Annual Report N.W. Posthumus Institute 2024 online now! |
| the General Board of the N.W. Posthumus Institute is happy to present you the N.W. Posthumus Institute Annual Report 2024. The report provides you with an overview of activities, results and developments regarding the N.W. Posthumus Institute in 2024. |
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Posthumus affiliates Angelique Janssens and Björn Quanjer receive ESHD awards |
| Two Posthumus affiliates, both members of the Radboud Group for Historical Demography and Family History, were awarded a prize by the European Society of Historical Demography (ESHD) at the 6th ESHD conference in Bologna. Emeritus Professor Angélique Janssens, former Scientific Director and long-standing board member of the N.W.Posthumus Institute was awarded the Massimo Livi Bacci Award, which recognises the life-time achievements of outstanding ESHD members. Posthumus alumnus Björn Quanjer was awarded the Tamara Hareven Award for the best PhD thesis defended between ESHD conferences. The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates both laureates with these awards! |
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Board member Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk installed as new KNAW Member |
On 29 September 2025, seventeen new members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) were officially installed. Among these new members is Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, Professor in Economic and Social History at Utrecht University and board member of the N.W. Posthumus Institute. Elise’s research on topics including industry, sex work, and work in the home shows how crucial women have always been to the way society functions, not only focusing on the Netherlands but also positioning the research analyses in an international or colonial context. The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates Elise with this appointment.
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Posthumus affiliates runners-up in Dutch/Flemish Paleography contest 2025 |
On 4 October, the Dutch / Flemish Paleography Contest 2025 was held at the Academiezaal in Sint-Truiden (Belgium). This contest is organised every second year by the archival institutions behind the online paleography platform ‘Wat staat daer?’. At this contest, about 40 finalists from the Netherlands and Flanders competed on transcribing three archival texts. Two Posthumus-affiliates each ended as runner-up in their respective age categories. Sieben Feys, Posthumus alumnus (cohort 2022) and currently in the final year of his PhD at Ghent University, was runner-up in the category under 25 years, whereas René van Weeren, Office Manager of the N.W. Posthumus Institute, was runner-up in the category 26 years and over. The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates both runners-up with this achievement!
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FWO awards Phd Fellowships fundamental research to five Posthumus PhDs |
On 3 October 2025, the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen (FWO; Fund Scientific Research Flanders) announced the awarding of the annual FWO PhD Fellowships. Through these fellowships, the FWO aims to support early-stage researchers in their development into independent researchers by giving them the opportunity to carry out their own scientifically challenging and innovative research project in view of obtaining a PhD. In the fields of History and Archaeology, no less than five out of eleven fellowships were awarded to PhDs currently enrolled in the PhD Training Programme of the N.W. Posthumus Institute. Nicolas Brenninkmeijer, Antje De Herdt, Rick Faust, Brent Huygh, and Evert Lambrechts were each awarded a FWO PhD Fellowship fundamental research. The N.W. Posthumus Institute congratulates the grantees with their awarded fellowships!
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Publicatie 'Dievenland' van Posthumus fellow Janna Coomans op shortlist Libris Geschiedenisprijs 2025 |
| ~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ De publicatie 'Dievenland' van Posthumus fellow Janna Coomans behoort tot de vijf genomineerde boeken voor de Libris Geschiedenis Prijs 2025. De Libris Geschiedenis Prijs, dit jaar voor de negentiende keer uitgereikt, is een gezamenlijk initiatief van Historisch Nieuwsblad, Libris, Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, VPRO en Trouw en bekroont historische boeken die een algemeen publiek aanspreken. Oorspronkelijkheid, leesbaarheid en historische degelijkheid zijn de belangrijkste criteria. Op zondag 26 oktober 2025 wordt de Libris Geschiedenis Prijs 2025 uitgereikt door juryvoorzitter Ronald van Raak tijdens een speciale live-uitzending van het radioprogramma OVT. Het N.W. Posthumus Instituut feliciteert Janna van harte met deze nominatie. |
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PhD Career Day 2025 (IISH, 14 November 2025) - register before 1 November 2025! |
