Perspectives on the world 2012

Perspectives on the World Reflections of 2011-2012

The Faculty of Humanities

Humanities

A word from the Dean Preparing for the future. This could well be said to have been the theme for the 2011-2012 academic year. Leiden University formulated its response to the challenges that were set out in the Dutch government’s Strategic Agenda for Higher Education, Research and Science. New objectives were defined, for example in such areas as study success: objectives that will have to be achieved in the coming years. All in all, the profile of the University and its Faculties has now been given a much clearer definition.

The Faculty of Humanities will focus on Dynamics of Diversity, a concept that encompasses the mobility of people, Professor W. van den Doel Dean

language, culture, ideas, art and institutions in a globalising world, and their interconnectivity through the ages.

The Faculty is an international centre for the study of languages, cultures, arts and societies worldwide, in their historical contexts from prehistory to the present. In other words, the Faculty casts its net wide in terms of cultural, linguistic and geographical regions and in terms of historical periods. We employ in-depth linguistic, historical and cultural knowledge, focusing particular attention on the analytical and interpretive power of explicit and implicit comparison, within disciplinary and interdisciplinary frameworks of theory and method. In disciplinary terms, we apply a broad definition of the Humanities, drawing no absolute boundaries between the Humanities and such disciplines as Social Science and Law. Instead we seek synergy.

On the basis of this profile, the Faculty contributes to the themes that typify the University’s chosen profile, namely the Global Interaction of Civilizations and Languages; The Asian Challenge; Health, Life and Biosciences; and Law, Democracy and Governance: Legitimacy in a Multilevel Setting. In focusing on this profile, we will apply ourselves to delivering exciting teaching programmes and carrying out innovative research projects.

These aims apply not only to the future; today, too, all the Faculty’s seven institutes are engaged in exciting and innovative research. In this publication, four scientists and four master’s students talk about their current research projects. From Egyptian goddesses and a seventeenth-century print collection to Dutch asylum practice and Chinese twitter messages: you can read about eight examples of the groundbreaking work carried out by Leiden’s inspiring Humanities researchers. Together, their activities cover a field of study that encompasses all periods of human history and has the whole world as its domain.

I hope you will enjoy reading Perspectives on the World.

Wim van den Doel Dean

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Humanities at Leiden University Leiden’s Faculty of Humanities is an international centre for studying the world’s languages, cultures and nations.

The Faculty’s research stretches from prehistoric times to the present day, and adopts a broad perspective that encompasses fields as diverse as religion, philosophy, literature, art and technology.

Multidisciplinary collaboration

philosophy in all its facets, in relation to the many disciplines

The Faculty of Humanities was formed in 2008. Merging the

taught at the University;

diverse departments to create the current institutes has enabled us to engage in collaboration at a multidisciplinary level and

• The Leiden University Institute for Religious Studies (LIRS) includes all religions within its range of expertise.

given us the opportunity to extend our scope beyond the limits of the former departments. The Faculty’s research activities are

The Faculty of Humanities is home to more than 4,500 students,

currently structured within seven institutes:

who are able to choose from no fewer than 26 BA programmes and 36 MA programmes, including research masters. In 2011, the

• The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) focuses on bringing together art and science; • The Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS)

Faculty’s 700 staff members were engaged in teaching and research

top researchers every year. Its prestigious VICI award, one of the

• Global Interaction of Civilizations and Languages

activities based on a turnover of some J 50 million. Between

largest personal scientific awards in the Netherlands, has been

• The Asian Challenge

September 2011 and June 2012, 65 students received their PhD.

awarded to a Leiden Humanities researcher eleven times since its

• Health, Life and Biosciences

inception in 2002. Last year, two Leiden Humanities researchers

• Law, Democracy and Governance: Legitimacy

combines thorough knowledge of language and culture with disciplinary approaches from the humanities, social sciences

World-class research

received VICI awards: Manon van der Heijden for her research on

and law;

The Faculty is ranked among the top five Arts and Humanities

women and criminality, and Mirjam de Bruijn for her research

• The Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS,

universities outside the English-speaking world. The quality of

on mobile communication in Central Africa. The contribution of

More about the Faculty of Humanities

formerly LUICD) covers the field of literature and literary

the Faculty’s research is recognised internationally, as witnessed

the Faculty of Humanities plays a key role in positioning Leiden

For more information about the Faculty, its programmes

studies, the history of art and material culture, and

by the fact that our researchers are regularly awarded signifi-

University among the top three recipients of VICI awards.

