Setting up the Centre for Humanities was a great chance

Rosi Braidotti came to Utrecht to become the first Professor in Gender Studies at the age of 33. In 2005 she became distinguished Professor in ‘The Humanities in a Globalised World’ and since 2007 she is the founding director of the Centre for Humanities.

‘The year 2005 was my annus mirabilis in that it started with the award of nothing less than a Knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion – and then proceeded with my receiving a Leverhulme Trust Visiting professorship to Birkbeck College, London. It then finished off with the proposal to set up the centre for the Humanities as a faculty-broad platform for reflection on interdisciplinary research in the newly restructured faculty of the Humanities, which includes the Arts, Philosophy and Theology.

It hopefully can play a role in helping to brand this glorious university internationally, but there is a lot we can also do locally, by displaying the best talent we have in the field of the Humanities, for instance. We are also connecting the university more closely to the city, via the Treaty of Utrecht organization, in which we are very active, and thus increase the social relevance and the drive for diversity of our university. 

Setting up the Centre for Humanities was a genuine challenge and a great chance – after so many years of service I was wondering if Utrecht could provide me with the career mobility I need in order to continue to grow as a scholar and a human being. Once again Utrecht surpassed my expectations.

I am more proud than ever to work here and even more convinced that our university is a world-player as a place where innovation and tradition grow hand-in-hand and strengthen each other.’