Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Safeguarding Russian culture as a cultural reality or as a cultural construct? The newsmagazine ‘Illustrated Russia’ and Russian émigré culture in interwar Europe." "Ben Dhooge" "Department of Languages and Cultures" "This project will study the mainstream Russian émigré newsmagazine, Illiustrirovannaia Rossiia (1924-1939), as a test case for the widely accepted idea that interwar Russian émigré culture first and foremost aspired to safeguard ‘truly’ Russian culture and, hence, identity. Does this assumption hold for the émigré culture as a whole or does it relate to high culture alone?" "An Archaeology of Comparative Colonialism: material culture, institutions, and cultural change in Malta, c. AD 1530–1910" "Wim De Clercq" "Department of Archaeology" "The project aims to produce a novel, material culture-led narrative of daily life in Malta, AD 1530-1910. Archaeological analyses of artefacts and space shall be integrated with archival evidence to produce a social interpretation, which shall be viewed through the prisms of colonial institutions and identity formation. The project culminates in a diachronic comparison of colonialism under three ruling groups." "The role of European cultural institutions in the circulation of European cinema and the development of Chilean film culture (1955-1989) (ECICH)." "Philippe Meers" "Visual and Digital Cultures Research Center (ViDi)" "This project studies the role of European cultural institutions (ECIs) depending on their Ministry of Foreign Affairs in promoting national cinemas abroad and developing local film cultures in Chile. It compares the role of the Instituto Italiano di Cultura, the Institut Français, the Centro Cultural de España, and the Goethe Institut in two key historical periods (1955-1973 and 1974-1989) in which these institutions were the main gatekeepers and providers of European cinema in Chile. The action is hosted at the Visual and Digital Cultures Research Center (ViDi) of UAntwerpen under director Prof. Philippe Meers' supervision and at the Centre of Research in the Arts (CoRA) based at Oxford Brookes University under director Prof. Daniela Treveri Gennari's supervision. Through an interdisciplinary approach in the line of New Cinema History, the research analyses the transnational connections embedded in local film cultures and facilitated by cultural diplomacy. It aims to generate new empirical data on this under-researched area of study, from a peripheral and non-Eurocentric standpoint. Its objectives are: To identify European films that circulated in Chile thanks to ECIs, and the social and institutional networks involving this process; To explore the emerging imaginaries of ""European"", ""political"" and ""quality cinema"" attached to this circulation and influencing local film cultures; and to analyse the local reception of these films and ideas. The methodology combines archival and qualitative research, drawing on the researcher's previous experience and her training at both the beneficiary institution and the secondment. The main results include an online open access database, network analysis and a qualitative dataset; the researcher's training in cutting-edge academic skills and digital humanities; valuable inputs that can inform international cultural policies; and new collaboration networks between academic and non-academic international institutions." "Culture, social structure, and the self: Explorations into varieties of cultural fit in self-construal, changes therein, and the predictors and outcomes thereof" "Jozefien De Leersnyder" "Social and Cultural Psychology" "People's self-construals—how individuals define themselves and interact with others—demonstrate systematic cultural differences (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Singelis, 1994; Vignoles et al., 2016). Such differences stem not only from ethnic-cultural factors but are also influenced by social structures (e.g., social stratification, labour relations, urbanisation, gender roles, etc.), resulting in distinct self patterns that prevail among different groups (Cohen, 2001; Williams, 1959). When individuals transition into new sociocultural environments, however, initial mismatches might emerge between their accustomed ways of being and relating and those prevalent among the members of the culture they moved into. Over time, by virtue of cultural exposure and engagement, individuals' self-construals may undergo changes, a phenomenon known as acculturation. In my thesis, I explore the relationship between culture, social structure, and self-construals from multiple angles, while also casting doubt on certain theoretical presuppositions that guide psychological frameworks that reflect upon the self.As such, I aim to contribute to the evolving field of self-construal by moving beyond arguments that entail the immutability or the immateriality of the self, or certain dualistic interpretations, in order to embrace a more holistic understanding of how selves are shaped by and shape social contexts and the relationships and interactions situated therein. Viewing