and institutes, see: hum.leiden.edu.

film and new media studies;

cant national and international research grants. An example is

in a Multilevel Setting

The recipients of scientific awards are listed at:

Professor Willem Adelaar, who last year was awarded an Advan-

Profile themes

hum.leiden.edu/research/hall-of-fame.

nineteenth in the 2012 QS World University Ranking for

ced Investigator Grant for excellent research by the European

In order to facilitate cutting-edge fundamental research at

A list of candidates who recently received their PhD

History, and number 1 outside the English-speaking world;

Research Council (ERC). He received this prize in recognition

national and international level, Leiden University has chosen

can be found at: hum.leiden.edu/research/PhDs.

• The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) brings

of his work on the Amerindian languages of Central and South

to focus on six profile themes from among eleven multi­

Subsidies received by researchers are listed at:

America. Besides European subsidies, the Netherlands Organi-

disciplinary fields of research. The Faculty of Humanities

hum.leiden.edu/research.

sation for Scientific Research (NWO), too, finances a number of

is engaged in research relating to four of these themes:

• The Leiden University Institute for History (LUIH) was ranked

together all the Faculty’s linguistic research; • The Leiden University Institute for Philosophy (LUIPh) studies

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Boxes and boxes of an early modern stateswoman’s letters Ten years ago, Dr Nadine Akkerman began studying the letters of Elizabeth Stuart, seventeenth-century Queen of Bohemia. At that time Akkerman was carrying out research for her PhD in English literature; she hoped the letters would expose an interesting literary network from the period. Instead, she discovered a large number of letters that had little to do with art or culture but were more concerned with politics and warfare. As a result, Akkerman’s research subject proved to be an influential, early modern stateswoman.

Nadine Akkerman (1978) has by now read around 1800 letters

literary networks, but that I was actually dealing with much more

from and to the ‘Winter Queen’, Elizabeth Stuart (1596-1662).

interesting material,’ Akkerman explains. ‘When I started, around

Elizabeth was the daughter of King James (VI of Scotland, I of

two hundred of Elizabeth’s letters had been found. I had hoped to

England); she married Frederick V, who became King of Bohemia

discover a few new ones, but I actually found a great many more.

in 1619. Within a year, however, the Bohemian army had been

And in these letters she only writes about war and the army, about

defeated and Elizabeth and her husband fled as exiles to The

spies and diplomats.’

Hague. Frederick died in 1632.

Akkerman obtained her PhD based on a selection of the letters.

In other words, Elizabeth turned out to be highly politically

A collection of around six hundred, dating from the period

engaged. This goes against the clichéd image of a queen who

when Elizabeth was politically active during her widowhood,

liked romances and plays and cared more for her court with its

was published last autumn by Oxford University Press: The

monkeys and dogs than for her own children. In Akkerman’s

Correspondence of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, Volume

opinion, Elizabeth introduced the Republic to ‘a true royal court’.

II (1632-1642). Akkerman is currently a researcher and lecturer

‘She attracted painters, for example, and competed with other

at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

courts in terms of culture,’ Akkerman observes. ‘But at the same time Elizabeth was corresponding about political matters, trying

A politically engaged queen ‘It took a while before I realised I would not be unravelling

to mobilise armies and organising meetings of ambassadors.’

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Paleis Het Loo Nationaal Museum, Apeldoorn, on loan from the Oranje-Nassau Historical Assosciation, The Hague

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as: how does a text come into existence, who is writing it, who is

conduct this research. ‘Both the National Archives and the Royal

reading it, how was it circulated? And, of course, I look at the

Archives in The Hague are nearby, and Leiden University is the

rhetoric, which eventually fuses with the content. It is because

only Dutch university to have purchased the British State Papers

of this that the publication, apart from what it reveals about

(1509-1714) in digital format. We can now easily view these papers

Elizabeth herself, is of great historical value. It is also about the

while working in the lecture halls.’

oral and epistolary cultures of the period.’

