Anthropology in Groningen?!

Lena Höllisch (Germany) has studied BA Religious Studies in Groningen. Currently, she is doing a Master’s programme in Anthropology and Development Studies elsewhere.

"I chose to study in the Netherlands because I wanted to explore different cultures, places, and languages. After quite a long search I decided to study Religious Studies in Groningen since the programme seemed to be a collection of all the studies that I was interested in and could not choose from. Fields like philosophy, psychology, politics, sociology, art studies, media science, history, human geography, and last but not least: anthropology. This numerous and wide assemblage of different approaches and perspectives convinced me that this was the right study for me.

Throughout my years of studying, I encountered topics that made me question what drives us as human beings. Why do we do what we do? What makes us happy? How can we move towards greater peace and connection as people? …And indeed the international, interdisciplinary place of research and education, the engagement with other students and teachers, brought me closer to understanding those questions and pondering about possible answers and approaches to answers.

Anthropology was at the heart of many, if not most articles we read and in the discussions that we had. For example, when talking about the practices of religions (how people act out their beliefs in day-to-day lives), texts about anthropological research and fieldwork were ever-present. Anthropological topics and research sparked my interest the most. I love getting out there, talking to people, deeply listening, observing, and participating in new environments. Many times, I started out conducting fieldwork with a certain view, which after a day got crashed in the most beautiful way possible, in awe of how different things turn out to be if we look closer and deeper.

My favorite course was the course “Religion, Diversity and Identity”. In the first half of the course, we read and discussed literature about ‘super-diverse’ cities. But my absolute highlight was that at the end of the course, we spent a week doing ethnographic fieldwork in the “Oude Westen”, a neighborhood in Rotterdam.

After graduation, I want to use my anthropological skills in my future job. At this moment, I am in the process of applying for the waterboard (Waterschap) for my internship. If I get to work there, I would like to research (using an anthropological approach) how the waterboard and the inhabitants/ owners of a specific area can effectively work together on nature conservation."

Dr. Peter Berger is a cultural anthropologist specializing in Indian cultures and religions. Berger has been doing ethnographic research for many years in the state of Odisha in eastern India, on the societies of ‘adivasis’. He has lived with them for two years and studied them closely. He is now doing research there on the use of the crop millet.

"They are a marginalized population minority in India, of about 8%. The word 'minority' suggests a small group of people, but in the subcontinent of more than a billion people, everything is relative. This is an extremely diverse group of about 100 million people, spread across the country and with their own languages, cultures and religions. While living there, learning the language, and experiencing daily life, I noticed that food - although their culinary customs were very simple - was hugely important from a religious perspective. In fact, it is part of every important stage of life. For example, when a baby is born, they don't even consider it a person until after a ritual where it is symbolically fed a little rice and thereby grows into a person."

Dr. Berger teaches the course units Anthropology of Religion, Religion in South Asia, Rituals in Theory and Practice, and course units in the Anthropology minor.

Dr. Brenda Mathijssen conducts ethnographic research on death. She is curious about what cemeteries say about the individual and collective worldviews of the people who visit them. 

"I study how people deal with dying, death and mourning in contemporary Europe. Every human being has to confront death. Rituals - religious or otherwise - can help with this. Death is universal, but the way people deal with death is extremely diverse. What do contemporary practices and rituals around dying, death and mourning look like in Europe today? Together with colleagues, I am working on a book that charts this. Sustainable funeral practices, such as natural burial, are on the rise. Why do people choose these new forms of parting? What makes a funeral sustainable? What is sustainability anyway? And how does it affect how we deal with death and life? I'm doing research on that too."

Dr. Mathijssen teaches the course unit Rituals in Theory and Practice.

Dr. Jelle Wiering is a cultural anthropologist specializing in the topics of meaning, work, religion, sexuality and secularity. His research included pilgrims traveling to Santiago de Compostella, Buddhists meditating in Utrecht, and sexual health organizations. He is currently researching meaning at work. Among other things, by shoveling poop at a donkey sanctuary.

"I think a lot of jobs have to do with meaning. I wanted to explore this in a place where people are less in their heads and more physically engaged. Actually, I wanted to explore what the opposite of a bullshit job is. That term comes from anthropologist David Graeber who discovered in his research that more and more people perceive their jobs as useless. Does the ultimate job exist where people find meaning? For that, I wanted to go to a place where people don't come for the money - because then I could gain knowledge that could be useful for other jobs. That's how I ended up at a donkey sanctuary. Maybe meaning in your work is also about whether you are expendable. I am very expandable at my research site though, because I am not the most handy person. That's why I offer to do the dirty chores. Other people will appreciate that, because nobody likes stomping poop in the poop container. That's really rancid work."

Dr. Wiering teaches the course unit Religion, Diversity and Identity.

Dr. Bartelink is an anthropologist researching religious and cultural diversity in care and parenting (youth care, foster care, public health, religious organizations). She has conducted research in several countries in Africa, including Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa. She is a specialist in the field of religion and sexuality. Based on her research, she wrote policy recommendations to improve the sexual well-being of African migrants in the Netherlands.

"I conducted ethnographic research on sexual well-being, religion and cultural diversity from three perspectives: from the perspective of the individual experiences of people of African background in the Netherlands around health and sexual well-being, from the perspective of African churches and religious leaders in the Netherlands, and thirdly from the perspective of health organizations in the Netherlands. The research revealed that the approach of health organizations in the Netherlands does not adequately reflect how people of African descent in the Netherlands realize their sexual well-being. As an example, participants in our study often reported having little trust in health care and going more often to religious leaders when they have questions and problems related to sexual well-being. While religious leaders are not health experts, with support, they can provide people with the right information and refer them to professional help. Collaboration with religious leaders is therefore important."

Dr. Bartelink teaches the course unit Religion, Diversity and Identity.