Upcoming PhD defence of Anna Roodhof

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We are proud to share that Anna Roodhof of the Rural Sociology Group will be defending her PhD thesis entitled “Reclaiming economic viability through food forestry: Entanglements of discourse, governance, and practice”
 
When: Friday, 9 October at 15:30
Where: Omnia Auditorium, Wageningen Campus

𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁
This dissertation examines the economic viability of food forests in the Netherlands and the discursive and governance conditions through which such viability emerges. Food forestry – an agricultural practice that mimics forest ecosystem dynamics to integrate food production with ecological restoration – has become increasingly prevalent in the Global North. Despite its multifunctional logic, it is often evaluated through conventional economic frameworks that equate viability with financial profitability, positioning economic, ecological, and social value as separate and competing domains. Challenging this reductionist perspective, the dissertation develops a relational, multispecies, and more-than-monetary understanding of economic viability grounded in diverse economies thinking.

For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will also be livestreamed via: https://wur.yuja.com. A link will appear in the “Event” section approximately 5 minutes before the start of the ceremony.

ESRS 2027: European Society for Rural Sociology returns to Wageningen

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In 2027, the European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) celebrates its 70th anniversary — returning to Wageningen, where the Society’s story began.

We are proud that the Rural Sociology Group will host the 31st ESRS Congress, taking place from 5–9 July 2027. The congress will bring together scholars and practitioners from across Europe and beyond to reflect on the theme “Knowledge for Sustainable Futures: Rural Communities, Social Action and Democracy.”

The congress will explore questions around the knowledge that shapes rural futures, whose knowledge counts, how rural futures are negotiated and contested, and how rural research and social action can contribute to more just, sustainable and democratic futures.

The Call for Working Group Proposals is now open. We invite researchers and practitioners to contribute sessions that bring different perspectives, disciplines and experiences into conversation.

>> 5–9 July 2027 | Wageningen
>> Read the full Call for Working Group Proposals
>> Visit the ESRS 2027 website

Paul de Graaf successfully defends his PhD on urban agriculture and planning

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Yesterday, Paul de Graaf successfully defended his dissertation, “Trying the Impossible: Urban Agriculture as an Alternative Planning Reality.”

We are proud of how Paul connects his extensive experience with urban agriculture in Rotterdam to academic debates within and around the planning profession.

One of the challenging questions during the defence focused on the title: what exactly is ‘alternative’ to what has been explored? And isn’t planning, by nature, already ‘fuzzy’?

Paul explained how, in practice, he has seen an increasing number of Rotterdam planners experimenting with and stretching the boundaries of what has traditionally been possible within dominant rational planning approaches.

And when asked about his biggest surprise, Paul shared his admiration for the idealism he encountered among planners.

Thank you, Paul, for opening up the conversation about what might — and might not — be possible.

The Language of Learning: the place of English and indigenous languages in Kenyan education

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Christhe Vreugdenhil, a student in the Master’s programme International Development Studies (MID) at Wageningen University, conducted her thesis research in Kenya. In the text below, she discusses her research, experiences, and findings. A link to her thesis is provided below.

Colonial British administration in Kenya, though fought off in the 1960s, has had a lasting impact on Kenyan education and society. During colonialism, policies enforced the banishment or suppression of indigenous languages and the imposition of English as language of instruction (LOI). Despite formal independence, this is still a reality in many Kenyan classrooms today.

While language is a mode of communication and individual expression, it is also a carrier of culture, values and social connections (Osimen et al., 2025). Many young people in Kenya are thus in danger of losing more than just their mother tongue: identity, existential frameworks (Wa Thiongo’o, 1986), intellectual traditions and indigenous knowledge that is passed on generationally (Prah, 2017), family ties and traditional values (Obiero, 2008) are also in danger. Interestingly, by recent policy changes, indigenous languages should be a subject taught in school (KICD, 2017), but it is not clear whether and how this is being implemented.

That is why the research question of my thesis was: How does English as the language of instruction impact cultural identity formation and the integration of indigenous languages in Kenyan urban and rural classrooms? In my subquestions, I focussed on pedagogical strategies concerning the use of English vs. indigenous languages, the perceived relationship between English and cultural identity, and the different challenges that rural and urban schools face.

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Upcoming PhD Defence of Paul de Graaf

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We are proud to share that Paul de Graaf of the Rural Sociology Group will be defending his PhD thesis entitled “Trying the impossible. Urban agriculture as an alternative planning reality”.

📅 When: 14 September 2026 at 15:30
📍 Where: Omnia Auditorium, Wageningen Campus & online streaming

𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁
How can civic initiatives contribute to the spatial planning of the city? Reflecting on the rise and demise of the Rotterdam urban agriculture planning policy with planners and initiators, Paul de Graaf studied the planning processes surrounding the realisation of civic urban agriculture initiatives.

Focusing on the interaction between planners and initiators in these processes, the thesis shows that bottom-up initiatives can contribute to planning on different levels. They engage in an exchange of ideas with municipal planners and their departments that invokes innovative ways to plan and think of planning. However, this experimental ‘alternative planning reality’ exists parallel to regular municipal planning practice.

Persistent, structurally embedded ways of thinking in planning inhibit the transfer of lessons learnt to regular planning practice. A better understanding of the role and significance of civic initiatives in planning may reveal pathways toward a planning practice capable of addressing the challenges of our time in a complex and pluralistic society.

🔔 For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will also be livestreamed via: https://wur.yuja.com. A link will appear in the “Event” section approximately 5 minutes before the start of the ceremony.