History in Dutch Studies

Book excerpt: History in Dutch Studies re-considers the central role of history within the discipline of Dutch Studies as viewed from a range of specializations within the field. Contributions by scholars of Dutch history, art history, literature and linguistics all illustrate how the past, and one's theories and views of history, affect the practice of each part of the discipline. One reflection of the history of the Low Countries in "Dutch Studies" is the range of the field: it is interpreted broadly in this volume to include studies of Afrikaans as well as Dutch literature- poetry as well as prose- in light of their histories, the history of Flanders and that of the Netherlands, approaches within Dutch linguistics as well as a history of language contact and its influence on Dutch. This breadth continues in the range of institutions and nationalities that are represented. The volume presents work from major scholars from the Netherlands, Belgium, and South Africa as well as from the United States of America. These articles therefore provide a good cross-section of ongoing research in the Netherlandic Studies the world over.