NIAS, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, annually awards their Distinguished NIAS-Lorentz Fellowship to “a leading researcher working at the intersection of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.” In the first semester of 2026 they have Dutilh Novaes develop a conceptual framework to address the imprint of colonialism on scientific practices.
We asked Catarina how she feels about the appointment and what she hopes to achieve with her project.
“I'm extremely happy with this fellowship, as colonialism is a fairly new research topic for me and the NIAS will offer the perfect conditions to explore this new direction. I am also happy because the fact that my project was chosen signals growing awareness of the importance of addressing the lingering effects of colonial histories. While in some circles calls to 'decolonize' are often heard, on the whole there is also resistance and backlash, especially in the context of populistic, nationalistic politics.”
What do you expect from the fellowship?
“Being able to fully concentrate on this new research direction for one semester will allow me to build solid foundations for years to come. The NIAS offers an interdisciplinary community, which is ideal for a project such as this one which engages with several different disciplines (history, sociology, anthropology, literary and cultural studies etc.), while remaining primarily a philosophical project in its objectives and methods.”
What do you hope to achieve with your project?
“In the long run I hope to make the topic of colonialism much more prominent than it is now in the philosophical tradition of analytic philosophy, in particular in the subdisciplines of philosophy of science and epistemology. Naturally, this is not something I will be able to accomplish in only 5 months! But as I said, the fellowship will offer ideal conditions to develop the foundations of this research program. Moreover, the fellowship will involve the organization of a Lorentz workshop, which will bring together people from various countries and disciplines, and which will serve to set the basis for an international network of scholars and practitioners involved in interrogating colonialist tendencies in scientific practices.”
How does this contribute to your work at VU?
At VU, I am a professor of philosophy, so first and foremost my research directly impacts my teaching. With this research, I will be able to guide my students to reflect critically on legacies of colonialism in epistemic practices, both in science and more generally, and therefore contribute to the wide societal reckoning with the colonial past of the Netherlands and other European countries. My department, the department of philosophy, has been engaging in initiatives to diversify the philosophical canon and the curriculum that we teach to students for many years now, and this project fits into this trend. More generally, VU is known for its groundbreaking work on colonial histories: many of my colleagues who are historians and literary theorists, among other disciplines, have made significant contributions to the topic. My project will fit naturally into these ongoing conversations.
How do you see the role or impact of the NIAS network?
NIAS is unique in its interdisciplinary focus on the humanities and social sciences. I spent a semester there as a regular fellow some 10 years ago (one can only be a fellow at NIAS once every ten years, which is totally fair!), and during this period I wrote a research application for an ERC Consolidator, which was then successful at the first try. I very much believe that the interdisciplinary NIAS environment helped me tremendously in writing a grant application that would speak to people with different disciplinary backgrounds. I am convinced that this new NIAS experience will be similarly inspiring!