Hurray! Next year, Radboud Gender & Diversity Studies is turning 40 years old, which is a moment we should absolutely be celebrating! As the importance of studying gender and diversity is at an all time high nowadays, it is necessary to realize that researchers have actually been working on these topics for a very long time. The establishment of the Centre for Women's Studies in 1985 brought even more opportunity for the continuation of this kind of important research. From 1985 until now, this institute has gone through multiple structural changes where it had to fight for its existence many times, showing that studies in gender and diversity are interesting, important and even necessary. All these years of hard work, including the interesting courses, celebratory events, endless books, papers and PhDs, are wonderfully documented in the archive of the Institute for Gender Studies (located in the university archive). As we took a deep dive into this archive, we have documented the biggest events and milestones in the history of this important department at Radboud University. Here, we celebrate all the hard work of the past, and look towards a bright future filled with even more research on gender and diversity at our university!
40 years of Gender & Diversity Studies
- Duration
- 2024
- Project member(s)
- Sem Boots , Romy Jansen , Tom Jansen-Klomp , Hanneke Janssen , Esmee Migchielsen , Maya Raz , Beeke Snijders , Madelief Weimar
- Project type
- Education
- Organisation
- Radboud Gender & Diversity Studies
1982-1984: The establishment of the Centre for Women’s Studies
In 1982, conversations on establishing a centre for women’s studies started. Several meetings and discussions were held on how a centre like that should take shape. In 1983, dedicated academics started to plan the centre of women’s studies at a university level. On 12 June 1984, the university board approved the expansion of the faculty regulations of the Faculties of Theology, Arts, Social Sciences and the Central Interfaculty to include the Centre for Women’s Studies. This marks the date of the official establishment of the Centre for Women’s Studies. The four faculties appointed a student and a member of the scientific division as a board member. Even around the time of the founding of the institution, it proved to be both a centrally and interfacultarily organised centre. The faculties started their own courses and gave out research grants. The first interfaculty course, 'Introduction to Women’s Studies', commenced in September of 1984, with a whopping 300 participating students. This illustrates, right from the start of the Centre for Women’s Studies, that there was a need for interdisciplinary collaboration.
1985 - 1987: Ready, set, go!
The years following its official establishment were fundamental for the Centre for Women’s Studies. It was, for example, challenging to start research projects as the centre didn’t get the opportunity to appoint its first professor. In 1987, the opportunity finally arose and Christien Brinkgreve was appointed Professor in Women’s Studies. This was celebrated at the university that year by a so-called ‘Professor-presentation’, attended by six professors in Women’s Studies at several universities in the Netherlands, which was a great success and got a lot of attention from the press. Something that was already a success right off the bat was the courses the centre taught. Each year, the organisation came together to discuss a new interdisciplinary course or repeat a successful one with some adjustments for the next study year. During these first years, the previously mentioned course ‘Introduction to Women’s Studies’ remained very popular and had at least 100 students in the course every year. In 1987, with the appointment of Professor Brinkgreve and a great interest in their courses among students, it became apparent that the centre was officially here to stay.
1989: The first Raffia
In 1989, the first edition of Raffia magazine was published. Before the founding of Raffia, another magazine was published in 1986, as a prelude to Raffia. Sophia & Co was a magazine focused on giving students a place to write and publish their works. Raffia was a publication of the Centre for Women’s Studies, focused on being informative on developments in women’s studies and emancipation. Raffia had an independent editorial policy and included news articles, academic articles, theses, and more. This edition focused on ‘women’s culture’, with, among others, an article about women in management positions, a review of a book on Brabant women in the 19th and 20th centuries, and other news in women’s studies.
The first volume of Raffia looks like an informal newsletter, but contains articles that proved to be of a high standard
In the 20th anniversary edition of Raffia, Claudia Krops reviews the first Raffia: ‘The first volume of Raffia looks like an informal newsletter, but contains articles that proved to be of a high standard’. Additionally, she illustrates how the bulletin fulfils the need for a connecting element between the activities of the Centre for Women’s Studies and the women studying at Radboud University.
1991: Who’s Afraid of Femininity?
On 1 and 2 February 1991, the Centre for Women’s Studies held an important congress called ‘Who’s Afraid of Femininity? Questions on identity’, where 250 visitors were present. The congress celebrated the development from the old way of research to a new one. The theme of the congress was explored in two big interdisciplinary lectures, observing the interdisciplinary nature of the Centre for Women’s Studies. Besides these lectures, there were six more disciplinary lectures that examined the theme through the lens of theology/philosophy, pedagogy, the arts, psychology, history, and anthropology/sociology. ‘Who’s Afraid of Femininity’ was a congress that included both national and international speakers, and was the first congress held by the Centre for Women’s Studies that had an international character. Though the presence of so many different disciplines caused some confusion, visitors were impressed with the scientific quality and merit of the congress. The international focus of the Centre for Women’s Studies has remained a priority throughout the years and continues to be an important element at Radboud Gender & Diversity Studies.
