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Overseas History in the Netherlands after the Second World War. Historical Backgrounds, Modern Developments, Present-Day Situation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2011

H.L. Wesseling
H.L. Wesseling
Affiliation:
(Leiden University)
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Extract

Is history science or art? This is a problem which has been on people's minds for more than a century and certainly it is an interesting question. But within the framework of this contribution it is not really important, for, whether one practises art history or history of science, one faces the same problem. On the one hand such a history is first and foremost a history of the work and achievements of individuals. A history of science which does not deal with the work of Copernicus, Newton and Einstein is as useless as a history of art in which Rembrandt, Rubens and Michelangelo do not figure. Art and history are and will remain foremost the work of individuals of genius. On the other hand it is also true that a history of art or science which confines itself exclusively to a series of sketches of individuals and their work is not satisfactory either. Artists and scientists do not work within a vacuum. As one discerns tendencies and trends in art, likewise within the field of science one finds schools and paradigms. In order to understand works of art and science we have to look closely at influences and examples, at the time-spirit, the spiritual climate, et cetera.

Type
Historiography
Information
Itinerario , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , July 1994 , pp. 97 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © Research Institute for History, Leiden University 1994

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References

Notes

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45 See for this Bootsma, , ‘Indonesiē’, 316–317.Google Scholar