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In the Anglophone world, California remains a glamorized place, reserved for movie stars, surfers, and cowboys. While there are many famous Californian writers, Joan Didion and Eve Babitz remain incredibly popular for their depictions of California. Though Didion and Babitz hailed from slightly different social strata, both have an obsessive focus on California. Both write in a New Journalistic style and focus on similar happenings in their state. This makes a comparison of their works effective for analyzing cultural attitudes in their age group and social position. This thesis analyzes the works of Joan Didion and Eve Babitz. With Didion, I examine The White Album, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Where I was From, and South and West. With Babitz I focus on Eve’s Hollywood, Slow Days, Fast Company, and Black Swans. In this thesis, I will closely examine Didion and Babitz’s portrayal of Californian history, the environment, and identity, and the consequences of these portrayals. In this thesis I primarily use postcolonial theory, econarratology, and historical contextualization to analyze how California is depicted. After analyzing these works in these contexts, I find that although Didion and Babitz share a similar focus, they end up having very different treatments of those subjects. Didion’s past filled mythology end up erasing the horrors of colonization and cements a present where there is no space for those outside her circle. Babitz’s focus on the present makes her ignorant of the past that her present is dependent on. I additionally find that Didion relies on metaphor where Babitz uses the literal to create mythology. Finally, I find that California has been mythologized to such an extent that those born there at times see it as foreign and exotic.

Abstract Faculty: Faculty of Arts Degree programme: MA Programme in English Studies Study track: General Line Author: Salla-Mari Ackrén Title: Ceremony: Representing Native American Cultures through Trauma and Healing Level: Master’s Thesis Month and year: May 2022 Number of pages: 48 Keywords: Native American literature, Native American culture, trauma, healing, colonialism, war traumas, Leslie Marmon Silko Supervisor or supervisors: Merja Polvinen Where deposited: Helsinki University Library Additional information: - Abstract: This thesis reviews a Native American novel, Ceremony, published by Leslie Marmon Silko in 1977. In her narration, Silko mixes traditional Laguna poems with the experiences of the contemporary protagonist, Tayo, relayed in prose. With this reading, I want to raise awareness of Ceremony and its real-life themes for Native Americans, such as cultural crisis, post-colonial traumas, and mental health problems, along with the importance of nature and animals in Native American cultures. As a group of minorities, Native American literature has not always received the respect and understanding it deserves, which is why I want to raise awareness about Native American culture and the traditions influencing it. In this thesis I use a close reading method to analyze the protagonist Tayo, who has an identity crisis between Anglo American and Laguna cultures. Tayo also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and an alcohol problem due to his experiences in the Pacific theatre in World War II. I analyze his cultural identity development with the help of the narratological theories of James Phelan (1989), the effects of colonialism analysed by Patrick Hogan (2000) and discuss his war traumas with the help of theories by Cathy Caruth (1996) and Suzanne LaLonde (2018). At the beginning of the novel, Tayo blames himself for surviving a war that killed his cousin and for the droughts in his pueblo. He is taken to a Native American ceremony to heal from his depression. However, the first, traditional ceremony does not help him. Instead, the second medicine man, Betonie, performs a ceremony that combines traditional rituals to modern world problems (the war and colonialism), which gradually heals Tayo. During his journey to healing, he has many confrontations, for instance with his alcoholic war veteran friends. However, Tayo benefits from mythical guides along his journey, such as Betonie, a woman called Ts’eh, and Tayo’s lost cattle. At the end of the novel, when Tayo heals and finds his place in Laguna society, also the rains come back, emphasizing the succeeded ceremony, and healing in both the individual and the Native American culture as a whole.

