreas Tibrand, Representations-Practice-Spectatorship: A
Study of Haptic Relations between Independent Cinema and Market-led
Urbanization in Contemporary China
Andreas Tibrand’s thesis
is a highly sophisticated analysis of the relationship between
independent cinema and market led urbanisation in China. The author has
an excellent grasp of the theoretical field of film and cultural studies
and is based in particular on the theories of Henri Lefebvre and Michel
de Certau. The thesis yields important new insights with respect to film
production in China and how this is related to and reflected in
representations of modernity. The study contributes to our understanding
of cinematic productions in China and more generally to visual studies
on space, representation, and spectatorship.
Elizabeth Williams Oerberg, The ‘Paradox’ of Being Young in
New Delhi: Urban Middle Class Youth Negotiations with Popular Indian Film
Elizabeth
Williams Oerberg's thesis provides a valuable contribution to our
understanding of how urban middle class youth in India relate to
cinematic images about romantic love and marriage. The thesis discusses
how young people’s views about sexuality and gender are negotiated, and
the interplay between traditional moral values and globalization. The
author has conducted extensive fieldwork in India resulting in primary
material derived from participatory observation, interviews, and
audience reception analysis. The thesis makes excellent use of theories
on gender and filmic representation that inform the analysis of the
empirical material.
To download the complete theses, please go here
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Last modified2 Mar 2011