Sander Bax: 'Literature doesn’t confine itself to national borders'
To truly understand Dutch literature, we have to look beyond borders. At least, that is the view of Sander Bax. From 1 August, he will be Professor of Contemporary Dutch Literature and Culture in a Transnational Dynamic.
Bax was affiliated with Tilburg University for more than 22 years, serving most recently as a professor. 'I'm leaving there with very warm feelings', he says, 'in recent years I've worked to strengthen the position of Dutch studies and to link it more closely with the school subject. I think I can contribute even more to that mission in Leiden, as there is a long and rich tradition of teaching and research in Dutch Studies here.'
Bax will also be teaching here. 'I've always been a strong advocate of the idea that teaching and research within academia are complementary and equally fundamental activities. The notion that top researchers no longer teach is something I strongly oppose. In fact, I'm perhaps looking forward to teaching the most, from the first-year course I'll be doing to the master's course.'
Thermometer in society
In these courses, Bax's students will certainly become acquainted with his view that literature benefits from a broad perspective. 'Literature acts as a thermometer in society and makes current problems visible to the reader in an accessible way. A single literary text contains so many traces of life, the world, culture: it offers a wonderful way to engage in discussions about complex issues.'
As his job title suggests, Bax explicitly looks beyond national borders. 'Literature functions pre-eminently in the wider world, which is shaped by all sorts of international developments. Literary writers don't just read authors from their own country, any more than Dutch literary scholars do. They are influenced by what's happening in international literature, by global political developments. For example, there's an enormous amount of important literature about climate issues, which doesn't stop at our national borders.'
Connection with society
Bax is also interested in the role authors play in society. 'A writer writes a novel, but also does many other things in the public domain, such as writing columns or appearing in the media. The dynamics of these different activities really fascinate me. In the educational research I do, I look more at the reader's perspective: What do pupils do when they have to read a literary text? How do they read when they're not reading for school? The findings can be extremely useful in enriching Dutch as a school subject and considering what we can do about the reading crisis. I want to continue with these lines of research, although I'm deliberately leaving room to set up new collaborations with my new colleagues.'