Of course, Akkerman herself has not been inactive either. Two ‘Besides, Elizabeth had so many contacts that just about everyone

other parts of the trilogy about Elizabeth Stuart are due to be

who was of importance in the seventeenth century is mentioned,’

published later this year and next year. Her new research project

Akkerman continues. ‘The Thirty Years’ War plays a major role

will subsequently look at women spies in the early modern age.

in the correspondence, and there is also information in it about

‘There are already many books about the history of espionage,

the various military skirmishes. Anglophone researchers are in-

but women are conspicuously absent from them. I have found the

trigued, because in many of their court studies there are missing

names of so many women in the letters, however, that I now need

years in the accounts of the lives of people in exile.’

a database to record them all.’

Akkerman also spent a year studying and subsequently cracking the coded language she found in the letters. ‘A substitution system was used in which numbers stood for certain letters: important figures were also referred to in numeric code. By sharing the key to the code, the elite created their own language, leading to the development of political factions. In some letters, only parts were written in code, sometimes it was only the subject of the letter.

You can then decipher the letter as if it were a kind of puzzle, while charting social networks at the same time. Other research­ ers can now use these systems for their work.’

Standard work In order to chart Elizabeth’s efforts, Akkerman searched through

Undiscovered research territories

boxes full of letters in British and German, as well as Swedish and

Having found through Elizabeth’s letters that particular

American archives, collecting material from 47 different locations.

women played a more influential role than was previously

She is very careful in maintaining a literary approach in analysing

thought, Akkerman is convinced that there is a whole field of

the documents. ‘I constantly take into account questions such

research still to be discovered. Leiden is an excellent place to

‘Elizabeth had so many contacts that just about everyone who was of importance in the seventeenth century is mentioned in her letters.’

Nadine Akkerman

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Dialects on “Twitter” Daan van Esch (1989) completed a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and Culture. Now he is pursuing his Master’s in Chinese Studies, specialising in linguistics.

‘Last summer I travelled through rural areas in China. I was

the use of language in the messages, the computer processed away

dictionary are, in fact, often used throughout all of China. I also

intrigued by the vast differences in language. How great would

for twelve hours. Now you can easily browse through the mess­

looked to see whether certain words may be associated with a

it be to do a few months of field work over there? Back in the

ages, and see when and where a message containing a particular

specific city, and ran a list of the five thousand most common

Netherlands I learned a new Chinese word, a dialect word. Over

word was written.’

words through the programme, to see if they occurred more in

here a Dutch language dictionary will note that a dialect word

certain places than others. Besides that, I made the data openly

comes from the Limburg area, for example, but in China the use

‘You should see this method as a new tool; it allows you to analyse

accessible via a website. Within an hour of sending the link to

of dialect is discouraged. A Chinese dictionary will say that a

a lot of data very quickly. First, I tried around a hundred dialect

a mailing list of colleagues, there were already two hundred

word is part of a dialect, but not which dialect. I wondered how

words; which showed that words which are listed as dialect in the

visitors to the website. I also received all sorts of emails in my

you would go about tracking the origins of such a word. The next

inbox. Since then I have received even more reactions, including

day I read about an American study that analyses Twitter to see

from researchers at Stanford. The results of my research show

which words are used more frequently in New York, compared

that this is indeed a good way of identifying dialect words,

to L.A., for instance. This type of research is often carried out on

but of course there are many more possibilities. This is

newspaper articles, but Twitter is closer to everyday language. On

just the start of a whole range of things we can do

Twitter, people don’t just write that they want more democracy;

with this data.’

they also write things like: “I can’t sleep”, and “She doesn’t even know I exist…” It occurred to me that this kind of study would

Van Esch speaks about his research with great passion and

also work for Mandarin.’

precision (he calculated how many metres of bookcases are needed to store all the messages in his database – easily 46).

‘It seemed like a fun experiment; I hadn’t thought of it as a dis-

By co-operating with other researchers and with the help of

sertation project at that point at all. Using Weibo, the Chinese

external funding, he hopes to be able to continue his work

version of Twitter, I obtained five million randomly selected

for some time. Technically it is possible to use messages in

messages. I then rented a kind of super-computer that can process

the database five minutes after they appear on Weibo.

this kind of data. After I had written software that could analyse

To him, that sounds fantastic.

Daan van Esch

‘Using Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, I obtained a selection of five million messages that you can now browse online.’

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Literature of violence Yvonne Hassing (1950) did a Master’s in Philosophy of European Languages and Cultures (Philosophy of the Humanities).

She had previously studied English, Linguistics and Translation Studies and worked as an English teacher.