Tutkielma tarkastelee seksuaalisesta häirinnästä käytyä keskustelua yhdysvaltalaisessa uutismediassa kriittisen diskurssianalyysin näkökulmasta. Aikaisempi tutkimus seksuaalisesta häirinnästä ja sen esiintymismuodoista mediassa osoittaa uutisdiskurssin keskittyvän ensisijaisesti olemassa olevia valtarakenteita tukevien ilmenemismuotojen korostamiseen ja edistävän osaltaan seksuaalista väkivaltaa ympäröivien myyttien (rape myths) olemassaoloa. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on tarkastella ovatko aihetta ympäröivät otsikot muuttuneet viime vuosien feminististen liikkeiden johdosta kartoittamalla, keskittyvätkö otsikot uhreihin vai ahdistelijoihin ja analysoimalla, miten ne hyödyntävät seksuaalisen väkivallan myyttejä diskurssissaan. Lisäksi tutkielmassa tarkastellaan, eroavatko konservatiivisen ja liberaalin julkaisun uutisoinnit aiheeseen liittyen. Analyysin kohteena on kahden eri poliittista taustaa edustavan julkaisun, New York Timesin (NYT) ja Wall Street Journalin (WSJ), otsikot ennen ja jälkeen #MeToo -liikkeen nousun lokakuussa 2017. Tutkielma kattaa kaikki vuosien 2015-2019 lokakuussa julkaistut uutisotsikot, jotka NYT ja WSJ julkaisivat avaintermillä ”sexual harassment”. Hakusanalla löytyneet 857 otsikkoa analysoitiin luokittelemalla ne sen mukaan 1) keitä otsikossa mainittiin (uhri, ahdistelija vai ulkopuolinen kommentoija), 2) tuotiinko heidän sukupuolensa otsikossa esille, 3) lainattiinko ketään otsikossa mainituista henkilöistä joko suoraan tai epäsuorasti, 4) oliko joku otsikon henkilöistä julkinen henkilö tai viitattiinko häneen tittelillä, 5) mitä seksuaalisen väkivallan myyttejä (rape myths) otsikossa ilmeni ja 6) millaista sanavalintaa uhria kuvatessa käytettiin. Analyysissä nousi esiin kaksi eri poliittista taustaa edustavaa, valta-asemaansa väärinkäyttänyttä miestä ja otsikot analysoitiin toiseen kertaan luokittelemalla ne sen mukaan, keskittyikö otsikko kyseisiä henkilöitä vastaan esitettyihin syytöksiin vai ei. Analyysin tulokset vahvistivat osaltaan aikaisempia löytöjä, sillä enemmistö otsikoista keskittyi klassisiin seksuaalisen häirinnän muotoihin, joissa ahdistelijana toimi valta-asemassa toimiva mies ja uhrina oli haavoittuvaisessa asemassa oleva nainen. Tämän lisäksi otsikot keskittyivät pääasiassa ahdistelijaan ja hänen tekoihinsa. Tulokset osoittivat kuitenkin julkaisusta riippuen muutosta tasapainoisempaan suuntaan, jossa ahdistelija oli yhä vähenevissä määrin otsikon ensisijaisena kohteena. Samanaikaisesti otsikot siirtyivät yhä enenevissä määrin esittämään seksuaalisen häirinnän uhreja (NYT) tai aiempaa laajempikatseiseen esitystapaan (WSJ). Otsikoista ainoastaan 1,3% sisälsi seksuaalista väkivaltaa ympäröiviä myyttejä, ja niitä käytettiin hyvin harkitusti joko lainaamalla jotakuta, joka käytti myyttiä tai vetoamalla lukijan tietoisuuteen myytin olemassaolosta. Wall Street Journalin ja New York Timesin otsikot erosivat toisistaan huomattavissa määrin lähinnä julkaistujen otsikoiden määrässä ja republikaanien presidenttiehdokkaan Donald Trumpin julkisoinnissa. Siinä missä NYT:in raportointi seksuaaliseen häirintään liittyen lisääntyi huomattavasti jo Trumpia kohtaan esitettyjen syytösten aikaan lokakuussa 2016, WSJ:in raportointi aiheeseen liittyen lisääntyi hitaammin ja suurin nousu otsikoiden määrässä tapahtui vasta lokakuussa 2017.

The objective of the study was to shed light on the Chinese soft power in France, and, in particular, on such a political tool as panda diplomacy. In the following thesis I am answering the research questions of the role the soft power is playing in the Chinese foreign policy aimed at France, what is its image in the news outlets and among readers of those articles, and how and when panda diplomacy is carried out. As the following thesis deals with the role of Chinese soft power in France, the information about the emergence and meaning of the term “soft power” is provided to the reader for a better understanding of the content. Moreover, the theoretical background of the concept of panda diplomacy itself, the development of the concept of “soft power” in China, the France-China Relationship, and the position of Chinese soft power in the world are presented in the paper. For the research, the articles and readers’ comments retrieved from 3 different politically orientated news outlets (Le Monde, France 24, and Le Figaro) were used. A total of 15 newspaper articles and 286 readers’ comments were analyzed. This Master thesis presents the research findings primarily based on the content analysis of reader comments and newspaper articles. The first finding is that soft power and panda diplomacy, as a tool, plays an important role to signify the positive China-France relationship and economic achievements between the two countries. Secondly, panda diplomacy has a controversial image in the French news outlets. Some news outlets are positively evaluating the practice, while others doubt it. The readers are mostly putting in negative comments accusing authorities of the unnecessary expenses of money for pandas. Lastly, Panda diplomacy is carried out to celebrate the economic achievements of its partner country. In France, according to the articles, the rental contracts of pandas were signed following the successful deals and supported by the government, Zoo facilities, foundations, and sponsors.

