Frances Gouda studied history at the University of Washington in Seattle WA. She returned to the Netherlands in 1999 and is now a professor of history and gender studies at the University of Amsterdam.
She is the expert on gender issues in post colonial societies. And she is a woman with a clear view on current political discussions. As simplistic thinking seems to spread over Europe like an intellectual tsunami she doesn´t dissociate herself like many other members of the intellectual elite. In the discussion on whether woman should or should not be allowed to wear veils she supplies a much needed perspective.
On her TEDxRotterdam performance she defines the place of women in post colonial history, and she also gives perspective and place to us. She defines the way we perceive our own culture, right here and now. What is our position and what are our values? What exactly do we mean when we want some one to adapt to a culture he or she isn’t born into?