Focusing on the late Eighteenth Century and early Nineteenth Century, Blueprints for a National Community describes the transition of the federative Republic into the unified Kingdom of the Netherlands, which for fifteen years also included Belgium. This revolution was more than a political incident, and resulted from an extensive debate about the organization of society. The authors show how much energy and creativity was mobilized at this time, in order to adjust what had become a rather archaic society to changing conditions, and to offer the perspective of a new future.

Autorentext
JOOST KLOEK is Professor of the Social History of Literature at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He has published books on the early reception of Goethe's Werther, on the production, distribution and consumption of literature, and on literature education.

WIJNAND MIJNHARDT is a Professor at Utrecht University in The Netherlands.

Inhalt
Preface Vantage Point Panoramic View: The Netherlands 1650-1815 Prologue: A Sophisticated Urban Society Free Debate The Justification of Human Existence The Printed Word Sociability A National Cultural Community Utopias and Visions of the Future Civic Republicans A New Ideal of Citizenship Religion The Birth of the Modern Dutch Nation Women and the Nation The Well-Being of Society: Education The Well-Being of Society: Poor Relief and Health Care Words and Reality Cultural Prestige and Cultural Policy A National Language Academic Learning: Theory, Practice and Policy Literature: Rules, Emotions, Ideas Literature: Character, Canon, Competition Performing Arts Painting, Art Policy, National Taste A National Forum The Nation's Welfare Taking Stock