Six research projects honoured by SGW Open Competition M 2024

Menopause and labour market perspectives, dignity for migrants and football games and (anti-)racism: it is a selection of the six research projects Erasmus University Rotterdam is involved in, which are being honoured by NWO in the SGW Open Competition 2024. With this competition, the NWO domain Social Sciences and Humanities wants to give researchers the opportunity to conduct research on a topic of their own choice, without thematic preconditions. The projects in the M category last a maximum of 5 years and a maximum of EUR 400,000 is awarded per project.

Below are summaries of the Erasmus University Rotterdam research projects that have been awarded an SGW Open Competition M 2024 grant.

'Dignity in Place' for migrant communities

dr. Katharina Bauer (Erasmus School of Philosophy)

Migrants are often faced with humiliations of their dignity. Apart from clear violations of human rights, they are confronted with more subtle experiences of hostility, disrespect, and marginalization. Of being denied one’s place as a fully accepted member of a society. In our project, we combine fundamental philosophical analysis with an engaged research approach. Together with migrant communities we will analyze undignified experiences and investigate how to create places, where dignity is realized. We will develop a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of dignity and experience-based ethics of “dignity in place”. We formulate concrete normative demands for migration with dignity.

Diversity and Inclusion in an Era of Backlash

dr. Laura Braden (Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication)

Public art museums face increasing challenges as political and cultural shifts reshape how they engage with the diverse communities they serve. This study examines how three museums—the Blanton (Austin, USA), Whitworth (Manchester, UK), and Boijmans (Rotterdam, NL)—respond to these pressures within different cultural and national contexts. By analyzing their approaches, this research aims to identify strategies to help museums fulfill their commitment to inclusivity and community engagement. Ultimately, it seeks to provide insights for museums to adapt effectively in changing and divisive times.

Hormones at work: How menopause affects women's labor market outcomes

prof. dr. Anne Gielen (Erasmus School of Economics) and dr. E.S. Zwiers (University of Amsterdam)

The increased proportion of middle-aged working women over time implies that more employed women experience menopause during their professional careers. While this major biological transition is often accompanied by substantial physical and mental health problems, the causal impact of these symptoms on women’s careers is yet unknown. This project innovates by identifying the causal impact of menopause on women's labor market participation and earnings. Furthermore, it examines how this effect is influenced by inequality in access to care, and the role of female-friendly workplace provisions. This project’s insights will contribute to improving women’s careers and gender equality in the workplace.

Enduring Empire: measuring Early Dutch Colonialism's Lasting Impact in Indonesia

dr. L.O. Petram (Huygens Instituut), prof. dr. Maarten Bosker (Erasmus School of Economics)

This project explores how Dutch colonial rule in Java during the 17th and 18th centuries continues to shape the region’s development. By comparing areas with different levels of influence from the Dutch East India Company (VOC), we uncover how factors like population, land use, and infrastructure impact present-day society and economy. Our approach combines advanced data analysis and historical research, using newly digitized VOC archives and cutting-edge technology to analyze historical maps. The findings, shared through open-access publications, an interactive website, and a public workshop, aim to offer fresh insights into colonial history’s lasting effects on Indonesia.

Football video games, racism and antiracism

prof. dr. Jacco van Sterkenburg and dr. Teresa de la Hera (Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication)

Football video games such as ‘FIFA’ engage millions of people. The popularity extends beyond the immediate game environment to streams that attract sizeable audiences. Moreover, football video games portray players of a wide range of racial and ethnic origins. As such, they are an important but often neglected place to learn about race and ethnicity. This research provides new insights in meanings given to race and ethnicity in content, development, and circulation of football video games. It also implements and tests an innovative anti-racism intervention to create more inclusionary game-cultures.

Bringing hidden patterns to light: Uncovering hidden netwrok connections in complex data

dr. Wendun Wang (Erasmus School of Economics)

Countries, firms, and individual persons (units) are interconnected, such that the behaviour and the performance of an individual are often influenced by those of others. These connections also vary over time or regimes due to various shocks, e.g., Brexit, the Corona pandemic, policy implementations, and technology change. This research project will create innovative tools to model and uncover the varying connections of these units in a new but increasing popular type of data structure, namely multi-dimensional data.

Researcher

dr. Katharina Bauer