The Levend Archief organisation, the association of supporters of the City Archives of Bruges, has awarded Posthumus board member Dr Heidi Deneweth the Levend Archiefprijs (‘Living Archives Award’), a quintennial award, for her publication Goede muren maken goede buren. Verbouwingen en buurtleven in Brugge, 1500-1800 (‘Good walls make good neighbors. Remodelling and neighborhood life in Bruges, 1500-1800). The jury report states that Heidi’s publication provides the reader with an interesting glimpse on Bruges in the period of the sixteenth to eighteenth century, a period still somewhat overlooked in historical studies. Furthermore, the jury regards Heidi to be a truely worthy laureate, as being a true ambassador for the City Archives of Bruges, leaving no stone unturned to show its archival wealth and the point out the results of the Archives’ respective research groups on housing history and material culture. The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates Heidi with this well-deserved honor.
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Workshop ‘The Histories of (Post-)Colonial Universities in the Netherlands’ (WUR)
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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PhD Career Day 2023
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.
Programme
10:00-10:05 Plenary introduction, welcome and some practicalities 10:05-10:35 Keynote (Suze Zijlstra) 10:35-10:50 Crossroads in your career: what questions and doubts do you hope to be addressed today? (Henk Looijesteijn) 11:00-11:45 Lecture sessions 1 (some speed dates are scheduled parallel) a) Academic sector b) Heritage and museums c) Entrepreneurship 12:00-12:45 Lecture sessions 2 (some speed dates are scheduled parallel) d) Government (including advisory bodies) e) Private sector f) Publishers / Press / Media 13:00-14:15 Walking lunch & speed dates 14:30-15:15 Lecture sessions 3 (some speed dates are scheduled parallel) a) Academic sector b) Heritage and museums c) Entrepreneurship 15:30-16:15 Lecture sessions 4 (some speed dates are scheduled parallel) d) Government (including advisory bodies) e) Private sector f) Publishers / Press / Media 16:30-17:00 Round table (Henk Looijesteijn) 17:00-18:00 Drinks 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.
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N.W. Posthumus Annual Report 2022 available
The General Board of the N.W. Posthumus Institute is happy to present you the N.W. Posthumus Institute Annual Report 2022. The report provides you with an overview of activities, results and developments regarding the N.W. Posthumus Institute in 2022, the first ‘regular’ year after the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on society.
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Phd Defence Posthumus alumnus Mark van de Water
On 20 September 2023, Posthumus alumnus Mark van de Water defended his PhD thesis ‘The road to drain or gain’ at the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University. Supervisors were Professor David Henley and Dr Thomas Lindblad, promotores were Professor Henley and Dr Jeroen Touwen.
The aim of Mark’s PhD dissertation is to explore the link between foreign investment and macroeconomic performance in the context of a colonial economic structure in Indonesia between c. 1910 and c. 1960. The main emphasis is on Dutch-owned private companies, although some attention will also be given to British investors. The target is to identify mutual effects of foreign investment and macroeconomic performance. Three specific questions are addressed: (1) How did volumes of private foreign investment change in response to business cycles in late-colonial and newly independent Indonesia? (2) To what extent did trends in profitability of foreign firms coincide with trends in macroeconomic performance? (3) What was the contribution of private foreign investment to Indonesia’s high dependence on exports of primary products and subsequent extreme vulnerability to vicissitudes in the world market? The point of departure is a series of published annual estimates of accumulated Dutch investment in colonial Indonesia from about 1910, coupled with summary statistics available in the secondary literature.
The N.W. Posthumus Institue congratulates Mark with his promotion.
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Changes in General Board N.W. Posthumus Institute
Recently, the composition of the General Board of the N.W. Posthumus Institute has changed.
Professor Hein Klemann, representative of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), has resigned as Board Member because of forthcoming retirement. Professor Ben Wubs from now on is the acting representative of the EUR, Dr Jeroen Euwe taking Ben’s place as substitute board member.
Professor Herman de Jong, representative of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen (RUG), also resigned as regular Board Member because of his forthcoming retirement. Professor Jutta Bolt, until now formally substitute member, now is the new regular Board Member on behalf of the Faculty of Economics and Business of RUG, Professor Abe de Jong the substitute board member on behalf of this faculty.
