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Stengs, prof. dr. I.L. (Irene)

Guest Researcher NL-Lab

E-mail:

irene.stengs@meertens.knaw.nl

Telephone:

020 4628 564

Research group

NL-Lab

Biography

Irene Stengs (b. 1959) is Guest Researcher at NL-Lab. Before her retirement in January 2026, she was Senior Ethnology Researcher at the Meertens Institute and an endowed professor of the Anthropology of Ritual and Popular Culture at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She studied Cultural Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam and received her PhD in 2003 for a study on the worship of the monarchy in Thailand. Her current research in both the Netherlands and Thailand focuses in particular on popular religiousness, material culture, the dynamics of contemporary commemorative culture and the relationship between heritage making, identity politics and emotions. Central to this is the social significance of rituals, especially at times of crisis. The coronavirus pandemic, which saw many rituals unable to take place and new rituals emerge at the same time, once again highlighted the extent to which social and personal existence are constantly interwoven with rituals on many different levels – a dimension that, under normal circumstances, largely goes unnoticed.

Stengs was Principal Investigator of the international Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) research project HERILIGION, which focused on the Heritagisation of religion and sacralisation of heritage in Europe (2016-2020). She is team leader of the Ethnology research group.

Key publications

Worshipping the Great Modernizer. King Chulalongkorn, Patron Saint of the Thai Middle Class (NUS/WUP 2009).
Gepopulairiseerde cultuur, ritueel en het maken van erfgoed. Inaugural speech on accepting endowed professorship (available to download here), 9 November 2018, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
The Secular Sacred. Emotions of Belonging and the Perils of Nation and Religion (Palgrave 2020, co-editors Markus Balkenhol, Ernst v.d. Hemel).
Managing Sacralities. Competing and Converging Claims of Religious Heritage (Berghahn 2022), co-editors Ernst v.d. Hemel, Oscar Salemink).
‘Branching into Heritage. The Genesis of the Anne Frank Tree and its Multiplications’ (2023) Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 29(2), 2023: 363–382.

2025

Jethro, D. & Stengs, I. L. (2025). Introduction: Unlocking Contentious Heritage Matters: Moral economies and the commodification of traumatic heritage. Heritage & Society, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/2159032X.2025.2581322

2024

Stengs, I. L. (2024). The material heritage of ‘The Wild Boars Cave Rescue’: A case-study of emotions and sacralization in present-day Thailand. Religions, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030258

Stengs, I. L. (2024). Van traditie naar immaterieel cultureel erfgoed: De toegevoegde waarde van een erfgoedlabel. Boekman, tijdschrift voor kunst, cultuur en beleid , 139, 26-31.

2012

Stengs, I. L. (2012). Bermmonumenten. Nieuwe rouwcultuur in de openbare ruimte. Handelingen: tijdschrift voor praktische theologie en religiewetenschap, 66-73.

Cornips, L. de Rooij, V. & Stengs, I. L. (2012). Carnavalesk taalgebruik en de constructie van lokale identiteiten. Een pleidooi voor taalcultuur als onderzoeksveld. Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 15-40. https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.1.1.04cor

Stengs, I. L. (2012). Gedenken op de plek des onheils: bermmonumenten als materiële uitdrukking van veranderende rouwcultuur. Volkskunde, 263-281.

Stengs, I. L. (2012). Sacred Singularities: Crafting Royal Images in Present-Day Thailand. The Journal of Modern Craft, 5((1)), 51-68. https://doi.org/10.2752/174967812X13287914145479

2011

Stengs, I. L. (2011). Imitation, Contestation and Competition. Authentication Strategies in Media-driven Society. Etnofoor, 23(1), 200-204.

2010

Stengs, I. L. (2010). 'Echt Andre'. Belichaming en beleving van ruige authenticiteit onder Andre Hazesfans. Sociologie, 6((2)), 50-70.

Cornips, L. & Stengs, I. L. (2010). Regionale identiteit: het belang van het lokale voor de beleving van wie we zijn. Idee: wetenschappelijk tijdschrift D'66, 31(5), 10-13.

2009

Stengs, I. L. (2009). Death and Disposal of the People's Singer. The body and bodily practices in commemorative ritual. Mortality, 14(2), 102-118.

Stengs, I. L. (2009). Dutch Mourning Politics. The Theo van Gogh Memorial Space. Quotidian: Journal for the Study of Everyday Life, 1(1).

2008

Stengs, I. L. (2008). Modern Thai Encounters with the Sublime. The Powerful Presence of a Great King of Siam through his Portraits. Material Religion, 4((2)), 160-171. https://doi.org/10.2752/175183408X328280

2006

van Ginkel, R. & Stengs, I. L. (2006). An Outsider Looking in: Jeremy Boissevain. Etnofoor, 18(2), 47-66.

2003

Stengs, I. L. (2003). Ephemeral Memorials against 'Senseless Violence'; Materialisations of Public Outcry. Etnofoor, 16(2), 36-52.

2021

Stengs, I. L. (2021). Boekbespreking Denken over herdenken: een nieuwe kijk op oorlogsmonumenten. Boekmancahier, 33(128), 59-60.

2026

Stengs, I. L. (Accepted/In press). Colours of Transition: Thailand's Ritual Royalism under the New Reign. In D. Young, & P. Oakley (Eds.), Making and Materials: An Anthropology of Colours Sean Kingston Publishing.

