Focusing on two major civil engineering projects—the Zuiderzee reclamation in the Netherlands and the Lawa railroad in the Dutch colony of Suriname— Borgesius’ dissertation examines the circulation of expert knowledge, practices and political agendas between the Netherlands and Suriname, and within the broader Dutch imperial sphere, in the period from 1870 to 1940.
The dissertation provides a wide-ranging exploration of its central concept of infrastructure, both as object and as a methodological focus. The central argument explores how “new land” (in the Netherlands) and “newly discovered land” (in Suriname) coemerged within the ambit of Dutch imperial technoscience. Moving back and forth between its two focal mega-projects, Borgesius examines these emergent forms of space and future across four domains; narratives of scientific exploration and expeditions; spatial imaginaries of surveying and mapping; the organization of labour in the construction phase; and disease control.
The argument combines approaches and methods from environmental history and science and technology studies (STS), and sources ranging from engineering journals and scientific maps, to correspondence and expedition narratives to explore a wide range of topics of importance in imperial and metropolitan settings—including race, class relations, environment, medicine, colonial science, infrastructure, labor and health practices.
Examining narratives of technological triumphalism, the dissertation offers a critique of the development of the history of Dutch water engineering that is quickly gaining international attention in times of raising sea levels. It shows (among other things) the colonial roots of the technological determinism that has long underpinned the field. The dissertation advances significant arguments around race and racialization, which contribute specifically in the Dutch context, where the question of race has been systematically overlooked in favour of a reading of topics such as water management as innocent stories of scientific and technological progress.
Leonoor Zuiderveen Borgesius successfully defended their dissertation on 20 June 2023.
Trial lecture
Designated topic: "Methodological challenges in the study of imperial infrastructure"
Evaluation committee
- Professor Pepijn Brandon , Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (first opponent)
- Associate Professor Suzanne Moon, University of Oklahoma (second opponent)
- Associate Professor Hugo Reinert, University of Oslo (committee administrator)
Chair of the defence
- Professor Einar Wigen
Supervisors
- Professor Helge Jordheim, University of Oslo
- Professor Liesbeth van de Grift, Utrecht University