Welcome to the Newsletter March 2026
We are happy to present our March newsletter. As we enter March and welcome the spring, it’s a month full of exciting events, including the European Hip Hop Studies Conference, Francio Guadeloupe’s oration at the UvA, and welcoming Irene as our Intern.
You are all invited to Francio Guadeloupe’s Inaugural Lecture
Dutch Caribbean Studies: Anthropological Research of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
On 12 March 2026 at 16:30
Location: University of Amsterdam, Aula – Oude Lutherse Kerk
It is impossible to regard the Dutch Caribbean islands and the Netherlands in the 21st century as separate worlds, each with its own strictly delineated “indigenous” culture, argues Francio Guadeloupe in his inaugural lecture. Such a perspective overlooks how people’s life trajectories are intertwined across the Kingdom in everyday ways.
The oration will be delivered in Dutch. If you are unable to attend in person, watch it live via this link. Find out more here.
Re/Presenting Europe Recommends
To get you in the mood for EHHSN, we asked co-host Dastan Abdali to recommend a Hip Hop album:
JID’s latest release, God Does Like Ugly.
Listen here
New addition to the team
We are pleased to welcome Irene Bouwman to our team as an intern. We’re delighted to have her with us!
I am a second-year student of the RMA Modern and Contemporary History in Utrecht. My research focuses on Dutch colonial history in the Dutch East Indies in the 19th and 20th centuries
During my internship, I will assist Isabella in organising the upcoming Spheres of Belonging conference, which Re/Presenting Europe is hosting in collaboration with NIAS, and assess how the project’s researchers engage with the theme of belonging.
Upcoming Events:
Navigating Emotions in Teaching in Times of Injustice workshop.
Date: March 5, from 10:15–11:15
Location: Utrecht University, Onderwijs Festival
Zehra Çolak, Milou Munsters, and Bjorn Wansink will host this interactive session, inviting teachers to critically reflect on emotional responses—such as discomfort, frustration, or empathy—that may arise in the classroom when discussing societal issues related to racism, sexism, and inequality. Participants will explore how these emotions are shaped by broader social and political dynamics, and learn ways to navigate them in their teaching through interactive and artistic exercises.
EHHSN: “Things Done Changed”: Hip Hop Futures for a World on Fire
Dates: March 18–21, 2026
Location: Groninger Museum
Things done changed. Over 30 years after Hip Hop studies began, the genre has evolved globally—from 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. to trap, drill, and beyond—yet systemic inequalities persist. This Groningen conference examines Hip Hop’s transnational expressions, its history, and its future. Through panels, keynotes, archival sessions, and live music programming by Homebase, participants will reflect, debate, and imagine new directions for Hip Hop studies.
Re/Presenting Europe has co-sponsored this event and is thrilled to heavily feature in the programme with project members, Kim Dankoor, Sherlock Teglt, John Agesilas, Jody Metcalfe, Rachel Gillett, and Isabella Hall Allen presenting at the conference.
Tickets here
Beyond the Master’s House: Science or silence?
Date: March 25th, 19:30
Location: Studio Pakhuis de Zwijger, Free Admission
An intimate dialogue table about the frictions and possibilities for collaboration between activists and academics in a world on fire developed by Durwin Lynch & Jonathan Tjien Fooh.
Find out more here.
Book Launch: Cultural History for a Changing World.
Date: March 25
Location: Zalen van Zeven, Boothstraat, Utrecht.
Can cultural history, as practised currently, be decolonial? If so, how? Come and hear Rachel Gillett present the chapter “Finding the Decolonial in Cultural History” that she, Angela Wanhalla & Giti Chandra contributed to this timely new book. Drinks and discussion follow.
Register here before March 16.
Publications
“Record the Track and Track the Record: On the call-and-response dynamics in Hip Hop practice” by Dastan Abdali & Steven Gilbers. This publication examines the call-and-response dynamics that unfold when Hip Hop artists create together in the studio. Bringing together anthropology, linguistics, and musicology, we combine autoethnography with formal analysis to study how collaborative music-making works in practice.
Read it here in open access.
