I am a cultural historian with a focus on the history of museums and exhibitions. I hold M.A. Degrees in History (Ghent University) and Curatorial Studies (Goethe University Frankfurt). I am interested in the ways visual representation in cultural spaces both reflects and constitutes power structures in society.
During my studies, I have extensively examined the cultural politics of the European Union. Particularly, I have analyzed the manner in which exhibitions have been used to contribute to a process of cultural Europeanization at the level of the citizen.
My PhD research is concerned with the participation of the European Communities in World Expos, from Expo 58 in Brussels in 1958, to the latest Expo in Milan in 2015. World Expos offered the EC a unique platform to exercise both internal identity politics and external cultural diplomacy.
To read more about my PhD project, go to the section on Research.
Work Experience
Beside of my academic work, I have worked in various museums and non-governmental organizations, including Portikus and the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt, the European Parliament (Traineeship with Schuman Scholarship) and the UNESCO Liaison Office to the European Union (Scholarship by Flanders Trainee Programme).
For more information on my work history, please visit my LinkedIn Profile.
Language Skills
My working languages are Dutch (C2), English, German, French and Italian (all C1 level).
I am currently learning Spanish (B2).
Conferences
2018
Second Annual Graduate Conference on the History of European Integration, European University Institute, September 10th to 11th 2018
Graduate Workshop »Europe and the World: Between Colonialism and Globalisation«, organized by the Gerda Henkel Academy at Villa Vigoni, June 18th to 22nd 2018
Roundtable discussion on the House of European History. One year after the opening. Evaluation and Controversies, at Metti la storia al lavoro, seconda conferenza italiana di Public History in Pisa, June 15th 2018
Paper in ICA Preconference on “Emerging Research and Trends in Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding”, Prague, May 2018
Paper in Workshop on “World Fairs and International Exhibitions: National Self-Profiling in an Internationalist Context, 1851-1940.”, Amsterdam, March 2018
2017
Poster Session at First Conference of the “Associazione Italiana di Public History”, Ravenna, June 2017
2016
Academic Poster Presentation at BGHS’s Event ‘Meet the Shortcuts 2016’, University of Bielefeld, November 2016
2015
Presentation on the House of European History in Program of the International Federation for Public History at the 20th Congress of the International Committee of Historical Sciences in Jinan, August 2015
2014
Guest Lecture in Public History Seminar of Ghent University, during a visit of the exhibition “The Inheritance of Charlemagne 814-2014” at Provincial Archeological Museum in Ename, November 2014
Participation in “Visual Thinking for Curators”, International Summer Academy of Fine Arts, Salzburg, July 2014
2013
Participation in Summer School on “Comparative and Transnational History: Theories, Methodologies and Case Studies”, European University Institute, Fiesole, September 2013