SOCIOLOGIST
Martha Van Der Bly is a sociologist, actress, and filmmaker whose work explores common humanity, shared human destiny, and world society. A theoretical sociologist grounded in quantitative and qualitative research, Van Der Bly researches what unites people across social groups rather than what divides.
In recent years, Van Der Bly has independently developed two longitudinal projects in visual sociology and documentary filmmaking addressing major global challenges: religious strife and peaceful religious integration in world society (Searching for Mama Salone’s Secret) and documenting the Holocaust in a transitional context, against the backdrop of the erosion of the post-war world order (Eva’s Mission).
Van Der Bly holds a PhD in Sociology from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in Ireland at the Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS), an MA in Sociology (cum laude), a BA in Sociology (cum laude), and a BA in Roman Languages and Cultures from the University of Groningen (RUG), The Netherlands. She received a classical secondary education at the Murmellius Gymnasium in Alkmaar (Alpha track), with Latin and Greek.
Van Der Bly has held several national and international academic appointments, including Research Associate at the Amsterdam Centre for Globalisation Studies (ACGS) at the University of Amsterdam, an Honorary Visiting Fellowship in the Department of Sociology at City University London; a Visiting Fellowship at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance (CsGG) at the London School of Economics (LSE); and Garnett Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Prior to returning to academia to pursue doctoral research on globalization, Van Der Bly had a successful career in global finance as a manager and project leader for the multinational ING Group in the fields of Direct Marketing (DM) and International Payments and Cash Management (IPCM), gaining unique, practical knowledge of the workings of global capitalism.
RESEARCH
Van Der Bly’s recent empirical work examines dynamics of sameness and difference in the field of religion, building on her earlier research sameness and difference in the fields of art and national identity and is expressed through the sociological documentary film Searching for Mama Salone’s Secret.
Her theoretical essay The Pananthropoi – Towards a Society of All-Humanity, a response to Kant’s Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose (1784), was described as “pathbreaking” by the renowned global historian Prof. Bruce Mazlish (M.I.T.), in particular for her critical analysis of Immanuel Kant’s concept of ‘unsocial sociability’.
In her doctoral research, The Universal Surname – A Theoretical-Empirical Enquiry into the Relationship between Globalization and Sameness, Van Der Bly examined the dynamics of sameness and polarization in the field of national identity as responses to globalization. This research was awarded a full scholarship from the Royal Irish Academy, received a Culture Foundation Award granted by the Culture Foundation in Amsterdam, and won several awards, including an award from the World Society Foundation (University of Zurich).
Van Der Bly’s MA thesis explored shared audience experiences across highbrow and lowbrow art forms. Titled The Artificial Divide – A Theoretical-Empirical Enquiry into the Dual Structure of the Performing Arts in the Netherlands (published as M. van der Blij) and included a critical analysis of national CSO data and won the national Boekman Award. Her research had significant practical impact, leading to commissions from both local and national governments to inform cultural and arts policy, and was cited by the then Secretary of State for Art and Culture in the Dutch Senate.
Bio Martha Van Der Bly – Academia.edu
Bio Martha Van Der Bly – Great Transition Network
SPEAKING
Martha Van Der Bly is available for keynote speeches and lectures about issues related to World Society and Future Studies, Globalisation, and the Sociology of Religion in Global Society.
Martha has spoken at venues and events such as the International Sociological Association (ISA), the World Society Foundation in Zürich, the Art Council (Raad voor de Kunsten) in The Hague, and De Balie, and Felix Meritis in Amsterdam.
Martha’s thoughtfully tailored lectures combine analytical understanding of global society with artistic imagination, philosophical insight into the longue durée of (proto)globalization, a clear outline of the choices we are facing today, and inspiration for the audience to think about a new world society that is built on common humanity and our shared vulnerability.
Contact: info@marthavanderbly.com