Anne Bergmans
1. What was your favourite subject during your student days?
It’s hard to choose; I found just about everything interesting, but Alfons Thijs’s Social History (1st year) was quite special. That man could speak with such enthusiasm that you remembered it auomatically.
2. Have you ever failed an exam? If so, which subject?
Design: the core subject in my first (and also my final) year of architecture. It was here that I realised I was slightly less passionate about the formal aspects than the functional and social aspects of architecture. The switch to political science and sociology became an obvious choice straight away.
3. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever done to relieve study stress?
As far as I can remember, I’ve never really suffered from study stress. But perhaps my memory is failing me.
4. What was your most memorable student experience?
The trip to Prague in February 1991. A city and country in the midst of a regime transition, economically, politically and socially. It was particularly fascinating to be able to immerse myself in that for a while.
5. Have you ever had a student job? What was it?
From the third year of secondary school onwards, I worked for a month during the summer holidays as a cashier in a local supermarket throughout my student years. I always enjoyed doing that. In between, the usual jobs: serving and washing up in the hospitality industry, data entry and/or data cleaning, packing Christmas purchases, …
6. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?
Doubt yourself less.
7. If you hadn’t become a professor, what would you be doing now?
No idea. I never did any career planning and, shortly after finishing my studies, I ‘accidentally’ started working as a researcher at the university. I quite liked it, and every time I felt it was time to start looking for a ‘proper job’, another interesting project would come my way. So I still don’t know for sure what I’d like to be when I grow up, but being a professor suits me just fine for now.
8. What was your first thought today?
B**t, overslept again!
9. What is your favourite book, and why?
Moon Palace by Paul Auster. It happened to come my way at just the right moment and, as a 20-year-old recovering from a serious accident, it helped me realise the relativity of events and choices in life.
10. What music or artist do you like to listen to? Do you have a favourite song?
I’m an unconditional fan of Prince and, more recently, of Sylvie Kreusch. Apart from that, I have very eclectic musical tastes. I still listen to the radio the old-fashioned way, switching between Radio 1, Studio Brussel and Clara.
If I ever get round to making my own playlist, it’ll probably be something like my colleague Heidi Vandebosch’s (Michael Kiwanuka, Sylvie Kreusch, Eels, Brihang, Nick Cave, Gabriël Rios, The Weeknd, Florence + The Machine, Stromae, Amy Winehouse, Joe Jackson, Robert Palmer, Roxy Music, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Grace Jones, …). Thanks, Heidi, for the inspiration!
11. If you could meet one historical figure, who would it be and why?
Can I choose two? Irène Van der Bracht, the first – and until her death in 1941, the only – female professor in Belgium (Ghent University, 1925), and Marguerite Lefèvre, a contemporary who only became the first female professor at KU Leuven in 1960.
Why? Out of admiration and curiosity about how they tackled and experienced it, and to thank them for what they set in motion.
12. What is a travel destination still on your bucket list?
New Zealand
13. What is your favourite way to spend a free Sunday?
Sleeping in, walking the dog through the fields, doing some gardening, a bit of Pilates and (between May and October, whatever the weather) a kilometre’s swim. If possible, followed by a spot of relaxation in a sun-drenched spot with a good book in a comfortable armchair. Lovely.
14. What is the most fun/interesting thing you’ve learnt recently (outside your field of expertise)?
That you don’t necessarily have to go hundreds of metres underground to see the geological layers beneath our feet. Looking at a rock face in the Ardennes with a bit of help from a geologist friend is enough.
15. What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done?
Life is one long adventure.
16. What is your most cherished possession?
I’m not particularly attached to material things. What I would miss most is our house in a little village in Hainaut, or even more so the garden of that house. My oasis of peace. Heaven is a place on earth!
17. How do you unwind?
On a Sunday there in Hainaut. More generally: in my bed, whilst walking in nature (with or without a dog), by cooking without any time pressure.
18. Do you have a hidden talent that your students don’t know about?
Knitting: I’ve got some pretty decent craft skills.
I’ve been practising the art of lazing about at a top-level since nursery school.
19. When you look to the future, what do you see?
The future is what we create together and cannot yet be known. When I see the behaviour of some people (unfortunately including those with great responsibility), then I, despite being a born optimist, dare to have serious doubts about the direction we are heading in. On the other hand, when I see my sons (in their early twenties) and the majority of my students going about their business, I see hope above all else.
20. What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
With thanks to Paul Auster (see question 9): Your life’s course is determined by a combination of your own choices and circumstances beyond your control. Every time you set off down a particular path in this way, doors inevitably close. Sometimes that can lead you to a very dark place, but there is no point in looking back at closed doors. The key is to open yourself up to new doors and paths that present themselves.