Short curriculum:

Master’s in Dutch Language and Literature 1988
UvA PHD student 1988-1993
Post Doc researcher 1994-1997
Faculty Fellow 1998-2000
Lecturer in Modern Literature 2000-2007
Professor Book Studies 2001- present

Specializations:

Lisa Kuitert was appointed Professor of Book Studies at the University of Amsterdam in 2001. She earned her Master’s degree in Dutch Language and Literature in 1988, with her thesis on the book trade in the period between the World Wars. In 1993, she earned her Doctorate with her research on literary publishers in the 19th century: Het ene boek in vele delen. De uitgave van literaire series 1850-1900 (The Book in Many Volumes: Publishing Literary Series 1850-1900, De Buitenkant). This book won a prize for ‘best book design’ in 1993. After her doctorate she worked as a post-doctorate researcher, and in 1997 she published a study on 20th-century publishers and their series: Het uiterlijk behang. Reeksen in de Nederlandse literatuur (The Book and its Cover: Series in Dutch Literature) (De Bezige Bij). She was one of the founders of the Nederlandse Boekhistorische Vereniging (Dutch Book Historical Society - NBV). She is the coordinator of the Master’s programme for Book and Manuscript Studies at the UvA, a study programme that attracts around 20 bachelor students and 15 master students each year. She is also the founder of the Master’s study programme for Editor at the UvA. Each year, 22 selected students enrol in the Master’s Editor programme, which consists of a year of academic study followed by a six-month internship at a respected publishing house.

With Prof. Piet Couttenier from the University of Antwerp she received a VNC-grant for the project De Nederlandse literatuur en het literaire bedrijf in het Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden 1815-1830: interactie en differentiatie (Dutch Literature and Literary Business in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815-1830: interaction and differentiation) and two PHD-students have completed their dissertations.

Since 2012, she is the editor-in-chief of Quaerendo. A Journal Devoted to Manuscripts and Printed Books, published by Brill Publishers/Leiden. She is member of the Board of Directors at the Society for the History of Authorship Reading and Publishing (SHARP).

Areas of expertise: History of literary publishers, bibliophiles, writing, the book market from the 19th-21st centuries.
A characteristic of Kuitert’s expertise is the mixture of literary history with book history. From the perspective of book history, literature is an interesting genre because of the potential for conflict between the writer’s and publisher’s literary reputations and more commercial considerations. Creation of a public image is an important stimulant to the literary book market, both for publishers and booksellers as well as for the authors. Research in this field has provided some very interesting, not to mention controversial, insights into literature and publishing.

Kuiterts research on the private library of Dutch poet/painter Lucebert (De Lezende Lucebert (The Reading Lucebert) Vantilt 2006)  is considered innovative.

Her latest book is entitled: Het boek en het badwater. De betekenis van papieren boeken. (The Book and the Bathwater. Why Paper Books Matter. ) Amsterdam University Press 2015.

Current project: In 2011 Lisa Kuitert started working on a new project: the history of the book market in the Dutch East Indies. This has resulted in many lectures and some articles, and will lead to a monograph to be published in 2018.