No less than 31 Basic Training candidates, more than 1500 pages of documentation, 44 commentators, 6 days: the Individual Assessments cohort 2022 have been completed. Congratulations to the PhD-candidates on obtaining their Basic Training degree! We warmly invite them to the  diploma ceremony during dinner at the Posthumus Conference in Leeuwarden. Our special thanks go to the 44 Posthumus fellows who agreed to facilitate the assessment of this exceptionally large cohort. We cannot emphasise enough how important their efforts and commitment are to make the Basic Training a succes.

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!

The Huizinga Research Network Archives of Power/The Power of Archives invites PhD students, early-stage postdocs and advanced RMA students affiliated with either the Huizinga Institute or the N.W. Posthumus Institute working on themes such as the (culture of) economic markets and trade, labour relations, slavery, networks and migration to discuss their own research with Professor Francesca Trivellato. Professor Trivellato is Andrew W. Mellon Professor at the School of Historical Studies of the Institute of Advanced Studies and is regarded as one of the most imaginative historians of the early modern world. This opportunity is offered to a maximum of 5-6 participants. Applications should be submitted ultimately 7 April 2024, full papers of accepted participants by 17 May 2024.

The coordinators of the NWO research programs Sustainability Trade-offs in the Netherlands’ Entangled Modernisation (STONEM), 1900-2020 and SOY STORIES are jointly organising a workshop on ‘Commodification, Values, and Knowledge Politics’ at Utrecht University on 22 April 2024. In this workshop, participants are invited to discuss and engage with these themes and connect this to their research ambitions. The organisers seek to discuss the merits and limits of key concepts, and explore the means and methods integrate, combine, and/or highlight underexposed actors, practices, and views. Confirmed speakers are Robrecht Declercq (Ghent University), Harro Maat (Wageningen UR), and Evelien van den Hoop (VU Amsterdam). Participation is open to PhD students, alumni and fellows, but there is a maximum  of 20 participants. Admission is on first come, first served base until ultimately 15 April 2024.

In collaboration with the European Society for Historical Demography, the COST-Action 'Great Leap' organises a summer training school on ‘Research on health inequalities using longitudinal demographic data’ in Lund, Sweden, 24 June-4 July 2024. It equips students with theories, sources and methods for analysing inequalities in health. The course provides hands-on workshops in data management of longitudinal micro-level data, event-history analysis, and analysis of causes of death. PhD and MSc students interested in joining this Training School are expected to be familiar with demographic and quantitative methods, historical micro-level data, and have at least intermediate level econometrics and should apply ultimately 1 April 2024.

Professor Peter van Dam (University of Amsterdam) and Dr Mario Daniels (Duitsland Instituut Amsterdam), in cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, Deutsche Akademischer Austauschdienst) jointly call for PhD papers for a PhD Workshop with Professor Sandra Mass (Ruhr-Universität-Bochum), who will present insights from her upcoming book Clio contaminated: Geschichtsschreibung im Anthropozän. During this workshop, it will be explored what the Anthropocene means to us in writing histories, thus probing what it means to write history at this moment of confluence of many environmental crises, to what extent present concerns productively inform our work. If you are interested in participating, please send a title and a short outline of the paper you would like to present by e-mail to Professor Peter van Dam. The workshop will be hosted in conjunction with a lecture on ‘Writing history in the Anthropocene’ by Professor Sandra Mass on the preceding day, 25 April 2024, 17:00-19:00, Spui 25, Amsterdam..

The network coordinators of the COST-Action initiative ‘The Great Leap. Multidisciplinary approaches to health inequalities, 1800-2022’, led by Radboud University, invite all stakeholders and all those interested to join the (hybrid) kick-off meeting of this initiative on 2 May 2024. ‘The Great Leap’ has been selected by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) to undertake a comprehensive exploration of the historical origins and driving factors behind health inequalities across regions and countries in Europe and beyond. Aim of ‘The Great Leap’ is to foster collaboration, share insights, and catalyse action in addressing pressing health disparities through providing a historical long-term perspective via five consecutive subprojects. Attending the kick-off meeting is open to all interested, but prior registration is requested.

~ because of scope, in Dutch only ~ Op 21 juni 2024 vindt in Zutphen het Middeleeuwen Symposium 2024 plaats met als thema ‘Het onmisbare boek: handschriften en druk in e Late Middeleeuwen’. Onderzoekers uit Nederland, België en Frankrijk vertellen onder leiding van dagvoorzitter prof. dr. Johan Oosterman, hoogleraar Oudere Nederlandse letterkunde aan de Radboud Universiteit over de sociaal-economische netwerken rond boeken, de diverse productiemethoden en -centra en de manier waarop schrijvers, drukkers en boekbezitters informatie probeerden te ordenen en ontsluiten. Op 20 juni 2021, daags voor het symposium, is tevens gelegenheid tot deelname aan excursies en het bijwonen van lezingen in de Collegetour. Voor deelname aan het Middeleeuwen Symposium 2024 en/of Collegetour geldt een bijdrage, voor studenten geldt een gereduceerd tarief.

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. Deadline for submitting proposals has closed on 31 January 2024.

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 28 March 2024, Posthumus alumna Arlinde Vrooman will defend her thesis ‘Here to Heal? The Effect of Colonial Rule on Disease and Health Care in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire: ca. 1900-1955’ at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen. Promotors are Professors Jutta Bolt and Herman de Jong (both University of Groningen). Attendance on-site is on invitation, the defence cermeony will also be streamed via the livestream of the University of Groningen. The N.W. Posthumus staff wishes Arlinde a successful defence.

On 1 May 2024 Posthumus alumnus Björn Quanjer will defend his thesis 'A tale of tallness. A household perspective on early life determinants of male height within the Netherlands between 1850 and 1950' at Radboud University. Promotors are Professors Jan Kok and Angelique Janssens (both Radboud University), co-promotor is Dr Tassenaar (University of Groningen). We wish Björn a successful defence.

On 17 May 2024, Posthumus alumna Aditi Dixit will defend her thesis ‘Asian Divergence in an Age of Globalisation: Textile Manufacturing, Trade, and the State in India and Japan, ca. 1890-1940’ at Utrecht University. Promotors are Professor Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk (Utrecht University) and Professor Christina Moll-Murata (Ruhr University, Bochum). Attendance on location is on invitation, the defence will also be live-streamed via the livestream of Utrecht University (see URL above or use button below). 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.