Materiality, Material Culture and Materialist Approaches – Ghent, 1-5 June 2026
This Spring School is organised by Ghent University (Doctoral Schools), the University of Groningen, the Huizinga Institute and the Dutch Research School for Medieval Studies in cooperation with different research groups in the Low Countries. The main aim of this initiative is to stimulate contacts and exchange between PhD candidates and ReMa students in the interdisciplinary field of Medieval and Early Modern Studies bringing them together around a specific theme. The focus for this edition will be on materiality and material culture.
Topic
Material studies is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field in the study of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. It explores the materiality of “objects” (broadly defined), drawing on various disciplines, such as book history, art history, history of science, archaeology and archaeometry. This Spring School examines technical methods, cultural uses of objects and human–object interactions, from daily use to ritual. Materialist and ecocritical perspectives are specifically addressed. Through lectures, workshops and pitches, participants will actively engage with varied approaches to materiality and material culture in historical contexts.
Approaches
This course takes four recent lines of research and the concepts associated with them as a starting point: the study of material culture, of materiality, of ecology & sustainability and materialist approaches to culture. Nine specialists will engage with the topic from an array of scholarly backgrounds (philosophy, literary studies, history of science, archaeology, medieval history, art history, book history and ecological history). They will reflect on how they define and apply the above-mentioned concepts in their own research. An accompanying reading list underpins further reflection and discussion with the participants. This will offer students a stepping stone to engage with these concepts in relation to their own work, which will also be the topic of short pitches the participants will be expected to deliver. More informal exchange of ideas about the topic of the course will be possible during a thematic walk through Ghent on the first day of the Spring School.
Programme
Session I: Walk through Ghent: Urban Archaeology with Geert Vermeiren (City of Ghent)
Session II & III: - Materialist Thought and Approaches with Laura Georgescu (University of Groningen) and Adam Hansen (Northumbria University)
Session IV & V: The Materiality of Cultural Objects with Marieke Hendriksen (Huygens Institute, Amsterdam), Maximiliaan Martens (Ghent University) and Youri Desplenter (Ghent University)
Session VI & VII : Material Culture with Maxime Poulain (University of Tübingen) and Maïka De Keyzer (KU Leuven)
Session VIII & IX: Natural Environment and Sustainability with Marjolijn Bol (Utrecht University) and Sander Govaerts (Ghent University)
Registration
PhD students and ReMa students are invited to register for this course before 4 February 2026 through the following link. Please note that there is a limited number of places available for this course. After the deadline you will soon receive more information about whether your registration can be confirmed or not. Some of the participating graduate/doctoral schools will cover tuition and lodging for their participating members (please wait for more information after your registration). Students working on Antiquity, or the Modern Period can attend as well but please note that this course will focus mainly on the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period.
Organising institutions and partners
This Spring School is organised by Ghent University (Doctoral Schools), the University of Groningen, the Huizinga Institute and the Research School for Medieval Studies in cooperation with the following research groups: the Groningen Research Institute for the Study of Culture (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), the Group for Early Modern Studies (UGent), the Henri Pirenne Institute for Medieval Studies (UGent), the Centre for Urban History (University of Antwerp) the Amsterdam Centre for Studies in Early Modernity (UvA), the Institute for Early Modern History (UGent-VUB) and the Onderzoeksgroep Nieuwe Tijd (KU Leuven).
Organising committee
Marrigje Paijmans (UvA), Elizabeth Merrill (UGent), Bart Ramakers (RUG), Stefan Meysman (UGent), Maïka De Keyzer (KU Leuven), Marlise Rijks (VUB/UGent), Estel van den Berg (UGent) and Kornee van der Haven (UGent).
Venue
Hotel Den Briel and Ghent University