2023

van den Hemel, E. & Stengs, I. L. (2023). Postsecular Meaning-Making? Why Contestations about Heritagised Church Buildings Matter in the Study of Society. In T. Weir, & L. Wijnia (Eds.), Handbook of Religion and Heritage: : Scholarship and Practice in Contemporary Europe. Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350251410.ch-031

van den Hemel, E. & Stengs, I. L. (2023). Pre-enacting The Passion: Restaging Religious Heritage, Producing Unruly Audiences. In F. de Jong, & J. Mapril (Eds.), The Future of Religious Heritage: Entangled Temporalities of the Sacred and the Secular (pp. 186-205). Routledge.

2022

van den Hemel, E. Salemink, O. & Stengs, I. L. (2022). Introduction: Management of Religion, Sacralisation of Heritage. In E. van den Hemel, O. Salemink, & I. Stengs (Eds.), Managing Sacralities at Religious Heritage Sites in Contemporary Europe (pp. 1-21). Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.3167/9781800736177

Stengs, I. L. (2022). Oneiric Encounters: Materializations of the Invisible Present in Northern Thailand. In B. Brac de la Perrière, & P. Jackson (Eds.), Spirit possession in Buddhist Southeast Asia : Worlds Ever More Enchanted (pp. 232-252). NIAS Press.

2021

Stengs, I. L. (2021). Crisisrituelen/rituelencrisis: Ritueel in tijden van corona. In M. van Oostendorp, & S. Wolff (Eds.), Viraal Nederland: Taal en cultuur van de eerste golf (pp. 82-94). Uitgeverij Sterck & De Vreese.

Stengs, I. L. (2021). De gouden koets: Bewegend erfgoed in koninklijk ritueel. In De gouden koets (pp. 102-116). WBOOKS.

Stengs, I. L. & Beets, M. (2021). Hart voor lief en leed. In Viraal Nederland: Taal en cultuur van de eerste golf (pp. 104-129). Uitgeverij Sterck & De Vreese.

van Oostendorp, M. & Stengs, I. L. (2021). Meertensonderzoek in tijden van corona. In M. van Oostendorp, & S. Wolff (Eds.), Viraal Nederland: Taal en cultuur van de eerste golf (pp. 7-13). Uitgeverij Sterck & De Vreese.

Stengs, I. L. (2021). Publieke rouw, heilig afval en het erfgoed van de toekomst. In Rouw: Van keizerin tot Corona (pp. 62-69). Museum Huis Doorn.

Stengs, I. L. (2021). The Golden Coach: Royal ritual and heritage in motion. In The Golden Coach (pp. 102-116). WBOOKS.

2020

Stengs, I. L. (2020). Dramatising Siamese Independence: Thai Postcolonial Perspectives on Kingship. In R. Aldrich, & C. McCreery (Eds.), Monarchies and Decolonization in Asia Manchester University Press. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526142702.00020

Stengs, I. L. Balkenhol, M. & van den Hemel, E. (2020). Emotional Entanglements of Sacrality and Secularity: Engaging the Paradox. In I. Stengs, M. Balkenhol, & E. van den Hemel (Eds.), The Secular Sacred: Emotions of Belonging and the Perils of Nation and Religion (pp. 1-18). (Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series). Palgrave Macmillan.

Stengs, I. L. (2020). United in Competitive Mourning: Commemorative Spectacle in Tribute to King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. In M. Balkenhol, E. van den Hemel, & I. Stengs (Eds.), The Secular Sacred: Emotions of Belonging and the Perils of Nation and Religion (pp. 263-284). (Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series). Palgrave Macmillan.

2018

Stengs, I. L. (2018). Ascertaining the Future Memory of Our Time: Dutch Institutions Collecting Relics of National Tragedy. In B. Meyer, & M. Van de Port (Eds.), Sense and Essence: Heritage and the Cultural Construction of the Real Berghahn Books.

Stengs, I. L. (2018). Peripheral Performances: The Languagecultural Practices of Dutch-Limburgian World Star André Rieu. In L. Cornips, & V. de Rooij (Eds.), The Sociolinguistics of Place and Belonging: Perspectives from the Margins (pp. 149-176). (Impact: Studies in Language and Society). John Benjamins Publishing.

Stengs, I. L. (2018). Popular music and commemorative ritual: a material approach. In S. Baker, C. Strong, L. Istvandity, & Z. Cantillon (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Popular Music History and Heritage Routledge.

2017

Stengs, I. L. (2017). Commemorative Ritual and the Power of Place. In J. Gordon-Lennox (Ed.), Emerging Ritual in Secular Societies: A transdisciplinary conversation (pp. 188-202). Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

2016

Cornips, L. M. E. A. de Rooij, V. Stengs, I. L. & Thissen, L. (2016). Dialect and local media: Reproducing the multi-dialectal hierarchical space in Limburg (the Netherlands). In J. Thøgersen, N. Coupland, & J. Mortensen (Eds.), Style, Media and Language Ideologies (pp. 189-216). Novus Press.

2015

Stengs, I. L. (2015). The Afterlife of the People's Singer: Bodily Matters in a Dutch Sing-along Culture. In C. Strong, & B. Lebrun (Eds.), Death and the Rock Star (pp. 17-32). Ashgate Publishing Ltd..

2013

Stengs, I. L. (2013). Symmetrie in de Nederlandse Vensterbank. In NL / Bert Verhoeff (pp. 104-107). Lecturis.

2012

Stengs, I. L. (2012). Giving Public Space a Face: The Agency of Monuments and Portraits, Thailand and the Netherlands compared. In Devising Order. Socio-religious Models, Rituals, and the Performativity of Practice. B.Boute & T. Småberg (Ed.) (Vol. 60, pp. 61-80). (Religious History and Culture Series). Brill.