Professors Erik van de Vleuten and Mila Davids have changed their positions, Professor Mila Davids now being the regular Board Member on behalf of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Professor Erik van der Vleuten now acting as substitute member on behalf of TU/e.
The N.W. Posthumus Institute expresses its gratitutde to all new, current and former Board Members for their efforts for the N.W. Posthumus Institute.
In addition to these changes, we also had a change in the positions of the PhD representatives; click here to view to know more
You can view the current composition of the board here
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Posthumus fellow Selin Dilli one of speakers at Betweterfestival 2023
Posthumus Fellow and member of our Education Committee Selin Dilli is one of the invited speakers at the annual Betweterfestival. The Betweterfestival is an annual event, organised by Utrecht University in close cooperation with numerous partner organisations and is open to anyone who wants to know how the world works, who is nog easily scared by new experiences and who likes to be surprised. Researchers, artists and visitrors mingle in a relaxed festival setting, while thinking about tomorrow’s world and the big questions of today.
Sociologist and historian Dr Selin Dilli’s talk is entitled: ‘Let’s talk about female entrepeneurship’. Selin studies the evolution of female entrepreneurship from 1900 to present. One out of three businesses in the Netherlands are female-owned. What challenges and obstacles do women entrepreneurs still face? What can we learn from the past 100 years to further close the gender gap?
Tickets are available via the Betweterfestival website.
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Changes of PhD representatives
At the General Board meeting of 19 September 2023, Jasper Segerink, Samantha Sint Nicolaas and Karoline da Silva Rodrigues ended their positions as PhD representatives. The N.W. Posthumus Institute and its staff thank Jasper, Samantha and Karoline very much for their efforts for the N.W. Posthumus Institute and the PhD candidates.
Jasper Segerink Samantha Sint Nicolaas Karoline da Silva Rodrigues We are also glad to announce that two of their positions have been filled at the same meeting: the N.W. Posthumus Institute welcomes both Cécile Bruyet and Silke Geven, who will join Konstantinos (Dinos) Sevdalakis as PhD representatives.
Cécile Bruyet Silke Geven Dinos Sevdalakis -
Cum laude PhD defence alumna Weixuan Li
On 12 September 2023, Posthumus-alumna Weixuan Li successfully defended her PhD thesis Painters’ playbooks: Deep mapping socio-spatial strategies in the art market of seventeenth-century Amsterdam cum laude at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam. Promotors were Professor Charles van den Heuvel and professor Julia Noordegraaf, co-supervision was provided by Dr Claartje Rasterhoff and Dr Marten Jan Bok.
The art market in seventeenth-century Amsterdam is often considered a competitive, multi-layered arena in which diverse artists catered to a broad and varied clientele. However, traditional economic and art-historical approaches struggle to fully comprehend this intricate market system. To address this, Weixuan’s dissertation introduces a socio-spatial approach using digital methods to examine the art market and explain the artistic outburst in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. By synthesizing various historical sources digitally, this study analyses artists’ collective behaviour – or ‘playbooks’ – as revealed in their location choices, social relations, and the use of house interiors. Her dissertation interprets the art market not as an economic platform but as a socio-spatial phenomenon wherein artists aligned their behaviours with career goals and social and spatial milieu. Interpreting historical data from a socio-spatial perspective, this study argues that the changes in artists’ playbooks both shaped the multi-layered market structure and influenced artistic innovation in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. It therefore, offers a behavioural explanation, contrasting traditional economic reasoning, for the creative outburst in the so-called Golden Age of Dutch art.
The N.W. Posthumus Institute staff congratulates Weixuan with her promotion.
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15th Conference of Young Demographers
The Young Demographers, in cooperation with the Association for Young Historical Demographers (AYHD), the Geographical Institute and the Department of Demography and Geodemography of the Faculty of Science, Charles University, invite you to the 15th Conference of Young Demographers. The conference is scheduled for 7–9 February 2024, and will take place at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, Prague 2. Although the conference is mainly focused on (historical) demography, all young (in mind) researchers from various fields of population studies (sociology, epidemiology or maybe even economy) are welcome. The working language of the conference is English.