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Welfare Futures Recap: Ruth Prince on Solidarity, Precarity, and the Limits of Social Protection in Kenya
Professor Ruth Prince delivered the opening lecture of the Welfare Futures seminar series. She spoke about pressure, precarity, and the limits of solidarity in Kenya, with a particular focus on how systems of social and financial protection are being shaped. Her lecture highlighted how the ideals of universal healthcare and social protection often clash with neoliberal reforms, limited public resources, and the growing influence of private actors.
Read more“Revisiting ‘Universality’ and ‘Inclusivity’ by Eline Westra
Eline Westra's lecture "Revisiting 'Universality' and 'Inclusivity': on the Racial and Colonial Dimensions of Dutch Social Policy" examines the racial and colonial dimensions of social policy in the Netherlands. This lecture is part of the Welfare Futures Seminar series and takes place on May 6, 2025.
Read moreWelfare future seminar by Ruth Prince: Pressure, precarity and the limits of solidarity
In the next Welfare Future Seminar, Ruth Prince will talk about understanding support systems in Kenya and formal and informal protection networks in her talk 'Pressure, precarity and the limits of solidarity: Navigating relations between formal and informal forms of social protection amidst class closure in Kenya.' This seminar takes place on the 7th of April in Amsterdam.
Read moreBureaucratic Feelings by Ed Kiely: upcoming Welfare Futures Seminar
Ed Kiely will present at our upcoming Welfare Futures seminar. On March 4th, they will talk about "Bureaucratic Feelings: Knowledge production, affective regulation and the administration of austerity." In this talk Kiely investigates the role of affect in the planning and delivery of public services.
Read moreThe Gluttonous State: upcoming Welfare Futures Seminar
Anouk de Koning will host the second edition of the Welfare Futures Seminar on February 4, 2025. In her talk 'The Gluttonous State: Remaking State and Society in the Netherlands', she argues that widespread policy desires for nearby, collaborative, and activating welfare programs generate a "gluttonous state".
Read moreWelfare revanchism - Welfare Futures Seminar
The next edition of the Welfare Futures seminar series will be held on 2 December. Dr. Josien Arts (sociology, UvA) will give a talk on "Welfare revanchism: Single mothers' experiences of welfare state violence in the Netherlands."
Read moreWhat do an American football game and the Dutch welfare state have in common?
What do an American football game and the Dutch welfare state have in common? If we look closely, we’ll find that both rely on the tireless work of their ‘cheerleaders’. In this blog, Vénicia Sananès explores this idea of cheerleaders. In the Dutch welfare state, welfare professionals act as ‘cheerleaders. As their cheerleading efforts become increasingly essential, it may be helpful to ask: does this unwavering positivity truly rally and support residents, or does it prevent them from addressing deeper, structural problems?
Read moreNew: Welfare Futures seminar series
The seminar series ‘Welfare Futures’ will start in October. This series consists of lectures by ethnographers researching changes in welfare systems, both in Europe and beyond. The series asks: How are welfare futures remade in the search for new forms of welfare governance and provision against the background of growing precarity and spiraling needs? Who steps up when established welfare actors are unable to provide answers to human emergencies? And what welfare futures are made, and for who, in programs that claim to do welfare differently?
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