Tutkielma käsittelee suomalaisen Moomin Language School -kielenoppimispalvelun oppisisältöjä sen tarjoamissa opetusmateriaaleissa sekä lapsille suunnatussa digitaalisessa oppimissovelluksessa. Varhaisessa kielenopetuksessa suositellaan käyttämään erityisesti toiminnallisia ja leikinomaisia oppimistapoja. Opetussuunnitelmassa toiminnallisten työtapojen lisäksi mainitaan erityisesti musiikki, draama, pelit ja liike. Digitaalinen opetus on nykyään osa niin koulujen kuin päiväkotienkin arkea ja myös kielenopetuksessa digitaalinen oppiminen on arkipäiväistynyt. Lasten omaksuessa digitaalisten laitteiden käytön jo varhaisessa iässä, on laadukkaiden, oppimista tukevien, digitaalisten oppimisympäristöjen käyttö opetustarkoituksessa perusteltua. Tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää, millaisia aktiviteetteja Moomin Language School-oppimisympäristö tarjoaa ja miten ne vastaavat niitä varhaisen kielenoppimisen opetustapoja, joita opetussuunnitelmat painottavat. Lisäksi tutkitaan digitaalisen oppimissovelluksen ominaisuuksia aiempien tätä aihetta koskevien tutkimusten pohjalta. Aineisto muodostuu Moomin Language School-palvelun materiaaleista. Palvelu tarjoaa opetusmateriaalia 50 viikolle, sisältäen tuntisuunnitelmat 50 opetustuokiolle sekä digitaalisen sovelluksen lapsen käyttöön. Palvelu on suunnattu 3–10-vuotiaille lapsille ja sitä tarjotaan esimerkiksi päiväkotien ja peruskoulun alaluokkien englannin opetuskäyttöön. Analysoitavana oli opetustuokioiden opettajalle räätälöidyt tuntimateriaalit sekä digitaalinen sovellus. Tuntisuunnitelmien eri aktiviteetit analysoitiin niiden sisältämien elementtien perusteella. Tutkittuja elementtejä olivat puhuminen, liike, musiikki, riimit, draama ja aktiviteeteissa käytetyt välineet. Eri elementtien esiintyvyys ja määrä koottiin taulukkoon. Tutkimus soveltaa pääosin laadullista sisältöanalyysia, jonka avulla kuvataan yksityiskohtaisesti niin yksittäisiä tuntiaktiviteetteja kuin digitaalisen sovelluksen tehtävätyyppejä. Tutkimus osoittaa, että varhaisen kieltenopetuksen menetelmät olivat laajalti käytössä opetustuokioiden aktiviteeteissa. Leikinomaisuus ja toiminnallisuus olivat läsnä tutkittujen opetustuokioiden tuntisuunnitelmissa. Digitaalisen sovelluksen tehtävät sisälsivät elementtejä, joiden voi katsoa tukevan lapsen englannin kielen oppimista. Pohdittavaksi kuitenkin jää, ovatko aktiviteetit sekä digitaalisen sovelluksen tehtävät optimaalisia koko kohderyhmälle vai olisiko palvelun aiheellista tuottaa erilaista sisältöä eri ikäryhmille.

