Biography
Fenneke Wekker, PhD. (1972) is political sociologist and writer. After a career as a professional actress and playwright, Fenneke obtained her Research Master’s degree in Social Sciences (cum laude) and obtained her PhD-degree in political sociology at the University of Amsterdam in 2020. Her main interests lie in issues of home and belonging, inclusion and exclusion, and urban ethnography.
Between 2001-2004, Wekker was affiliated to the Northern Dutch Theatre (NNT) as writer-in-residence. Between 1998 and 2018, more than twenty of her theatre plays were performed by theatre compagnies throughout the Netherlands. At the same time, from 2012-2018, Wekker taught courses in sociology and anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, and published various articles in peer-reviewed journals. In 2017 her book Top-down Community Building and the Politics of Inclusion was published by Palgrave-MacMillan, New York.
Additional Professional Activities
- Freelance moderator or speaker at public events (e.g. SPUI25, Pakhuis de Zwijger, University of Amsterdam)
- Publicist (e.g. for Sociologie Magazine, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Vraagstukken, Koepel Adviesraden Sociaal Domein)
- Board member for Theatergezelschap Wat We Doen, Rotterdam