In this episode, Dr. Rachel Gillett is joined by Dr. Agnes Andeweg and students Maren Smith and Amanda Annemans to discuss One Book, One Campus - an annual reading event at Utrecht University which aims to broaden our understanding of the world, our communities, and ourselves through sharing a good book. This conversation delves into how One Book, One Campus was started, and what the process of selecting a book each year looks like. A large focus in this conversation is this year’s selection: We Slaves of Suriname, the 1934 book by Anton de Kom, providing a scathing history of three centuries of Dutch colonial rule.
Dr. Agnes Andeweg is an associate professor of literature at University College Utrecht, as well as the project leader for One Book, One Campus. She specializes in modern Dutch literature, gothic fiction (1800-present), Dutch cultural history and memory, with a focus on gender, sexuality and national identity.
If you want to continue learning more about topics covered in today’s conversation, we’d recommend checking out:
- The official One Book, One Campus resource guide: https://www.uu.nl/sites/default/files/Resource%20Guide%20-%20We%20Slaves%20of%20Suriname%20-%20DEF.pdf
- “Anton de Kom and the Formative Phase of Surinamese Decolonization” (2009) by Peter Meel https://brill.com/view/journals/nwig/83/3-4/article-p249_3.xml
- “Citizenship Violence and the Afterlives of Dutch Colonialism: Rereading Anton de Kom” (2023) by Guno Jones https://read.dukeupress.edu/small-axe/article-abstract/27/1%20(70)/100/355161/Citizenship-Violence-and-the-Afterlives-of-Dutch
- “Appropriating Anton de Kom Today: Canonization, Translation, Celebration” (2023) by Karwan Fatah-Black https://read.dukeupress.edu/small-axe/article-abstract/27/1%20(70)/78/355159/Appropriating-Anton-de-Kom-TodayCanonization
Check out these upcoming events!
- February 29: workshop for teachers on decolonial knowledge making with the Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning and Anton de Kom University of Suriname
- March 18: Studium Generale Cover to Cover event with Dr. Guno Jones
- March 27: event with the Dutch Poet Laureate Babs Gons and writer Karin Amatmoekrim in the Neude Library
Get your own copy of We Slaves of Suriname here: https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/equality-diversity-inclusion/edi-for-you/activities/one-book-one-campus
ABOUT
Brought to you by the UGlobe Decolonisation Group
Hosted by Dr. Rachel Gillett, Maren Smith and Amanda Annemans
Sound by Maren Smith
Music by CarlosCarty (CC-BY-3.0)
Special thanks to our guest Dr. Agnes Andeweg