The latest issue of 'Wijsgerig Perspectief' (Amsterdam University Press) is dedicated to the work of Sara Ahmed. Ahmed is renowned for her groundbreaking contributions to feminist theory, phenomenology, cultural studies, queer theory, and critical race theory. This issue features a contribution from Patricia de Vries (lector Art & Spatial Praxis), who also served as its editor.

"Histories of violence surrounded by silence have a profoundly crushing effect on those who speak out," said British-Australian writer and independent scholar Sara Ahmed during her lecture at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam last year. Ahmed sees it as her task to bear witness, gather evidence, and act in solidarity—a solidarity that resonates with many who resist institutional injustice.

The essays are available online (free through university libraries):
www.aup-online.com

In her essay for this issue 'De klacht van de spelbrekers: Studentenverzet en business as usual', Patricia de Vries explores how student encampments exemplify Ahmed’s phenomenological approach and embodied feminist politics. De Vries examines these protests as embodied complaints—acts of resistance that disrupt the status quo and challenge institutional orientations to drive policy change. Ahmed’s concepts of the feminist killjoy and straightening devices provide a framework for analysing the impact of these encampments on academic institutions and the protesters themselves.

By engaging with moments from a roundtable discussion with activists involved in these movements, the essay reveals how institutional responses often seek to neutralise dissent and uphold existing power structures. Ultimately, it underscores both the challenges and the transformative potential of embodied resistance in confronting institutional complicity in systemic violence.