Stengs, I. L. (2012). Inleiding. Nieuwe Nederlandsheid in feest en ritueel. In I. L. Stengs (Ed.), Nieuw in Nederland. Feesten en rituelen in verandering (pp. 9-25). Amsterdam University Press.

Stengs, I. L. (2012). Portraits that Matter: King Chulalongkorn Objects and the Sacred World of Thai-ness. In D. Houtman, & B. Meyer (Eds.), Things. Religion and the Question of Materiality (pp. 137-150). Fordham University Press.

Stengs, I. L. (2012). Thais nieuwjaar in Waalwijk. Viering van de Thaise eigenheid in een Nederlands-Europese context. In I. L. Stengs (Ed.), Nieuw in Nederland. Feesten en rituelen in verandering (pp. 133-142). Amsterdam University Press.

2011

Stengs, I. L. (2011). Ephemeral Memorials: Commemorative Rituals upon Violent Death in the Public Domain II: The Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh Memorial Sites. In P. Post, A. L. Meulendijk, & J. E. A. Kroesen (Eds.), Sacred Places in Modern Western Culture (pp. 247-252). Peeters Publishers.

Stengs, I. L. (2011). Ephemeral Memorials: Commemorative Rituals upon Violent Death in the Public Domain I: the Case of Anja Joos. In P. Post, A. L. Meulendijk, & J. E. A. Kroesen (Eds.), Sacred Places in Modern Western Culture (pp. 241-246). Peeters Publishers.

Stengs, I. L. (2011). Farewell to a Dutch Singer: Stadium Death Celebrations - Tokens of Our Time. In P. Post, A. L. Molendijk, & J. E. A. Kroesen (Eds.), Sacred Places in Modern Western Culture (pp. 223-226). Peeters Publishers.

Stengs, I. L. (2011). Hedendaagse rituelen in de Nederlandse samenleving. In ID: Dansen met de blik naar buiten Internationaal Danstheater.

Stengs, I. L. (2011). Ritual Mediations of Violent Death: An Ethnography of the Theo van Gogh Memorial Site, Amsterdam. In P. J. Margry, & C. Sanchez (Eds.), Grassroots Memorials. The Politics of Memorializing Traumatic Death Berghahn Books.

Stengs, I. L. (2011). Ritueel, spiegel van de veranderende samenleving. In P. Schnabel et al (Ed.), Wat iedereen moet weten van de menswetenschappen. De gammacanon (pp. 66-69). J.M. Meulenhoff.

2010

Stengs, I. L. (2010). Public Practices of Commemorative Mourning: Ritualized Space. Politicized Space, Mediated Space (Three cases from the Netherlands). In P. Post, & A. L. Molendijk (Eds.), In: Holy ground: Reinventing Ritual Space in Modern Western Culture (pp. 119-143). Peeters Publishers.

2009

Stengs, I. L. (2009). Spontaneous Shrines. In C. D. Bryant, & D. L. Peck (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience (pp. 892-895). SAGE Publications.

2008

Stengs, I. L. (2008). Kinderverjaardagen in Nederland. In Er is er een jarig. Fotoboek van Anneke Hilhorst (pp. 111-119). Uitgeverij Veerhuis.

2007

Stengs, I. L. (2007). Commemorating Victims of 'Senseless Violence": Negotiating Ethnic Inclusion and Exclusion. In P. Margry, & H. Roodenburg (Eds.), Reframing Dutch Culture. Between Otherness and AuthenticiTY (pp. 159-179). Ashgate Publishing Ltd..

Stengs, I. L. (2007). Dance Events: Ritual, Sensory Experience and Commerce. An Ethnographic Approach to Dance Culture. In C. Aitchison, & A. Pritchard (Eds.), Festivals and Events: Culture and IdentiTY in Leisure, Sport and Tourism. (Vol. LSA Publication No. pp. 55-66). University of Brighton.

Stengs, I. L. (2007). Intercultureel Intermezzo. In F. Guadeloupe, & V. de Rooij (Eds.), Zo zijn onze manieren. Visies op multiculturaliteit in Nederland. (pp. 125-130). Rozenberg Publishers.

Stengs, I. L. (2007). The Sensation of Dance Events: Ritual and Sensory Experience. In R. van Ginkel, & A. Strating (Eds.), Wildness & Sensation. Anthropology of Sinister and Sensuous Realms (pp. 236-253). Het Spinhuis.

2005

Stengs, I. L. (2005). Presence of the King: The Vitality of the Image of King Chulalongkorn for Modern Urban Thailand. In J.. Hopgood (Ed.), The Making of Saints. Contesting Sacred Ground (pp. 42-58). The University of Alabama Press.

Stengs, I. L. (2005). The commodification of King Chulalongkorn: His portraits, their cultural biographies, and the enduring aura of a Great King of Siam. In W. van Binsbergen, & P. Geschiere (Eds.), Commodification, Things, Agency and Identities (The Social Life of Things revisited) (pp. 301-318). LIT Verlag.

2007

ten Brummelhuis, H. & Stengs, I. L. (2007). Thai-Dutch Interactions in the Thai CommuniTY. In D. na Pombejra, H. ten Brummelhuis, & N. Chutiwongs (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium "Crossroads of Thai and Dutch History", on the occasion of the 400 years of relations between Thailand and the Netherlands, National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden 9-11 September, 2004 SEAMEO SPAFA.

