Research Clusters

Commodities, Labour and Environment

Projects in this cluster look at the consequences of commodity extraction, production, exchange and consumption and the consequences for labour and environment.

Commodities, Labour and Environment

Individual and Collective Action

How do people perceive their position and social inequality and how do they try to change their situation individually and collectively? Projects look at individual life courses, social mobility, collective action and the trade union movement.

Individual and Collective Action

Social and Economic Inequality

In this cluster we study various forms of social and economic inequality. Some projects address categorical /durable inequality in relation to labour relations, other projects study unequal regional demographic, economic and infrastructural developments.

Social and Economic Inequality

Fellow Rupsa Nag

30 June 2025 11:33

Rupsa Nag is a researcher and cultural worker from India, currently based in the Netherlands.

Fellow Thanya Fonkel

23 June 2025 14:26

Thanya D. Fonkel is an independent researcher from Suriname, with a particular focus on oral sources within Maroon communities.

Fellow: Javier Estupiñán

10 February 2025 14:35

Javier Estupiñán is an audiovisual artist from the Canary Islands whose artistic approach intertwines with his curatorial practices.

Fellow: Toluwanimi Owolana

10 February 2025 14:31

Toluwanimi Owolana is a Nigerian artifact biographer and researcher with seven years of experience designing engagement programs that promote Indigenous narratives and revitalize cultural heritage.

Individual and Household Strategies

3 April 2019 11:29

Social inequality can be slowed down or decreased by individual and collective strategies. In this project cluster the IISH studies two themes on individual and household strategies: Life Course Studies and Migration.