‘As a teacher, I have always been greatly interested in literature.

have an in-built propensity for violence, according to contemp­

Hassing enjoys the fact that her research both starts and finishes

I read José Saramago’s Blindness, which is about what happens

orary philosopher Fukuyama. The – at times – brutal behaviour

with literature. She does not really expect this dissertation to lead

when there is no central authority within a society. Groups are

of soldiers in war zones is an obvious example of this tendency.

to more extensive academic work; for her the most important

after each other’s blood, violence breaks out. How does that come

Linguist and experimental psychologist Pinker refers to the “rage

thing is that she has found answers to a number of questions that

about? Why does man have this tendency? Philosophers Hobbes

circuit”: people can go berserk and become addicted to violence

had been occupying her for a long time.

and Rousseau both believe that we need a form of government

and sadism. This is why I also drew on psychology. I related all

to guarantee safety. Hobbes argues that violence occurs because

these elements to events in the novels Blindness and William

of the struggle for land and food, and especially for power and

Golding’s Lord of the Flies.’

reputation, whereas for Rousseau, honour and recognition are the most important causes. Eventually, people who are not violent

‘My conclusion: literature is relevant in offering an explanation

by nature begin to turn to violence, too, to protect themselves.

for violence and war. It allows us to experience how anxious

What Hobbes and Rousseau failed to recognise, however, is that

people become when there is no government, how people can

man is also a social being. He doesn’t simply roam around by

become addicted to power and violence and how important

himself, shoot an animal when he is hungry and then continue

loyalty, compassion and self-control are within society. Through

on his way, alone.’

literature we can understand people’s dilemmas: should I fight or flee, or put up some resistance? Literature about history allows

‘I also started to look for proof of how this sort of thing occurs

us to share these experiences. It acts as a warning; we can learn

in real life by applying insights from archaeology and cultural

from it. In the past, life used to be relatively much more violent.

anthropology to my research. Both disciplines show that nomadic

The reason that levels of violence have decreased, according to

hunter-gatherers are in general less violent. The problems usually

Pinker, is that people have become more civilised and more

develop when people settle somewhere and start owning land.

intelligent. But literature also plays a role because having the

Actually, there has never been a situation in which people did not

opportunity to empathise with others helps us to become

live in groups. However, that does not mean that man does not

more tolerant.’

‘Literature is relevant in offering an explanation for violence and war. And empathising with others helps us to become more tolerant.’

Yvonne Hassing

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Christian tradition in the Middle East What do language and religion have to do with each other? A lot in some cases, as the research carried out by Professor Heleen Murre-van den Berg (1964) shows time and again. She herself studied Semitic Languages and has become increasingly involved in religious studies in the course of her career. With a new book – groundbreaking, according to some – about the early modern history of the Church of the East, she again takes language and language development as a starting point for studying and explaining religion. In so doing she is not only charting part of history; she is also helping us gain a better understanding of recent developments in the Middle East.

In her PhD thesis, Murre-van den Berg described the transition of

context. Ruling religious leaders and their place in the community

Aramaic from a spoken to a written language, strongly influenced

are described, for instance. Political games were also played in the

by the work of missionaries. Her new book is about the Christian

colophons, because of the rivalry between leaders and villages.

minority population in the area encompassed by modern-day

All of this says something about that time: what was happening,

Iraq, between 1500 and 1850. ‘There are hardly any archives in

how did people look at the world and at the role of the Christian

culture came to a standstill, leading to isolation and decline. One

which we can do research, but a great many manuscripts have

minority in an Islamic society? My focus is on the language and

reason for this is that relatively few new texts seem to have been

been preserved. These are mainly liturgical texts, copied by

the dynamics within it; I look at who propagates what and what

written, and those that were don’t appear to introduce anything

scribes, who also left behind a printer’s mark, or a colophon,’ she

kind of texts are used for the different purposes. You could see the

new. The developments were indeed not rapid, but it is nonethe-

explains. It is these colophons that she is focusing on. ‘The scribe

colophons as a route into the culture of the Church of the East.’

less not a lost era. In fact, it was a crucial period for conveying the ancient Syrian Christian culture. Without the scribes in Northern

used a colophon to prove that the text was reliable. This means that there is a name, a date and a place; comparable to how we

Not a lost era

Iraq, many old texts would have been lost.’

sign things.’

