Agenda
Phd Defence Posthumus alumna Rosa Kösters
On 26 March 2026, Posthumus alumna Rosa Kösters will defend the thesis ‘How to Self-Organise? Insight from Workers at Albert Heijn (Ahold) and Unox (Unilever) in the Netherlands, 1960–2020’ at Leiden University. Supervisors are Professor Leo Lucassen (Leiden University & International Institute for Social History) and Professor Matthias van Rossum (Radboud University).
In her dissertation, Rosa reconstructs histories of work and workplace organising in the Netherlands between 1960 and 2020. She focuses on workers at the distribution centres and supermarkets of Albert Heijn (Ahold) and at the Unox sausage and soup factory (Unilever), which together employed a diverse workforce of men and women, migrants and natives, as well as young and old workers. The dissertation challenges traditional top-down, union-centred narratives of post-war labour history and puts forward the concept of self-organisation. It demonstrates that workers organised themselves both independently of and within formal trade unions. Additionally, it analyses major economic transformations from the workers’ perspective. Consequently, it reveals that many contemporary workplace features, including flexible contracts and modern distribution logistics, have deeper historical roots, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.
The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Rosa a successful defence!.
The ceremony can be attended in person on location as well as online via the live stream of Leiden University.
