Margot Luyckfasseel TT. asst. research professor

Research Margot Luyckfasseel

Research team

Expertise

Margot Luyckfasseel specializes in Congolese history from below (late 19th century to the present), with a thematic focus on urban-rural relations, language ideologies, and debates on “authenticity”. Additionally, She is am developing an interest in socio-economic themes such as slavery, labor, and trade. She has conducted fieldwork in the cities of Kinshasa, Kisangani, and Gemena, and prefers to combine oral history and archival sources.

Midwifery roles and practices in Belgium and the Belgian Congo (1908-1960). 01/01/2026 - 31/12/2029

Abstract

This project challenges the view that female care providers lost out to doctors when medical supervision over reproductive care became the norm. Despite the expanding body of literature on the history of childbirth and midwifery, historical understandings of the breadth and complexity of midwifery practices remain limited. This project therefore aims to study the variety of midwifery roles and practices in Belgium and the Belgian Congo (1908-1960) as well as the mutual influences between both geographical areas. To this end, it will use a practice-oriented methodology and prioritize source material that provides insights into midwifery practices and the perspective of midwives. It will analyze published sources containing information about midwifery practices and trainings, oral interviews reflecting midwives' affective memories of their roles and those of other people living in the same localities, and archival material of legal, missionary, and administrative nature. In this way, the project will be able to shed light on the continuing importance of midwives in reproductive care in the 20th century.

Researcher(s)

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Project type(s)

  • Research Project

Elder Voices, Greener Choices: Mobilizing Oral Histories for Environmental Awareness in Kinshasa. 01/09/2025 - 31/08/2027

Abstract

This project mobilizes oral history interviews with elders to raise public awareness about urban flooding in Kinshasa. As extreme weather events intensify, it is increasingly important to safeguard historical environmental knowledge. In centralizing the voices and experiences of elderly people, the project takes the SDG principle "leave no one behind" as one of its driving forces. Nine students from UNIKIN, UPN and ISP Gombe will be trained in oral and environmental history methods and will collect interviews from their grandparents/neighborhood elders about Kinshasa's environmental history. These interviews will support historical analysis and a public outreach documentary, offering crucial lessons for today's urban challenges. Strengthening the new Kinshasa-based initiative Centre d'Histoire Orale Kinshasa (CHOKIN), the project contributes to the revival of Congolese history departments while promoting urgent, community-driven solutions to environmental risks such as flooding.

Researcher(s)

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  • Research Project

Women vendors: a history of female commercial activity across the Uganda-Congo border. 01/02/2025 - 31/01/2029

Abstract

This project focusses on the history of female Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT) across the Uganda-DRCongo border (late 19th century to present). ICBT is an important topic in economic policies. However, it is often not historicized. This leads to a misrepresentation of informal trading networks and their complex histories, and an overemphasis on the role of colonial trade configurations. ICBT is largely practiced by women, who remain absent actors in colonial historiography, which is also due to the informality of their commercial activities. Research on ICBT across the Congolese-Ugandan border, more specifically, is characterized by a strong Uganda bias due to better monitoring, resulting in an underrepresentation of Congolese experiences. This research project then historicizes (RO1), brings women in (RO2), and counters prevalent national frameworks (RO3) in studying ICBT across the Ugandan-Congolese border.

Researcher(s)

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Project type(s)

  • Research Project

The influence of urban development and processes of migration on social group dynamics. 01/10/2024 - 30/09/2029

Abstract

In my ongoing research, I explore how urban development and processes of migration influence social group dynamics, particularly those of underrepresented or marginalized actors such as formerly enslaved, women, and religious minorities. Combining archival and oral sources is an essential methodological approach to realize such histories from below and to center the agency of these groups. Building on my previous research experience in the Congolese cities of Kinshasa, Kisangani and Gemena, I explore new avenues of research in which trade, migration and urban-rural relations are central. One example is the DOCPRO PhD project on the history of female vendors along the Uganda-DRCongo border.

Researcher(s)

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project