Prof.dr.ir. Thea Hilhorst, professor of Humanitarian Studies at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) and prof. dr. Susanne Janssen, professor of sociology of media and culture at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication have been appointed members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW). Membership is for life and in the Netherlands it is considered a great tribute to a scientific career.
The KNAW elects a maximum of 16 new members each year. The Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences (KNAW) was founded in 1808 as an advisory body to the government, a task it still fulfills today. The KNAW is a place for discussion, the voice and the conscience of science in the Netherlands. Various scientists from Erasmus University Rotterdam are members of the KNAW. The new Academy members, including Thea Hilhorst and Susanne Janssen, will be installed later this year.
About Thea Hilhorst
Thea Hilhorst Professor of Humanitarian Studies (Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam), researches how humanitarian crises develop as a result of conflicts and disasters. She studies the impact of these crises on individuals, institutions, communities and societies, and the response they evoke. She excels as a scientist, and is equally committed to policy, practice and activism. She is regularly asked to advise international aid organizations. As a member of the KNAW, she brings the expertise needed to give researchers from crisis countries more access to the international scientific community.
About Susanne Janssen
Susanne Janssen, Professor of Sociology of Media and Culture (Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam) is a leading researcher in the field of media, culture and society with a great track record in international comparative research and multidisciplinary collaboration. Her research area covers diverse themes such as the impact of globalization and digitalization in the cultural sector, the role of intermediaries in the production and valuation of culture, cultural policy and societal change, and socio-cultural differences in media use and consumption. Janssen has led several large-scale international research projects and is now also head of a consortium in the European research program Horizon 2020. As founding dean for the field of media and communication at EUR, she developed the successful International Bachelor in Communication and Media (IBCoM) and the research master in Sociology of Culture, Media and the Arts.
