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In exploring the birth of a Dutch identity between 1780 and 1830, this book integrates nationalism studies with literary and linguistic history by highlighting scholarly study of the Dutch language as a factor in the creation of the national identity. These early scholars promoted the Dutch language during a time of political upheaval, when citizens needed something to feel proud of. This book examines the impact individual agents had on a crucial stage in the Dutch nation-building process.
List of contents
1. Gijsbert Rutten & Ton van Kalmthout Cultural nationalism and the rise of Dutch studies 2. Gijsbert Rutten Matthijs Siegenbeek in defence of Dutch 3. Francien Petiet Barthold Hendrik Lulofs: A 'learned dilettante' 4. Rick Honings Poet and professor: Adam Simons 5. Marijke van der wal Johannes Kinker: A Kantian philosopher teaching Dutch language, literature, and eloquence 6. Wim Vandenbussche Caught between propaganda and science: Ulrich Gerhard Lauts, the forgotten father of Dutch philology in Brussels 7. Jan Noordegraaf Pieter Weiland and his Nederduitsche spraakkunst 8. Ellen Krol Moralist of the nation: Johannes Henricus van der Palm 9. Janneke Weijermars I am revived as a Belgian: The work of Jan Frans Willems 10. Lo van Driel & Nicoline van der Sijs Adriaan Kluit: Back to the sources! 11. Peter Altena 'Can grander skulls be crowned?' Jacob van Dijk's posthumous literary history 12. Ton van Kalmthout Hendrik van Wijn: Pioneer of historical literary studies in the Netherlands 13. Lotte Jensen The founding father of Dutch literary history: Jeronimo de Vries 14. Gert-Jan Johannes, Afterword.
About the author
Rick Honings is Scaliger Professor Special Collections at Leiden University and a specialist in nineteenth-century Dutch and Dutch Indies literature. In 2018 he published
Star Authors in the Age of Romanticism: Literary Celebrity in the Netherlands, the international edition of his monograph
De dichter als idool: Literaire roem in de negentiende eeuw (2016). In 2021, he co-edited
De postkoloniale spiegel: De Nederlands-Indische letteren herlezen. Currently, he works with a research team on the NWO Vidi project
Voicing the Colony: Travelers in the Dutch East Indies, 1800-1900. He is editor-in-chief of the journal
Indische Letteren.
Gijsbert Rutten is a senior researcher in historical sociolinguistics at the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics.
