De Moderne Tijd - Volume 4, Issue 1-2, 2020

Abstract Johannes Franck A career in the margins Johannes Franck (1854-1914) was the first professor extraordinarius(1886) and in 1912 a professor of Dutch and Low German in the German empire. In this article I describe his career largely until 1886 by embedding him within the scientific community of his time. Subsequently, I show how anti-Semitism prevented him from becoming a professor of German studies Read More

Abstract A Linguist As International Entrepreneur M.J. de Goeje and the Annals of al-Tabari (1872-1901) Modern-day scientists and humanities scholars are often expected to possess personality traits, skills, and virtues typically associated with entrepreneurs. These include (but are not limited to) a willingness to take risks, the ability to lead a diverse team of collaborators, and a flexible mindset. The roots of the ideal of t Read More

Abstract ‘To live a double life’ The academic life of Paul Fredericq around 1900 In this article I analyse the diary of the historian Paul Fredericq following the concept of ‘academic life’, a term coined by Johan Huizinga and further explored by Klaas van Berkel. It calls for the study of the university that goes beyond the institutional, perceiving the university as a living community with multiple interactions with society. Perso Read More

Abstract There are no societal prospects for this study in the Netherlands’. Musicology in Utrecht, 1930-1940 Musicology became a fully-fledged academic study in the Netherlands in 1930 when both the Chair in Musicology and the Institute for Music History were founded at Utrecht University. Using sources such as archives, newspapers, personal memories of old studies in letters, and a talk on the occasion of the 50 Read More

Abstract The Art of the Projected Image The optical lantern as a didactic instrument in the Art History lectures of Willem Vogelsang (1875-1954) The optical lantern was the central medium through which Art History professor Willem Vogelsang (1875-1954) taught his students ‘how to see’. As the first ordinarius in Art History in the Netherlands, Vogelsang focused on creating the right educational setting to turn his students into Read More