Introduction 

Laura Boerhout is a PhD Candidate at the Amsterdam School for Heritage and Memory Studies (ASHMS). Her main area of interests are (intergenerational) transmission of memories, transcultural memory, oral history, memory activism, with a particular focus on South-Eastern Europe. Find more information on her academic and professional activities below.

Current Research

“Negotiating Post-Memories. Intergenerational Transmission of Bosnia’s War Narratives Beyond National Borders,”  NWO-funded Fellowship 2014-2018

This PhD project builds upon previous work and research in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Laura Boerhout's BA in History (University of Groningen/University College Cork) and MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (NIOD/University of Amsterdam). It examines how a generation of young Bosnians in Europe receives, reconstructs and reproduces memory narratives about a war they did not experience themselves directly. It identifies Bosnia’s war memories - both shared and contested within families of different backgrounds - on social media, in films and during commemorative practices in Bosnia and the Netherlands. It intends to critically examine and further conceptualize both intergenerational as well as transcultural transmission of memories and counter geographical and nation-centred biases within the field of Memory Studies.

Academic activities & affiliations

Affiliations

• PhD Representative Amsterdam School for Heritage and Memory Studies (ASHMS)

•  Fellow NIOD. Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies 

•  Fellow ACCESS Europe. Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary European Studies

 

Current activities

• Organizing reading group “Memory Studies” (ASHMS) 

• Organizing “Heritage and Memory. Public Seminar Series” (ASHMS)
• Guest lecturer Hogeschool Arnhem Nijmegen, minor Conflict Studies (Spring 2014 and Spring 2015)

 

Activities 2012-2014

• Co-organizer international conference “Competing Memories” (VU University Amsterdam/University of Amsterdam)

• Co-organizer international conference “Digital Testimonies on War and Trauma” (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

• Project Associate oral history project  “Croatian Memories” Erasmus University of Rotterdam/Documenta - Center for Dealing with the Past Croatia.
• Interviewer Life Course Project - Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement – VU Unversity of Amsterdam

•  Paper Presentation Conference University of Zagreb

• Speaker Master Class, Oral History Course, Leiden University

 

Professional Affiliations and Activities

Affiliations

• Member and Coordinator Website "Memory Lab. Trans-European Exchange Platform on History and Remembrance" (2012-)

• Senior Fellow, Humanity in Action (2012- )

• Vice-President Senior Fellow Network, Humanity in Action (2012-2013)

 

Activities

• Project Coordinator and Educator International Department - Anne Frank House (2012-)
  Developed and implemented educational filmworkshop "Memory Walk" to engage young people with wartime monuments and engage them with a critical understanding with heritage and memory. 

• Advisor on Western Balkans Projects - Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (2013-2014) 

• Associate Oral History Project - Foundation Landschapsbeheer Gelderland  (2011-2012)
  Interviewing and writing for the book "Stories about estates in Gelderland." Participating in workshop “Oral history” by Dutch film maker Annegriet Wietsma.

• Contributor News Portal - Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina  (2010)
  Reporting of war crime trials at the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, conducting research and writing articles on topics related to transitional justice in the Western Balkans.

 

Public Lectures, Events and Volunteering

• Frequent moderator and speaker during public discussions and lectures on dealing with the past-issues in South-Eastern Europe for: Humanity in Action, Movie that Matters Amnesty International, Anne Frank House, ProefBalkan, IKV/Pax Christi, Linking Europe.

• Voluntary work for Refugee Council (socio-legal support and language coach) and organizing ad-hoc actions such as collecting food for undocumented in The Netherlands or a solidarity meeting to support social justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

 

 

 

 

• No ancillary activities