Shaping the Future: Interdisciplinary Explorations in Netherlandic Studies

When: Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7, 2025

Where: UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

We invite submissions for an interdisciplinary conference exploring the intersections of language, literature, art history, history, sustainability, politics, music, urban planning, design, religion, climate change, and colonialism, with a particular focus on Dutch-speaking societies around the globe. With the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Surinamese independence in 2025, papers devoted to the Caribbean area are of special interest. We are also interested in contributions that span historical periods from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Submit your proposals to contribute to a deep exploration of how differing fields of study influence each other and collectively shape our future. We welcome innovative research and groundbreaking scholarship that map critical inflection points, movements, and transformations in these societies–past, present, and future.

Select papers may be included in a conference publication to follow. Graduate students are encouraged to participate. Four travel grants of €500 each will be awarded to graduate students who present a paper.

Keynote speakers:  

Hilde Neus, Slavery History and Gender Historian Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Dutch Studies. Title of lecture: tba.

Ton van Kalmthout, senior researcher NL-Lab/Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences; endowed professor of Dutch Literature, Leiden University. Title of lecture: 'Dutch Emigration Literature after World War II'.

Special panel - 50 years Srefidensi:

Conference coordinator: Dan Thornton, Adj. Associate Professor of Dutch, Department of Germanic & Slavic Languages & Literatures, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Submission and Registration: For​ ​consideration,​ ​please​ ​submit​ ​an abstract of​ ​250​ ​words (maximum) and a bio to ineke.huysman@huygens.knaw.nl ​ ​with​ ​“ICNS​ ​Abstract”​ ​in​ ​the​ ​subject​ ​line​ ​by​ ​January 31, 2025.​ Acceptance notifications​ ​will​ ​be​ ​given​ ​by​ ​February 15, 2025.

Registration​ details, including conference fees, logistics, and hotel information will be available after February 15, 2025 at the AANS website https://www.netherlandicstudies.org.​ ​

AANS​ membership​ is​ required​ in​ order​ to​ attend​ the​ conference. The AANS membership fees, which includes a subscription to the journal Dutch Crossings,​ are $90 for​ standard membership $30 for full-time graduate students, and $70 for emeriti/retired.