Duurzame Neerlandistiek 2012 en later... of de ‘neerlandistieke Mercator-projectie’ 500 jaar ná Mercator

Abstrakt

In this article an analysis is given of the today’s situation of the academic developments of Netherlandish university research and education. The occasion for this analysis was the 500th birth anniversary of Gerardus Mercator in 2012, the founder of the cartographical projection — famous, but with many distortions. I investigate the different ‘projections’ of the Netherlandistics intra muros and extra muros, describing the existing relationships between different ‘parts of the Netherlandistic world’: the Dutch Language Union, the International Society for Netherlandistics IVN, the Dutch and Flemish universities and the Netherlandistic departments of foreign universities. I analyse also possible existing distortions in the today dramatically changing academic world. The questions are: what are the dangers and what are the chances for the Netherlandistics today; and: which projection is correct and which one is distorted. Finally, a possible way out is sketched: the forming of ‘Durable Netherlandistics’.