In the fall of 2012 historian Prof. Joan Wallach Scott (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) will be the last visiting professor on the Treaty of Utrecht Chair at the Centre for the Humanities at Utrecht University. Scott is a life-long pioneer in the field of gender studies and cultural history. As a guest professor she will focus on the status of women and gays in Europe’s multicultural society. In anticipation of the commemoration of 300 years Treaty of Utrecht in 2013, the Treaty of Utrecht Chair offers a visiting professorship to various distinguished professors from a variety of academic and cultural fields of study.
Joan Scott’s 2007 book The Politics of the Veil was a global hit. It analyses lucidly the crisis of secularism in French culture and the European Union in general and applies it to the public debate on the status of women and gays. Scott argues that the French ban on the wearing of headscarves (effective since 2004) is symptomatic of France's failure to integrate its former colonial subjects as full citizens. This topic will constitute the core of Joan Scott’s programme during her tenure as Treaty of Utrecht Professor.
Joan Scott is currently Harold F. Linder Professor of History and Social Science at the world-renowned Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. She is one of the most distinguished cultural historians of our time. A life-long pioneer in the field of women’s history and gender studies, Joan Scott has made agenda-setting contributions to a field she helped to develop and to expand. Moreover, she is an outspoken campaigner for academic freedom and the social responsibility of the Humanities. Scott holds six honorary degrees to her name, including one from Harvard University.
Programme
In the context of the Treaty of Utrecht Chair, in November 2012 Joan Scott will give various public and academic lectures at Utrecht University. She will also give a masterclass in collaboration with the Humanities College honours programme. Her inaugural lecture, to be held on 7 November, will be titled ‘The Vexed Relationship of Emancipation and Equality’.
Treaty of Utrecht Chair
The Treaty of Utrecht Chair is an initiative of the Province of Utrecht and is a joint venture between the Province, Treaty of Utrecht and the Utrecht University Centre for the Humanities. The Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713 and is considered to be the commencement of modern diplomacy. In 2013, the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Utrecht will be celebrated. The aim of the fixed-term professorship is to keep alive today the body of thought of the Treaty of Utrecht from 1713, which is typified by globalisation, world citizenship and cultural diversity.
More information: www.uu.nl/treatyofutrechtchair.