Duitse natuurwetenschappen en pedagogiek in nederlandse genootschappen rond 1800 APA Holland Universiteits Pers University Press proefschrift dissertatie thesis">
PublicationA study of the reception and distribution of German ideas in the Netherlands
around 1800:
ANNEMIEKE J. A. KOUWENBERG
‘De kennis der Duitsche taal is voor een geleerden hedendaags onontbeerlijk’
Duitse natuurwetenschappen en pedagogiek in nederlandse genootschappen rond 1800. With a summary in English.
Amsterdam & Utrecht 2010.
X, 269 pagina's / pages / Seiten. Met 5 afb. / with 5 ills / mit 5 Abb.
Societies took a central position in Dutch culture around 1800. They were the
centres where enlightened people gathered and were informed of important
cultural and learned developments. The same period shows large Dutch interest
in Germany and German ideas. The societies are presumed to have taken an
equally important place in the influx of German ideas in the Netherlands. If
this presumption is correct, and how German ideas found their way to the Dutch
public, is not quite known. In the present research this question is answered
by looking at the influx of German pedagogics,astronomy, chemistry and
phrenology.
While expectations were high, the societies researched – Felix Meritis,
the Maatschappij tot Nut van ’t Algemeen and the Hollandsche Maatschappij
der Wetenschappen – did not seem to put themselves in the middle of
scientific exchange. Rather, they depended on their members to get access to
the newest German ideas. They gave their members every opportunity to present
their ideas to the public. This implies that the substance of society
activities, such as lectures and prize contests,depended on their members.
This also goes for the influx of German ideas.
Members of the societies on their turn, had their own motivation and agenda.
First, personal contacts with the German scientific world were decisive for the
influx of German ideas. Whoever found himself in contact with German scientists
had easy access to the newest and most important ideas. They considered which
ideas were suitable for the Dutch situation and public. Second, society members
choose strategicly which kind of public was suitable for their own purposes.
The societies had ample opportunities to spread new ideas, but that was not
everyones purpose. Presenting new ideas to a more specialistic audience brought
advantages as well.
With the conclusions of the present research, one must reconsider the image of
the soceties as central institutions in enlightened Holland. On the one hand
the societies didn’t seem to care much for a decisive position in the
substance of lectures and other society activities. On the otherhand, society
members were mostly driven by their own interests. The society interests were
of less importance.