Research School for Economic and Social History

The N.W. Posthumus Institute (NWP), currently hosted by the Department of History & Art History of Utrecht University, is named after Nicolaas Wilhelmus Posthumus (1880-1960), the first professor in economic and social history in the Netherlands.

The NWP promotes innovative and advanced interdisciplinary research in economic and social history by stimulating joint research programmes of participating institutes. To this purpose, the NWP provides a PhD training in economic and social history, as well as a four course-programme for Research Master students. Annually, the N.W. Posthumus Institute also organises its Annual Posthumus Conference.

The NWP is also participating in the European graduate School for Training in Economic and social historical Research (ESTER), a Europe-wide network of leading scholars in the field of social and economic history and as such co-organiser of Research Design Courses and Advanced Seminars within the ESTER programme.

Please check out our contact page for contact details.

News

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Posthumus website ‘frozen’ from 18 June

Please note that, because of the transfer of the N.W. Posthumus Institute to the new penholder Leiden University in July 2026, this website of the N.W. ...

Vacancy: Postdoc ERC Synergy project TASTADE (IISH; 2 years) – deadline 29 June 2026

The research team of the ERC-funded project The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the Development of Europe (TASTADE) is looking for a postdoctoral ...

Photo of nurses with newborn babies in hospital Wilhelmina Gasthuis (photo Beeldbank Stadsarchief Amsterdam)

Call for book proposals new book series on Historical Demography

Central European University Press (CEU Press) and Amsterdam University Press (AUP) are announcing the launch of a new book series on Historical Demography, ...

Moving Humanities Conference 2026 – Call for Proposals – deadline 31 July 2026

The organisers of the Moving Humanities Conference 2026 welcome proposals for presentations and expositions. On 26 and 27 November 2026, the Moving ...

PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Cécile Bruyet

On 26 June 2026, Posthumus alumnus Cécile Bruyet will defend the PhD thesis ‘A Taste for Land: How Access to Land Shaped Access to Food in Late ...

Vacature: 2 Junior Onderzoekers in project TASTADE over investeerders slavenhandel (VU Amsterdam) – deadline 22 juni 2026

~ because of required proficiency in Dutch only ~ Het onderzoeksteam van het ERC-gefinancierde project TASTADE (The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the ...

Call for papers Jaarboek De Achttiende Eeuw 2027 – deadline abstracts 31 juli 2026

~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ De Werkgroep Achttiende Eeuw publiceert sinds 2017 jaarlijks in het najaar het jaarboek De Achttiende Eeuw als opvolger ...

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Successful PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Max-Quentin Bischoff

On 10 June 2026, Posthumus alumnus Max-Quentin Bischoff successfully defended the PhD thesis ‘Merchants’ Futures: Plans and expectations in the ...

Vacancy: Professor of Europe in a Global Context (University of Amsterdam) – deadline 12 August 2026

The Department of History, European Studies, Religious Studies, and CEDLA-Latin American Studies of the University of Amsterdam is looking to appoint a ...

Valedictory lecture Professor Leo Lucassen

On 28 September 2026, Professor Leo Lucassen, Professor of Global Labour and Migration History at the Leiden University Institute for History, director of ...

Vacancy: Historical Data Specialist for research infrastructure ‘Chains of the Past’ (Radboud University) – deadline 21 June 2026

The Faculty of Arts of Radboud University is looking for a Historical Data Specialist for the project ‘Chains of the Past’. ‘Chains of ...

Portrait photo Rosa Kösters by Monique Kooijmans

Posthumus alumnus Rosa Kösters winner Instituut Gak-KNAW Award 2026

On 1 June 2026, Posthumus alumnus Rosa Kösters, postdoc researcher at the Interantional Institute of Social History, was awarded the Instituut Gak-KNAW ...

Successful PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Bram Hilkens

On 22 May 2026, Posthumus alumnus Bram Hilkens successfully defended the PhD thesis ‘Living off the Land? Land Inequality in Early Modern Holland, ...

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Call for proposals to organise ICRIH Conference in 2028 or 2029

The Scientific Committee of the International Conference on Risk and Insurance in History (ICRIH) invites proposals to organise and host the next ICRIH in ...

Call for sessions WEHC 2028 (Montevideo, Uruguay, 24-28 July 2028) – deadline 14 September 2026

The 21st World Economic History Congress will convene from 24 to 28 July 2028 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The theme of the 2028 edition is ‘World Powers ...

Vacature: Fellowships voor recent (< 3 jaar) afgestudeerde MA voor onderzoek Koninklijke Nederlandsche Lloyd (Stadsarchief Rotterdam) – deadline 1 juli 2026

~ becasue of required proficiency in Dutch only ~ Stadsarchief Rotterdam biedt 2 fellowships aan voor recent (< 3 jaar) afgestudeerde masterstudenten. ...

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