Dr. Emil Van Eck

Biography

Emil van Eck is an Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, specializing in Urban Studies. His research interests center around immigration, urban politics, and labor inequality, focusing on the everyday geographies and mobility practices of immigrant workers within the context of racial capitalism. Van Eck employs ethnographic research methods, with his recent work addressing the politics of street markets in the Netherlands. His ethnographic study, 'Public Space Endless Motion', investigates how street markets serve as critical public spaces while also revealing the challenges faced by market traders due to racialized policies and gender relations. Van Eck's work has been published in various journals related to urban studies and human geography, as well as in popular outlets, including ESB and Geografie.nl. He teaches in the Bachelor's program for Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (ISW) and coordinates courses on urban studies. He has previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University Nijmegen and completed his PhD in February 2024, which was part of an international project funded by the Humanities European Research Area, focusing on urban immigrant policies. Van Eck holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Human Geography and Urban Studies from the University of Amsterdam, with additional training at Northeastern University's School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs.

Research Interests

Experience