M.A. Theses
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Browsing M.A. Theses by Author "Baykara, Oğuz."
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Item A marxist reading of Kuroshima Denji(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2020., 2020.) Saf, Kemal.; Babaoğlu, Lale.; Baykara, Oğuz.Although there exist many critical studies discussing Japanese proletarian literature, Kuroshima Denji, an anti-war proletarian writer and his works, unfortunately, still have not drawn much interest from academic circles. Moreover, Kuroshima Denji has been defined more as an anti-war writer rather than a proletarian author since most proletarian authors tend to write about the relationship between workers and the capitalist class. Nonetheless, knowing about Kuroshima Denji’s works will clarify and contribute to the understanding of the conditions that gave birth to the proletarian literature in Taishō or even in Meiji Japan. This thesis discusses Kuroshima Denji’s stories within the scope of a Marxist literary critique, and it details a deeper understanding of his sociopolitical viewpoint mentioned in his novels.Item Representations of the modern girl in Japanese interwar literature(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Kaynar, Aslı İdil.; Baykara, Oğuz.; Babaoğlu, Lale.This study explores the Japanese modern girl’s (moga) representations in Taishō and early Shōwa texts, and the role these representations played in women finding their voice in literature. The project acknowledges the modern girl figure as a character of fiction and a real-life figure. Examining the modern girl’s position within the Japanese feminist writing, the study supports the idea that whereas the media wanted to turn her into a passive figure or a stereotype by objectifying her, literary texts’ portrayals of this figure are of great variety. The modern girl differs from her contemporary, the New Woman in that, The New Woman appeared before moga in 1910s as a politically active feminist figure, whereas moga was defined as passive. Moga drew attention due to her Westernized looks and the way she took an active part in the public space. For these reasons, she became an inspiration for many authors. Through context based analysis of Tanizaki Jun’ichirō’s and Uno Chiyo’s selected literary works, and Kawabata Yasunari’s The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa (Asakusa kurenaidan) this study reveals the common patterns in the protagonists’ relationships with the modern girl analyzed within the theoretical framework of objectification. This thesis argues that moga in real life was a complex figure that cannot be simply categorized as a product of mass culture. The study ends with the suggestion that there is still much to explore about the modern girl, especially through examining her representations in literary texts.Item The impact of Kawaii culture on gender and Japan’s national image(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Duman, Ebru.; Baykara, Oğuz.The aim of this thesis is to examine Japan’s usage of kawaii culture as a soft power and to discuss whether it has been trying to change its worldwide image, while considering masculinity and femininity dimensions in culture. In this respect, historical progress and characteristics of Japan’s kawaii culture will be analyzed, and the global effects of kawaii will be explained with examples. As a country with a high masculinity index, Japan always had a negative image of a tough, militarist nation. Recently, kawaii culture has been drawing attention with its feminine qualities and has sparked an interest both in Japan and around the world. Japanese government has also been contributing to the spread of kawaii culture and has made many attempts for that purpose. In this study, Japan in terms of masculinity and femininity dimensions will be analyzed and arguments about them will be evaluated. Emphasizing the importance of soft power, the influence of gender roles in Japan and kawaii culture will be studied, and as a result the direction of Japan on the international platform will be discussed. In order to discover to what extent Japan has achieved to replace its negative image with a positive one and affected gender role perceptions around the world, examples of kawaii’s spread into other countries will be studied.Item The role of the emperor in postwar Japan :|an analysis of emperor Showa’s addresses at parliament openings(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Silingar, Reyhan.; Baykara, Oğuz.Japan has the oldest and yet still continuing monarchy in the world. Despite the change of the emperors along with Japanese history, the question remains the same: What precisely is the role of the emperor in a highly developed country with liberal democracy? This thesis will attempt to answer this continuously asked question with a discourse analysis of Emperor Showa’s addresses at the opening ceremony of the National Diet (Japanese parliament) between 1947 and 1988. By putting forward the context of the Showa emperor, one of the most controversial figures in modern times in terms of the role he is believed to have played in the decade of Japanese expansionism during WW II, this thesis will argue that the emperor is not a mere symbolic figurehead. This thesis will ultimately prove with its empirical findings that the emperor serves the collective memory of Japan possessing an integrative power and thus contributes to the stabilization of the country.Item Tracing the criminal women in Edogawa Ranpo’s stories(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2022., 2022.) Kot, Ayşe Selin.; Eroğlu, Zeyneb Hale.; Baykara, Oğuz.Edogawa Ranpo is a Japanese author whose works concentrate on detective fiction. This study focuses on the portrayal of criminal women in his detective fiction works, Appearance of Osei (Osei Tōjō), Beast in the Shadows (Injū), and Caterpillar (Imo Mushi). The study analyses their roles as wives, lovers, and aggressors in their surroundings, and argues that by getting his female protagonists to murder their husbands, Ranpo liberates these women from the social pressure and burden of the patriarchal structures placed on them. To discuss the patriarchal oppression and these women characters’ agency, this research adopts a context-based analysis through the structuration theory. The thesis also argues that by bending the norms of the structures they are restricted in, these criminal characters can be considered as a statement against the ryōsai kenbo (good wife, wise mother) ideology of Meiji Japan.