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Posts tagged with: Vroegindeweij Tim

To all Dutch universities: our colonial history is not a past!

by Tim Vroegindeweij

Hans Broek in his account in the Volkskrant on the 12th of January 2018 wrote about the dehumanising practises of the Dutch during their colonial rule over the Gold Coast, present day Ghana. In his article, he argues that the measurements the Dutch imposed on their colonised peoples were of such an objectionable nature, white Dutch citizens today cannot but foster a certain sense of guilt and shame towards their colonial past. His account is a reaction to an article by Hubert Peters, who argued that the Dutch have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to their collective colonial history. The latter is a clear example of how lacking knowledge of a historic period and in particular its implications for our society at present, continues to divide social groups. This brief paper discusses the importance of this lacking knowledge and attempts to advocate the introduction of more academic courses on the subject at Dutch universities. read on…

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