The period has a different image from the way Murre-van

‘Besides, this Christian minority was much less isolated than was

den Berg would herself describe it, based on her research. ‘We

sometimes assumed. They had increasing contact with the Roman

Over the years, however, scribes began to include more and more

Westerners – in fact, Christians in the Middle East just as much

Catholic Church, for instance. Thanks to this, new ideas from

information. ‘All sorts of adjectives were added and the colophon

– have the tendency to write off this early modern period as one

Europe about religion, church and society reached Northern Iraq

became a genre in itself, which is valuable especially in a religious

in which people were lagging behind; one in which their own

‘Without the early modern scribes from Northern Iraq, many old texts would have been lost.’

relatively rapidly. You can find these outside influences in the texts.

Heleen Murre-van den Berg

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There was a schism within the minority population, for example:

where the focus is on such aspects as sociolinguistics. I myself

one group of people wanted this type of contact while another

work for the Institute for Religious Studies. The Faculty also

group was opposed to it.’

houses all the relevant language programmes. I know of nowhere

Asian successes in poverty reduction

else in the Netherlands where you can find this much expertise in

‘The’ Christians do not exist

one place.’

Conclusions about how different groups of Christians behaved at the time can be useful in explaining recent developments

Fifty years ago, both Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa suffered from severe poverty. While most Southeast Asian countries have since managed to achieve rapid growth, most African countries have not. When Professor David Henley (1963) realised that the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), where he had been working since 1993, had a sister institute in Leiden called the African Studies Centre (ASC) with the same kind of expertise on another region, he decided to start an international research programme on the development trajectories of the two regions.

in the Middle East. ‘We often talk about ‘the’ Christians in the Middle East, as if they live in enclaves, with no wider context,’ says Murre-van den Berg. ‘We either assume that these societies are highly sectarian, and fail to look at how different groups are related to one another, or we only see the general picture without paying attention to the differences. It’s a pitfall I try to avoid. A story with subtle differences of meaning is, of course, less easily translated into simple advice on the question of whether or not to invade Syria, for example. Whatever you answer to that question

‘Sometimes it’s easier to do things on an ambitious scale,’ Henley

has one of the best research libraries in the world for the region

is necessarily a political point of view. This is not science with

states. ‘It can immediately yield insights that you don’t get if

it specialises in.’

absolute results. So, what can I contribute? I can provide texts

you’re concentrating on an individual community or country.

and explanations about how we should look at Christians in Syria

With Tracking Development, as the research programme was

After gaining funding, Tracking Development included, initially,

today. Why do many of them support the Assad regime? Because

called, we were able to make extremely good use of the resources

eight PhD students and a dozen postdoc researchers, contributing

of uncertainty about the future, mainly: Assad is also part of a

and expertise we have in Leiden. The two institutes were involved

expertise on Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nigeria,

minority population. But it also has to do with social class, region

in the same kind of questions and topics, building up the same

Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. ‘We put students together in pairs

and old political alliances, so by no means all Christians feel

kind of area-specific, in-depth knowledge.

and had them travel to their counterpart countries, so they could acquire personal experience.’ Henley’s role has been to bring people

the same way about it. History helps us understand why certain Christians adopt certain positions.’

A joint endeavour

together, supervise, organise events, conferences, and discussions,

And so an ambitious project was born. It is Henley’s conviction

and also to write and edit publications, of which the last are still

Expertise

that this kind of comparative research has to be based on real

to appear.

Because Murre-van den Berg’s research interacts with so many

expertise, only obtainable by making it a joint endeavour. ‘Both

Heretiq

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institutes have people that have spent their whole professional

Corruption versus rural development

suitable place for her work. ‘We have the Institute for Area Studies

lives looking at their respective regions. And apart from the

The outcomes after five years of comparative research are rather

with its Middle East department and the Centre for Linguistics

people, there were also library resources: ASC, like KITLV,

poignant. ‘There’s a widespread assumption that the economic

academic disciplines, she believes that Leiden is a pre-eminently

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When asked what does work, Henley names three important

The difference probably has something to do with the fact that

preconditions for sustained economic growth with rapid poverty

the experience of colonialism involved a more traumatic rupture

reduction. Since the turn of the millennium, two of these have

with the past in Africa than it did in Southeast Asia.’

generally been met in both regions: sound macroeconomic management and economic freedom for small farmers and small

Nevertheless, the Tracking Development research programme

entrepreneurs. The most important difference between devel­

deliberately did not concentrate on deep historical determinants

opment strategies in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa,

of developmental divergence. ‘We’ve been saying that it doesn’t

however, is the much greater priority given, especially in the

matter what the past was like; as long as you adopt the right

early stages, by the Asian governments to rural and agricultural

policies now, you can make a big difference quickly.’ Accordingly,

development. ‘The consistency of that contrast surprised me.

