Mineke Bosch, born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1954. Ph.D. from the Erasmus University Rotterdam. Associate Professor in Gender and Diversity at Maastricht University.
Fellow (1 September 2006 – 30 June 2007)
THE SPECTACLE OF DUTCH SUFFRAGE WOMEN: GENDER, POPULAR CULTURE AND POLITICS DURING THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERNITY
I made substantial progress on the project ” The spectacle of Dutch suffrage women”, but I have also been inspired to develop a review essay about the autobiography of Ayaan Hirsi Ali into a full blown article for a peer reviewed international journal. Most of the project’s progress stems from the period after I received a replacement grant from NWO Geesteswetenschappen at the end of December 2006. I did substantial readings and archival searches, especially regarding the SDAP, the ‘Hungarian case’ and Cornela (Kee) Groot. Not all of these were as rewarding as I had expected, though. In the case of Kee Groot in particular, no primary sources have been found, neither in the town of her birth, youth and young adulthood (Hoorn), nor in Rotterdam where she lived during the years she was active as a propagandist for the Dutch Suffrage Association, and after. As Groot is in a way pivotal to the book project, less for the substantial international article I plan to write, I decided to concentrate on the latter. In this decision also one of the review reports of the proposal played a role: “The outcomes indicated are a book and a major international article. The latter would I believe make a major and immediate contribution to the history of international feminism.” I expect to hand in the article before the end of this year.