Liesbeth Aerts

In Wondelgem, just outside Ghent, people now push shopping carts through the aisles of a Colruyt supermarket. There is nothing there to suggest that, a little over a century ago, this was the site of an intellectual project that would go on to shape an entire field. In 1912, the first edition of the scientific journal Isis was compiled here, in the home of the Sarton family. Seeds in Wondelgem George Sarton was not yet the “father of the history of science.” At the time, the field he would...

From the moment humans could draw, we’ve turned to our own bodies for inspiration. Painted on cave walls or splayed open in Renaissance anatomical studies, the human body has always been a subject of awe, fear, reverence, and inquiry. What changes across time is how we look at it. Recent books by Ruben Verwaal and Babette Van Rafelghem continue this long lineage in surprising, creative formats, each reframing the body not only as a biological entity, but as a cultural canvas.

On Wednesday November 20th, 2024, Els left home early in the morning, as she always did. She got on her bike, ready for another busy but exciting day at Hasselt University. The preparations for Dag van de Wetenschap were in full swing. A yearly highlight on the calendar, she had poured herself into the preparations for weeks.