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Books by Jan Hein Furnee

This collection of essays examines the history of urban leisure cultures in Europe during the tra... more This collection of essays examines the history of urban leisure cultures in Europe during the transition from the early modern to the modern period. Bringing together research on a wide variety of activities - from the theatre and art exhibitions to spas, seaside resorts and games - it develops a new scholarly agenda for the history of leisure, focusing on the complex processes of cultural transfer that transformed urban leisure culture from the British Isles to the Ottoman Empire. How did new models of urban leisure pastimes travel throughout Europe? Who were the main agents of cultural innovation, appropriation and adaptation? How did the increasingly entangled character of European urban leisure culture impact upon the ways men and women from various classes identified with their social, cultural or (proto-)national communities? These are some of the questions explored by this accessible and wide-ranging collection, which looks at leisure from a long-term, interdisciplinary and transnational perspective.

This volume brings together research on retailing and shopping and their embeddedness in urba... more This volume brings together research on retailing and shopping and their embeddedness in urban space, themes that have attracted wide interest in recent decades. Addressing these themes over an era that bridges the early modern and modern period, the authors argue that the 'modernity' of the nineteenth century is often overemphasised, at the expense of recognising the continuities with the earlier period and the degree of innovation that took place before the onset of 'modernity'. This collection compares long-term developments in retail locations, retailing formats, regulation of shopping streets, and the cult of shopping for pleasure across a number of neighbouring countries and regions (Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands), and offers surprising new insights into the processes of cultural transfer, appropriation and exchange.

Articles and Chapters (English) by Jan Hein Furnee

This chapter analyses the professionalization of tourism promotion in Amsterdam between the late ... more This chapter analyses the professionalization of tourism promotion in Amsterdam between the late 1930s and the first years of the Second World War. Focusing on the Amsterdam Tourist Association, reorganized and professionalized as a public-private institution in 1937, the chapter particularly charts how the Tourist Association reflected on its main goals, on the main interest groups for tourism promotion, on the targeted tourist groups, on the means of propaganda and on the framing of Amsterdam as a tourist destination. In all these debates references to international examples and expertise as well as an increasing faith in science and statistics played a dominant role.

In the decades before and after World War ii, major European department stores were increasingly ... more In the decades before and after World War ii, major European department stores were increasingly eager to know and understand their customers. This article analyses how the Dutch department store De Bijenkorf, in dialogue with leading European partners, developed a wide range of research techniques to chart the social composition and buying behavior of its customers in order to enhance the company's efficiency in procurement, advertising, spatial organization and sales. The customer research of De Bijenkorf helped to legitimize new business policies such as up-and downtrading and impulse buying, but also reflected and established new ideas and images of modern urban consumers as statistical categories behaving in astonishing regular ways.

This case study of the Dutch residential capital of The Hague explores the relationship between n... more This case study of the Dutch residential capital of The Hague explores the relationship between nineteenth-century associational life and local politics, testing the well-known argument of scholars such as Robert Putnam, that high numbers and high levels of participation in local voluntary associations are often positively correlated with processes of local political democratization. A quantitative analysis of (double) membership in the city's most prominent social clubs and cultural associations, and a qualitative analysis of the political culture within these clubs, offer a better understanding regarding why the impact of a vibrant local associational culture on local democracy has not always been as positive as political scientists have often tended to assume.

This chapter analyses The. Hague's main shopping streets in the nineteenth century in a long-term... more This chapter analyses The. Hague's main shopping streets in the nineteenth century in a long-term perspective, stretching back to the seventeenth century. Using a broad range of official, literary and journalistic sources, the chapter aims to show that The Hague's nineteenth-century shopping streets accommodated and stimulated both old and new visual and social experiences of pleasurable shopping. Even before the advent of the shopping arcade and department store, the modern Dutch concept of 'winkelen' referred to century-old and new practices at the same time.