the self as a dynamic entity influenced by social phenomena within relational contexts, I come up with empirical evidence on the acculturation of self-construals which is in line with such dynamic and contextual perspectives on the self.My first goal within this thesis is to (Aim 1) explore cultural/structural group differences in self-construals. To this end, I first investigate whether self-construals form coherent patterns within pre-defined cultural categorisations (i.e., ethnicity, SES, and gender groups) and compare degrees of cultural consensus on self-construal patterns among different social and cultural groups (Aim 1.1). To do so, I utilise a long-standing technique from cultural anthropology (i.e., Cultural Consensus Analysis, hereafter CCA; Romney et al., 1986) and calculate the degrees of consensus on self-construals among not only (1.1a) ethnic cultural groups but also within (1.1b) SES and gender groups, and their binary intersections with ethnicity. I do so in order to see whether one can speak of distinct and shared ‘cultures of selfhood’ that might presumably prevail among these different ‘culture’ groups. As an alternative way to show the extent and variety in how much people adhere to these patterns, I utilise the cultural fit approach, a relatively novel method from cultural psychology (Aim 1.2) (Chentsova-Dutton et al., 2018; De Leersnyder et al., 2014). As such, I aim to explore (1.2a) ethnocultural and (1.2b) social-structural (i.e., SES and gender) differences in self-construal patterns, as well as (1.2c/2a) generational differences within ethnic minorities (cf. Aim 2 below). By doing so, I look into meaningful differences that might imply that different ethnic, SES, and gender groups, each have their own ways of being and relating.The second main goal (Aim 2) is to provide the first evidence for the acculturation of self-construals. Here, I explore whether self-construals of minority individuals undergo change consequent to sustained social contact and cultural engagement with the majority culture in a particular sociocultural context, and thus if there is evidence for the acculturation of the self. This I do by (1.2c/2a) comparing the average levels of fit among generations of migrant groups (i.e., on the group level) and by (2b) exploring the association between minorities’ fit of self-construals and several indices of their exposure to and engagement with the majority culture (i.e., individual level). I further aim (2c) to explore minorities’ acculturation attitudes as a potential predictor that could afford such acculturation if it indeed exists. To this end, I look into minorities’ explicit attitudes concerning having social contact with the host majority and their attitudes towards host-cultural values and traditions.The final aim I try to fulfil within this PhD thesis is (Aim 3) to explore the repercussions of (mis)fit in self-construals in academic settings by analysing its associations with certain academic outcomes. Here I first explore, in a secondary school context, the associations between academic achievement and the levels of cultural fit with (3a) SES groups’ average self-construal patterns and (3b) ethnic groups’ self-construal patterns. To shed further light on the possible mechanisms that underlie potential associations between fit with SES groups’ average self-construal patterns and academic achievement, I then look into (3c) the associations between higher education students’ fit with SES groups’ average self-construal patterns and academic self-efficacy beliefs, academic motivation and how the latter two mediate the relationship between fit of self-construals with high-SES groups’ average patterns and academic achievement.In order to fulfil these research aims, I make use of four studies employing a variety of samples, and different self-report measures. The nature of our diverse data sources and measures, as well as the comparative scope of cross-cultural and culturally diverse samples, enabled me to test our hypotheses within different contexts, using different tools. Consequently, I compiled the findings of my analyses with these four datasets into four empirical chapters that make up the main body of this thesis. All throughout, I try to synthetically conjoin perspectives and insights on the self from both (cultural) psychology and philosophy to further scaffold our theoretical considerations and to outline novel avenues for research.The findings I present in the second chapter pointed to varying degrees of agreement on self-construal patterns among different ethnic, SES, and gender groups. Moreover, I found that increasing SES and group intersectionality were associated with elevated levels of agreement, hinting at tighter group cultures of self-construal. Moreover, in Chapters 2 and 3, I present our findings on significant differences in the cultural fit of self-construals across ethnic-cultural groups, where every group fit the highest with their own culture’s average patterns. In Chapter 3, our findings also highlighted generational differences in the fit of self-construal that might hint at acculturation. Indeed, our