The Huizinga Lecture () is an annual lecture in the Netherlands about a subject in the domains of cultural history or philosophy.
[See]
. The lecture is in honour of
Johan Huizinga
Johan Huizinga (; 7 December 1872 – 1 February 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.
Life
Born in Groningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor of physiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two ...
, a distinguished Dutch historian (1872–1945) who worked in the first half of the 20th century. The Lecture is organized by nationwide daily general newspaper
NRC Handelsblad
''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country.
History
was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...
, the Faculty of Humanities of
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
, and the (Society of Dutch Literature). Attendance at the lecture was free of charge for subscribers to NRC Handelsblad, members of the Faculty of Humanities, and members of the until 2010. From 2011 onwards tickets have to be bought. The lecture is held alternately by a Dutch and a non-Dutch
intellectual
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
.
The Huizinga Lecture started in 1972 and is held annually in December in the
Pieterskerk in Leiden, The Netherlands.
Lectures
This is a complete list of the Huizinga Lectures from the beginning in 1972 to the present date.
*1972:
Rudy Kousbroek – ''Ethologie en cultuurfilosofie'' (Ethology and cultural philosophy)
*1973:
Mary McCarthy – ''Can There Be a Gothic Literature?''
*1974:
Jan Pen – ''De cultuur, het geld en de mensen'' (Civilization, money and the people)
*1975:
Jean-François Revel – ''La tentation totalitaire'' (The totalitarian temptation)
*1976:
Arthur Lehning – ''Over vrijheid en gelijkheid'' (On liberty and equality)
*1977:
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
– ''Intellectuals and the State''
*1978:
Karel van het Reve – ''Literatuurwetenschap: het raadsel der onleesbaarheid'' (Literary studies. The enigma of unreadability)
*1979:
Golo Mann – ''1914-1980: Ein Ueberblick (1914–1980, In vogelvlucht)'' (The period 1914-1980 seen with a birds-eye view)
*1980:
Ernst Kossmann – ''Over conservatisme'' (On Conservatism)
*1981:
Stefan Themerson – ''The Chair of Decency''
*1982:
Renate Rubinstein
Renate Ida Rubinstein (16 November 1929 – 23 November 1990) was a Germans, German-Dutch people, Dutch writer, journalist and columnist.
Biography
Rubinstein was born on 16 November 1929 in Berlin, Germany, to a Jewish father and non-Jew ...
– ''Links en rechts in de politiek en in het leven'' (Left and right in politics and life)
*1983:
Robert Darnton – ''The Meaning of Mother Goose''
*1984:
Harry Mulisch – ''Het Ene'' (The unifying principle)
*1985:
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...
– ''1945: End of an Era?''
*1986:
Huib Drion – ''Eliteproblemen'' (Elite problems)
*1987:
George Steiner
Francis George Steiner, Fellow of the British Academy#Fellowship, FBA (April 23, 1929 – February 3, 2020) was a Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist and educator. He wrote extensively about the relationship between ...
– ''Through a Glass Darkly''
*1988:
Peter Schat – ''Adem, een vergelijking'' (Breath, a metaphor)
*1989:
Susan Sontag
Susan Lee Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, critic, and public intellectual. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on "Camp", Notes on 'Ca ...
– ''Traditions of the New or: Must We Be Modern?''
*1990:
Gerrit Komrij – ''Over de noodzaak van tuinieren'' (On the imperative of gardening)
*1991:
Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled ("strongly ...
– ''In Praise of Clio''
*1992:
E. de Jongh – ''Kunst en het vruchtbare misverstand'' (Art and the fruitful misunderstanding)
*1993:
Christian von Krockow – ''Schwierige Nähe. Zur Geschichte und Zukunft der Deutsch-Niederländischen Beziehungen'' (Hard neighborship: On the history and future of Dutch-German relations)
*1994:
A.Th. van Deursen – ''Huizinga en de geest der eeuw'' (Huizinga and the spirit of the age)
*1995:
Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...
