SHOC research group - Vrije Universiteit Brussel

29/09/2026

Earlier this month, SHOC members Rhea Mertes and William Torbeyns had the pleasure of representing VUB at the AHRC International Conference on Power and Possession at The Queen’s College, University of Oxford 🎓🏛️. As part of a VUB delegation led by Rik Vosters, they joined researchers from the AMGC, VISU and FOST research groups to present their PhD projects and exchange ideas with early career researchers from a wide range of disciplines 🌍🤝.

🍽️ Rhea shared her research on food in the late Middle Ages, focusing on food safety, urban regulations and the crucial role of smell in assessing the quality of fish.

🚶‍♂️ William explored how unequal access to power and resources influenced people's opportunities for migration in the late medieval period.

✨ The conference was an enriching experience, providing fresh perspectives, stimulating discussions and renewed inspiration for their ongoing research. 📚💡

29/09/2026

SHOC seminar with SHOC member Inès Glogowski!

On Monday 5 October, SHOC member Inès Glogowski will present her upcoming public PhD defence, entitled: « Un objet qui intéresse l’humanité et la justice ». Occuper les lieux d’enfermement à Bruxelles et dans le duché de Brabant : espaces, acteurs et surveillance au XVIIIe siècle.

Over the past years, Inès has pursued a joint PhD at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain). During this seminar, she will discuss the main findings of her doctoral research on places of confinement in eighteenth-century Brussels and the Duchy of Brabant, examining their spatial organisation, the actors involved, and mechanisms of surveillance.
The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes and will be delivered in French, with PowerPoint slides in Dutch.

We warmly invite all interested colleagues and students to attend this seminar and learn more about Inès's research.

We kindly ask you to register if you wish to attend the presentation via [email protected]

Photo credits: KBR, Prentenkabinet, SII 5982

21/09/2026

📢 New publication! 🚨

In a new article, SHOC member Janny van Doorn examines how the urban authorities of late medieval Bruges responded to food provisioning crises and social unrest surrounding the sale of venteghoedt (affordable but highly perishable fish products) 🐟
Rather than reflecting divisions between merchant and craft guild representatives, Bruges' urban councils pursued remarkably similar strategies. Faced with mounting socio-economic pressures, they experimented with regulatory, financial and coercive measures to safeguard social stability.
The study shows that late medieval authorities were not merely constrained by existing institutions and privileges. They acted as pragmatic agents of institutional change, invoking the common good to reshape market practices in times of crisis 🐠

🔗 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03585522.2026.2721253

History

This article examines how the moral economy shaped the actions of urban authorities in late medieval Bruges, one of the leading urban centres of north-western Europe. While E.P. Thompson and subseq...

17/09/2026

🎉 A warm welcome to Matthis Aelbrecht, who is joining SHOC as a TVO student! We look forward to supporting his learning journey and wish him a successful and inspiring experience with our team. Welcome aboard, Matthis! 👏

Find Matthis' story in his bio 👇

Matthis Aelbrecht (b. 2006) is a History student at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), having begun his studies in 2024. His lifelong fascination with the past—initially sparked by a childhood interest in medieval architecture and chivalry—has evolved into a dedicated focus on the late medieval and early modern periods. His primary research interests include migration, the Burgundian Low Countries, the Crusades and medieval warfare. In the coming academic year, Matthis will write his bachelor’s thesis on the late medieval migration policies of the city of Zoutleeuw, in Brabant. Alongside his own research, he is participating in the Talent for Research project, where he will assist Professor Bart Lambert and PhD researcher William Torbeyns in examining medieval migration patterns from the Low Countries to England and Italy. He will assist them in their archival research and database development.

15/09/2026

What did Belgium’s takeover of the Congo Free State in 1908 mean for the widespread violence inflicted on rainforest communities in the pursuit of wild rubber?

A new publication by SHOC members Lukas Van Oost and prof. Benoît Henriet explores this question through the archives of the first years of Belgian colonial rule. While the new Belgian authorities in Brussels were quick to present Belgian colonial rule as a break with the atrocities of King Leopold II’s “red rubber” regime, stories from the archives tell a more troubling story of continued abuses against the local population. Three case studies of different incidents in the forested Aruwimi District between 1908 and 1914 reveal how violent exactions on the ground provoked anxiety among the highest ranks of the new colonial establishment. These officials struggled both to contain the violence perpetrated by colonial agents in remote areas and to prevent such abuses from generating new public scandals.