In nineteenth-century The Hague, the French opera performances in the Royal Theatre were the most... more In nineteenth-century The Hague, the French opera performances in the Royal Theatre were the most important occasions during the winter season at which men and women from almost all social ranks experienced a strong sense of social cohesion in a common leisure pursuit, albeit one in which social hierarchies were clearly demarcated. This article analyses the changing social composition of the opera audience through analysis of subscription and admission records, and evaluates the changing composition of the audience in relation to changes in taste, theatre architecture and policy. Although it was almost impossible to exploit financially and was also a constant object of political, musical and moral criticism, the French opera succeeded in maintaining its central position in The Hague's musical and social life throughout the nineteenth century.

Artikelen en hoofdstukken (Nederlands) by Jan Hein Furnee

Wat betekent kunst voor mensen? Dit essay laat aan de hand van Gioachino Rossini's grand opéra Gu... more Wat betekent kunst voor mensen? Dit essay laat aan de hand van Gioachino Rossini's grand opéra Guillaume Tell (1828) zien hoe deze schijnbaar eenvoudige vraag in de afgelopen decennia vanuit deze verschillende cultuurhistorische perspectieven is benaderd. Het artikel demonstreert hoe cultuurhistorici de betekenisverschuiving van een kunstwerk stap voor stap kunnen analyseren van artistieke creatie tot publieksreceptie, op het grensvlak van hoge en populaire kunstvormen en in het grensverkeer tussen nationale culturen.

Ondanks enkele goede recente studies is de kennis van de culturele horizon en habitus van de bred... more Ondanks enkele goede recente studies is de kennis van de culturele horizon en habitus van de brede middenklassen in Nederlandse steden nog altijd opvallend beperkt. Dit korte artikel belicht de sociale samenstelling, de vriendschapscultus, activiteiten en culturele smaak van het Amsterdamse collegie Ons Genoegen (1828-ca. 1878). Waren de leden en hun echtgenotes elitaire culturele omnivoren avant la lettre, zelfverzekerd laverend tussen hoge en populaire cultuur? Of vormden ze eerder typische middlebrow cultuurconsumenten, niet in staat en niet bereid tot meer geconcentreerde toewijding aan de hoge kunsten en gulzig naar lichtere derivaten?

Since its première in 1828, La Muette de Portici has been one of the most popular grands opéras p... more Since its première in 1828, La Muette de Portici has been one of the most popular grands opéras performed in Dutch theatres in the nineteenth century, despite its reputation of having incited the Belgian Revolt of 1830. Based on a wide range of primary sources, this article analyses how, in the initial process of cultural transfer from Paris to the Netherlands, the opera with its ambivalent political tenor was staged and received differently in three theatres in Amsterdam and The Hague. In the aftermath of the Belgian Revolt, authorities, artists, press critics and audiences subsequently problematized, rehabilitated and enriched the opera with new meanings. After having been feared and condemned, ‘Amour sacré de la Patrie’ again became a favorite aria to enthusiastically respond to.

In recent decades several historians have argued that the emergence of shopping as a leisure acti... more In recent decades several historians have argued that the emergence of shopping as a leisure activity in the second half of the nineteenth century substantially enhanced women’s freedom of movement in public spaces and promoted female emancipation in general. Based on urban descriptions and digitised newspaper articles on nineteenth-century Amsterdam – on its main shopping street, the Kalverstraat, in particular – this article takes a more nuanced stance. Shopping as a leisure activity was older in origin than is often assumed and to some extent was a male activity as well. While shopping, ladies encountered numerous factors that
hampered their spatial mobility, from road debris, pawing, mugging, the presence of prostitutes to ‘moral harassment’ over exploited shop girls. Indeed, a single feminist framed the right to shop and to visit restaurants in an explicit discourse of ‘liberation’. However, to argue that shopping promoted female emancipation in general would suggest a too linear and monolithic approach.

