Since 2017, I am Professor of Medical Humanities in the department of Culture Studies at Tilburg University. I have a background in physiotherapy (Deventer Academy Physiotherapy, 1986-1990), philosophical anthropology (University of Amsterdam, 1990-1995; Université Paris-Est Créteil, 1997-1998), and cultural analysis (PhD Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, 1996-2001).
After having obtained my PhD from the University in Amsterdam in 2001, I have been a post-doc researcher in the project "The Mediated Body" in the department Literature and Art at Maastricht University (2001-2006). From 2004 until 2010, I have been assistant professor in the philosophy department of Tilburg University. From 2010 until 2016, I held the position of associate professor in the department Health, Ethics and Society at Maastricht University, responsible for the VIDI research project on "Bodily Integrity in Blemished Bodies" and teaching students in the medical school.
My research focuses on the meaning of the body and embodiment in expression, art and in contemporary health care/medical practices. I am specialized in combing theoretical analysis with empirical qualitative/ethnographic research. Topics/themes/approaches for BA/MA theses which I supervise include:
Body; Body art; Bodily identity; Cultural analysis; Cultural representations of health and illness; Disability studies; Health and medicine; Identity; The Normal and the Abnormal; Phenomenology; Medical anthropology; New materialism; Science and technology studies (STS); Visual culture; Qualitative research
I am coordinator of the new Master track Health Humanities, which started in September 2019.
I teach the online course "Visual Culture and the Body" in the LAS BA program, major social sciences.
NWO-Vidi grant "Bodily Integrity in Blemished Bodies" (2010-2016)
NWO-Vici grant "Mind the Body: Rethinking Embodiment in Healthcare" (2017-2022)