I am a historian and sociologist, combining academic research and public history projects.
I speak, write and teach about the history of history-writing, the history of science and humanities, and contemporary uses of the past.
Live podcast en signeersessie 'Wetenschap is geen wedstrijd', Antwerp EXPO, VBK Hal 1, 11 November 2026
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Live podcast en signeersessie 'Wetenschap is geen wedstrijd'
011 November 2026
see them all →written for everyone
It is time to end the idea of the ‘Early Career Researcher’
University World News · 2026
see them all →
Wetenschap is geen wedstrijd
Marie-Gabrielle Verbergt
historian and sociologist · Gent
new book · out now
Wetenschap is geen wedstrijd
Hoe we onderzoek financieren en waarom dat niet werkt
On how competition for scarce funding shaped science over the past century — and how research could be organised differently, based on collaboration, trust and principles of 'commoning'.
order at Houtekiet → edit this text
news
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Lecture series “The Politics of Historicization”
With the Ghent Center for Meta- and Public History, we are organising a reading group and lecture series on what it means to ‘historicize’ — to treat a phenomenon as ‘historical’.
Unsplash
✎History, agency, competitive funding
Article out in Quaderni Storici, which opens their new section on the impact of research policy on historians.
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Call for Abstracts “Histories of Scholarly Evaluation in the Sciences and Humanities”
Workshop to be held in Leuven, 27–29 September 2026. Deadline for abstracts on 31 January 2026.
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Special Issue on the History of Peer Review in the Humanities
Six articles and an introduction on the past and present of peer review in the humanities in Minerva, edited together with Sjang ten Hagen.
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Apache interview “Wetenschappelijke vrijheid gaat ook over geld”
Interviewed by two investigative journalists from Apache magazine about the rise of innovation consultancy in academia.
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Dissertation review
Review of The Price of History in the Yearbook for the History of Intellectual Culture.
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CAT Group “Freedom to Research”
Received a grant for a new CAT network on changing funding regimes and academic freedom, supported by the Network of European Institutes for Advanced Study.
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The Europeanisation of Universities
Job alert: briefly joining “The Europeanisation of Universities” project of Johan Östling at Lund University, February–July 2025.
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Descartes Fellowship in Utrecht
Received a Descartes Fellowship to join the Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and Humanities and work with Sjang ten Hagen, November–December 2024.
Unsplash
✎FWO Junior Postdoc Fellow 2024
A project on the history of peer review in the European humanities was selected by the Flemish Research Council (FWO) for funding.
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University budget cuts in the Netherlands
A piece for the Belgian public about the Dutch budget cuts in the higher education sector. International awareness and solidarity are much needed here.
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Wonderkamer 10
Essay (in Dutch) for the latest edition of Wonderkamer about scholarly vices — on research funding, grant consultants and greed. Order here.
Knack, “Jong talent”, by Elisa Hulstaert
✎Research featured in Knack
My research on the history of research funding was featured in the Belgian weekly magazine Knack.
Vlaamse PhD Cup
✎Vlaamse PhD Cup
The Vlaamse PhD Cup is a science communication competition for young doctors to share their work with a broad public. I am one of the 16 participants in the 2024 edition.
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The Price of History
After five and a half years in the making, I defended my dissertation on the history of research funding in June 2024.
Svenska Dagbladet, 14 August 2024
✎PhD in Svenska Dagbladet
My dissertation was reviewed in Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden’s second biggest newspaper. Read (in Swedish) here.
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Eos blog: Wie betaalt de rekening?
Eos Wetenschap is an independent and critical magazine about science for the broader public. I wrote a piece for them (in Dutch) on scientists and their money.
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Claiming the People’s Past
Together with Berber Bevernage, Eline Mestdagh and Walderez Ramalho, I edited a volume about the way populist parties and leaders engage with the past. Find it on Cambridge University’s website.
Fresh Faces
✎Fresh Faces database
Selected as a young expert by Fameus to be part of their Fresh Faces database. Find me and the others here.