2022

Stengs, I. L. (2022). “The Netherlands Meat Land” Campaign: Towards an Ethnography of Meat. https://standplaatswereld.nl/the-netherlands-meat-land-campaign-towards-an-ethnography-of-meat/

2020

Stengs, I. L. (2020). De dag die je weet dat gaat komen: Ritueel in tijden van Corona. http://standplaatswereld.nl/de-dag-die-je-weet-dat-gaat-komen-ritueel-in-tijden-van-corona/

2019

Stengs, I. L. (2019). Braderie op de Dam. http://standplaatswereld.nl/braderie-op-de-dam/

Stengs, I. L. (2019). Yellow fragmentation. http://standplaatswereld.nl/yellow-fragmentation/

2018

Stengs, I. L. (2018). De Huishoudbeurs: de grootste braderie van Nederland. http://standplaatswereld.nl/2018/02/28/de-huishoudbeurs-de-grootste-braderie-van-nederland/

Stengs, I. L. (2018). Nederland houdt van gewoon. http://standplaatswereld.nl/2018/04/05/nederland-houdt-van-gewoon/

2010

Stengs, I. L. (2010). Rituelen, spiegel van de veranderende samenleving op www.standplaatswereld.nl. http://standplaatswereld.nl/2010/03/10/ritueel-spiegel-van-de-veranderende-samenleving/

2025

Stengs, I. L. (2025). Lixo sagrado. Debates do NER. https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-8136.150453

Stengs, I. L. (2025). Lixo sagrado : breve resposta. Debates do NER. https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-8136.151247

Jethro, D. & Stengs, I. L. (Accepted/In press). Unlocking Contentious Heritage Matters: Moral economies and the commodification of traumatic heritage. Heritage & Society.

Jethro, D. & Stengs, I. L. (2025). Unlocking Contentious Heritage Matters: Moral economies and the commodification of traumatic heritage. Heritage & Society, 18(3).

2018

Stengs, I. L. (2018). Gepopulariseerde cultuur, ritueel en het maken van erfgoed.

2015

Stengs, I. L. (2015). Het fenomeen Hazes: Een venster op Nederland. (Nieuwjaarsboekje Meertens Instituut). Amsterdam University Press.

2009

Stengs, I. L. (2009). Worshipping the Great Moderniser. King Chulalongkorn, Patron Saint of the Thai Middle Class. NUS Press/University of Washington Press.

2002

Stengs, I. L. (2002). Worshipping the Great Moderniser. The cult of King Chulalongkorn, patron saint of the Thai middle class. (Dissertatie, UvA, Culturele antropologie.). In eigen beheer uitgegeven.

2022

van den Hemel, E. Salemink, O. & Stengs, I. L. (Eds.) (2022). Managing Sacralities: Competing and Converging Claims of Religious Heritage. Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.3167/9781800736177

2020

Stengs, I. L. Balkenhol, M. & van den Hemel, E. (Eds.) (2020). The Secular Sacred: Emotions of Belonging and the Perils of Nation and Religion. (Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series). Palgrave Macmillan.

2019

Stengs, I. L. & van den Hemel, E. (Eds.) (2019). HERILIGION: Heritagization of Religion and the Sacralization of Heritage in Contemporary Europe. Meertens Instituut. http://heriligion.eu/ebook/

2012

Stengs, I. L. (Ed.) (2012). Nieuw in Nederland. Feesten en rituelen in verandering. Amsterdam University Press.

2025

I.L. Stengs (2025). Views from above, views from belowThe emotional politics ofnon-military drone practices.. 21-11-2025. (ACAS - Annual Conference of Asian Studies)

I.L. Stengs (2025). Amsterdam arboreal heritage. Rooted imaginations of history and identity. 07-11-2025. (NGG Religion/Imagination)

I.L. Stengs (2025). Tree remembrance, remains and relics: Present-day arboreal engagements in Amsterdam. 12-09-2025. (The Art-Heritage-Religion Nexus:
Global Comparisons)

I.L. Stengs (2025). Sacred Mediators: Processes of Sacralization in present-day engagements with trees. 28-08-2025. (EASR -European Association for the Study of Religions 2025)

I.L. Stengs (2025). Gastcollege research master antropologie van religie. 26-03-2025.

I.L. Stengs (2025). Gastcollege Sacralisering. 13-03-2025.

2024

I.L. Stengs (2024). What to do with Sacred Waste? Some Conceptual, Methodological and Practical Considerations. 31-10-2024.

I.L. Stengs (2024). Arboreal Frends. Trees, rituals and emotions, an Amsterdam case-study. 22-08-2024. (EASR -European Association for the Study of Religions)

2023

I.L. Stengs (2023). The Materialization of ‘The Wild Boars Cave Rescue. 22-06-2023. (Material Secularities)

I.L. Stengs (2023). Religious heritage and communal identities. 25-05-2023. (Masterclass UNESCO and the politics of religious heritage)

I.L. Stengs (2023). Ritual matters: what we may learn from a material culture approach in the study of society.. 24-01-2023. (Workshop: Happy Project Bhutan visits the Meertens Institute)

2022

I.L. Stengs (2022). The Making of Religious Heritage. Diverging Sacralities in Contemporary Europe. 10-11-2022. (Religious Heritage and Change in the North)

I.L. Stengs (2022). Branching into Heritage. The Genesis of the Anne Frank Tree and its Multiplications. 02-05-2022.

