Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis - Volume 130, Issue 2, 2017

‘Come outside onto the street!’ The spatial dynamics of tavern violence in eighteenth-century Amsterdam

The location of early-modern interpersonal violence has long been treated merely as a setting in which violent acts unfolded. But by spatially analysing two distinct categories of violence in Amsterdam in the 1730s, this article demonstrates that space played a crucial and meaningful part in the use of violence. Space could either be fought over or have the potential to direct the course of action during the actual fight. In the former, the ambiguity of the tavern meant that space itself could be an object of contest. In the latter, highly ritualized honour-related knife fighting depended on its surroundings. In order to be successful, these fights had to attract an audience as large as possible, turning the different spaces it inhabited – especially the doorstep – into ritualized liminal zones.

Dossier ‘Urk’: the role of aviation in relations between the Netherlands and the People’s Republic of China, 1949-96

In the study of the history of international relations much of the focus has been on the high politics of alliances. Trading interests, generally regarded as belonging to the realm of low politics, have received less attention, although they were often significant. Aviation serves here as an example. As symbols of national prestige, airlines have played an important role in bilateral relations. An exchange of landing rights symbolizes a good relationship between countries. When disputes between countries arise, air transport is one of the first fields to suffer. Although the Netherlands recognized the People’s Republic of China in 1950, political differences ensured that a bilateral air transport agreement was not reached until 1979. It was not ratified, however. When The Hague approved the delivery of two submarines to the Taiwanese navy in 1980, Beijing regarded this as an unfriendly act. In the years that followed, Dutch airlines began services to Taiwan, under a private contract. This became a new obstacle to normal relations with the People’s Republic. Beijing regarded the Dutch air services to Taiwan as an infringement of Chinese sovereignty. Only after years of diplomatic skirmishes and the removal of all symbols of nationality from the aircraft used on the route to Taipeh was a bilateral air transport agreement with the People’s Republic signed in 1996. This shows that aviation played a more important role in bilateral relations than is generally assumed.

Socialism under the sun. Cuba Sympathizers in the Netherlands during the 1960s

The Cuba solidarity movement is under-represented in Dutch historiography concerning the 1960s. Based on new primary sources, this article argues that this movement deserves more scholarly attention. Although small in size, the Cuba movement, mostly consisting of left-wing intellectuals and students, sheds light on two larger research themes. First, for Dutch Cuba sympathizers the so-called Third World was not just a screen onto which they could project their own preoccupations with the Western system, culture, or authority. On the contrary, in response to the negative image of Cuba and the US embargo against the Caribbean Island, they sincerely and continuously attempted to reveal the favorable developments following the Cuban revolution. By doing this, they hoped that the Dutch public would give the Cuban revolution a chance, as well as the Third World in general. Second, this article demonstrates the agency of Third World regimes in Western countries during the Sixties. By actively searching for potential Dutch sympathizers and inviting them to Cuba, the regime had a huge inspirational and motivational impact on the Cuba solidarity movement which was crucial for its continued existence. Moreover, it is argued that Cuban diplomatic efforts not only contributed to political unrest and protest around 1968, but were also at the root of the Dutch-Cuban aid relationship between 1973 and 1977.

Collaborations between dissidence and obedience. A new perspective on alternative art practice in the GDR

This paper studies alternative art collaborations in the GDR during the 1970s and 1980s. As a result of the totalitarianism debate of the 1990s, scholars have often assumed that artists in East Germany had no choice but to conform to socialist ideology and the state’s strict cultural policy, or to subvert social rules and live as dissidents. This paper will use Alf Lüdtke’s concept of Eigen-Sinn to create a more differentiated perspective on East-German art practice. In a manner of Eigen-Sinn, alternative artists often adapted social reality to their needs by appropriating authority. Using as case studies two exhibitions from the Leonhardi-Museum, the artist collective Clara Mosch, and performance group the Autoperforationsartisten, this paper will show that collaboration often played a key role in eigensinnige practices, as working together not only had practical advantages, but also created a sense of solidarity, autonomy, and confidence.

The digital humanities: like a witty essay

While digital approaches to research in the humanities have greatly increased in the last decades, many scholars rightly criticize the lack of knowledge their peers have of the methods and tools they are applying. Most importantly, there is a concern as to how the digital dimension is affecting the humanities as a field in general. In this essay I argue that, when used responsibly, digital methods and tools are hugely attractive for widening the scope of our research topics, for collaboration, and for sharing our knowledge with a broader public. These possibilities can have long-term repercussions in workflow practices, but do not imply the undermining of the fundaments of the humanities as a study area. The digital humanities work like a witty essay: they stimulate critical thinking, expand our horizons, and open up fundamental debates.

What competencies should historians have? The state and future of academic history education

Academic history programmes turn students into historians through a training that combines the acquisition of historical knowledge and specific skills, such as writing and doing research. Although there are many textbooks helping students to develop historical skills, Zoeken en schrijven. Handleiding bij het maken van een historisch werkstuk [Research and writing. Manual for the design of a historical paper] (1982), by P. de Buck, M.E.H.N. Mout, C. Musterd, and J. Talsma, has been one of the most popular textbooks in the Netherlands. For more than 20 years ‘De Buck’ has introduced students to the rules and practices of the historical discipline. The launch of a new textbook, Geschiedenis schrijven! Wegwijzer voor historici [Writing history! Guide for historians] (2016) by Jeannette Kamp, Susan Legêne, Matthias van Rossum, and Sebas Rümke has prompted a new debate about academic history teaching. Do students acquire the skills that are necessary for a twenty-first-century historian? What skills should they be, how do you teach them, and how does academic history teaching relate to the social tasks of historians? These are the questions considered in this discussion section. Marijke Huisman (Utrecht University) opens the debate by asking whether students are really part of the historical practice, both in and beyond academia. Karel Van Nieuwenhuyse (KU Leuven) and Marianne Eekhout (Dordrechts Museum) focus on the connections between academic history programmes and two major fields of employment for historians: education and heritage institutions. Finally, the editors of Geschiedenis schrijven! Wegwijzer voor historici reflect on the answers – and new questions – that have been raised in this discussion section.