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This article engages in genealogical inquiry into Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), to gain deeper insight into the multiple semantic layers of this cultural icon. I argue that the 'roetpiet' (soot Pete) or chimney sweep is rooted in at least as solid an iconological tradition as that of the Moorish child slave. I infer some suggestions for non-offensive Sinterklaas celebrations from this historical excursion. While Zwarte Piet in his Moorish guise is indeed a flawed and racist trace of colonial slavery, his chimney sweep connotations may actually be of value to the cultural remembrance of the by now largely forgotten history of child labour that was so crucial to the early industrialization in Europe, and often still is to economies in the Global South.

This column argues that the slogan 'the personal is political' – when slightly rephrased – is now even more to the point than ever before. The personal has become 'geopolitical' due to the emergence of the socalled 'global care chain'. Nowadays, families at both the higher and lower strata of society are organizing themselves on a transnational scale in a multitude of ways: as migrant care workers in the first world remitting their wages to their families in developing countries; as 'dual career' couples pursuing careers with globally operating companies and organizations; as transnational adoptive families; or as gay parents who have children with (foreign) surrogate mothers. These developments call into question the institute of the nuclear family that is securely embedded within one nation-state. Feminists would do well to take the lead in formulating new normative concepts and images of what families could and should be like.

Culture and history; Literature (Belles lettres) and rhetoric; Culture and institutions - Terwijl de gothic novel floreerde in de Engelse, Amerikaanse, Duitse en Franse literatuur, lijkt de Nederlandse literatuur zich tot diep in de twintigste eeuw te hebben onthouden van dit omstreden genre. Weliswaar verschenen er de nodige vertalingen, maar producten van eigen bodem lijken nagenoeg non-existent. In deze inleidende studie wordt de stelling verdedigd dat deze situatie verandert tijdens de jaren vijftig van de vorige eeuw. Aanvankelijk eigenen vooral Willem Frederik Hermans en Gerard van het Reve zich literaire strategieën en motieven uit de gotieke traditie toe, later volgen onder andere Hella Haasse, Helga Ruebsamen, Renate Dorrestein, Vonne van der Meer, Frans Kellendonk, Thomas Rosenboom en Herman Franke. De Nederlandse literatuur maakt in dit opzicht deel uit van een omvangrijke internationale trend.