– ''Our Century''
*1996:
Henk Wesseling – ''Zoekt Prof. Huizinga eigenlijk niet zichzelf? Huizinga en de geest van de jaren dertig'' (Is prof. Huizinga as a matter of fact in search of his own self? Huizinga and the spirit of the thirties)
*1997:
Richard Holmes – ''Biography and Death''
*1998:
Louise Fresco – ''Schaduwdenkers en Lichtzoekers'' (Shadow thinkers and Light seekers)
*1999:
Jorge Semprún – ''Einde van de eeuw, begin van een millennium'' (End of a century. Beginning of a millennium)
*2000:
Ian Buruma – ''De neo-romantiek van schrijvers in exil'' (Neoromanticism of writers in exile)
*2001:
Wendy Doniger – ''Homo Ludens and Gallows Humor about the Holocaust and Terrorism''
*2002:
Benno Barnard – ''Tegen de draad van de tijd: over de ware aard van Europa'' (Against the thread of the times. On the true nature of Europe)
*2003:
Abram de Swaan – ''Moord en de Staat'' (Murder and the State)
*2004:
A. S. Byatt – ''From Soul to Heart to Psyche to Personality''
*2005:
Elmer Schönberger – ''Het grote luisteren'' (The big listening)
*2006:
Carlos Fuentes
Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), '' The Old Gringo'' (1985) and '' Christop ...
– ''The Two Traditions: La Mancha and Waterloo''
*2007:
Tijs Goldschmidt – ''Doen alsof je doet alsof'' (Pretending to be pretending)
*2008:
Christopher Bayly – ''The Age of Revolution in the Wider World, 1780–1830, and Its Heritage''
*2009:
Marita Mathijsen - ''Historische sensatiezucht. Over de moraal van de geschiedenis'' (Historical sensation seeking. On the moral of history.)
*2010:
Lisa Jardine - ''The Aftermath of Homo Ludens: From Huizinga to Zemon Davis and beyond''
*2011:
Simon Schama
Sir Simon Michael Schama ( ; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia Uni ...
- ''What happened to the idea of toleration?''
*2012:
Geert van Istendael – ''De parochie van Sint-Precarius'' (The parish of St. Precarius)
*2013:
Bas Heijne - ''De betovering van de wereld'' (The enchantment of the world)
*2014: Fik Meijer -''Denken over Carthago. De erfenis van Duilius''
*2015: Johan Tollebeek - ''De paarden van Waterloo''
*2016:
Ton Koopman - ''Bach en zijn zangers''
*2017: Antoine Bodar - ''Leven alsof God bestaat''
*2018: Jolande Withuis - ''Leve het Leven. Over vrijheid en de biografie''
*2019:
Marlene Dumas - ''Het Onverantwoordelijke Gebaar - of ga terug naar waar jij vandaan komt''
*2020:
Maxim Februari - ''Slechte kunst''
*2021:
David Van Reybrouck - ''De kolonisatie van de toekomst''
*2022:
Gunay Uslu - ''Cultuur geeft leven aan onze levens. Hoe Nederland cultuur waardeert. Van cultureel nationalisme tot corona en daarna (1872-2022 en verder)''
*2023:
Ilja Leonard Pfeiffer - ''Over de aard en het nut van creativiteit''
*2024:
Beatrice de Graaf - ''Wij zijn de tijden. Geschiedenis in crisistijd''
Sources
Homepage Huizinga Lecture Leiden University*''Alle cultuur is streven. De verzamelde Huizinga-lezingen 1972-1986'' (All culture is aspiration. The collected Huizinga Lectures 1972-1986) (with an introduction by
H.L. Wesseling), Amsterdam: Bert Bakker 1987
Notes
{{reflist
Culture in Leiden
Lecture series
Recurring events established in 1972
Entertainment events in the Netherlands
Winter in the Netherlands
1972 establishments in the Netherlands