Researchers

Sophie Withaeckx is an assistant professor of philosophy at Maastricht University. She previously worked as a coordinator and postdoctoral researcher at RHEA, the Centre of Expertise on Gender, Diversity and Intersectionality at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and as a lecturer and researcher at Odisee University College.

She holds master’s degrees in African Languages & Cultures (Ghent University) and International Politics (University of Antwerp), as well as a PhD in Philosophy and Ethics from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Her research interests focus on how culture, gender, and morality are shaped through experiences of violence; transnationalism, transmigration, and their intersections with social work; and how normative conceptions of ‘humanity’ influence public institutions and spaces. In particular, she critically examines how concepts like diversity and decolonization are increasingly managed and institutionalized in the field of higher education.

Her current research explores the ethics of transnational adoption, investigating how underlying assumptions about humanness, family, and kinship inform both the ethical discourse and practical realities of adoption across borders.

E-Mail address: s.withaeckx@maastrichtuniversity.nl