~ because of scope, in Dutch only ~ Het Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid (SZW) streeft naar beleid dat daadwerkelijk bijdraagt aan werk en bestaanszekerheid voor iedereen, gebaseerd op feiten en state of the art kennis. Gedegen onderzoek – zowel theoretisch als praktijkgericht – speelt hierbij een grote rol. Het Ministerie van SZW organiseert daarom onderzoekers van hogescholen, universiteiten en publieke kennisinstellingen uit voor de vierde SZW Wetenschapsdag op donderdag 7 maart 2024 in Den Haag. Tussen 10.00 en 17.00 kunt u in diverse interactieve sessies kennismaken en kennis delen met beleidsmakers van het ministerie.

~ because of scope, in Dutch only ~ Op 22 maart 2024 vindt het jaarcongres van De Moderne Tijd plaats over het thema ‘Water: beleving, beheer, beeldvorming in de lange negentiende eeuw’. Wat waren de wateropgaven in deze lange negentiende eeuw? Hoe bepaalde het water de economie, de handel en het toerisme? Op welke manier was het een bron van inspiratie voor ingenieurs, wetenschappers of kunstenaars? Kortom, welke rol speelde het water in de cultuur en identiteit van de snel veranderende samenleving van de lage landen tijdens de lange negentiende eeuw? Aan de hand van deze vragen beoogt het congres stil te staan bij de veelzijdige culturele betekenis van water en de maatschappelijke, wetenschappelijke en artistieke vragen in de Lage Landen. Aanmelden kan tot uiterlijk 13 maart 2024 per e-mail. Voor deelname geldt een bijdrage, voor studenten geldt gereduceerd tarief.

On 24 and 25 June 2024, LIDAM at UCLouvain will host a FRESH workshop on ‘Institutions, human capital, and long-term development: lessons from pre-modern Europe’. The purpose is to create the opportunity for graduate students and early-stage researchers to present and discuss their work in an environment especially focused on constructive feedback and support. The keynote speakers for this meeting will be Joel Mokyr, Professor of Economics and History at Northwestern University, and Nico Voigtländer, Professor of Economics at UCLA Anderson. Researchers interested in presenting should send an abstract of max. 500 words and/or a full paper, as well as a brief (1-2 page) CV by 31 January 2024.

The Financial, Economic and Business History (FEB-HIS) Summer School for PhD students and Postdocs will take place in Groningen from Monday 24 June to Friday 28 June 2024, coordinated by Posthumus fellow Amaury de Vicq and Posthumus PhD Thalassa de Waal. The school’s main aim is to offer PhD students and Postdocs the opportunity to develop core research skills, ranging from presenting their research project, receiving feedback, providing commentary on the work of their peers, and moderating each other’s sessions. Confirmed speakers are Posthumus board members Jutta Bolt (University of Groningen & Lund University) and Abe de Jong (University of Groningen & Monash University), Posthumus alumni Sandra de Pleijt (Wageningen University) and Selin Dilli (Utrecht University) as well as Rui Pedro Esteves (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva), and Sibylle Lehmann-Hasemeyer (University of Hohenheim). Deadline for applications is 15 March 2024. A registration fee for admitted participants applies.

The 2024 Historians’ Days (in Dutch: Historicidagen), jointly organised by the Royal Netherlands Historical Society (KNHG), Maastricht University, Open University and Fontys University of Applied Sciences will be held at the premises of Maastricht University on 22-24 August 2024. The event is meant for everyone interested in history, professionally or otherwise. The 2024 edition evolves around the theme of ‘Undisciplined History’, and actively promotes diversity within participants, audience, program, stories, methods and presentations. Proposals for contributions in either disciplined or undisciplined form should be submitted ultimately 31 January 2024.

A new exhibition called Fugitive is on display in the hall of the Erasmus Building. The portraits in the exhibition represent enslaved individuals in the former Cape Colony. Historian Karl Bergemann and forensic artists Kathryn Smith and Pearl Mamathuba from the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) have reconstructed multiple portraits based on eyewitness accounts from 19th-century newspapers. Alongside text panels, the portraits depict escaped enslaved persons in what is now South Africa in the period before and around emancipation on 1 December 1838. The exhibition is related to the research project Biography of an uncharted people, a joint project from Radboud University and Stellenbosch University on slavery research.