| On 14 November 2025, the PhD Career Day 2025 will be held at the Internationational Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam. At this event, jointly organised by four Research Schools (Huizinga Institute, Research School Political History, Dutch Research School for Medieval Studies, and the N.W. Posthumus Institute), several speakers from a wide range of occupational backgrounds will tell their post-graduation history to inspire the PhDs currently working on their promotion project. Participation is free of charge, but because of catering and limited seating prior registration before 1 November is requested. |
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EXTENDED deadline Call for papers Datini-ESTER Advanced Seminar 2026: ‘From craft guilds to unions’ (Prato, 10-16 May 2026) - 31 October 2025 |
| The Fondazione Istituto Internazionale di Storia Economica “F. Datini” and the European School for Training in Economic and Social Historical Research (ESTER) announce their 11th jointly organised Datini-ESTER Advanced Seminar for economic and social historians on 10-16 May 2026, in Prato (Italy). The topic of the 2026 seminar is ‘From craft guilds to unions’; the Advanced Seminar thus consists of two complementary parts: the congress (10-14 May 2026, in 2026 devoted to ‘Trade associations in the economy of pre-industrial Europe (12th–18th centuries)’) and the Advanced Seminar (15-16 May 2026). The latter is open to 15 PhD-students and Post-Docs (who finished their doctorate less than five years prior to the seminar). Those interested to participate should submit an abstract ultimately by the extended deadline of 31 October 2025. |
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ESTER RDC 2025 (Seville, 3-5 November 2025) brings together 50+ participants |
| At the 2025 ESTER Research Design Course, to be held on 3-5 November 2025 in Sevilla (Spain) under the guidance of Dr Germán Jiménez Montes (photo) of the University of Seville, no less than 53 participants from 9 different countries wil present their papers. The aim of the RDC is a methodological reflection by a group of international experts on the scientific procedures that PhDs are using to arrive at scientific explanations and to combine all analytical elements into a synthetic and coherent historical account. The participant will also prepare a detailed work plan for the dissertation. The N.W. Posthumus Institute looks forward to welcome all PhDs and experts and thanks Germán and his team for hosting this event. |
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Start PhD Cohort 2025: Seminar I in Utrecht, 2-3 December 2025 |
On 2 and 3 December 2025, we will start the PhD Training Programme for cohort 2025 with Seminar I in the city of Utrecht. Applications for the Training Programme are still possible until 15 October 2025. Those registered for the Training Programme will receive more detailed info on Seminar I as well as on the rest of the Training Programme soon after this deadline of 15 October 2025. We welcome all new PhD participants in our Training Programme!
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Module 3 Online Lecture Series ‘An Introduction to Inequalities in Health using Historical Causes of Death’ started 3 October 2025 |
On 3 October 2025, Module 3 of the Online Lecture Series ‘An Introduction to Inequalities in Health using Historical Causes of Death’ started. This online lecture series is scheduled as part of the COST Project CA22116 – The Great Leap and is organised in co-operation with the N.W. Posthumus Institute. It is targeted at students and scholars at all levels interested in exploring major issues related to health inequalities from a historical point of view. Module 3 (October 2025 – May 2026) will address methods and analyses. Please note: For Module 3, contrary to the earlier modules, it will not be possible to earn ECs.
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Save the date! Posthumus Conference 2026 to be hosted by IISH in Amsterdam, 21-22 May 2026 |
After the successful Posthumus Conference 2025 (see item above), we are happy to announce that the Posthumus Conference 2026 will be hosted on 21 and 22 May 2026 at the International Institute of Social History (IISG) in Amsterdam by Professor Ulbe Bosma and his team. More info will follow in the course of the academic year 2025-2026, but do already save the date!
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Jaarsymposium Vereniging Gelre ‘Maakbare boeren en boerinnen?’ (Wageningen, 31 okt. 2025) – deadline aanmelding 22 oktober 2025 |
~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ Op vrijdag 31 oktober organiseert de Vereniging Gelre haar jaarlijkse symposium. Met dit symposium wil Vereniging Gelre historische context bieden bij de huidige debatten over de landbouwsector. Het thema van dit jaar luidt: ‘Maakbare boeren en boerinnen? Landbouw en platteland in Gelderland tijdens de wederopbouwjaren’. Het symposium zal plaatsvinden bij Wageningen Universiteit & Research. Sprekers zijn Peter Veer (landschapsarchitect en audiovisueel programmamaker), Sophie Elpers (onderzoeker etnologie bij het Meertensinstituut en hoogleraar Immaterieel Erfgoed en Etnologie aan de Universiteit Antwerpen), Jeanne van Poppel (oral history onderzoeker) en Piet van Cruyningen (senior onderzoeker Landbouwgeschiedenis Wageningen University & Research). Aanmelden voor dit symposium kan tot uiterlijk 22 oktober. Er geldt een toegangsbijdrage, voor studenten is de toegang gratis.
