Francisca de Haan is a Dutch historian and writer who specializes in women's and gender history. From 2002 until 2022, she has taught at the

Central European University Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social science ...

, first in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and since 2020 located in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where she is now Professor Emerita of Gender Studies and History, as well as being a fellow at the

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figu ...

in Amsterdam. Her publications include ''A Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms: Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe, 19th and 20th Centuries'' (2006) and she is the founding editor of '' Aspasia: The International Yearbook of Central, Eastern and South Eastern European Women’s and Gender History'' (since 2007). From 2005 to 2010, de Haan was vice-president of the

International Federation for Research in Women's History The International Federation for Research in Women's History (IFRWH) is an international organisation whose aim is "to encourage and coordinate research in all aspects of women's history at international level...". It was founded in 1987. It is als ...

. Brought up in the Netherlands in a family which included several independent, unmarried teachers, De Haan aspired to become a teacher from an early age. She later developed an interest in history and in an academic career. After graduating as an M.A. at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

in 1985, she earned a doctorate in history from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in 1992. Her PhD thesis was awarded with a Study-Prize of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation and was published in English in 1998. With the notable exception of her book about the Dutch Jewish van Gelderen family (''Een eigen patroon. Geschiedenis van een joodse familie en haar bedrijven, ca. 1800-1964'', published in 2002), De Haan's work is devoted almost exclusively to the women's movement. These include a co-authored book about Elizabeth Fry and Josephine Butler in Britain and The Netherlands; a co-edited volume about women's activism; and another co-edited volume about Rosa Manus, in 1935 the founding president of the International Archives for the Women's Movement in Amsterdam (now called Atria), and a long-term vice-president of the International Alliance of Women. She has taken a special interest in the three most influential women's organizations in the Cold War years: the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., wit ...

, the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

and the

Women's International Democratic Federation Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international organization with the stated goal of working for women's rights. It was established in 1945 and was most active during the Cold War. It initially focussed on anti-fascism, worl ...

. In this connection, she has traced the development of interest in

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Selected works

*2017: ''Rosa Manus (1881-1942): The International Life and Legacy of a Jewish Dutch Feminist'' *2013: ''Women's Activism: Global Perspectives from the 1890s to the Present'' *2006: ''A Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms: Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe, 19th and 20th Centuries'' *1999: ''The Rise of Caring Power: Elizabeth Fry and Josephine Butler in Britain and the Netherlands'' *1998: ''Gender and the Politics of Office Work: The Netherlands 1860-1940''

References

External links

Faculty page at Central European UniversitySeven-minute video interview with Francisca de Haan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haan, Francisca de Living people 21st-century Dutch historians Dutch women historians Gender studies academics Dutch women writers Academic staff of Central European University Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni University of Amsterdam alumni Year of birth missing (living people)