I.L. Stengs (2022). (In)visibility of Sacred Waste: Asian Perspectives. 11-03-2022. (Roundtable. (In)visibility of Sacred Waste: Asian Perspectives)

2021

I.L. Stengs (2021). Secular Sacreds: Religious Heritage and the Perils of Nation and Religion. 05-11-2021. (Religion and Heritage: Futures for Religious Pasts)

I.L. Stengs (2021). The Cute and The Grim: Aesthetics of Fantasy in Thailand’s Protests for Democracy. 08-09-2021. (11th EuroSEAS Conference)

2020

I.L. Stengs (2020). Thanksgiving en andere tradities t.t.v. corona. 01-12-2020.

I.L. Stengs (2020). PhD conference Huizinga Institute. 13-10-2020. (PhD conference Huizinga Institute)

I.L. Stengs (2020). Mini-symposium Playing On. 29-09-2020. (Playing on. Mini-symposium Mirella Klomp)

I.L. Stengs (2020). The Moving Presences of André Rieu: religious heritage, homes for the elderly and the post-corona world. 15-05-2020.

I.L. Stengs (2020). The Politics of Thai Royal Ritual under the New Reign: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives. 17-01-2020. (Global Royal Families Conference)

2019

I.L. Stengs (2019). Oneiric Encounters. Material doubling, the invisible present and matters of possession in Northern Thailand. 29-11-2019. (Workshop Relocating Mainland Southeast Asia in Spirit Possession Studies)

I.L. Stengs (2019). "We do good with our hearts". The Volunteer Politics of Ritual Labour for King and Nation in Present-day Thailand. 13-09-2019. (11th EuroSEAS Conference)

E. van den Hemel, I.L. Stengs (2019). ‘Sticky’ objects and unruly passions in Thailand and the Netherlands: How heritage-claims attempt to pre-enact emotions (and why this is a risky business. 04-09-2019. (ASA19 Anthropological Perspectives on Global Challenges)

I.L. Stengs (2019). "We do good with our hearts". The Volunteer Politics of Ritual Labour for King and Nation in Present-day Thailand. 19-07-2019. (11th International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS))

I.L. Stengs, E. van den Hemel (2019). Contested Iconicity of the Cross. How The Passion creates multilayered affects and what these say about postsecular Dutch society. 20-06-2019. (Religious Heritage in a Diverse Europe: )

I.L. Stengs (2019). “Anticipatory Heritage” Preserving the future memory of our time. 12-06-2019. (Thinking and Planning the Future in Heritage Management)

I.L. Stengs (2019). Sacred Waste Objects, Places, Practices. 03-06-2019. (Sacre and/or Secular?)

I.L. Stengs (2019). Majestic Cartoons, The Politics of Royal Cuteness in Present-day Thailand. 17-04-2019. (SIEF2019, Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

I.L. Stengs (2019). Branching into Heritage. The Genesis of the Anne Frank Tree and its Multiplications. 14-03-2019.

I.L. Stengs (2019). Branching into Heritage. The Genesis of the Anne Frank Tree and its Multiplications. 26-02-2019.

2018

I.L. Stengs (2018). Gepopulariseerde cultuur, ritueel en het maken van erfgoed. 09-11-2018.

I.L. Stengs (2018). Battle of Colours The Politics of Mourning Thai King Bhumibol. 01-06-2018. (RAI2018: Art, Materiality and Representation Conference)

I.L. Stengs (2018). Herdenkingscultuur in Nederland. 07-05-2018.

I.L. Stengs (2018). For Father. Rituals and the Politics of Mourning Thai King Bhumibol. 13-04-2018.

I.L. Stengs (2018). Performing Dialect in front of the world. André Rieu and the politics of languageculture. 09-01-2018. (Language, Place and Periphery)

2017

I.L. Stengs (2017). Royal Mourning Ritual. 30-11-2017. (Monthly Seminar Department of Asian and African Studies)

E. van den Hemel, I.L. Stengs (2017). The Workings of the Cross. Passion for Passion Plays in Postsecular Societies. 29-11-2017. (Heritage, Religion, Authenticity and Difference )

I.L. Stengs (2017). The Spectacle of Mourning King Bhumibol. Blasphemy and the Politics of Commemoration in Present-day Thailand. 19-10-2017. (NGG Lustrum Conference 2017)

I.L. Stengs (2017). Materializing the Spirit of King Chulalongkorn: Portraits. Rituals, Visions, Possessesions....and more.. 22-07-2017. (International Convention of Asian Scholars)

I.L. Stengs (2017). Simultaneous Possessions. Space, place and time in Northern Thai Spirit Mediumship. 16-07-2017. (International Conference on Thai Studies 2017)

I.L. Stengs (2017). Ritual Matters Material Excess and Processes of Heritage Formation. 28-03-2017. (SIEF2017)

2016

I.L. Stengs (2016). Universalist Boundary Work André Rieu and the Secular Performance of the Good. 10-11-2016. (The Secular Sacred)

I.L. Stengs (2016). Does Dutch Culture Exist?. 16-02-2016.