Henley is now taking his results to a wider audience. Already he

And it is extremely important for the future,’ Henley says.

has presented some of the results to the World Bank. In the near future he and his colleagues will take part in a number of inter-

Practical

national events intended to reach African policy makers, spreading

‘With few exceptions, African leaders are simply not very

the message about what works in development, and what doesn’t.

interested in smallholder agriculture. And so their efforts to achieve economic growth are very unlikely to benefit large numCasablanca1911

bers of poor people quickly.’ Why this indifference? Here we find ourselves in a speculative area, the professor warns. But he does have an opinion. ‘The Asian states were facing, or had recently faced, the threats of a communist take-over. The forces of the Left had drawn most of their support from the rural poor, so there was a strong incentive for the elite to do something about problems in Africa are strongly related to institutional failure and

the situation of this group.’

at least not nearly as true as is generally thought. Indonesia, for

‘But I don’t think that’s the whole story,’ he continues. ‘There’s

instance, at the period of its greatest success in poverty reduction

also a difference in world view at some deeper level. I’d say

was also one of the most corrupt countries in the world, according

African political elites are interested in transforming their

to the standard indices. In the aid literature and the practice of

societies, acquiring things that rich countries have: technology,

development co-operation, there is still an awful lot of emphasis

modernity, knowledge. Asian models of development are much

on good governance and the rule of law – things that didn’t have

more practical, not directed at an ideal image of the future.

anything to do with development success in Asia.’

This yields a much more inclusive development strategy.

futureatlas.com/blog

corruption. We concluded quite quickly that this is not true, or

‘Good governance and the rule of law didn’t have anything to do with development success in Asia.’

David Henley

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Print collection Daphne Wouts (1990) is taking two master’s programmes: Book and Digital Media Studies and the Research Master’s in Art and Literature. She has already completed a Bachelor’s in Art History and developed an interest in early-modern printing art and book history.

‘The book is also a bit of an encyclopaedia. The prints depict flora, fauna and people, and are pasted in a certain order. It might very well be that with this systematic ordering Thysius was trying to model a microcosm, drawing a parallel with creation as a

‘During my Book and Publishing minor I found a seventeenth-

he collected. For most of these prints we do not know who the

macrocosm. His aim was to understand the world better. Thysius

century scrapbook in the Leiden Thysiana Library. The Library

designer was, who made them, or when and where they were

was an intellectual, whose aim with his collections was to achieve

was established in 1653 as a bequest in the will of Johannes

pub­lished; Thysius unfortunately cut out the images along the

a humanistic ideal of knowledge. Human development and the

Thysius (1622-1653). Thysius was the son of a rich merchant, but

out­lines, so that the captions are missing. That makes it difficult,

acquisition of knowledge are key aspects here. But I will only be

he lost both his parents while he was still young. Over the course

but also more fun. The print becomes a kind of puzzle. It means

able to draw real conclusions after I have carried out the study.

of his lifetime he assembled an extensive book collection. The

I have to search for stylistic clues, for instance. Sometimes I can

Which is what I will be doing next year.’

scrapbook that is central to my thesis – which I am going to

find part of a signature and I then search the reference works to

write next year on the basis of preliminary studies I carried out

see whose signature it could be.’

Over the past year Daphne has come to feel very much at home at Leiden University. She might do a PhD, but at this point she

this year – is an 85-page book in which Thysius pasted the prints ‘Once I have managed to decipher it all, I hope to be able to say

has no firm plans. Instead, she optimistically seizes whatever

more about Thysius as a collector and about the importance

opportunity comes her way. She might be just as happy in a

of the scrapbook within the collection culture of the Golden

museum or a print library.

Century. Thysius is primarily known as a collector of books, but among experts he does not have a great reputation as a print collector. He is thought not to have been passionate enough about print collecting. My goal is to get a more complete picture of who he was. In the preliminary study, I looked at how and why seventeenth century prints were collected and who collected them. I concluded that for Thysius, collecting prints was not an overriding ambition, as it was for many other collectors. Thysius collected prints as a personal passion; he was particularly inter­ ested in French prints and prints that belonged to the moralising genre. This interest can be seen in the scrapbook.’