The thesis focuses on the process of large-scale privatization in Russia and Kazakhstan in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The main research problem was finding the structural similarities that two countries shared before and during the implementation of the economic reforms and, also, the differences that defined the divergence of the political and economic trajectories already in the second half of the 1990s. The main method used in the thesis is a comparative analysis based on David Kang´s analytical framework described in his book ‘Crony Capitalism: Corruption and Development in South Korea and the Philippines’ (Cambridge University Press, 2002). The focus of the analysis is the balance of power between the government and the private sector as one of the main determinants of economic development. The conclusion of our work is that the large-scale privatization that was supposed to be democratic and distributive ended up enriching a small group of beneficiaries in both Russia in Kazakhstan but because of completely different reasons. Kazakhstani regime very early transformed into the predatory state where the political elite, consolidated around a strong figure of the president, could successfully take advantage of the private sector. Whereas, in Russia, stronger political polarization led to the rise of the powerful economic groups and actors (the ‘oligarchs’) that had a say in the key political decisions during the 1990s. Thus, portraying just one group of actors (whether the oligarchs or the corrupt government) as responsible for the ‘failure’ of large-scale privatization is too simplistic. The dynamics between the government and the private businesses as the system constraint was much more important.

This thesis compares the extent to which instruction and assessment in the Finnish National Curriculum (FNC) and International Baccalaureate (IB) at one Finnish high school align with the pedagogical approach to language instruction recommended in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR; Council of Europe 2001, 2018). Comparison of the two curricula will be used to inform curriculum development at the school, where the aim is to combine pre–Diploma Program (DP)—i.e., instruction of first-year students who have been provisionally accepted to the DP program—and FNC instruction in the first year of high school. Action-oriented language is envisioned in CEFR as a pedagogical approach that (1) treats language as a tool rather than an object for mastery and (2) recommends the instruction, assessment, and learning of the broad range of social contexts in which communication occurs. The first point draws largely on Focus on Form (FonF) approaches, developed in SLA research, while the second point draws largely on task-based language teaching (TBLT), developed in pedagogical research. While CEFR is regularly used today for benchmarking student language mastery, its uneven application in curriculum, course instruction, and course and exam assessment in the IB and FNC leave much to be desired, calling into question whether CEFR benchmarking can really be used for EFL students graduating from the IB and FNC. This thesis uses a school in Espoo, Finland as a case study to compare the IB and FNC instruction of first-year students, the assessment practices of EFL teachers based on the marking of a common essay and a subsequent interview, and quantitative analysis of IB and FNC exam results and essay scores for first-year pre-DP and FNC students in academic year 2019–2020. The mixed methods research (MMR) approach of the thesis is designed to account for the broad set of data (i.e., curriculum, European language policy, academic literature, local needs) that are taken into consideration when developing curriculum at the school level. The results of this thesis indicate that FNC assessment is more closely aligned with CEFR but that both FNC and IB in Finland, especially pre-DP education, are still lagging behind in implementing the framework developed already two decades ago. At least some of this lag, as indicated in the qualitative data, seem to originate from the continuation of outdated practices of language assessment (esp. in its focus on language mastery rather than action-oriented language use) regardless of changes in CEFR and the Finnish curriculum. In the case of assessment in FNC, the mixed use of continuum criterion-referenced assessment of written production in an exam designed for mastery norm-referenced assessment is an already imperfect combination that is further undermined by lack of transparency around how to apply criterion-referenced assessment to written production as well as how essays marked by teachers have been moderated by sensors. While the IB is much better at enabling communication between moderators and teachers, EFL instruction in the IB offers a very limited set of communicative language activities, partly due to the broad language profile of students in the international program. For the purposes of students in Finland, however, especially at the school studied, EFL instruction in IB omits an alarmingly wide range of communicative activities in course and exam assessment, an absence that should threaten to invalidate CEFR benchmarking of students graduating from EFL courses, given that most communicative language activities are never taught or assessed. Many of the issues that arise in this thesis are indicative of systematic issues in the curriculum and examination process, which have a negative washback effect on instruction and assessment at the school level. Nevertheless, some suggestions are made at the end of the thesis for how teachers can mitigate problems with validity in the FNC and IB curricula, though changes in FNC assessment is difficult without transparency from the Finnish Matriculation Board. The results of the thesis also indicate that areas of action-oriented language missing in one curriculum are often well explored in the other, such that serious consideration should be given to closer alignment of pre-DP and first-year FNC English instruction at Finnish schools that offer both programs, an effort towards which this master’s thesis is intended to contribute. The comparative weaknesses of EFL instruction and assessment in FNC discussed in this thesis can also be used to inform curricular development of the FNC.