2015

I.L. Stengs (2015). Ritual Matters: Presence, Abundance, Management. 19-11-2015. (Rituals, Markets and Redemption. UCSIA Workshop, University of Antwerp)

I.L. Stengs (2015). Topographies of diversity and the Politics of heritage formation. 09-10-2015. (Studiedag over immaterieel erfgoed in een dynamische omgeving: ritme van de stad)

I.L. Stengs (2015). The Falling of an Icon. The Afterlife of the Anne Frank Tree. 27-08-2015. (XXI. World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions)

I.L. Stengs (2015). André Rieu's Waltz PoliticsPopular Culture Heroes and Visions of Europe. 10-07-2015. (Council for European Studies Conference)

I.L. Stengs (2015). Maastricht, a Provincial Capital at the Heart of the World. The Transformative Presence of André Rieu, 'the King of the Waltz'. 23-06-2015. (12th SIEF congress: Utopias, Realities, Heritages)

I.L. Stengs (2015). Nieuwe Nederlandsheid: hoe cultuur verandert als gevolg van immigratie. 23-04-2015. (Studiedag leraren maatschappijleer)

I.L. Stengs (2015). Music from the Centre of the Universe. The Sounding performances of André Rieu, the World's King of the Waltz. 16-01-2015.

2014

L. Cornips, I.L. Stengs, V. de Rooij (2014). Onderzoeksgroeplezing over Taalcultuur: parodie en ongrammaticaliteit. 24-11-2014.

I.L. Stengs (2014). Titel lezing: 'The cultural heritage fallacy' UvA Graduate School of Social Sciences.. 05-11-2014. (Moving Traditions: The Story of Zwarte Piet)

I.L. Stengs (2014). 'André Rieu Popular Culture': Global Spectacles, Local Performances. 22-09-2014.

I.L. Stengs (2014). The Sky is the Limit Posthuman dimensions in André Rieu popular culture. 31-07-2014. (EASA Conference 2014)

I.L. Stengs (2014). ‘Holland sings Dutch’. The performance of Dutchness in a popular sing-along culture. 07-05-2014.

I.L. Stengs (2014). The Post-mortem Transformation of a Working Class Hero Neoliberal Public Culture in the Netherlands. 15-03-2014. (Council for European Studies Conference, 14-16 March, Washington DC)

2013

I.L. Stengs (2013). Languagecultural Practices in Concert. The Balanced Spectacles of André Rieu, the World's King of the Waltz. 17-12-2013. (Workshop 'Language in the Margins', 15-18 December, NIAS. Wassenaar)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Achter dijken en over zee. Maritieme tradities en Nederlandse eigenheid. 29-11-2013. (Museumsymposium Maritieme cultuur en Nederlandse identiteit, Amsterdam, Scheepvaart Museum)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Branching into Heritage. The Genesis of the Anne Frank Tree and its Multiplications. 02-07-2013. (SIEF Conference (30 June - 4 July, University of Tartu), Tartu)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Ordinary People. Performing Dutchness in a Popular Sing-along Culture. 27-06-2013. (20th CES Conference, Mini-symposium Meertens Instituut: Frozen Formations. Rediscovering the National in Western Europe (25-27 June), University of Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Het sociale leven van de Anne Frankboom. 16-04-2013. (seminar Dynamiek van de Herinnering, Universiteit van Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Branching into Heritage. A Genesis of the Anne Frank Tree and its Multiplications. 25-01-2013. (Conference Heritage Performance and the Everyday (23-25 January UCT/UWC), Cape Town)

2012

I.L. Stengs (2012). Ascertaining the Future Memory of Our Time Dutch Museums Collecting Relics of National Tragedy. 11-07-2012. (EASA Conference, 10-13 July 2012, Parijs)

I.L. Stengs (2012). Negotiating Dutch Culture. 07-06-2012. (Symposium Cultural Politics and the Perils of Belonging. South Africa and the Netherlands in comparative perspective, Amsterdam, Meertens Instituut)

I.L. Stengs (2012). Van Limburg naar Limburg. Culturele eigenheid en diversiteit in beweging. 11-05-2012. (Symposium ter ere oratie Leonie Cornips, hoogleraar Taalcultuur, Maastricht)

2011

I.L. Stengs (2011). The Construction of Local Identities in Limburg: Introduction to the Project. 01-12-2011. (International Workshop The Construction of Local Identities through Culture and Language, 1- 3 December 2011, NAIS, Wassenaar)

I.L. Stengs (2011). Anticipatory Heritage. Contested material mementos of contemporary societal ruptures in Dutch society. 19-10-2011. (International Conference Heritage Dynamics, October 15-19, 2011, Salvador, Brazillie)

I.L. Stengs (2011). Sacred Waste. Matter and Meaning in Mourning. 11-09-2011. (Death, Dying and Disposal Conference 10, September 9-12,, Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen)

I.L. Stengs (2011). Moving Monuments. Cinematic Experiences of Thai Religious-National Identity through Statues. 18-08-2011. (Porticus Global Seminar in Media and Religion, August 14-18, University of Hyderabad, India)

I.L. Stengs (2011). The Car, the Pistol and the Knife. Preserving Public Emotions through Sensational Objects. 19-04-2011. (Sief Conference, 17 - 20 april, 2011, Lissabon)

I.L. Stengs (2011). Feesten!. 14-04-2011. (SEC/VESPA lezing, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2011). Workshop academia and network society. 12-04-2011. (UGU career conference 2011, Utrecht, University College)

2010

I.L. Stengs (2010). The Heritage of the People's Singer. Styling, Mimicking and Performing in an Authentic Dutch Sing-along Culture. 27-04-2010. (Sensational Heritage: Fashioning Culture, Styling the Past, Stimulating the Senses, Accra (Ghana))

I.L. Stengs (2010). The certainty of being Thai. The strive for Thainess in popular Thai religiousity. 15-01-2010. (Workshop on Human Security and Religious Certainty in Southeast Asia, 15-17 January 2010, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

