Tales from Academia. History of Anthropology in the Netherlands. Part I

This book in two parts aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the history of cultural, social and physical anthropology in The Netherlands. Experienced anthropologists were invited to describe the history of their own departments and specialisations. The forty-four authors present detailed histories and relate developments as they themselves partly experienced them. In keeping with recent ideas about ethnography, the editors preferred expressions of anthropological practice as performed, rather than constructed and detached de facto histories. The book has two parts. The first part contains institutional histories. The chapters show that each department has developed its own distinctive voice, moving from ethnology (volkenkunde) and cultural anthropology to non-western sociology. The focus is on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with an early start in the eighteenth century. The second part presents a wide range of anthropological specialisations. In both parts, attention has been paid to social contexts and dynamic interrelations between anthropology and Dutch society. These histories aim to contribute to disciplinary and social discourse, as much as being part of that discourse. In its turn, we hope that the book will generate new tales. For this reason, special care has been given to present up-to-date bibliographies in order to provide full references to anthropology in its various guises in The Netherlands