De Moderne Tijd - Volume 5, Issue 1, 2021

Abstract La fille de Madame Angot French operetta in the Netherlands in the 1870s: popular and contested In the second half of the nineteenth century, French operetta was one of the most popular genres of music theatre in Amsterdam and in the Netherlands. The comedic pieces written by composer Jacques Offenbach were by far the most popular, and his opéras bouffes have long determined the image of operetta in th Read More

Abstract ‘Proved effective on trial, we can speak of an achieved ideal’ Abraham Kuyper and the mechanical voting machine, c. 1895-1905 During the latest presidential elections in the United States, unfounded conspiracy theories sprung up concerning alleged ballot box fraud by compromised voting machines. Although different voting machines had been used in the Netherlands since 1966, concerns over their reliability ended Read More

Abstract Simon Vestdijk and Life-philosophy This article questions the philosophical themes in de work of one the most influential and prolific writers in Dutch literary history, Simon Vestdijk (1898-1971). Vestdijk was heavily engaged with European life-philosophical ideas, which were at their height in de period 1900-1930. Essentially, these ideas were a critique of positivist epistemology. They postulate that consciousness is an organi Read More