2009

I.L. Stengs (2009). Party Culture @nl. 09-12-2009. (Lezing SCO, Sociologie/Antropologie, UvA, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2009). Memorial Inspired Art and Advertising in the Netherlands. Invoking the Emotive Power of Commemorative Symbols. 11-09-2009. (Death, Dying and Disposal Conference, 9-12 September 2009, Durham, UK)

I.L. Stengs (2009). Crafting Royal Images in Present-Day Thailand: Creating Sacred Singularities that Show their Making. 19-06-2009. (Showing Making. International conference on the representation of image making and creative practices in ritual, art, media and science, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2009). Hedendaagse feestcultuur in Nederland. 29-01-2009. (Lezing Cultuur- en Mentaliteitsgeschiedenis Soiree, Nijmegen)

I.L. Stengs (2026). Portraits that Matter. King Chulalongkorn Objects and the Sacred World of Thainess. 01-02-2026. (Global Seminar: Sensations, Religious Mediations and the Formation of Identities, 15-18 August, 2009, Accra, Ghana)

2008

I.L. Stengs (2008). Amway the Thai Way. Direct Sale and the Businesses of Faith. 27-08-2008. (The 10th Biennial EASA Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia)

I.L. Stengs (2008). The European Song Contest: a A Unifying and Discordant Cultural Practice. 17-06-2008. (SIEF Conference 2008, Derry, Northern Ireland)

I.L. Stengs (2008). European Social Science History Conference, Lisbon, Portugal. 28-03-2008. (7th European Social Science History Conference)

I.L. Stengs (2008). hergebruik van interviews: wat betekent dat?. 14-03-2008. (DANS symposium Interviews uit de kast, Den Haag)

I.L. Stengs (2008). Celebrating Kingship, Worrying about the Monarchy. 10-01-2008. (The 10th International Conference on Thai Studies, Bangkok, Thailand)

2007

I.L. Stengs (2007). Public Practices of Commemorative Mourning: Ritualized Space, Politicized Space, Mediated Space (three cases from the Netherlands). 26-10-2007. (International Workshop Re-inventing Ritual Space in Modern Western Culture, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen)

I.L. Stengs (2007). Mourning Events. Death and Disposal of the People"s Singer. 14-09-2007. (Death, Dying and Disposal Conference, 12-15 September 2007, University of Bath, Bath, UK)

I.L. Stengs (2007). Senseless Violence in Dutch Society or How the Dutch are loosing their trust in the public domain. 05-07-2007. (Summerschool Relations of Trust, July 5,6,7 Amsterdam, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2007). Modern Thai Encounters with the Sublime: The Awe-Inspiring Presence of King Chulalongkorn (r. 1868-1910) through His Portraits. 12-06-2007. (Things: Material Religion and the Topography of Divine Spaces, The Future of the Religious Past, Amsterdam)

2006

I.L. Stengs (2006). Ephemeral memorials as performative practice An ethnography of the Theo van Gogh memorial site. 20-09-2006. (9th EASA Biennial Conference 'Europe and the World', Bristol, Engeland)

I.L. Stengs (2006). The Art of Mourning. Collective Memorials for Traffic Victims in The Netherlands. 19-05-2006. (International Conference Technologies of Memory in the Arts, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen)

2005

I.L. Stengs (2005). The dynamics of in- and exclusion in ethnographic fieldwork. 04-11-2005. (Autochtonen, Burgers, en Vreemdelingen. Kwesties van in- en uitsluiting, Nederlands Openluchtmuseum, Arnhem)

I.L. Stengs (2005). Wie wonen er nog in Knardorp en Kneuterburcht? De betekenis van lokaliteit voor carnavalisten in Amsterdam-West. 07-10-2005. (Percepties van lokaliteit in de hedendaagse Nederlandse feestcultuur, Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2005). Individual and Collective Memorials: Different Strategies in Mourning Traffic Victims in The Netherlands. 17-09-2005. (7th Death, Dying and Disposal Conference, September 15-18, 2005, Bath University, Bath, UK)

I.L. Stengs (2005). Dance Events: Ritual, Sensory Experience and Commerce. An Ethnographic Approach to Dance Culture. 08-07-2005. (LSA 2005 Festivals and Events: Beyond Economic Impacts July 6-8, 2005, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK)

I.L. Stengs (2005). Worshipping King Chulalongkorn: Aesthetics of a Thai Kingly Cult. 03-06-2005. (The Future of the Religious Past, NWO, Amsterdam)

2004

I.L. Stengs (2004). Thai-Dutch Interactions in the Thai Community part II. Thai Temple Ceremonies in Waalwijk and the Thai Community. 09-09-2004. (International Symposium, Crossroads of Thai and Dutch History, National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden)

I.L. Stengs (2004). Roadside Mourning: Material Manifestations, Private Messages and Public Debate in The Netherlands. 08-09-2004. (8th EASA Biennal Conference, 8-12 September 2004, Vienna, Wenen)

I.L. Stengs (2004). Feestelijke verleiding: de verbeelding van ritueel in reclame. 23-06-2004. (Spiritualiteit en het Nederlandse bedrijfsleven, Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2004). Hoogtijdagen in de Thaise tempel in Waalwijk: vieringen van de Thaise eigenheid in een Nederlands-Europese context. 18-05-2004. (Vieringen van migrantengemeenschappen in de hedendaagse Nederlandse samenleving, Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2004). Hedendaagse feestcultuur in Nederland: Carnaval 2004 in Geuzenveld en Osdorp. 23-04-2004. (Forum, Politiek en Sociaal-Culturele Wetenschappen, UvA, Amsterdam)

2003

I.L. Stengs (2003). Gedenken op de plek des onheils: particuliere monumentjes als materiële uitdrukking van veranderende rouwcultuur.. 21-11-2003. (Paper gepresenteerd op de Lustrum Conferentie Antropologische Beroepsvereniging, Leiden)

2025

I.L. Stengs (2025). Van Oud naar Nieuw en andere overgangsrituelen. 17-12-2025.