findings demonstrated that second-or-later-generation minorities had higher levels of fit with the host majority cultural patterns than first-generation minorities.Building on these findings, Chapter 4 explored the relationship between cultural fit and academic achievement, revealing that aligning with the self-construal patterns of high-SES and majority groups positively predicted higher levels of achievement for students in secondary education. As such, this chapter lent support for the cultural mismatch theory, suggesting that educational institutions might value and reward, and thus favour, the cultural norms of advantaged groups, ultimately creating disparities in academic outcomes.The fifth chapter extended this investigation into the higher educational context and examined the mechanisms through which the cultural mismatches might play out. Here I found that the levels of fit with the average self-construal patterns of the high-SES group were associated with more positive academic self-efficacy beliefs and higher levels of academic motivation. Moreover, despite the lack of a direct effect, I found that the association between fit with the high-SES pattern and academic achievement was mediated by academic self-efficacy beliefs.In summary, these chapters collectively emphasise the dynamic and context-dependent nature of self-construals, their interactions with cultural and structural factors, and their implications for academic outcomes. They call for a nuanced understanding of self-construal and point to the relevance and importance of considering cultural fit in self-construals when trying to address educational disparities." "Perspectives on the so-called 'late Middle Kingdom funerary assemblage'. A Middle Bronze Age Egyptian funerary practice in the light of urban culture, religion, and cultural interrelations." "Harco Willems" "Archaeology, Leuven" "The aim of the research is to offer a new perspective on the development of an important subset of  funerary material culture during the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1750 BC) and to offer a method for studying changes within funerary assemblages.The Middle Kingdom was a period of profound socio-cultural changes and it has been argued that these changes are reflected in the evolution of the funerary material. During the later phase of the Middle Kingdom a new range of objects started to appear within the funerary assemblage (the so-called ‘late Middle Kingdom assemblage’), characterised by small faience figurines, decorated hippopotamus tusks and models of food and pottery. Although this assemblage is often used as a dating criterion, its origin(s) and composition are poorly understood.The research focuses specifically on this range of objects and argues that the ‘late Middle Kingdom funerary assemblage’ was rooted in earlier traditions. It will also test the applicability of a recent hypothesis suggesting that it may have been influenced by a foreign component within Egyptian society. The study aims to establish 1) how, where and when this assemblage (or parts of it) emerged and how it was distributed on both a national and international level; 2) if, and how, it is rooted in earlier indigenous Middle Kingdom traditions and 3) which characteristics can be assigned to a foreign, Syro-Palestinian culture; 4) whether it is justified to speak of a ‘late Middle Kingdom’ funerary assemblage; 5) how the objects are to be interpreted within the total funerary assemblage and 6) whether the process of material change reflects the social and cultural changes previously put forward.The overarching goals are to explore strategies for analysing trends in funerary assemblages, determining diagnostic items within this assemblage, value their use for periodisation and cultural variation, and consider whether they are rightfully attributed to different chronological (and social) phases. The research will aid in understanding the change of burial customs as a reflection of socio-economic and cultural change in Egypt and place it within a broader, intercultural perspective." "Popular Culture on Trial: European Human Rights as Agents of Cultural Change or Preservation?" "Koen Lemmens" "Research Unit Public Law" "Cultural traditions (such as Zwarte Piet, Epiphany) and elements of popular culture ( Tintin, the Smurfs, public advertising) are growingly contested on account of the discriminatory stereotypes (in terms of racism, sexism, ...) they may spread and possibly confirm. The research will critically assess how complaints about these traditions and cultural elements are dealt with in various European States, both in courts and in the societal debates. The focus will on the arguments based on human rights, especially on the anti-discrimination and anti-stigma discourse. Attention will be paid as well to the effective changes (if any) to these traditions/culture as a result of the debates. The research will then scrutinize how and to what extent the anti-stereotyping approach can be reconciled with the fundamental rights of artists, advertisers, and all those people who are keen on continuing the