JEDI Now!
Breaking Silos!
Welcome to the JEDI Knowledge Platform. This digital hub is dedicated to dismantling the silos surrounding Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Dutch higher education. We bring together critical research, personal narratives, and systemic analysis to weave a single, cohesive tapestry of understanding. This initiative is part of a larger project by the JEDI Consortium—researchers from various Dutch universities, united by diverse backgrounds and expertise. We strive to make knowledge accessible and interconnected, fueling meaningful dialogue and action toward a more equitable academic future.
The Architecture of Exclusion in Dutch Academia
This is an analysis of power. It’s a map of how the Dutch higher education system is engineered, who it is designed for, and who it systematically filters out. Using a model (A) Dutch research University with centralized nested structure as a starting point, we will trace the three primary flows that animate this structure: the flow of funds, the flow of policy, and the flow of people. We will see how these flows merge into a single, powerful current that directs knowledge production toward certain ends and away from others. Furthermore, we will follow the path to a hypothetical post-doctoral position, witnessing how intersectional marginalization creates a compounding web of hurdles that makes this path a near-impossibility for many.
Knowledge Hubs
Architecture of Power
Power is not just who holds the title. It is the invisible architecture that shapes every outcome. In Dutch academia—and the systems it intersects—power flows through funding, governance, and informal networks, often reinforcing historical inequalities. This hub uses visual network analysis to map these hidden structures, making the intangible tangible. Explore the diagrams, follow the connections, and see the system for what it is.
The Living Glossary
Language is not a neutral tool. It is an archive of history, a weapon of power, and a site of ongoing struggle. Words carry the baggage of colonialism, embed hidden biases, and can either reinforce or challenge systems of oppression. This hub excavates the language of JDEI, unpacking the contested meanings, etymologies, and power dynamics behind key terms. Decolonize your vocabulary to decolonize your thinking.
Roots of the Present
Go to the History Hub
The past is not a distant country. It is the active DNA of our present, shaping our institutions, our relationships, and our deepest biases. This hub traces the unbroken lines from historical systems—like Dutch colonialism—to the modern landscapes of migration, power, and marginalization. We connect specific policies to contemporary outcomes, telling the stories of how human lives and societal structures were, and continue to be, forged. Understand the past to decode the present.
Featured Posts
Otherness Disected
“Otherness” is not a neutral description of difference but a contested political process of creating hierarchies. From the systemic perspective, it is a tool for domination, defining a dehumanized “Them” to justify exploitation and consolidate power. For the marginalized, it is an imposed identity of subjugation, but also a site of resistance where solidarity and self-definition are forged.
Racism, A History
Racism is a structural system of power that creates and maintains racial hierarchy. From the dominant perspective, it is a naturalized order justifying resource hoarding. For the marginalized, it is the lived reality of systemic violence requiring resistance and abolition. Internally, it becomes self-loathing.
Justice Contested Meanings
Justice is a fundamentally contested concept, its meaning defined by power. For oppressive structures, justice is the preservation of order and enforced hierarchy. For the marginalized, it is liberation—the dismantling of those same structures and the redistribution of power and resources. Internally, it can be distorted into a desire for assimilation into the dominant system. Neoliberalism co-opts justice into performative metrics and individual rights, voiding it of transformative potential.