How we think about and act on the usefulness of scientific research has epistemological and political implications: what knowledge consists of, how it comes about and to what ends. In this... Show moreHow we think about and act on the usefulness of scientific research has epistemological and political implications: what knowledge consists of, how it comes about and to what ends. In this dissertation, I situate the usefulness of scientific research in concrete places for knowledge exchange. The exchange of knowledge within and between environments is shaped by many spatial factors: from architectural designs, physical proximity and material infrastructures to city planning, regional development and geopolitics. And not only knowledge travels: also spatial models for research organisation circulate. Focusing on ‘utility spots’ instead of prominent scientists, dominant disciplines or powerful organisations is proposed as a fruitful way to highlight the intersection of political, societal, economic, cultural and scientific developments. In this dissertation I propose and develop the utility spot concept as spatio-historical approach to the epistemology of useful scientific research. This allows me to relate different utility concepts to the histories of science, universities, science policy, and the geopolitics of the Atlantic world in the second half of the twentieth century. Future research into previous, current and future organisation of scientific research with societal value could focus on the politics of proximity (in multiple dimensions) at various utility spots. Show less
This dissertation provides an in-depth study of the Utrecht Chronicle of the Teutonic Order, also known as the 'Jüngere Hochmeisterchronik'. It examines the circulation of (historical)... Show moreThis dissertation provides an in-depth study of the Utrecht Chronicle of the Teutonic Order, also known as the 'Jüngere Hochmeisterchronik'. It examines the circulation of (historical) knowledge within the Teutonic Order at the end of the fifteenth century. Only decades earlier, the order suffered major defeats in Prussia and its former heathen enemies had become Christians. It has been the underlying aim of this study to gain an understanding of the introduction of the order’s tradition of history writing to the Low Countries, far removed from the traditional production centres in Prussia and Livonia, as well as the effects this change of location, and accompanying change of perspective had on the content and purpose of such historical production within the order. It has become clear that the chronicle was written in Utrecht, in various phases from 1480 to 1491 and possibly the mid-1490s, by the Utrecht land commander Johan van Drongelen and his personal secretary. The material product of their collaboration is a manuscript kept in Vienna, which can now be classified as an author’s copy. Furthermore, the author(s) managed to collect a wide selection of sources – including from locations hundreds of kilometres away from the city of Utrecht. Show less
