Reconstructed farms and the cultural aspects of tradition, modernisation and World War II

Short description:

The PhD project focuses on the relationship between tradition and modernisation in the context of reconstructing farmhouses in the Netherlands that were destroyed during World War II, and of how the generations perceived, and still perceive, that area of conflict. How did the tense relationship between modernisation and tradition develop? What forces were at work, and what shape did they take? How was the tension perceived by those directly affected by it? How were and are these experiences passed on to the next generation, and how do the generations’ perceptions change? To what extent and how are the tensions between tradition and modernisation that arose in reconstructing the destroyed farmhouses directly ascribed to World War II and the often traumatic experiences of loss and destruction?
The project’s approach is both historical and ethnological in nature and touches upon architectural history, agricultural history and heritage studies.