Over the last twenty years, the writing of modern urban biographies has been one of the core acti... more Over the last twenty years, the writing of modern urban biographies has been one of the core activities of Dutch urban historians. Focusing on the analysis of the nineteenth century city in fifteen major urban biographies, this review discusses their selection of themes, composition and style, but also explores new possibilities to enhance the synthetic potential of urban historiography. The article argues that in the next few years more attention might be paid to the stimulating role of urban government, especially in economic and cultural development; to the contested creation of class and gender relations in the field of leisure; and to the multifaceted character of urban space: as a structure, a built environment and a socially constructed site of daily experience.

in de Nederlandse stadsge-9 111. d i,nlei ende artikel over de Nederlandse stadsgechieäenis pleit... more in de Nederlandse stadsge-9 111. d i,nlei ende artikel over de Nederlandse stadsgechieäenis pleit Jan Hein Furnée voor een eendrachtige samenwerking tussen de cultuurgeschiedenis en econo-===.r mische en sociale geschiedschrijving. 4 Wat stadsgeschiedenis dan wel zou moeten zijn, en wat we onder die ruimtelijke dimensie kunnen verstaan -daarop zijn in de afgelopen decennia uiteenlopende antwoorden gegeven. s derlandse steden en hun verleden. Enkele thema's uit de recente geschiedschrijving', Leidschrift, themanummer'Van Hanze tot metropool' 15 (2000) 6-20; P. Kooij, 'Het format van de stad. Een evaluatie van recente Nederlandse stadsgeschiedenissen: BMGN 117 (2002) 293-306. Voor andere bijdragen aan de discussie zie hieronder.

Wat gebeurt er om ons heen? Terwijl de meeste artikelen in Stadsgeschiedenis betrekking hebben op... more Wat gebeurt er om ons heen? Terwijl de meeste artikelen in Stadsgeschiedenis betrekking hebben op de Lage Landen, signaleert deze rubriek wat er in het voorgaande jaar in buitenlandse tijdschriften op het gebied van de geschiedenis van buitenlandse steden is gepubliceerd. 'Buitenland' is hier een wel enigszins groot woord. Door de internationale uitgeversmarkt, het aanschafbeleid van Nederlandse bibliotheken, de verhoudingen in het onderzoeksveld, maar ook mijn eigen taalkennis en bias is de selectie van artikelen gebaseerd op ruim zestig overwegend Engelstalige en enkele Duitse en Franse tijdschriften en staan in verreweg de meeste artikelen Europese en Amerikaanse steden centraal. Behalve de bespreking van interessante artikelen in vaktijdschriften als Urban history is de rubriek speciaal bedoeld om artikelen te signaleren in tijdschriften die niet iedereen systematisch allemaal zal kunnen bijhouden. Met deze rubriek wil de redactie een extra stimulans bieden om resultaten van stadshistorisch onderzoek in de Lage Landen in een bredere internationale context te plaatsen, en tegelijkertijd de nieuwsgierigheid prikkelen om vraagstukken, inzichten, bronnen en methodes uit buitenlands onderzoek ook op het gebied van onze 'eigen' stadsgeschiedenis te exploreren. 1

Terwijl de meeste artikelen in Stadsgeschiedenis betrekking hebben op de Lage Landen en omringend... more Terwijl de meeste artikelen in Stadsgeschiedenis betrekking hebben op de Lage Landen en omringende regio, signaleert deze rubriek wat er in het voorgaande jaar in buitenlandse tijdschriften op het gebied van de geschiedenis van buitenlandse steden is gepubliceerd. 'Buitenland' is hier enigszins een groot woord. Door de internationale uitgeversmarkt, het aanschafbeleid van Nederlandse bibliotheken, het onderzoeksveld, maar ook mijn eigen taalkennis en bias is de selectie van gedepouilleerde tijdschriften beperkt ruim zestig tot overwegend Engelstalige en enkele Duitse en Franse tijdschriften, en staan in verreweg de meeste besproken artikelen Europese en Amerikaanse steden centraal. Behalve voor de bespreking van interessante artikelen in vakbladen als Urban history en Journal of urban history, is deze rubriek speciaal bedoeld om artikelen te signaleren in tijdschriften die niet iedereen systematisch zal kunnen bijhouden. Met deze rubriek wil de redactie een extra stimulans bieden om resultaten van stadshistorisch onderzoek in de Lage Landen in een bredere internationale context te plaatsen, en tegelijkertijd de nieuwsgierigheid prikkelen om vraagstukken, inzichten, bronnen en methodes uit buitenlands onderzoek ook op het gebied van onze 'eigen' stadsgeschiedenis te exploreren. 1