“We need to talk about class again!” This cry is ringing ever louder in newspapers, opinion magazines, television documentaries, such as Klassen, and bestsellers such as Misschien moet je wat lager mikken by Milio van de Kamp and Mijn Ontelbare Identiteiten by Sinan Çankaya. The Netherlands likes to think of itself as an egalitarian or even classless society [1], but anyone who looks closely will quickly see how class – the social inequality and segmentation based on economic, social and cultural capital – still permeates and profoundly affects all facets of Dutch life. Yet the experiences of people of color and the complex intersections between class, color and other axes of difference often remain unaddressed.
Why is this a revelation to so many? And where have historians been in this conversation? Historians’ interest in class and class conflict has declined remarkably since the 1990s, amid growing attention to other forms of social inequality, such as gender, ethnicity and sexuality. Class now quickly seems to be becoming a “classical” research dimension: important, sympathetic, but also traditional, predictable and relatively irrelevant.
On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the KNHG will organize its annual congress The return of class: new insights, new questions at Museum De Proefkolonie in Frederiksoord (near Steenwijk). At this congress, the KNHG wants to turn the spotlight back on class. Which traditional themes and issues from social history are still relevant? Which new themes, questions and approaches deserve more attention, given recent social changes? How can recent insights from migration and gender history be used to deepen class as an analytical research category?
[1] https://sargasso.nl/waarom-we-het-over-klasse-moeten-hebben/; https://www.groene.nl/artikel/we-moeten-het-over-klasse-hebben; https://www.sp.nl/achtergrond/sociale-klasse-is-terug-van-nooit-weggeweest; https://www.socialevraagstukken.nl/we-moeten-het-weer-over-klasse-hebben/; https://visie.net/de-gids-artikel/we-moeten-het-echt-opnieuw-over-klasse-hebben