ABOUT:

I am a futures anthropologist, multimodal researcher and writer, working at the University of Amsterdam as a Senior Assistant Professor and at the Institute for Advanced Study as Lead Researcher of ‘Reimagining Science’. I hold a PhD in anthropology (2014, Cum Laude) and have a professional background in Futures Thinking. I am Editor-in-Chief of the Futures Reframed Journal, which has been acknowledged for its innovative structure, and I chair a scholar-led, international foundation that creates space for experimentation and innovation in the academic realm. I have authored ten books and over forty academic, peer‑reviewed articles. My work has received multiple grants and awards, including a €1.5 million grant from the European Research Council, a mid-size grant from the University of Amsterdam, and recognition from the Amsterdam University Fund, NWO, and the Next Nature Foundation. In 2025, I was awarded the Society for Humanity & Anthropology’s International Prize for Ethnographic Writing at the American Anthropological Association conference in New Orleans. For a complete list of my awards, grants, and publications, please see my online CV.

As a futures anthropologist, I think and write about societal transformations: How is human society changing, and is that change moving in the direction we desire? What are we gaining, what are we losing, and who benefits? Much of my research is carried out with people and beings whose voices are often sidelined in public debate and academic knowledge production – including Indigenous knowledge keepers, refugees, communities living with inequality and environmental degradation, and others without formal academic status in the Global North. I am particularly interested in aspects of social transformations that we may not yet understand or recognize – the blind spots and unacknowledged practices – but that nonetheless matter significantly. In fact, in my research projects, I find that they are often crucial for humanity.

Examples range from humanitarian practices conducted by aid workers and refugees in conflict settings that remain unregistered in formal evaluations, to the unheard voices of marginalized communities in the unfolding climate debate, to the ways in which humans perceive (or ignore) animal sentience and other forms of more‑than‑human life. They also include the human workload and ethical issues concealed by artificial intelligence systems, the deskilling that arises from our use of large language models, and the small yet crucial gestures – such as smiles, shoulder pats, jokes, and intuitive decision‑making – that nurses employ to alleviate suffering in hospitals.

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH & METHODS

I believe that science, as we have come to know it in our day and age, is one important way of grappling with questions about humanity, more‑than‑human life, and other aspects of reality. But it is not the only way, nor is it always the most helpful. Today, science faces significant challenges: academic communities can be exclusionary and elitist; publishing has become an expensive and political endeavour; and a culture of ‘fast work’ leaves little room for deep learning, contemplation, and writing. Dominant forms of science also tend to neglect alternative modes of knowledge production, including Indigenous knowledges and other non‑academic forms of wisdom.

I am particularly drawn to phenomena that many people feel or know to be real, but that are often dismissed in academic discourse: the deep intuition clinicians in my research rely on when treating patients; the ‘magic’ with which shamans and mediums I have worked with engage the world; and the experiences people describe as encounters with nature, Source, God, Love, or other names for a creative force that brings forth consciousness. At the same time, I am attentive to the many uncertainties and omissions that underlie what is presented as fact in academic journals, and to those aspects of reality that do not easily fit existing conceptual frameworks yet still matter.

REIMAGING SCIENCE: CO-CREATION & MULTIMODALITY

My response is not to abandon science, but to help remake it. I aim to contribute to a more humble, inclusive, and genuinely progressive practice of science that remains open to awe and that takes shape through artistic, co‑creative, and multimodal practices. In my work, artistic productions – including literature, photo exhibitions, theatre, and audio pieces – are not merely ways of presenting findings, but integral methods of inquiry and collaboration. This includes co‑authoring a book and co‑curating an art exhibition with Indigenous collaborators, creating a travelling photo exhibition with young people with refugee backgrounds, writing a novel with and about traumatized soldiers in conflict settings, and developing theatre pieces with animal rights advocates, and with doctors and nurses.

In all these projects, I am committed to developing research capacity beyond the university: working with people with and without formal academic training, in more and less privileged positions, and supporting them in conducting and publishing their own research. Through my editorial work and my experience with book and journal publishing, I support and mentor early‑career researchers and other writers in bringing their work to publication.