Author: René van Weeren

On 25 January 2024, the Centre for Urban History of the University of Antwerp, supported by the N.W. Posthumus Institute, will host the International Workshop ‘The Fragmented City in Premodern Europe’. Organisers are Posthumus PhD Bente Marschall and Posthumus fellow Professor Peter Stabel.

This workshop wants to explore the notion of the fragmented city. It can be defined as urban settlements with multiple and often various political, legal, cultural or social entities operating in the same space, in which the local (urban) government lacked control over the entire territory or did not encompass all social relations within the city limits. Premodern European cities were defined by a patchwork of distinct enclaves with far-reaching implications that influenced the economic, political, juridical and cultural lives of their residents. By analysing patterns of fragmentation, the workshop aims to bring together early career and advanced scholars to trace the effects of these divisions on urban cohesion and urban agency.It starts from the idea that cities did not constitute a unified whole, either as an economic unit, a political body or a cultural scene ry. It is now more widely accepted that the medieval city was polycentric, encompassing multiple power centres and distinct legal frameworks. While the subject has been predominantly explored from a political perspective, there is an increasing number of studies emphasising the social and economic consequences of extra-territoriality.

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The organisers of the international conference ‘Commodities and Environments in Early Modern Global Asia, 1400–1800’ call for papers. This conference is organised under the auspices of the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant Project, CAPASIA ‘The Asian Origins of Global Capitalism’, and will be hosted at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy on 13-15 November 2024. The conference explores the relationship between environments and commodities in early modern Global Asia between 1400 and 1800. It investigates the environmental consequences in these regions of the extraction, production and trade in commodities.

This conference aims to integrate multiple historiographies which have sometimes operated in mutual isolation: (i) the literature on material culture and commodities in global history; (ii) the growing field of environmental history; and (iii) studies in the history of science which have examined how the natural sciences and ethnography served Europe’s quest for trade, profit, and colonial domination.

Keynotes will be given by Professor Jakobina Arch (Whitman College) and Professor Sujit Sivasundaram (Cambridge University).

Proposals from scholars at all career stages, including early career, are welcome. Papers will be selected on the basis of proposals submitted, and with the aim of ensuring a broad spread of topics for the conference. Abstracts should be submitted ultimately 20 February 2024.

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On 29 and 30 August 2024, the Workshop ‘The Histories of (Post-)Colonial Universities in the Netherlands’ will be held at Wageningen University & Research. This workshop and the keynote is made possible thanks to the generous funding of Wageningen University & Research.

The historiographies of universities, in the Netherlands and elsewhere, have so far remained focused on their institutional histories within the context of the nation state. At least some Dutch universities (Leiden, Utrecht, Delft and Wageningen to begin with) nevertheless functioned as institutions of higher learning for the colonial state in the 19th and 20th centuries, producing civil servants and experts who would develop colonial careers. Dutch universities also facilitated the training of indigenous elites. In the Dutch colonies itself European scientific methods and academic knowledge, moreover, was not passively adopted, but rather adapted and applied to existing traditions. Expertise that was gained during the colonial period, partly with the aid of these adaptations, generated lasting centers of global expertise in the Netherlands, thereby informing knowledge regimes for decades to come. Examples of this are the expertise on Asian history and culture in Leiden and on tropical agriculture in Wageningen, as well as companies that emerged from such knowledge hubs (Shell, Boskalis, Deltares and others).

This 2-day workshop therefore responds to that gap in our knowledge. The workshop will explore the colonial and postcolonial entanglements of higher education in the Netherlands, with room for comparative explorations focused on higher education across the global north and south, exploring parallels to and linkages with colonial centers of knowledge across empires and from the early-modern to the modern era. The aim is to bring together researchers and professionals already working on similar projects relating to the colonial and postcolonial histories of universities in the Netherlands, while also inviting new perspectives. The purpose is to create a forum for in-depth discussion amongst researchers and professionals working on the topic who may have not otherwise encountered one another. This is based on the observation that a number of universities in the Netherlands and elsewhere have now started to explore research into their colonial pasts, but, that, so-far there has been a lack of coordinated discussion on the topic within and between these universities.

The workshop aims to bridge studies on the history of knowledge production, colonial histories and the histories of universities in the Netherlands. The workshop also wants to contribute to a broader discussion about the role of universities in post-colonial societies, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere, including issues connected to racial discrimination, diversity and inclusion. For this reason, a number of the speakers will be invited. The keynote will be delivered jointly by Sabine Cadeau and Nicholas Bell-Romero, who both worked as research fellows at the University of Cambridge Legacies of Enslavement Inquiry.

The deadline for submitting a paper has passed on 19 January 2024.

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latest update: 20 October 2023, 2:20pm

N.W. Posthumus Institute, the Huizinga Institute, the Research School Political History and the Research School for Medieval Studies jointly would like to invite their PhD candidates and recently promoted PhDs to the PhD Career Day 2023. This event will be held on Friday 10 November at the Buys Ballot building in Utrecht Science Park.

We offer you an interesting day programme, with speakers from various sectors in society, who will shed their light on your options in ‘life after promotion’. Many of them are alumnus of one of the research schools involved and therefore know from their own experience which chances, choices and complications you might be facing as future or recently promoted PhD.

The day programme offers not only speeches, but also offers you the opportunity to bring forward your own questions and experiences. For example, the extensive lunch break will offer you opportunities to network and to have your CV reviewed by experts.

You can participate free of charge, but because of catering and room capacity we kindly ask you to register beforehand via this form.

REGISTER HERE!

Programme

Confirmed speakers

a) Academic sector: Janna Coomans & Jessica Dijkman (Utrecht University)
b) Heritage and museums: Ruben Schalk & Jinna Smit (Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed), Fred van Kan (Gelders Archief)
c) Entrepreneurship: Henk Looijensteijn & Suze Zijlstra
d) Government: Eline Van Onacker (Vlaamse Overheid, departement Werk en Sociale Economie) & Jaap Ligthart (Algemene Rekenkamer)
e) Private sector: Rogier van Kooten (formerly Achmea)
f) Publishers – Press – Media: Mirte Libregts (Walburgpers) & Astrid Verburg (IISG / TSEG)

Participation

Participation is reserved for PhDs from the Research Schools involved and free of charge.

Directions

Access to building
We recommend you to enter the building complex via the Minnaert Café, accessible via the characters on the front of the Minnaert building, where our staff will provide further guidance.

Public Transport
by bus – From Utrecht Central Station, take bus 28 in the direction of Utrecht Science Park P+R and exit at stop Botanische Tuinen; after exiting the bus, the Minnaert Building is on your right.
by tram – From Utrecht Central Station, take line 20, 21 or 22 in the direction of Utrecht Science Park P+R and exit at stop Padualaan; after exiting the tram, cross the tram lane and then straight on along bus stop Botanische Tuinen to see the Minnaert Building in front of you.

Parking
All info on parking in Utrecht Science Park can be found via this link. The closest parking spaces for this event are P9 Boedapestlaan and P6 Padualaan. Please note parking fees apply.

You can find a map of Utrecht Science Park on Google Maps.