Modern and contemporary history of innovation,
socio-technical transitions, and sustainability challenges
Our current program places into historical perspective today’s public, scholarly and engineering debates on global crises, ‘grand’ societal challenges, and Sustainable Development Goals—and the ambivalent role(s) of technology therein.
ONGOING PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS
SOY STORIES. Connected socio-environmental histories and futures of the global Soyacene
- NWO Open Competition program (2021/22 round)
- Runtime: 2023-2028
- Coordinators:
- Erik van der Vleuten (TU/e History Lab)
- Evelien de Hoop, Jacqueline Broerse (VU Athena Institute)
- Claiton M. da Silva (UFFS History Program/ Soy Observatory)
- Project website: https://www.soystories.info/
- Erik van der Vleuten (TU/e History Lab)
- Evelien de Hoop, Jacqueline Broerse (VU Athena Institute)
- Claiton M. da Silva (UFFS History Program/ Soy Observatory)
Sustainability Trade-offs in the Netherlands’ Entangled Modernisation (STONEM), 1900-2020
- NWO Open Competition program (2021/22 round)
- Runtime: 2023-2028
- Coordinators:
- Frank Veraart, Jan Pieter Smits (TU/e History Lab)
- Bram Bouwens, Johan Schot (Utrecht University)
- Barbara van Mierlo (Wageningen University & research)
- Project website: https://www.transitiestudies.nl/stonem/
- Frank Veraart, Jan Pieter Smits (TU/e History Lab)
- Bram Bouwens, Johan Schot (Utrecht University)
- Barbara van Mierlo (Wageningen University & research)
Sustainable Urban Mobility/ Cycling Cities
Coordinator: Ruth Oldenziel
SUM Research program
This program is a global Research-Book-Web-Teaching program for the long-term development of urban sustainable mobility. We work together with a transnational team of researches. We also collaborate with local governments and stakeholder organizations to develop historically-informed policy studies supporting today’s sustainable urban mobility transition. How did sustainable modes of individual, non-motorized (walking and cycling), and collective motorized mobility (public transit) conflict with modern car-dominated urban planning and traffic engineering? How are these conflicts affecting today’s mobility choices? How can we sustain mobility for future generations with access for all on a planet with finite resources? For more information see here
Resources and global sustainability history (coordinators: Erik van der Vleuten & Frank Veraart)
Sustainability, inequality, and well-being challenges should not be studied in temporal or geographical isolation. Through transcontinental resource supply chains and other ‘sustainability telecouplings’, the ongoing histories of modernization, inequality, well-being and (un)sustainability in the global North and the global South became deeply entangled. This program builds a research network and research agenda to explore entangled sustainability histories across the global North-South divide, and connects to present-day policy and stakeholder debates on inequality, well-being and sustainability challenges. The program is funded through the Netherlands Research Council NWO Internationalization humanities networking program. More information
Technology & Fear (coordinator: Karena Kalmbach)
This research program is also embedded in the Tensions of Europe working group on Crises Imaginaries and Socio-Technical Cultures.
Global Connections (coordinator: Mila Davids)
This program explores how circulation of knowledge, people and artefacts contributes to processes of local appropriation.
Technology and societal challenges 1800-2050 (coordinator: Erik van der Vleuten)
Together with our international colleagues, we initiated and coordinate the pan-European umbrella research program Technology and societal challenges 1800-2050. It is the 2nd ‘flagship program’ of the Tensions of Europe research community. At a kick-off workshop in the Netherlands in 2016, representatives from 13 partner institutions launched an explorative program. Working groups formed around relevant themes and set out to build networks of engaged scholars and research agendas. By January 2019 their efforts involved over two dozen workshops and conferences, a host of project applications, and a number of special journal issues and edited volumes. More information.
PAST PROGRAMS
