BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:24556@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:Roots\, Ancestors\, DNA: What are we looking for? DTSTAMP:20260708T013522Z DTSTART:20260918T180000Z DESCRIPTION:DNA tests\, genealogical databases\, the Dutch TV show Spoorloo s\, roots travels\,\nfamily constellations\, the search for biological anc estors: a (marketed) mass\ninterest in ancestry and lineage has emerged in western worlds.\n\n“In all of us\, there is a hunger\, bone-marrow deep\, to know our heritage—to know\nwho we are and where we have come from. Wit hout this enriching knowledge\, there\nis a hollow yearning.”\n– Alex Hale y\n\nSince Alex Haley’s influential 1976 novel Roots\, America has seen th e rise of a\ngenealogical industry. Western Europe would later start to pi ck up on the\nfrenzy\, with TV shows such as the Dutch Spoorloos\, and the BBC’s Who do you\nthink you are?\, and particularly with the booming of D NA tests in the 21st\ncentury. Simultaneously\, the value of ancestors and biological lineage has been\naccentuated from a different perspective. St imulated by critical black studies\,\nindigenous studies\, and adoption st udies\, these voices bring to the fore the\ntrauma and impact of forcefull y broken (biological) family ties under\ncolonialism\, slavery\, and inter national adoption.\n\nBiological descent\, lineage\, and family trees are quite ambiguous issues. They\nalso carry connotations of biological determ inism\, racism\, and patriarchy. How\ncan racial notions of biological des cendance or nationalist belonging\, and\npatriarchal foundations of lineag e be critically distinguished from the longing\nfor reparation after separ ations from ancestors\, family\, or parents? And\, in the\ncase of LHBTQI histories\, how have symbolic ancestors done the work of rooting\nidentiti es in the past in the absence of biological lineage? In sum: What kind\nof relationships with the past are sought for\, and which ones are neglected or\nexcluded?\n\nSpeakers\n\nFrancesca Morgan teaches U.S. history at Nor theastern Illinois University in\nChicago. Her publications include her 20 21 book on American genealogy’s\npolitical dimensions\, entitled A Nation of Descendants\, and her earlier\nmonograph on hereditary organizations\, Women and Patriotism in Jim Crow America\n(2005).\n\nChiara Candaele is a postdoctoral researcher at NL-Lab\, KNAW. She specializes in\nstudying the historical intersections of children and colonialism. She wrote a\nPh.D. dissertation on the history of transnational adoption in postcolonial\nBel gium\, and is currently conducting research on institutional childcare in the\nDutch East Indies/Indonesia (1800-1980).\n\nAyşenur Korkmaz received her Ph.D. at the University of Amsterdam. Her research\nfocuses on the aft erlives of the Armenian genocide\, touching upon mass violence\,\ngenealog y\, and heritage studies. Korkmaz currently works at the Meertens\nInstitu te on an ERC-funded project\, where she focuses on Turkey’s immersive\nher itage spaces and the political imaginaries of neo-Ottomanism.\n\nMarijke H uisman is assistant professor of Public History in the Department of\nHist ory at Utrecht University\, interested in emancipatory uses of the past. S he\nrecently published Queer geschiedenis van Nederland. De strijd om een eigen\nverleden (2026). (A Queer History of the Netherlands. The Struggle around a\nHistory of Themselves).\n\nGeertje Mak (moderator) is Professor of Gender History and Senior Researcher at\nthe University of Amsterdam\, NL-Lab and KNAW. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/roots-ancestors-dna-what-are-we-looking -for GEO:52.3685931;4.8896879 LOCATION:SPUI25 - Spui 25-27\, 1012 WX Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-centrum,books,colonialism,gender,patriarchy,queer,spui X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

DNA tests, genealogical databases, the Dutc h TV show Spoorloos, roots travels, family constellations, the se arch for biological ancestors: a (marketed) mass interest in ancestry and lineage has emerged in western worlds.

“In all of us, there is a hunger, bone-marrow deep, to know our heritage—to know who we are an d where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a ho llow yearning.”
– Alex Haley

Since Alex Haley’s influential 197 6 novel Roots, America has seen the rise of a genealogical indust ry. Western Europe would later start to pick up on the frenzy, with TV sho ws such as the Dutch Spoorloos, and the BBC’s Who do you thin k you are?, and particularly with the booming of DNA tests in the 21s t century. Simultaneously, the value of ancestors and biological lineage h as been accentuated from a different perspective. Stimulated by critical b lack studies, indigenous studies, and adoption studies, these voices bring to the fore the trauma and impact of forcefully broken (biological) famil y ties under colonialism, slavery, and international adoption.

Biol ogical descent, lineage, and family trees are quite ambiguous issues. They also carry connotations of biological determinism, racism, and patriarchy . How can racial notions of biological descendance or nationalist belongin g, and patriarchal foundations of lineage be critically distinguished from the longing for reparation after separations from ancestors, family, or p arents? And, in the case of LHBTQI histories, how have symbolic ancestors done the work of rooting identities in the past in the absence of biologic al lineage? In sum: What kind of relationships with the past are sought fo r, and which ones are neglected or excluded?

Speakers

Francesca Morgan teaches U.S. histor y at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Her publications include her 2021 book on American genealogy’s political dimensions, entitled A Nation of Descendants, and her earlier monograph on hereditary orga nizations, Women and Patriotism in Jim Crow America (2005).

< p>Chiara Candaele is a postdoctoral researcher a t NL-Lab, KNAW. She specializes in studying the historical intersections o f children and colonialism. She wrote a Ph.D. dissertation on the history of transnational adoption in postcolonial Belgium, and is currently conduc ting research on institutional childcare in the Dutch East Indies/Indonesi a (1800-1980).

Ayşenur Korkmaz received h er Ph.D. at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on the after lives of the Armenian genocide, touching upon mass violence, genealogy, an d heritage studies. Korkmaz currently works at the Meertens Institute on a n ERC-funded project, where she focuses on Turkey’s immersive heritage spa ces and the political imaginaries of neo-Ottomanism.

Ma rijke Huisman is assistant professor of Public History in th e Department of History at Utrecht University, interested in emancipatory uses of the past. She recently published Queer geschiedenis van Nederl and. De strijd om een eigen verleden (2026). (A Queer History of the Netherlands. The Struggle around a History of Themselves).

Geertje Mak (moderator) is Professor of Gender History and Senior Researcher at the University of Amsterdam, NL-Lab and K NAW.

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