Negotiating Statia in the classroom

Constitutional, religious and transnational belonging on the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius

RESEARCHER
Nicole Sanches
PhD candidate
Department of Cultural Anthropology
Utrecht University

N.Sanches@uu.nl
Academic profile

PROJECT SUPERVISORS
Prof. dr. Wil Pansters
Dr. ir. Yvon van der Pijl
Prof. dr. Monique Volman

w.g.pansters@uu.nl
Academic profile
+31 (0)30 2539821

y.vanderpijl@uu.nl
Academic profile
+31 (0)30 2534588

M.L.L.Volman@uva.nl
Academic profile
+31 (0)205251526


  

The classroom teaches children to make sense of the world around them and how to relate to it. How does the youth of Sint Eustatius make sense of the constitutional changes that have been taking place since 10-10-10? And how do they deal with changes in their society in pragmatic and less pragmatic ways? Together with some of Statia’s youth I will explore different ways of what it means to belong in today’s reality of Sint Eustatius.
 
Taking the classroom as a looking glass, this project aims to contribute to an understanding of contemporary notions of belonging and creative imaginations of homeness. The research seeks to learn about and engage with constitutional, religious and transnational perspectives on belonging on the island Sint Eustatius as part of the Dutch Kingdom.
 
By working together with youth and playing with video, photography and arts as a means to think critically, I aim to echo how young people define coexistence and navigate through spaces of contestation.