Humanities
Trude Dijkstra
Assistant professor in the History of the Book, University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Humanities
What role did printwork play in early encounters between Europe and Asia? Trude Dijkstra has developed an innovative approach to studying printwork in seventeenth-century Europe. By combining the history of the book with the history of medicine and science, Dijkstra examines the role of printwork in cultural encounters and intellectual history. Her research reveals how knowledge was disseminated and gradually embedded in different cultures, leading to groundbreaking new insights into the intercultural encounters between China and Europe in the early modern period. Dijkstra's innovative ideas push the boundaries of her field of study, the History of the Book.
Anna Moles
Assistant Professor of Mediterranean Archaeology and Human Osteoarchaeology, University of Groningen, Faculty of Arts
What impact does massive social change have on individual lives and groups of people? Examples from history include a conquered people’s integration into the Roman Empire and the advent of Christianity. To answer this question, archaeologist Anna Moles investigates human skeletal remains, combining methods common in the natural sciences with archaeological and historical data. She specialises in the archaeology of the Mediterranean, and more specifically Ancient Greece, but she has also studied the Dutch Middle Ages and the Mayans. Her research spans the natural sciences and the humanities and offers an historical perspective on current social issues, such as the relationship between health, diet, age, gender and social standing.
Marthe Stevens
Assistant professor, Radboud University, Department of Ethics and Political Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Hub on Digitalization and Society (iHub)
From health apps on smartphones to pupil tracking systems in primary schools, digitalisation is seemingly unstoppable in the fields of healthcare and education. Marthe Stevens studies the use of new technology in society. Her research combines insights from Philosophy of Technology, Science and Technology Studies (STS) and critical data studies to reflect on the impact of technological innovations on society. Her work helps researchers better understand how digitalisation works, but it also shows the general public the risks involved in allowing Big Tech to amass too much power. Stevens’ efforts help promote responsible digitalisation and limit the influence of Big Tech on our lives.