Pieter Bouman

Professor of Sociology at the University of Groningen (1946-1960)

Pieter Bouman was a founder of Dutch sociology, the historian with the best-selling historical books in the twentieth century and an able administrator of the University of Groningen. While studying economics and history, his fascination for sociological processes arose. When he was appointed professor of sociology at the RUG in 1946, publications in these fields were decisive. His cultural sociological approach put him at the forefront of the field, evidenced among other things by his honorary membership of the Dutch Sociological Society.

Among his many publications is the bestseller Revolution of the Lonely, which has been translated into many languages. This study is both the story of a life and the portrait of an era, both a biography and a cultural history. A story of a life in an epoch with two world wars, great social changes, many ideologies and philosophies, and with a philosophy of progress as well as of decline. Bouman lived through all that and experienced it intensely. He suffered under his time but tried to rise above it by telling about it. He became a well-known Dutchman who maintained good relations with the Royal Family and in 1964 presented an honorary doctorate to Queen Juliana. He had great significance for Groningen University: he set up a fully-fledged sociology department, was intensively involved in the establishment of both the Faculty of Economic Sciences (1948) and the Faculty of Social Sciences (1964) and stimulated research by the Sociological Institute into living conditions in the region. From 1959 to 1960, he was Rector Magnificus.

The Bouman Building can be found at Grote Rozenstraat 31 and currently houses the Sociology Department.