The 15th European Social Science History Conference (ESSHC) 2025 will take place on 26-29 March 2025 in Leiden, organised by the International Institute for Social History in co-operation with Leiden University. The aim of the ESSHC is bringing together scholars interested in explaining historical phenomena using the methods of the social sciences. The conference is characterised by a lively exchange in many small groups, rather than by formal plenary sessions. The conference welcomes papers and sessions on any historical topic and any historical period. It is organized in 27 thematic networks; the organisers strongly encourage interdisciplinary and international sessions. Deadline for submission of paper and sessions proposals is 15 April 2024.

At the 15th European Social Science History Conference (ESSHC) 2025 the Jan Lucassen Award will be awarded to the best PhD paper presented at the ESSHC2025 Conference, to be held on 26-29 March 2025 in Leiden and organised by the International Institute for Social History in co-operation with Leiden University. The paper should be based on original research, innovative and should explicitly strive to explain historical phenomena using the methods of the social sciences. Papers with an international comparative approach are preferred. The maximum length of the paper should be no more than 8,000 words. The deadline for paper proposals is 15 April 2024, full papers should be submitted ultimately 15 January 2025.

On 8 February 2024, Posthumus alumna Hannah Fluit will defend her PhD thesis ‘Piety, poverty, and politics. The dynamics of Vincentian charity in modern belgium (1840-1945)’. Please note that the defence will be at the Hanna Ahrend Institute in Mechelen. Promotores are Professor Kaat Wils (KU Leuven) and Professor Bert De Munck (University of Antwerp), with Professor Patrick Loobuyck (University of |Antwerp) as co-promotor. The N.W. Posthumus staff wishes Hannah a succsful defence.

On 15 March 2024, Posthumus alumnus Damion Bunders will defend his PhD thesis ‘Gigs of their Own: can platform cooperatives become resilient?’ at the Erasmus Research Institute of Management of Erasmus University Rotterdam. The PhD defense will also be broadcasted as livestream, the URL will be announced later. The N.W. Posthumus staff wishes Damion a successful defence.

On 21 March 2024, Posthumus alumna Eva van der Heijden will defend her PhD thesis ‘Educational endeavors: children of immigrants in education in the Netherlands, 1980-2020’ at Leiden University. Promotor is Professor Leo Lucassen (Leiden University), co-promotor Professor Helga de Valck ( Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, University of Groningen). Attendance is on invitation, the PhD defense will also be broadcasted as livestream. The N.W. Posthumus staff wishes Eva a successful defence.

On 17 May 2024, Posthumus alumna Aditi Dixit will defend her PhD thesis at Utrecht University. The PhD defense will also be broadcasted as livestream, the URL will be announced later. More info will follow in due time. The N.W. Posthumus staff wishes Aditi a successful defence.

On 31 May 2024, Posthumus alumna Sietske van der Veen will defend her PhD thesis ‘Novel opportunities, perpetual barriers: patterns of social mobility and integration among the Jewish Dutch elite, 1870-1940’ at Utrecht University. Promotores are Professor Lex Heerma van Voss (Utrecht University), Professor Leo Lucassen (Leiden University), and Profeesor Karin Hofmeester (IISH and University of Antwerp). Attendance on-site is on invitation, the PhD defense will also be broadcasted as livestream. The N.W. Posthumus staff wishes Sietske a successful defence.

On 11 January 2024, Posthumus alumnus Patrick Naaktgeboren succesfully defended his PhD thesis ‘Private partnerships in early modern Antwerp (1621–1791)' at Maastricht University. Promotores were Professor Bram Van Hofstraeten (Maastricht University) and Professor Jeroen Puttevils (University of Antwerp). The N.W. Posthumus staff congratulates Patrick with obtaining his PhD.