As a social historian of the early modern Low Countries (1500-1800), Erika Kuijpers explores how people in the past told stories about themselves. Her research delves into the cultural toolkit available to them, focusing on themes of social relations, identity, memory, knowledge practices, emotional culture, and religiosity.
Her methodology is interdisciplinary and forward-looking. She applies insights from psychology and the social sciences and employs new computational text analysis methods to unlock previously unknown patterns from historical sources.
Erika is a member of the editorial board of popular historical magazine Geschiedenis Magazine and regularly speaks for a variety of audiences.
Per November 2025 she is the chair of the Flemish-Dutch Society for Early Modern History (VNVNG)
