Harald Hendrix appointed Director of KNIR

T he Board of the University has appointed Prof. Harald Hendrix, Professor of Italian Studies at Utrecht University, as director of the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR) as from 1 May 2014.

Harald Hendrix

Harald Hendrix (1958) has an interdisciplinary academic profile with a specific focus on Italian culture. He studied cultural history, comparative literature and Italian studies (PhD UvA 1993). His academic work focuses on several different areas including the European reception of Italian Renaissance and Baroque culture, the early modern aesthetics of the non-beautiful, and the relationship between literary heritage and cultural memory.

He has published sixteen books, many in association with colleagues in Italy and the Netherlands. These include Cyprus and the Renaissance (Brepols, 2013), The History of Futurism (Lexington, 2012), and The Turn of the Soul (Brill, 2011). One of his research priority areas is Italian writers’ houses, from the Middle Ages to the present day, a subject on which he published a book entitled Writers’ Houses and the Making of Memory (Routledge, 2008/2012).

Since being appointed professor in 2001, Hendrix has held positions on several boards, including as director of a national research institute (2002-2006) and head of a sizeable department (2007-2012). In addition, he has chaired the board of the Dutch-Flemish Working Group on Italian Studies since 2007.

KNIR

The Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR) is the oldest and largest of the Dutch Scientific Institutes Abroad (NWIB). It has been at the forefront of high-quality research and interdisciplinary education in the humanities for more than a hundred years, fulfilling a bridging role between the Dutch universities, the city of Rome and the academic world in Italy.

The KNIR is part of the University of Groningen, and has firm administrative and academic ties with Leiden University, the University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University, Radboud University Nijmegen and VU University Amsterdam.

The Institute forms a Campus of Excellence for Dutch universities in the historical and cultural heart of Europe. It organizes courses for students from a whole range of programmes at all levels, awards grants and provides accommodation in the institute for outstanding students and researchers from various disciplines.

Premises in the stately Villa Borghese, a unique library collection and an extensive programme of conferences, lectures and cultural activities combine to make KNIR the ultimate academic gateway to the Eternal City.