Starting the first of December, prof. dr. Geert van Hove is appointed as professor by special appointment in Disability Studies, at the VUmc Department of Medical Humanities and within the EMGO+ Institute.
With this endowed Chair, the foundation Disability Studies in The Netherlands (DSiN) and the VU University cooperate on the theme ‘disability’ as societal phenomenon, focusing on subjects such as participation, expertise and quality of life. An important objective of the Chair is to initiate the field of Disability Studies in The Netherlands, and to create and stimulate collaboration in research and education between research groups in VUmc and several VU departments. The Revalidatiefonds, Fonds Verstandelijk Gehandicapten, NSGK, MEE Nederland and Stichting SPZ also contributed to create this special Chair.
Prof.dr. Geert van Hove
Prof. dr. Geert van Hove has been professor in Disability Studies and ‘Inclusief Onderwijs’ at the University of Ghent, department of Special Education since 1993. In the 80’s he started several projects, as one of the first researchers in Belgium, for people with intellectual disabilities. As professor in Ghent, Van Hove is closely involved in families with children with an intellectual disability who choose ‘Inclusief Onderwijs’, and he is committed to the international empowerment movement called ‘Our New Future’. Together with a group of researchers Van Hove studies the balance between practice and science within the field of Disability Studies. Van Hove will combine his new appointment at the VU with his professorship in Ghent.
Disability Studies in The Netherlands
Disability Studies in The Netherlands (DSiN) strives to promote the research field of Disability Studies in The Netherlands. To achieve this, research and education are stimulated, and a knowledge network of committed people is created. By developing, sharing and applying knowledge, DSiN wants to achieve social change and wants to contribute to a growing participation and inclusion of people with disabilities.
About Medical Humanities
The VUmc department of Medical Humanities aims at contextualizing health and care in society, and thereafter providing insight in social processes, cultural patterns and normative questions within medicine and healthcare. Their research is embedded within the EMGO+ Institute’s research program Quality of Care.