معرفی
Prof. Dr. Ismee Tames serves as Special Professor at Utrecht University's Department of History and Art History within the Humanities faculty. She holds the special chair 1940-1945 Foundation: History and Meaning of Resistance against Oppression and Persecution, established in 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1940-1945 Foundation. Concurrently, she works as a senior researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, where she has also held positions as program leader and research director.
Dr. Tames earned her degrees in History and Political Science from the University of Amsterdam. Her academic journey includes work as a socio-economic researcher at NYFER (Forum for Economic Research), specializing in urban economics and social cohesion issues, before completing her PhD at the Amsterdam University Institute for German Studies (DIA) in 2006 with a dissertation on War, Neutrality and Identity in Dutch public debate during the First World War.
Tames' research focuses on the consequences of war and occupation for societies, the experience of war, processes of inclusion and exclusion, people's behavior and choices in times of war, and the role of expectations and experiences. Her work often examines resistance movements, persecution, and the long-term societal impacts of conflict. She has developed a distinctive approach that combines political history with social history perspectives, particularly examining how ordinary people navigate extraordinary circumstances during wartime.
Her publication record shows a clear trajectory from studying Dutch neutrality in WWI to examining resistance movements in WWII and their aftermath, culminating in her current work on transnational resistance and stateless people with Nansen passports. This evolution demonstrates her expanding scope from national to international and transnational historical frameworks, with increasing attention to global contexts of war and displacement.
At Utrecht University, Professor Tames is involved in teaching the History of Politics and Society Master's program and offers courses including Research Lab II. Her extensive speaking engagements (over 15 invited talks in 2017 alone) demonstrate her active role in the academic community and her expertise in war history, resistance movements, and post-conflict society.
Her research is closely tied to the mission of the 1940-1945 Foundation, which was established during WWII to support disabled resistance fighters and families of deceased resistance fighters. The foundation continues to help victims of persecution and civilian war victims, while the chair established in its name aims to maintain and disseminate its philosophy through academic research and public awareness initiatives.
