Lecture by Maika de Keyzer

Abstract:

In disaster studies, it has become common to acknowledge that disasters and hazards are not merely natural phenomena. Natural events and hazards can only become a disaster when the societies affected are vulnerable.  The main question, therefore, has become: what type of societies are vulnerable, and what are the root causes of that vulnerability? In three of the most renown works on vulnerability and disasters in the 20th century, peasant communities have figured prominently on the most vulnerable list. In this article we want to make a clear distinction between the two most important groups within rural societies: farmers and peasants. Farmers were oriented and dependent on the market.  “Peasants were primarily small-scale agricultural producers, who controlled the means of production and who used these means directly to provide for their subsistence or use. Their productive activity generally was based around the household unit of immediate family and servants, supplemented by hired labour at key points in the agricultural calendar. Their activities were integrated into the market economy (even if production for the market was not the main goal) but not dependent on markets”.

Bio:

Maïka De Keyzer obtained her PhD in 2014 at the University of Antwerp with a dissertation on late medieval commons, sustainability, and inclusiveness. Her research deals with both economic, social and ecological history of the premodern period. Via an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, Maïka De Keyzer analyses the causes and consequences of welfare, inequality, social resilience and collective action. Currently, her main focus is the study of the impact of different societal models on general welfare levels in the premodern period.

IISH Seminar: This lecture is part of the monthly IISH Seminar series. In principle, seminars take place every first Tuesday of the month. The seminar is open to the public online only. For the Zoom link please contact  jacqueline.rutte@bb.huc.knaw.nl.

Zoom link for the lecture: https://zoom.us/j/94713243250?pwd=WERzbXlaeEJpYjVxRjJoUFQ2UEN5QT09

Meeting ID: 947 1324 3250

Passcode: 769333