Associate Professor in Church History at the Vrije Unversiteit (VU) Amsterdam, School of Religion and Theology, Hersteld Hervormd Seminary

Jan has received several prestigious grants, by which he has gained much international experience. In 2013, he was awarded an 'Excellence Initiative' grant from the Federal German Government for a postdoc project at the University of Bremen on religious change in the city of Bremen around 1500. This research resulted in a 'Habilitation' (or second book). Furthermore, Jan obtained grants from EU Horizon 2020, the German Ministry for Culture and Media, and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.

Jan´s main research topics include theology and spirituality in Early Modern Europe, more specifically devotional writings and their circulation.

For Reformation history, see my personal page at TUA (Apeldoorn).

Being a supervisor of PhDs, Jan welcomes applications from prospective PhD students whose intended research relates to his current research interests.

Jan obtained his Ph.D. in theology at the VU in 2011 with a dissertation on translations of devotional literature and the role of networks in the late seventeenth century (published 2020 in the series Beiträge zur historischen Theologie, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen). In 2021, Jan received the Olevian award for his dissertation.

He publishes in a range of international journals, such as Church History, and Journal of Early Modern Christianiyt, companions, such as Evangelische Spiritualität (ed. P. Zimmerling), and in academic volumes. Moreover, he is editor of Studies in Puritanism and Piety, book review editor of Church History and Religious Culture (CHRC), and has published many articles of popular scholarship.

Key Publications

'Towards an Understanding of Patterns of Movement of People in Relation to the Translation of Devotional Literature in Early Modern Europe: Seventeenth Century German and Dutch Translators of English Devotional Literature', in Reformation and Renaissance Review (2024), 1-25.

‘Practice of Piety Translated: The Dynamics of the International Circulation of a Devotional Book’, in: Church History 92(3) (2023), 559–584.

‘Rapid Transition or Gradual Transformation? A New Perspective on the Reformation in Bremen’, in: Archiv fur Reformationsgeschichte 114(1) (2023), 290-305.

'Knowledge Communication and the Translation of Devotional Literature within Samuel Hartlib's Circle', in: Journal of Early Modern Christianity 9(1) (2022), 121-144. 

‘Piety doctrinally tested: The Reformed Wilhelmus à Brakel’s approach to the Lutheran Pietist Francke’, in: Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte 133(2) (2022), 184-205.

Das Denkbuch des Bremer Bürgermeisters Daniel von Büren des Älteren 1490-1515. In Verbindung mit der Historischen Gesellschaft Bremen herausgegeben vom Staatsarchiv Bremen (diary of Bremen's mayor Daniel von Büren the Elder 1490-1515), Bremen, Staatsarchiv Bremen, 2021. Edited by Adolf. E. Hofmeister and me (´Habilitation' or 2nd book).

‘Religious Subcultures and Reading Culture: The Case of Heyman Jacobsz's Sondaechs Schoole (1623)’, in: Quaerendo 51(4) (2021), 348-385.

(ed., with Christoph Auffarth), Die »andere« Reformation im Alten Reich = The »other« Reformation in the Old Empire: Bremen und Nordwest-Europa = Bremen and North-West Europe, Leipzig, Evangelische Verlagsanstalt (Arbeiten zur Kirchen- und Theologiegeschichte, 53), Leipzig 2020.

Kerkgeschiedenis voor iedereen (church history for popular scholarship), Utrecht, KokBoekencentrum, 2020. Co-authored with Almatine Leene.

Übersetzungen von Erbauungsliteratur und die Rolle von Netzwerken am Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts (Translation of Devotional Literature and the Role of Networks at the End of the Seventeenth Century) (Beiträge zur historischen Theologie, 195), Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2020 (dissertation, Olevian award).

‘Networks and translation within the Republic of Letters. The case of Theodore Haak (1605-1690)’, in: Sietske Fransen, Niall Hodson and Karl Enenkel (eds.), Translating Early Modern Science, Leiden etc., Brill, 2017, 41-64.

• Stichting Studie der Nadere Reformatie | Zoetermeer | Bestuurder | 2017-10-01 - present
• Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn | Apeldoorn | Medewerker | 2024-10-01 - present

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