Personal profile

Research interests

Maarten Van Dijck (1980) is associate professor in history and theory of the social sciences at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. His teaching concerns the theories and methodologies used in historical and social research. Maarten is specialised in urban history from long-term perspective. His PhD research dealt with the complex relation between criminalization, urbanization and behavior changes in the urban societies of the Low Countries during the late medieval and early modern period. This thesis claims that urban growth in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries caused the decline of interpersonal violence in Europe. Homcide rates tend to be lower in larger cities, especially after 1500. He also studied the evolution of democracy, civil societies and public spheres in the Low Countries during the late medieval and the early modern period. A third research line deals with the unequal distribution of social resources in the Low Countries during the early modern period. 

Maarten's research makes use of concepts from the social sciences to understand long-term historical developments such as the rise of democratic societies. Methodologically, he makes use of digital humanities techniques in his research such as GIS and Social Network Analysis.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

ERMeCHS research clusters

  • GFCP - Global futures, Colonial Pasts
  • Hum-Andr010d - Research in Digital Humanities

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