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Call for papers – Session on cross-disciplinary approaches to domestic cultures (EAUH Conference 2026) – deadline 22 Oct. 2025 |
| The organisers of Session 19 on 'Cross-disciplinary approaches to domestic cultures in premodern cities in Europe and beyond, 13th-17th centuries' at the 17th conference of the European Association for Urban History (EAUH) welcome papers for this session. The EAUH Conference will be held on 2-5 September 2026 in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. Their session examines premodern urban domestic cultures through interdisciplinary methods, integrating archaeology, historical texts, material culture, iconography, and social history. By combining diverse sources, it reveals the complexities of domestic life and its cultural dynamics in cities across Europe and beyond. The deadline for the submission of paper proposals is 22 October 2025. |
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Call for abstracts Workshop ‘Human Development and Its Outliers’ (Leiden, 26-27 March 2026) - deadline 1 November 2025 |
The organisers of the Workshop ‘Human Development and Its Outliers’ welcome abstract for papers to be presented at this workshop, to be held on 26 and 27 March 2026 at Leiden University. The workshop forms part of the project ‘Human Development and Its Outliers: A Global Microhistory’, funded by a starters’ grant of the Dutch Government. The workshop brings together scholars working on the history of human development, inequality, and exceptional cases or ‘outliers’ that challenge dominant patterns. The organisers invite contributions that explore these themes from a variety of perspectives, including economic, social and demographic history. Abstracts should be submitted ultimately 1 November 2025 .
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Book presentation new open access publication, edited by Posthumus fellow Davide Cristoferi (Brussels, 23 October 2025) |
Posthumus fellow Davide Cristoferi (Ghent University) is the editor of the recently published open access publication 'Socio-Economic Inequalities during the Conjuncture of the Fourteenth Century: Sources and Methods, Dynamics and Representations (Italy and Europe, c. 1270 – c. 1350)'. This volume, to which other Posthumus members from Ghent University, ULB, and the University of Antwerp have also contributed, is the result of the FWO-FNRS EI-MED project, led by Davide. The publication is available online via the website of Firenze University Press. This publication will be presented at a seminar at the Université Libre de Bruxelles on 23 October. Participation in this seminar is free of charge, but prior registration is requested.
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Call for applications CollectieveKracht Master’s Thesis Award 2025 – deadline 31 October 2025 |
| The CollectieveKracht platform is calling for applications for the CollectieveKracht Thesis Award 2025, a prize for the best MA thesis that contributes to understanding or strengthening collective civic initiatives. The three best entries will receive a cash prize and professional support in making their work accessible and impactful, by having the opportunity to collaborate with the CollectieveKracht team to translate their research into practical formats. Eligible are MA theses completed in the academic year 2022–2023, 2023–2024, or 2024–2025, written in Dutch or English, and focusingon citizen collectives or a closely related topic (such as commons, cooperatives, participatory governance, collective self-organization, or democratic innovation). Submissions should be sent ultimately 31 October 2025. |
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EMES International Research Conference on Social Enterprise (Rotterdam, 3-5 Nov and Utrecht, 5-7 Nov 2025) |
| The EMES International Research Network, in partnership with the Rotterdam School of Management of Erasmus University and Utrecht University announces the 10th EMES International Research Conference on Social Enterprise on the theme 'Scaling Through Communities: The Role of Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises in Boosting Societal Transitions' to be held in two different cities: Rotterdam (3-5 November 2025) and Utrecht (5-7 November 2025). The conference seeks to explore the strategies, innovations, partnerships and contexts that enable Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises to drive systemic change while scaling its impact across diverse contexts, rooted in the historical resilience seen in institutions for collective action. An essential part of this conference are Practitioners' Labs, where practitioners can share their stories (in 5–10 minute presentations), and have an open discussion with other participants on issues they are facing. Registration has closed 6 October 2025. |
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Najaarsbijeenkomst 2025 van SGvdO in teken tachtigjarig bestaan FIOD (Rotterdam, 4 november 2025) |
| ~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ De Stichting Geschiedenis van de Overheidsfinanciën (SGvdO) organiseert op 4 november 2025 de Najaarsbijeenkomst 2025, die in het teken zal staan van het tachtigjarig bestaan van de Fiscale Inlichtingen- en Opsporingsdienst (FIOD) bestaat in 2025 tachtig jaar. Naast aandacht voor de geschiedenis van de FIOD als organisatie wordt op deze dag aandacht besteed aan de rol van onderzoeksjournalistiek bij fraudebestrijding. Deelname is gratis, vooraf aanmelden is gewenst. |
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Studiemiddag HisGIS 1832: verbeterde opzet, voortgang, en rurale geschiedenis (Amsterdam, 12 november 2025) |
