Franciscan Women Religious in Nineteenth-Century Belgium : Gender, Identity and Material Recovery

This article examines the revival of female Franciscan religious communities in the nineteenth-century as a platform for analyzing the mechanisms and networks behind the restoration and renewal of female convent life in Belgium. The analysis is conducted from a threefold perspective: the specific role of male and female protagonists, the struggle with old and new identities, and the material backgrounds of the revival. The diverse landscape of old and new, contemplative and apostolic, and urban and rural Franciscan convents and congregations offers an interesting platform for research. The interaction between secular clergy, lay and religious women and the male Friars Minor is examined within the context of changing political regimes, social changes, religious revival and diocesan centralization. Mechanisms of material recovery and the (re-)constructions of gendered, canonical and religious identities are used as a framework for evaluating the importance of old and new models and examining to what extent this nineteenth-century history was a genuine Franciscan revival.

Decentering the Status Quo : The Rhetorically Sanctioned Political Engagement of Groen van Prinsterer

In his strategic political positioning and engagement in the nineteenth century, Groen van Prinsterer looked towards both the past and the future. Rhetorically, he appealed to the past as a vindication of the truth and practicality of his anti-revolutionary position. He also expressed optimism for the success of his convictions and political goals in the future. This optimism was reflected in the confidence with which he engaged politically, despite experiencing numerous setbacks in his career. Relying on the phenomenological-narrative approach of David Carr, I highlight the motives and strategies behind Groen’s political activity, and reveal that the past and the future in Groen’s narrative provide the strategic framework for his rhetoric, and the basis for his activism. I accentuate how the emphasis of his narrative shifts away from the status quo and thus enables a type of political engagement that proved historically significant for the early consolidation of the Dutch constitutional democracy.

Catholic Patriotism and Suffering in the Wartime Letters of the Belgian Mystic Berthe Petit

This article focuses on the use of patriotic feelings and shared experiences of suffering to promote a new devotion. Studying her wartime letter-writing campaign, we examine the strategies that the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit (1870-1943) adopted to promote the devotion of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. By examining the letter writing of Petit and her father confessor during the Great War, we will show how, in 1909, the campaign initially focused on her own mystical experiences and corporeal suffering, but shifted during the war to emphasize that the future of Belgium, France and Britain, was linked to their consecration to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Stressing the historicity of the mystic, we show how the war (1) provided new opportunities for mystically inspired, non-approved devotions; and (2) how the uncertainties and sorrows of the Great War offered female mystics new openings and lines of thought to explore.

Muslim Women’s Activism and Organizations in the Netherlands and Belgium

This article is a thematic exploration of the organizations that Muslim women have established in the Netherlands and Belgium since the 1970s, and the forms of activism they have engaged in. The article provides insight into the complex dynamic between the lived experience of Muslim women in Dutch and Flemish societies, the shifting forms of their collective identities, and their efforts to bring about social change. We discuss the early organizational activities of migrant women from predominantly Muslim countries during the first few decades after their arrival. We explain the emergence of Islamic organizations and the growing participation of women in these organizations. We also explore the attempts made by Muslim women for feminist mobilization across ethnic and religious boundaries. Finally, we examine Muslim women’s engagement in (mixed-gender) anti-racist and LGBTQ movements. Our results indicate a rising visibility of Muslim women’s activism in the public sphere, and an increase in transversal mobilizations across ethnic and religious boundaries. The article concludes with the latest developments in Muslim women’s activism, and provides suggestions for future research.

Processiecultuur in Vlaanderen : Bruggen bouwen tussen erfgoedzorg en onderzoek

De rijke processiecultuur in Vlaanderen is een merkwaardig en opmerkelijk persistent fenomeen dat uiteenlopende betekenissen in zich draagt. Die vinden hun neerslag in divers en waardevol materieel en immaterieel erfgoed. De lokale traditiedragers en erfgoedgemeenschappen hebben nood aan ondersteuning en begeleiding. Initiatieven zoals die van het consortium ‘Op handen gedragen’ (Histories, PARCUM en KADOC-KU Leuven) spelen daarop in. Door het faciliteren van expertise-uitwisseling en de aanmaak van een centraal repertorium van processietradities wordt de zorg voor het betrokken erfgoed versterkt, een essentiële voorwaarde voor meer en vernieuwend onderzoek naar de historische en actuele praktijken. We bieden een stand van zaken en schetsen de contouren van een onderzoeksagenda.

Witchcraft, Calvinism and Rural Society in the Netherlands: Storytelling in the Twentieth Century

The disenchantment of the world initiated by the Enlightenment was not a linear process. Folktales show that a magical world-view persisted in rural society until about 1900. An analysis of two types of folktales demonstrates that even in orthodox Calvinism there were people to whom witchcraft was ascribed. The persistence of belief in witchcraft must be explained both from the rural context and in light of orthodox Calvinism, which held a literal belief in the powers of good and evil personified by God and the devil.

Christelijke vakbonden van hoop naar ontgoocheling : Het Wereldverbond van de Arbeid en de transformatie van het voormalige Oostblok na 1989

The implosion of Communism between 1989 and 1991 in Central- and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the following socio-economic transitions had a strong impact on Western European social movements. The international trade union movement and trade unions in Belgium and the Netherlands were galvanized to support the changing labour landscape in CEE, which witnessed the emergence of new independent unions and the reform of the former communist organizations. This article explores the so far little-studied history of Christian trade union engagement in post-communist Europe. Focusing on the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) and its Belgian and Dutch members, it reveals how Christian trade unions tried to recruit independent trade unions in the East by presenting themselves as a ‘third way’ between communism and capitalism and by emphasizing the global dimensions of their movement. The WCL ultimately failed to play a decisive role in Eastern Europe because of internal disagreements, financial struggles and competition with the International Confederation of Trade Unions.

From Turks and Renegades to Citizens and Radicals : The Historical Trajectories of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Muslims in the Netherlands

In contemporary debates on religion and multiculturalism in the Netherlands, Islam is hypervisible as a ‘problem' originating from outside Europe ‐ the discussion of which draws a clear distinction between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims. Yet, at the same time, almost no reference is made to the Dutch history of Islam and Muslims prior to World War II. Based on a study of the literature on the history of Islam and the Netherlands during the 16th and 17th centuries and covering the colonial rule of Indonesia and the rise of Indonesian communities in the Netherlands during the interwar period, I trace how the distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims resonates throughout Dutch history. I show how the trope of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims can be found in different, and sometimes contradictory ways and was determined by the local and global interests of the ruling elites and their desire to maintain peace and order to prevent politically dissenting Islamic ideas and transnational movements from influencing local Muslims.