Rayke van Lent

Rayke van Lent (1999) is a PhD candidate at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication. Her research is part of the project The Man in the Port.

She completed her master degree in History at the University of Edinburgh in 2020. Her main research interests are social and cultural life in port cities, communities and social movements, gender and intersectionality, and oral history.

Her current research focuses on port families in Rotterdam during the era of containerization. The container revolution has received much attention in the fields of logistics, technology and labour. Social and cultural factors, such as the impact of technological change on the lives of dockworkers, have thus far been neglected. Her project seeks to uncover the everyday realities of port families in times of transition, and investigates how the changing nature of dock work affected feelings of solidarity, community and family. Particular focus will be on the role of women in port families, and their participation in and contributions to their community.