I.L. Stengs (2025). Onbegrensd erfgoed? Over de maakbaarheid van erfgoed en provinciale identiteiten. 02-10-2025. (Esrfgoeddag Zuidholland)

2024

I.L. Stengs (2024). Van traditie naar immaterieel erfgoed: Over de maakbaarheid en emotionele waarde van regionale cultuur. 13-11-2024. (Regionaal Erfgoedcongres 2024)

I.L. Stengs (2024). Rouwen in het publiek domein. 17-10-2024. (Paden van rouw)

I.L. Stengs (2024). Herinneringscultuur en hedendaagse HIVpositieve identiteit. 28-04-2024.

I.L. Stengs (2024). Oudejaarsavond-en nieuwjaarsvieringen in vergelijkend perspectief. 31-01-2024.

2022

I.L. Stengs (2022). Red Light Heritage. 23-03-2022.

2021

I.L. Stengs (2021). Publieke rouw, collectieve emoties en erfgoed. 30-09-2021. (Rouw. Van keizerin tot corona)

2020

I.L. Stengs (2020). De feestelijke alledaagsheid van Nederlands fastfood-eten. 13-02-2020.

I.L. Stengs (2020). "Gewoon onze feesten vieren mag ook al niet meer". 12-02-2020.

2019

I.L. Stengs (2019). Publieke rouw. Veranderlijkheid en vergankelijkheid in hedendaagse herdenkingscultuur. 10-11-2019. (Bezinningssamenkomst De Woudkapel)

I.L. Stengs (2019). Valentijnsdag. Een wereldsucces. 14-02-2019.

2018

I.L. Stengs (2018). Hedendaagse herdenkingscultuur Rituelen en materiele cultuur in Thailand en Nederland. 06-12-2018.

I.L. Stengs (2018). Book presentation and public debate: Sense and Essence. 26-10-2018.

2017

I.L. Stengs (2017). Heilig Afval. 27-06-2017. (De staat van god)

2015

I.L. Stengs (2015). Meezingen met Hazes: een feestelijke herdenkingscultuur. 02-10-2015. (Open Dag Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2015). The King Can Do No Wrong; Spui 25 lezing. 16-06-2015.

I.L. Stengs (2015). Waarom vieren mensen feest? (lezing in het kader van de Aprilfeesten). 22-04-2015.

2014

I.L. Stengs (2014). Community: een hoera woord in de erfgoedsector. 20-11-2014. (Imagine IC, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2014). Ambachtelijkheid. Authenticiteit, identiteit en 'levensvatbaarheid'. 27-05-2014. (Ambacht in Beeld Festival & Symposium)

I.L. Stengs (2014). Lokale Identiteiten en Culturele Praktijken. 12-05-2014. (Lezingenmiddag voor studenten, Meertens Instituut)

I.L. Stengs (2014). Buddhism, gender and sexuality in Thai society Western perceptions, local ideals and practices.. 07-02-2014. (UvA Pride)

2013

I.L. Stengs (2013). Wie? Waarom? Waar? Wanneer? Verbinden, uitsluiten en overstijgen in publieke rituelen. 23-09-2013. (Publiekslezing in het kader van de voorstelling Nederland Feestjesland en 'de Massa'. Amsterdam, Theater de Balie)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Hout, zaailingen en kastanjes. De Anne Frankboom leeft!. 29-08-2013. (Stadsdeel Centrum Lezing, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Verbinden, uitsluiten en overstijgen in publieke rituelen en in het werk van Aernout Mik. 05-07-2013. (Publiekslezing in het kader van de tentoonstelling Communitas van Aernout Mik, Amstedam, Stedelijk Museum)

I.L. Stengs (2013). Commemorative objects and the sublime. 20-04-2013. (Reclamekermis: advertising the sublime, Eye, Amsterdam)

2012

I.L. Stengs (2012). Ritueel en populaire cultuur. 20-04-2012. (College Ouderdag Kwakiutl Studievereniging Culturele Antropologie, Amsterdam)

2011

I.L. Stengs (2011). Moderne Rituelen in de Hedendaagse Samenleving. 11-02-2011. (Docentendag Maatsschappijleer 2011, Zwolle)

2008

I.L. Stengs (2008). Kinderverjaardagen in Nederland. 08-06-2008. (Opening fototentoonstelling Anneke Hilhorst 'Er is er een jarig', Amsterdam, Openbare Bibliotheek)

2006

I.L. Stengs (2006). Feest en ritueel: het feest van de verjaardagen. 08-12-2006. (Symposium Maritieme Feesten, Scheepvaart Museum, Amsterdam)

I.L. Stengs (2006). Waarom hechten wij aan tradities?. 21-04-2006. (VGSL 'Franciscus Gomarus', Leiden)

2004

I.L. Stengs (2004). Waarom vieren mensen feest?. 02-12-2004. (Studium Generale 'In de Gloria, zoeken naar het bijzondere', Universiteit van Tilburg, Tilburg)

2019

van den Hemel, E. & Stengs, I. L. (2019). HERILIGION: Heritagization of Religion and the Sacralization of Heritage in Contemporary Europe. Website, Meertens Instituut. http://heriligion.eu/