traditions and popular culture. The focus here is on the legal framework provided by the European Convention on Human Rights. Finally, the findings of the research can be used to answer the question whether human rights, as protected by the Convention, are rather elements of preservation of traditions or, on the contrary, factors of societal change. This will be an important contribution to the debate on the so-called all too progressive and activist case-law of the European Court on Human Rights." "Competing through Culture. Comparing the EU’s and Russia’s Cultural Diplomacies in the Post-Soviet Space" "Fabienne Bossuyt" "Department of Political Sciences" "The proposed PhD aims to examine the presence and the nature of competition of cultural diplomacies between the European Union and Russia in the post-Soviet space. Drawing on studies on regional leadership, it uses the tripartite conceptual framework of willingness, capacity and acceptance to compare and assess the two actors’ cultural diplomacy efforts." "The cultural memory commemorated at the theater. A philosophical historians and theater research into post-dramatic theater and performance as technologies of memory in a postmodern culture memory." "Christel Stalpaert" "Department of Art, music and theatre sciences" "geen abstract" "The Future of the Invisible and its Mediatization – ‘Deadly Germs’ in the Imagination of Infectious Disease Experts, the State, and Popular Culture in Japan, 1918-1958" "Jan Schmidt" "Cultural History since 1750, Leuven, Japanese Studies, Leuven" "The imagination of bacteria and viruses – invisible to the naked eye – was ubiquitous in popular culture from the Interwar Period onwards. State actors such as politicians, bureaucrats involved in the rapidly growing public health sector and military officers, as well as medical experts working on infectiousdiseases, let their imagination run free on the hunt for ‘deadly germs’. Future visions of pandemics afterthe ‘Spanish Flu’ of 1918-1920 enhanced the circulation of science fiction and forms of speculative writing,but also contributed to a rising interest in medical science. This unique project combines the expertise of historians at University of Edinburgh and KU Leuven,supported by colleagues at Waseda and Kyushu University in Japan. It aims at surpassing the still existing ‘Western’ bias by focusing on Japan as a case, and at uncovering the function of ‘mediatization’ that fueleda reciprocal relation of medical research, infectious disease-related policies and of the imagination of ‘deadly germs’ in popular culture. It argues, that a new dynamic between these fields was born after the First World War, which further rapidly evolved through the Interwar Period, the Second World War andinto the postwar era until the following influenza pandemic of 1957-58. ‘Mediatization’, the steady encroachment of media logic and condensed intertextuality between hard science, (public health) policies and military research on the one hand and popular culture on the other, which then in return often inspiredthe next generation of researchers, public health experts, politicians, and the popular culture production,was the catalyst." "The Future of the Invisible and its Mediatization–'Deadly Germs' in the Imagination of Infectious Disease Experts, the State, and Popular Culture in Japan, 1918-1958" "Jan Schmidt" "Japanese Studies, Leuven, Cultural History since 1750, Leuven, WASEDA University, Kyushu University, University of Edinburgh" "The imagination of bacteria and viruses – invisible to the naked eye – was ubiquitous in popular culture from the Interwar Period onwards. State actors such as politicians, bureaucrats involved in the rapidly growing public health sector and military officers, as well as medical experts working on infectious diseases, let their imagination run free on the hunt for ‘deadly germs’. Future visions of pandemics after the ‘Spanish Flu’ of 1918-1920 enhanced the circulation of science fiction and forms of speculative writing, but also contributed to a rising interest in medical science. This unique project combines the expertise of historians at University of Edinburgh and KU Leuven, supported by colleagues at Waseda and Kyushu University in Japan. It aims at surpassing the still existing ‘Western’ bias by focusing on Japan as a case, and at uncovering the function of ‘mediatization’ that fueled a reciprocal relation of medical research, infectious disease-related policies and of the imagination of ‘deadly germs’ in popular culture. It argues, that a new dynamic between these fields was born after the First World War, which further rapidly evolved through the Interwar Period, the Second World War and into the postwar era until the following influenza pandemic of 1957-58. ‘Mediatization’, the steady encroachment of media logic and condensed intertextuality between hard science, (public health) policies and military research on the one hand and popular culture on the other, which then in return often inspired the next generation of researchers, public health experts, politicians, and the popular culture production, was the catalyst."