‘The captions of the prints are missing. That makes it difficult, but also fun. It means the print becomes a kind of puzzle.’

Daphne Wouts

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Prophets of fate Sandra Ottens (1967) is taking the Egyptology research master’s, a follow-up on her bachelor’s in the same discipline, which she combined with a minor in Arabic.

‘I am very interested in religion and popular belief. My thesis is

‘In this overview I describe what is depicted; I note the date and

about the Hathors, seven goddesses of Ancient Egypt who proph­

the accompanying text. My overview also includes a drawing or

esied fate. There are many depictions of these goddesses; they

a photograph, and a small map. I describe the clothing of the

appear in relief on the walls of temples and are mentioned in fairy

goddesses and their attributes: possibly a tambourine or a

tales and magic spells. Researchers have listed these depictions in

sistrum, a kind of rattle. I also study the context: what are the

the past, but the records are incomplete. When I was allowed to

goddesses doing and what is the occasion on which they are

join the professor of my programme early in 2012 on a trip to the

appearing? For instance, in temples the goddesses are often

excavation sites of the Dakhla oasis in Egypt, we discovered a new

present at the birth of a god. Sometimes they are also shown

stone block with a relief of a goddess playing the tambourine.

playing music or breast-feeding the child. Their basic function

Only the Hathors are known to have done that. I came across

is to bring good wishes for a long and happy life.’

more depictions of goddesses with tambourines, probably also Hathors, in another temple in Egypt. I now have a collection

‘Once I have finished collecting these examples, I will start

of sixty depictions.’

analysing them. I want to find out, for instance, how the god­dess­es

Egyptians feel about this. My conclusion was that fate is easily

are depicted. Egyptian artists liked to show every detail as clearly

manipulated in Egyptian culture. If you make sacrifices and

as possible. For them it was important that both the hands

exhibit good behaviour, you can give your fate a favourable

playing the tambourine were clearly depicted. This meant that the

turn. Other gods will then be willing to save you.’

arm positions of the figures shown were sometimes rather unnatural. This analysis is at least in part about the depictive style

Ottens submits modestly to the interview; it’s difficult to explain

of Ancient Egypt. Another example is that every Hathor has a

to a stranger what is so exciting about a ‘dead’ culture. Her own

different origin: Hathor of Dendera, of Thebes, or of somewhere

‘Egyptoblogy’, dedicated to her excavation exploits and other

else. But these are not always the same seven place names. There

Egypt-related activities, bears witness to her passion. She

is a lot of variation. These are probably places where there were

doesn’t know yet whether she wants to make it her career.

Hathor temples. The relationship of the Hathors to fate is also

But she will certainly continue to read and write about it,

very interesting. In one preliminary study I analysed how

and maybe teach it too.

Sandra Ottens

‘In the Dakhla oasis in Egypt we discovered a new stone block with a relief of a goddess playing the tambourine.’

021

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Humanities

Humanities

Unravelling the arguments in Dutch refugee practice

used. These arguments were the subject of Walaardt’s study.

‘I wanted to see whether there was a pattern: what were the decisive arguments, and did these arguments change throughout the time period covered by the study?’

Refugees with an identity Dutch immigration policy has for decades been the subject of vehement political debate. Dr Tycho Walaardt (1975) has witnessed the practice from different perspectives: he has worked as a volunteer for the Dutch Council for Refugees, as well as for the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and the UNHCR in Ghana and Eritrea.

He recently completed his five-year research project with a dissertation for which he studied nearly five hundred personal files. His conclusion: there is a gap between refugee policy and practice, which allows for the ‘quiet granting’ of asylum applications.

‘You can distinguish periods during which particular arguments play an important role,’ Walaardt continues. In buoyant economic times, for instance, the issue of the labour market is often used. In the late 1960s, for deserters from the Portuguese army their leftist image was a key factor. ‘These men were opposed to colonial warfare. According to public opinion, they were heroes.’

