Abstract

Language, Literature and the Construction of a Dutch National Identity discusses the life and work of a number of Dutchmen who, in the period between 1750 and 1850, worked in the field of what would now be called ‘Dutch Studies’, ‘Dutch Language & Literature’ or ‘Dutch Philology’. Did the compilers of this volume define the scope of early cultural nationalism in the Netherlands too narrowly by focusing on the study of the nation's language and literature? I would argue that they did not. For one thing, there were no academic ‘specialists’ as such before the end of the eighteenth century; it was only then that the first generation of academic practitioners of this discipline emerged in the Netherlands. But aside from this, one is struck by the sheer breadth of the interests of the twelve apostles of literature discussed here. Regardless of the perspective taken, a cultural historian studying the period between 1750 and 1850 in the Netherlands would find it hard to avoid a great many of the individuals discussed in this book and their extremely varied publications and activities.

Keywords: afterword, conclusion, discussion, Dutch Studies