2000: Festival 'The Body in Culture'
In 2000 the Centre for Women’s Studies organised a festival to celebrate their 15th anniversary. The overarching theme of this event was ‘The Body in Culture’. This anniversary, the Centre for Women’s Studies tried to build a bridge between science, culture and society. The festival consisted of a seminar about the body and the self, a debate on the (un)manufacturability of the body, a discussion about body language, and an international and interdisciplinary conference about the theme: ‘The Body in Culture: corporeality in social practice’. These activities all took place over a span of 4 days between the 10th and 13th of October. Additionally, there was an exposition about the visions of the cultural body, in which visual artists could present their visions of the body. This exposition could be seen in the Nijmeegs Volkenkundig Museum (a museum located on campus that closed its doors in 2005) from October 9th until the 24th of November. What’s interesting about this museum is that it was located on campus of the Radboud University, though you may have never heard of it because the museum closed its doors in 2005.
2003: Minor programmes
In the academic year 2003/2004, three minor programmes established by the Centre for Women’s Studies were introduced. One of those programmes was offered within the Faculty of Arts, the other two within the Faculty of Social Sciences. While a lot has changed over the years, one of the first three programmes ‘Gender, Culture and Society’ is still running today!
After the first year, the programmes were constantly revised and improved. In twenty years, eight different minors have been installed across three different faculties. Next to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies also hosted two minors from 2013 to 2017. Currently, the Gender & Diversity Department offers three minor programmes: ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Gender’ at the Faculty of Arts, and ‘Cultural Sexuality Studies’ and ‘Gender, Culture and Society’ at the Faculty of Social Sciences.
2005: Name change and 20th anniversary
In 2005, the Centre for Women’s Studies officially changed its name to the Institute for Gender Studies. With this change, the Institute hoped to attract more international attention to its research and education at Radboud University. The department ‘Lesbische en Homostudies’ changed its name to Cultural Sexuality Studies this year. During this same year, the twentieth anniversary of the Institute for Gender Studies was celebrated. The celebration consisted of a variety of activities, including a recital, an exposition, and an international and interdisciplinary congress. The congress was hosted in Nijmegen on October 14 and was themed ‘Fact and Fiction. Gender in the Interplay of Art and Science’. Different workshops were offered, in which the relation between art and science was the main subject.
2015: 30th anniversary and departure Willy Jansen
In 2015, the Institute for Gender Studies celebrated its 30th anniversary. In honour of this milestone, they organised a symposium on 23 October. The theme of this year's symposium was ‘Contestations: Interdisciplinary Gender Studies and the Foundations of Difference’. They used Willy Jansen’s inaugural lecture from 1993, ‘Myths of the Fundamental’ , as a base for the theme of the symposium. It was symbolic for her inaugural lecture to function as the theme for the symposium, as it marked Willy Jansen’s retirement. A total of twelve speakers were present at the symposium, some of the most notable among them Stefan Dudink and Geertje Mak. As a parting gift, the staff of Radboud Gender & Diversity Studies created a book of essays for Willy Jansen; ‘Mythen van gender: essays voor Willy Jansen.’
2016 - 2018: The creation of the archive and split with Raffia Magazine
After the departure of Willy Jansen, the Institute for Gender Studies met difficult times. In 2016, the Institute was dissolved and in its place came the Gender & Diversity Studies network, led by professor Marieke van den Brink. Many staff members saw this change as a kind of wilting of the original stances and ideals of the Centre for Women’s Studies. In 2016, Jeannette van Mierlo and Carla van Rooy decided to dive into the history of this organisation and preserve it by establishing an archive, which took them 2 years. Their efforts resulted in an extremely detailed archive of the history of the Centre for Women’s Studies and what came before it, which can be found in the Radboud University Archive.
Something that is not recorded ultimately no longer exists in history
It was important, van Rooy says, to preserve the history of the organisation: 'Something that is not recorded ultimately no longer exists in history.' The dismantling of the Institute for Gender Studies also meant that Raffia, the, by then, mostly student-run magazine of the Institute, did not have a place in the new Gender & Diversity Studies network. Even still, the students who were involved at the time felt it was important to try to keep the magazine going. Raffia would continue as an online magazine from 2017 onwards and has since become its own successful student-led organisation. The two organisations remain closely tied to this day.
The Present & Future: Gender & Diversity Studies and a new master’s programme
In 2018, the Institute for Gender Studies converted into a new shape, taking on the form of a department integrated within the Faculty of Social Sciences. Radboud Gender & Diversity Studies, as it is called now, still carries out interdisciplinary research and provides students with a diverse set of interdisciplinary courses. Recently, research on such varied topics as masculinity in the military, gender ideas within populism and diversity in healthcare has been conducted. Furthermore, courses popular with students like ‘Gender and the arts’, ‘Global sex’ and ‘Perfect self(ie)’ are organised by Gender & Diversity. After a positive report from NVAO, a new master's programme organised by Gender & Diversity called ‘Intersectional Gender Studies’ is planned to take off in September of 2026. This master's is meant to teach students how to become academically schooled practitioners and change agents, through both theoretically and more practically oriented courses. For Garjan Sterk, a member of Gender & Diversity’s steering committee, the master's programme feels like the culmination point of a long history. There had already been multiple efforts within the Institute’s history to create an interdisciplinary master's, without success. To top it all off, the master's programme’s abbreviation coincides with that of the old Institute for Gender Studies, a nod to a long history of gender studies at Radboud, and a promise for a lot more to come.