With the Christian families fleeing Turkey, the argument of humanitarianism entered the discussion. “These cases also involved

As every historian - Walaardt included - knows, it is unique to be

prepare for their procedure, whereas at the IND I only saw the

given the opportunity to analyse personal files. In many countries,

first step in the procedure. I missed the overview: I never heard

the use of this kind of source material is simply not permitted.

what happened to these people in the end.’

women and children; in the opinion of many, a vulnerable group.

The difference between this research and Walaardt’s work within refugee practice is that these files also show the outcome of the

The files contain letters to and from the courts, from neigh-

procedure. ‘At the Council for Refugees I helped asylum seekers

bours, friends and employers, children’s drawings made by little classmates, country reports and legal documents. Walaardt made a selection from the thickest files, because he was interested in the arguments used in lengthy procedures. ‘Many people’s applications are at first rejected, but in the end it turns out that a high proportion of them somehow manage to stay.’ Since the 1950s, the Dutch Refugee Act has formed the basis for Dutch immigration policy; it states that a refugee who has reasons to fear persecution in his country of origin may not be sent back. But since the refugee and the people responsible for making decisions in these cases often fail to agree on this issue, other arguments end up being

‘What is the point of these lengthy procedures if asylum seekers end up staying anyway?’

Tycho Walaardt

023

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Humanities

Humanities

Despite substantial lobbying by

empty meadows in Groningen and stories about the labour

the church, their cases went on

potential of asylum seekers,’ Walaardt comments.

for years. In the end, they were allowed to stay on humanitarian

The mismatch between policy and practice leaves some scope for

grounds: they had had to wait for

resolving difficult cases. The impossibility of deporting asylum

a long time, the women had been

seekers whose stories of persecution are (according to the civil

traumatised and the children

servants) implausible means the authorities are forced in certain

had become westernised.’ Due

cases to grant ‘quiet consent’. Walaardt is critical: ‘What is the

to the limited availability of

point of these lengthy procedures, if the asylum seekers end up

sources, the study only goes up to

staying anyway? Take, for example, the Somalis and Iraqis in

1994, but Walaardt sees the same

Ter Apel, who recently made it into the news. Experience teaches

arguments coming back in the

us that the odds of them being sent back are zero. I would say:

current debate. ‘Think of Mauro

why not look for a permanent solution sooner.’ This is where the

or Sahar: westernised children, with many sympathisers.’ There

‘honey pot effect’ argument always crops up. ‘But its existence has

has also been little change in the method of communication used

never been proved. Imagine that these Somalis and Iraqis were

by the defenders. ‘In the press, asylum seekers become individual

allowed to stay; in no way does this mean that there will suddenly

cases with an identity. This has always been a popular strategy;

be many more refugees from these countries, because it’s not at

as early as the 1950s there were campaigns with children’s faces.

all an obvious choice for people to just come here. The journey

Perspectives on the World

Portrait photography

If someone is or could be your neighbour, it changes the way

itself is a serious selection criterion.’

Reflections of 2011-2012

Hielco Kuipers

Faculty of Humanities

you look at the situation. To proceed with deportation in such

Design

cases, the IND or politicians have to be particularly sure of

With the Leiden Institute for History, that specialises in research

their grounds.’

in the field of migration history, as his home base, Walaardt

Editors

already has ideas for new research. He wants to investigate how

Jesca Zweijtzer

Quiet consent

the Dutch Embassy deals with visa applications. If he can get

Lise-Lotte Kerkhof

Graphic production

Walaardt also sees little change in the opposition’s arguments.

the funds, he will once again delve into the gap between policy

[Red.] voor tekst en taal, Edith Kroon

UFB / GrafiMedia

They focus, for instance, on housing: ‘refugees steal our cheap

and practice.

Interviews

September 2012

houses’. Or on the labour market, where refugees are viewed as

Schonewille Schrijft, Marie-Louise Schonewille

‘social benefits abusers’ or on the other hand, as competition

Interested in how civil servants manage to solve difficult cases?

for Dutch citizens. For some time now, the argument that ‘the

Walaardt’s dissertation, Geruisloos Inwilligen. Argumentatie en

Netherlands is full’ has also played a role. ‘These kinds of argu-

speelruimte in de Nederlandse asielprocedure, 1945-1994, was

Translation

ments are then disproved by the defenders with images of

published in April 2012 by Verloren.

Academic Language Centre, Faculty of Humanities

Ratio Design, Haarlem

025

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Telephone: 071 527 27 27 (Leiden University switchboard) hum.leiden.edu