Geert Janssen
Fellow and Tutor in Early Modern Dutch History
Biography
Born and raised near Maastricht (in the south of the Netherlands), I studied history in Groningen (in the very north of this expansive country). I subsequently completed my PhD at the University of Leiden. During my years as a graduate student I was fortunate to be able to build up quite a lot of teaching experience. From the start I have thoroughly enjoyed working with students who have often inspired me to broaden my range and think in different directions.
After I gained my PhD, a number of postdoctoral grants enabled me to expand my academic horizon internationally. Both intellectually and personally I benefited greatly from my stay at St Cross College, Oxford (2005-6), the University of St Andrews (2006) and the Institute for European History in Mainz (2007). I subsequently held a temporary teaching job in early modern history at Cambridge. In 2010 I became Special Lecturer in early modern Dutch history at Oxford and Fellow of Corpus Christi College.
Research
My research focuses upon the history of the early modern Low Countries. For my PhD I studied patronage practices at the court of the stadholders (provincial governors) in the Dutch Republic. Primarily based on the extensive, yet little known diaries of William Frederick of Nassau (1613-1664) I examined how patronage shaped political, religious and social identities in the Dutch Golden Age.
I am currently involved in a project about Catholic refugees in the Dutch Revolt (1566-1609), co-funded by the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research. It seeks to identify the impact of exile and migration on the Counter-Reformation. More specifically, the project proceeds from the idea that the experience of exile served as a catalyst for religious radicalization in the Dutch revolt; that it encouraged Catholic men and women to transform their religious identity and develop a new, more militant group mentality. It builds on a wide variety of sources, including texts (diaries, chronicles, correspondence), visual evidence (paintings, prints) and forms of material culture.
As a historian of the (water-rich) Netherlands, I am also interested in maritime history. In connection to my post at Oxford I serve as historical consultant to the Maritime Museum Rotterdam.
Teaching and Supervision
I currently teach European and British History between 1500 and 1700. Together with Dr Hanneke Grootenboer of the History of Art Department I am convener of the Special Subject ‘The Dutch Golden Age'. For visiting graduate students of Erasmus University Rotterdam I teach a yearly course in Hilary term. I am keen to supervise students in the field of early modern Dutch history as well as in areas related to my research, including the Counter-Reformation and the history of migration.
Recent publications
Book:
- Princely Power in the Dutch Republic. Patronage and William Frederick of Nassau (1613-64) (Manchester, 2008). Dutch edition: Creaturen van de macht. Patronage bij Willem Frederik van Nassau (1613-1664) (Amsterdam, 2005).
Articles:
- ‘The Exile Experience', in: Alex Bamji, Geert Janssen, Mary Laven (ed.), Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation (forthcoming).
- ‘The Counter-Reformation of the Refugee. Exile and the Shaping of Catholic Militancy in the Dutch Revolt', Journal of Ecclesiastical History (forthcoming)
- ‘Quo Vadis? Catholic Perceptions of Flight and the Revolt of the Low Countries, 1566-1609', Renaissance Quarterly 64 (2011) pp. 472-499.
- ‘The Dutchness of the Dutch Golden Age', The Historical Journal 53 (2010) pp. 805-817.
- ‘Political Ambiguity and Confessional Diversity in the Funeral Processions of Stadholders in the Dutch Republic', Sixteenth Century Journal 40 (2009) pp. 283-301.
- ‘Exiles and the Politics of Reintegration in the Dutch Revolt', History 94 (2009) pp. 37-53.
