{"id":3305,"date":"2020-02-27T13:49:05","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T10:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marthavanderbly.com\/?page_id=3305"},"modified":"2026-03-28T18:06:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T15:06:38","slug":"speaking","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/marthavanderbly.com\/?page_id=3305","title":{"rendered":"SOCIOLOGIST"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SOCIOLOGIST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martha Van Der Bly is a sociologist, filmmaker, and professionally trained actress whose work explores common humanity, shared human destiny, and global society. A theoretical sociologist grounded in both quantitative and qualitative research, as well as visual sociology, she investigates what unites people across social groups rather than what divides them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Van Der Bly has independently developed two longitudinal projects in visual sociology and documentary filmmaking addressing global challenges in world society: religious strife and peaceful religious integration (Searching for Mama Salone\u2019s Secret) and documenting the Holocaust in the context of the erosion of the post-war world order, and includes following Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss over nearly a decade, with filming conducted in twelve countries, five of them with Eva (Eva\u2019s Mission).Both films are currently in post-production, having completed principal photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Der Bly holds a PhD in Sociology from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Der Bly recently completed a two-year professional acting program at the William Esper Studio in New York, where she trained in the Meisner Technique, focusing on the emotional truth of the human condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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; Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance (CsGG), London School of Economics (LSE); and Garnett Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to returning to academia to pursue doctoral research on globalization, she 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESEARCH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Der Bly\u2019s recent empirical work examines dynamics of sameness and difference in the sociology of religion, building on her earlier research of sameness and difference in the fields of art and of national identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her theoretical essay \u2018The Pananthropoi \u2013 Towards a Society of All-Humanity (a response to Kant\u2019s \u2018Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose\u2019) was described as \u201cpathbreaking\u201d by the renowned global historian Prof. Bruce Mazlish (MIT), in particular for her critical analysis of Kant\u2019s concept of \u2018unsocial sociability\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her PhD research, \u2018The Universal Surname \u2013 A Theoretical-Empirical Enquiry into the Relationship between Globalization and Sameness\u2019, 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 awards from the World Society Foundation (University of Zurich), among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her MA thesis explored shared audience experiences across so-called highbrow and lowbrow performance art. Titled \u2018The Artificial Divide \u2013 A Theoretical-Empirical  Enquiry into the Dual Structure of the Performing Arts in the Netherlands\u2019 (published as M. van der Blij), the study included a critical analysis of national CSO data, won the national Boekman Award, and was subsequently published as a book. The 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bio Martha Van Der Bly – Academia.edu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bio Martha Van Der Bly – Great Transition Network<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SPEAKING <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martha Van Der Bly<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martha has spoken at venues and events such as the International Sociological Association<\/em> (ISA), the World Society Foundation<\/em> in Z\u00fcrich, the Art Council <\/em>(Raad voor de Kunsten) in The Hague, and De Balie<\/em>, and Felix Meritis<\/em> in Amsterdam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martha’s thoughtfully tailored lectures combine analytical understanding of global society with artistic imagination, philosophical insight into the longue dur\u00e9e<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact: info@marthavanderbly.com <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SOCIOLOGIST Martha Van Der Bly is a sociologist, filmmaker, and professionally trained actress whose work explores common humanity, shared human destiny, and global society. A theoretical sociologist grounded in both quantitative and qualitative research, as well as visual sociology, she investigates what unites people across social groups rather than what divides them. In recent years,… <\/p>\n

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