Read the article here: https://www.journalbelgianhistory.be/en/journal/belgisch-tijdschrift-voor-nieuwste-geschiedenis-lvi-2026-2/after-red-rubber-violence-early

Image: Colonial official of the Congo Free State visits the village of Banalia, located in the northeast of the Aruwimi District, ca. 1898-1906. Source: AP.0.0.5699, collection RMCA Tervuren; photo E.V. Thévoz, [1898-1906].

14/09/2026

📣 Join us for an inspiring presentation: "Colonial Archives in the DRC", by Ngalo Masua Neré of the Institut National des Archives du Congo, taking place on 28 September at 10:30 AM.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. To reserve your place, please email [email protected].

We look forward to welcoming you 🌍📚

Click here to view the abstract and find practical information about the venue: https://shoc.research.vub.be/en/shoc-seminar-with-ngalo-masua-nere-institut-national-des-archives-du-congo-colonial-archives-in-rdc

07/09/2026

Op 16 oktober 2026 neemt SHOC-lid Benoît Henriet het woord op een seminarie georganiseerd door SHOC-collega Leonie Vanlerberghe en de redactie van het tijdschrift Contemporanea (ABHC-BVNG). Na zijn keynote volgt een panelgesprek waarin concrete uitdagingen en vragen bespreekbaar gemaakt worden door verschillende onderzoekservaringen samen te brengen. Hoe krijgt positionaliteit vorm binnen de koloniale geschiedenis, milieugeschiedenis, gendergeschiedenis of bij onderzoek naar het collaboratieverleden? Welke rol spelen bijvoorbeeld de relatie tot respondenten, toegang tot bronnen, maatschappelijke gevoeligheden of de eigen positie van de onderzoeker? En wat verandert er wanneer historici met hun onderzoek buiten de academische wereld treden en deelnemen aan publieke debatten? Kortom: wat kunnen we als historici van elkaar leren over onze omgang met positionaliteit?

Alle info vind je op de website van Contemporanea:

De historicus in de maatschappij. Positionaliteit in historisch onderzoek naar de hendedaagse periode

04/09/2026

❗Want to know more about Nel de Mûelenaere's new ERC? ⭐

Check out this Vrije Universiteit Brussel page:

https://www.vub.be/en/news/five-erc-grants-for-vub-from-climate-friendly-combustion-origins-universe (in English) or

https://www.vub.be/nl/nieuws/vijf-erc-grants-voor-de-vub
(in Dutch)!

Grote Europese onderzoeksfinanciering voor veelbelovende jonge onderzoekers

03/09/2026

New ERC at SHOC! 🎉📚

We are thrilled that our colleague and VUB History Programme Chair, Nel de Mûelenaere, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant for her amazing project 'EVERYDAY REBELLIONS: Creativity and Domestic Care as Civilian Resistance in Occupied Europe, 1939-1945'. Her research investigates how civilians in Lviv and Brussels used creativity and care as forms of resistance during the Second World War.

A huge congratulations to Nel! 🎉👏

This is SHOC's second ERC grant in recent years, following Benoît Henriet's FORAGENCY project! ✨

The European Research Council (ERC) has today announced the winners of its latest Starting Grant competition. The funding, worth €705 million in total, will go to 421 early-career researchers across Europe. Several European researchers who applied from outside the EU and Horizon Europe associated ...

20/08/2026

📢 Just Published in Brood & Rozen by SHOC member Claudia Pelgrims! 📖

What does solidarity really mean when words and actions do not line up? And how far does solidarity go once political interests and international relations enter the picture?

In this article, Claudia Pelgrims takes us back to Czechoslovakia 1968, a moment when a communist country tried to bring democratic reform to society, only to be crushed by Soviet military force. Drawing on extensive archival research, the article examines how the Belgian socialist movement responded to the crackdown on the Prague Spring, raising questions about what solidarity looks like in theory and practice, and where ideals give way to political reality. A fascinating and often overlooked piece of history that still resonates today.

A must-read for anyone interested in solidarity, political history and the hard choices that emerge when principles collide with reality.

https://shoc-vub.paddlecms.net/sites/default/files/2026-08/Veel-woorden-weinig-daden-Een-reflectie-op-de-transnationale-solidariteit-in-het-licht-van-de-Belgische-socialisten-en-de-Praagse-Lente-van-1968_Pelgrims.pdf

Brood en Rozen is a journal produced by Amsab-ISG (https://www.amsab.be)