| ~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ De Vereniging voor Landbouwgeschiedenis en het Humanities Cluster van de KNAW organiseren op 12 november een studiemiddag bij het Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (IISG) over het gebruik van HisGIS voor onderzoek naar het platteland in het (ook verdere) verleden. De KNAW spant zich momenteel in, gesteund door de Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, om de data en het platform van HisGIS 1832 duurzaam en goed functionerend te maken, zodat het tot een consistente nationale infrastructuur uit te bouwen is. Op 12 november zullen medewerkers van het HUC/KNAW een toelichting geven op dit opwerkingstraject en een voorlopige stand van zaken opmaken. Daarnaast zullen enkele landbouwhistorici vertellen hoe zij tot dusver gebruik van het 1832-materiaal hebben gemaakt en welke gebruikswensen ze voor verder onderzoek hebben. |
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Oratie professor Danielle van den Heuvel (Utrecht, 20 November 2025) - aanmelden voor 3 november 2025 |
| ~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ Op 20 november 2025, om 16:15 zal Danielle van den Heuvel, hoogleraar Vroegmoderne Economische en Sociale Geschiedenis aan de Universiteit Utrecht en tevens voormalig bestuurslid van het N.W. Posthumus Instituut, het ambt aanvaren met de oratie 'Hoe de Was eens Was. Over de Rol van Bewijs, Perspectief en Experiment in het Schrijven van Onzichtbare Geschiedenissen'. Deze inaugurale rede zal ook via livestream te volgen zijn. Indien u de lezing in persoon wilt bijwonen, dient u zich voor 3 november 2025 aan te melden. |
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NEHA Symposium 'Naar een meer inclusieve economische- en bedrijfsgeschiedenis' (IISG, 28 November 2025) |
~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ Op 28 november 2025 organiseert het Nederlands Economisch-Historisch Archief (NEHA), in samenwerking met de Stichting Bedrijfsgeschiedenis (BSG), een bijeenkomst met als thema ‘Naar een meer inclusieve economische en bedrijfsgeschiedenis’. Deze bijeenkomst vindt plaats bij het Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (IISG) in Amsterdam en krijgt de vorm van een symposium, met onder meer een publiekslezing door prof. dr. Jan Hein Furnée (hoogleraar Cultuurgeschiedenis aan de Radboud Universiteit en voorzitter van het Koninklijk Nederlands Historisch Genootschap (KNHG)), en bronnentafels met een aantal prachtige voorbeeldcollecties. Deelname is gratis, maar aanmelding vooraf per e-mail wordt gevraagd.
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PhD Defence Posthumus alumna Vicky Vanruysseveldt (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 21 October 2025) |
On 21 October 2025, Posthumus alumna Vicky Vanruysseveldt will defend the thesis ‘Onderweg met amusement. Inkomensstrategieën en mobiliteit bij ambulante entertainers in Brabant (1750-1914)' [transl. 'On the road with entertainment. Income strategies and mobility among itinerant entertainers in Brabant (1750-1914)’ at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Supervisor is Professor Anne Winter (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Vicky a successful defence!
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PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Alexander van der Meer (Leiden University, 23 October 2025) |
On 23 October 2025, Posthumus alumnus Alexander van der Meer will defend the thesis ‘Colonial Calvinism: Colonial Ideologies of Dutch Clergymen in Batavia, ca. 1700-1850’ at Leiden University. Supervisors are Dr Alicia Schrikker and Professor Jos Gommans (both Leiden University). Please note that Alexanders’ PhD defence will immediately be followed by the PhD defence of his fellow alumnus Philip Post. The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Alexander a successful defence!
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PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Philip Post (Leiden University, 23 October 2025) |
On 23 October 2025, Posthumus alumnus Philip Post will defend the thesis ‘Constructing Colonial Legitimacy in the Moluccas, 1750-1870’ at Leiden University. Supervisors are Dr Alicia Schrikker and Professor Jos Gommans (both Leiden University). Please note that Philip’s PhD defence follows immediately after the PhD defence of his fellow alumnus Alexander van der Meer. The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Philip a successful defence!
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Congratulations to our PhD alumni recently promoted! |
| Dr Alberto Concina (KU Leuven) on the thesis ‘Tilting the scale of life: A multidimensional study of living standards between peasant and rural market societies in North-Western Italy, 1650-1800’’. Supervisor: Professor Maïka De Keyzer (KU Leuven). (29 September). |
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Already following us on Mastodon? |
As of 1 March 2024, the N.W. Posthumus Institute has started using Mastodon as social medium, following the decision to stop using X, formerly known as Twitter, actively for new announcements, as a result of the current developments surrounding the X platform. Do sign up with Mastodon and follow our account to keep updated frequently with new items and developments. Join us on Mastodon!
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Image credits: - Start of women's running contest in 1950s including Fanny Blankers-Koen. Public Domain. |
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