Op 11 maart 2020 vindt in Antwerpen het jaarlijkse OPG seminar militaire geschiedenis plaats. Thema’s zijn onder meer de omgang met het koloniale verleden vanuit militair-historisch perspectief en het herdenken van oorlog.

Provisional Program – Research Seminar Military History – Antwerp, 11 March 2020

The Research School of Political History, in cooperation with the University of Antwerp, hosts a one-day seminar on current research in military history and the relevance of military historians in Belgian and Dutch public debates on imperial history and war remembrance. The aim of the seminar is threefold: (1) to present current and discuss current research by PhD students in military history; (2) to debate current issues in societal debates surrounding military history; (3) to provide opportunities to connect with and learn from fellow academics from Belgium and the Netherlands.

The seminar will be held on the 11^th of March 2020 at the University of Antwerp. We invite all PhD students and historians of military history, and those of related fields, to attend the seminar.

The first part of our seminar will be devoted to presentations by young scholars working within the field of military history in the broadest sense. All participants are then invited to debate their work and results.

During the afternoon sessions, two societally and scholarly highly relevant topics will be discussed, each from both a Belgian and Dutch institutional perspective.

First we will debate the role of the military historian within current debates on (post-)imperial history? In Belgium, the specificities of its imperial project in the Congo is receiving increasing attention, while in the Netherlands the Indonesian War of Independence is now the subject of a wide-ranging research programme centred on war and violence. These touch on sensitive issues related to national identities, post-colonial societies, and the complicated and violent relationship between (former) colony and metropole. What are the similarities and differences of these debates in Belgium and the Netherlands? What can the military historian learn from these debates and what is the added value of the adjective ‘military’ within this historical context?

Secondly, we will discuss the role of the military historian in the remembrance of wars. The year 2020 marks the 75^th anniversary of the end of World War II, while 2018 marked the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War I. Both World Wars gained increased public attention with remembrance ceremonies, documentaries, films, book publications, re-enactments, museum expositions, and other activities on international, national and local levels. What is the added value of the military historian within these activities and the debates on remembrance? How does the discipline of military history evolve in relation to war remembrance?

Instructions for registration and participation

Please send an email to bureau@onderzoekschoolpolitiekegeschiedenis.nl confirming participation in the seminar before 6 March. The RSPH offers lunch and drinks.

 

Provisional Programme  

Location: Het Brantijzer, Sint-Jacobsmarkt 13, room SJ024 and KS104, Antwerp

9.30       Coffee and registration

9.45       Welcome by Margit van der Steen on behalf of Research School Political History

Welcome by Marnix Beyen on behalf of University of Antwerp

10.00     Two parallel sessions

Session 1

               Erik Meijer on Maritime Strategy 1930-1950

Matthijs Ooms on Maritime Trade Protection 1946-2016

Dion Landstra on Military Observers in former Yugoslavia

Senior discussant: Samuël Kruizinga

Session 2

Theo van den Doel on The Netherlands and its veterans (1945-2015)

PhD candidates t.b.a.

PhD candidate t.b.a.

Senior discussant: Nel de Mûelenaere

12.00    Lunch

13.00     The military historian and the end of Empire

Marnix Beyen –  How military history can contribute to a better understanding of the decolonization of Congo

Ben Schoenmaker – Independence, Decolonization, Violence and War in Indonesia, 1945-1950

Chair: Esther Zwinkels of Rozemarijn Vlijm

14.30    Tea break

15.00     The military historian and War Remembrance

Roel Hijink – Herdenking en herinnering van oorlog in Nederland

Dominiek Dendooven – Herdenking en herinnering van oorlog in België

Chair: Wim Klinkert

16.30     Concluding remarks: Toon Vrints & Ido de Haan

17.00    Closure Ido de Haan .

17.10    Drinks

18.00     Dinner (optional)

 

The organizers hope to welcome you on this interactive and interdisciplinary seminar. Save the date!

 

The organizers

 

Kim Bootsma MA

Matthijs Ooms MSc MA

Rozemarijn Vlijm MA

Prof. dr. Marnix Beijen

Prof. dr. Wim Klinkert

Dr. Samuël Kruizinga

Dr. Margit van der Steen

Research School Political History