Music in the Metro, a city-run project wherein musicians audition for the right to play in Moscow’s metro system, opened in 2016 following a police crackdown on street musicians in the 2010s and consequent activism by street musicians. This M.A. thesis is based on semi-structured interviews conducted with street musicians in 2017 and 2018. It uses qualitative analysis of interviews to understand the impacts of the Music in the Metro project for the meaning of street music in Moscow—both for street musicians themselves, and in the wider context of cultural production in Russia. The focus of the study is threefold: First, I draw on Russian cultural studies to discuss the history of street music in Moscow and how Music in the Metro has commodified the practice. Second, I use theory based in popular music studies to outline the discursive practice of street music in Moscow and argue that Music in the Metro is incompatible with the standards by which street musicians value their own music. Finally, I apply a spatial perspective to street music to examine the specific implications of the space of the metro. I conclude that despite the city’s attempts to commodify both street music, the performance of street music in Moscow’s metro, even under the aegis of Music in the Metro, can have subversive and transformative meanings.

Faculty: Master’s Degree Program in Russian Studies (MARS) Carter Boone, MA Student Master’s Thesis May 2022 Number of pages: 57 Keywords: Canada, Russia, Arctic Exceptionalism, Great Power Competition Supervisor: Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen Helsinki University Library Abstract: Canada and Russia have a long history of cooperation in the Arctic region. The two see themselves as Arctic great powers responsible for agenda setting and institution building in the region. This long history of cooperation has fueled the perception of the Arctic as an exceptional zone of peace where often competing powers shield the region from extra-regional conflict in favour of cooperation in science, technology, climate change, and business-to-business linkages. The notion of the Arctic as a zone of peace and cooperation has been termed “Arctic Exceptionalism”. This concept is based on several central tenets including the longstanding lack of interest in the region, the sufficient existing institutional framework for mitigating conflict, the enduring preference of the Arctic 8 states for cooperation in the region, and the overarching desire to foster a fruitful investment climate in the Arctic. Historical analysis of the Canada-Russia Arctic relationship does support the argument of Arctic Exceptionalism, but the resilience of Arctic Exceptionalism moving forward is less certain. The rise of Great Power Competition between the United States, China, and Russia has the potential to upset the existing balance in the region as increasingly competitive rhetoric from both sides complicates efforts at cooperation. Climate change and its influence have increased access to the Arctic region, drawing the attention of Arctic states and non-Arctic stakeholders such as China to try and capitalise on the vast natural resources previously trapped beneath sea ice. Disputes arising over resources in the Arctic region, competition between great powers, and the impact of extra-regional conflicts will test the ability of the existing international framework to govern the Arctic. It remains to be seen if increased GPC and the impact of climate change will inhibit or complicate cooperation between Canada and Russia in the Arctic, but it is clear that many of the preconditions for Arctic Exceptionalism are no longer fulfilled.

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approach that is used to analyze the relations between discourse and social practice. CDA has a normative aim by addressing social wrongs (such as misuse of power) via the use of language. This study uses Gee’s (1996) method of discourse analysis, which focuses on prosody, cohesion, discourse organization, contextualization signals, and thematic organization, on seven COVID-19-related tweets by Donald Trump, the president of the United States (2017–2021). This qualitative approach analyzes how Trump’s COVID-19-related tweets feature misuse of power and whether these tweets are populist by nature. The study also has a quantitative approach which features a corpus of 640 COVID-19-related tweets from Trump from January 2020 to January 2021. This demonstrates how often Trump used neutral terms versus Sinophobic (xenophobic towards China) terms to refer to the coronavirus, the disease, and the pandemic. The quantitative results also feature a list of the most frequently used words in the tweets which were generated by the corpus software AntConc. The qualitative findings showed that Trump’s COVID-related tweets featured ambiguous and unjustified claims, logical fallacies and were often self-centered. The tweets that featured Sinophobic terms were, contrary to expectations, more hostile towards Trump’s political opponents and the media than China. The quantitative results showed that Trump used neutral terms such as ‘COVID’ or ‘Coronavirus’ more often than Sinophobic ones, although after excluding retweets, the difference was less significant. The most frequently featured words in Trump’s tweets support the qualitative finding that many of his tweets were especially hostile towards his political opponents and the media. Applying CDA to tweets, which have merely a 280-character limit, is somewhat of an unorthodox approach. However, this qualitative approach enabled a much more nuanced analysis of the tweets than a purely quantitative result would have done. In this study, especially the findings on Trump’s argumentation tactics and the cohesion in the tweets are applicable in future studies. As one of CDA’s advantages is its interdisciplinarity, similar approaches that draw from different sciences may be taken to analyze similar political discourses in the future.