News
New publication on occasion of Professor Angelique Janssens’ retirement
On 29 August 2025, Professor Angelique Janssens retired from her chair in historical demography at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University and the Department of Economic, Social and Demographic History at Radboud University. At the symposium, organised for this occasion, a special issue dedicated to Professor Angelique Janssen, was published, titled Histories of Health ca. 1750-1950.
Over the past two and a half centuries, the global population has witnessed significant improvements in health and longevity, with life expectancy at birth more than doubling in many regions. This transformation ranks among the greatest achievements in human history. This volume brings together studies that reveal the complexity behind this transformation and provide a broad exploration of how these histories of health have evolved across different social and geographic contexts. The contributions explore how mortality and morbidity were recorded, understood, and experienced, focusing on the roles of social class, migration status, and sex, as well as demographic shifts and local conditions in shaping patterns of infant, childhood, and adult mortality. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that the history of health cannot be understood as a straightforward narrative of continuous linear progress. Instead, they demonstrate it is a multifaceted process marked by societal challenges, unequal access to resources, and ongoing efforts by individuals and communities to adapt and survive in a changing world.
The publication is not only dedicated to the former scientific director of the N.W. Posthumus Institute, but also contains contributions by a considerable number of Posthumus PhDs, alumni and PhD fellows; the editors of this publication (Paul Puschmann, Sanne Muurling, Tim Riswick, and Jan Kok all are currently active members of the N.W. Posthumus Institute.
The publication is published as Open Access publication with Radboud University Press.
