Sinan Çankaya
(The Netherlands, 1982) is a cultural anthropologist and writer. He obtained his PhD with a study on diversity within the police organisation (Buiten veiliger dan binnen, 2011). He then conducted research on ethnic profiling (De controle van marsmannetjes en ander schorriemorrie, 2012). Cankaya currently works as an associate professor at VU University Amsterdam, in the Department of Public Administration and Political Science. He has written for De Correspondent, De Groene Amsterdammer, De Volkskrant and Hard Gras. His non-fiction book Mijn ontelbare identiteiten (2021) was awarded several times, including with the E. du Perron Prize. It is a reflection on the changing relationship with 'the Other' in the Netherlands, and a penetrating story about growing up in the Netherlands as a child of migrants. He also wrote the story November (2022) for Das Mag's monthly series De Maanden.
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Archive available for: Sinan Çankaya
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Remembrance under Fire
At a time when war is raging in Europe, in the Middle East and on the African continent, the question arises: what is the role of remembrance today? For many Dutch people, the Second World War is central to the national culture of remembrance. But what does this emphasis on one war mean for our image of the Netherlands?
Herdenken onder vuur (Remembering under Fire) explores how the emphasis on the Second World War in Dutch remembrance affects our national self-image and what role it plays in the recognition of other forms of violence, such as those in the former colonies and forms of oppression today.
The National Commemoration on 15 August 1945, the day commemorating the end of the Japanese occupation in Indonesia, is used as a case study. How does this commemoration relate to the broader historiography of the Netherlands and which voices are given space here or not?
With literary contributions by Sinan Çankaya, Maurits de Bruijn and Lara Nuberg, Herdenken onder vuur offers a reflection on the thesis of how commemoration is not only about the past, but also about the choices we make today. In conversation led by Nancy Jouwe, we explore how war, colonialism and identity continue to shape our national self-image and collective memory. Dutch spoken.
Remembrance under Fire is curated for Writers Unlimited Festival 2025 by Lara Nuberg.
