James Kennedy Chair of the Commission Revising the Dutch Historical Canon

Historian James Kennedy, Dean at University College Utrecht and Professor of Modern Dutch History at University Utrecht, will chair the commission in charge of revising the ‘Canon of Dutch History’. 

The Canon, comprising 50 decisive events in history, was first established by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in 2005 as a means to define shared Dutch identity in the aftermath of two politically inspired murders, those of the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and film director Theo van Gogh. Since, the Canon has been widely used at schools and in the media.

From the outset, the Ministry acknowledged the need to revise those 50 historical cornerstones from time to time. “New historical studies have been published about various topics within the past 15 years”, James Kennedy told the Dutch daily de Volkskrant last Friday. “We now know more. Also the makeup of society has shifted. The children of the next few years are not the same as those of 2006.” 

It is also necessary to check if balance between positive and negative events in history is in place, he says. The canon already includes some of the most discussed shadow sides in Dutch history, such as the role of the Dutch in slave trade or the war in the former Dutch colony Indonesia that lead to its independence (1949). The new Canon will be presented in spring 2020.