Sebastiaan Derks is Head of the Data & Collections Department at Huygens Institute and Meertens Institute. In this capacity, he oversees initiatives aimed at enhancing the accessibility and usage of historical and literary sources and texts for humanities researchers and the general public. He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of cultural heritage and digital humanities, and is focused on driving innovation and collaboration to foster a deeper and more inclusive understanding of past cultures.
He studied Early Modern History at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. His research interests lie in the political culture of sixteenth-century Europe, particularly the dynastic power structures in northern Italy. He has held fellowships at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome and at the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, University of California, Los Angeles.
Research projects
Publications
- contribution to journal (review)
- contribution to edited volume
- contribution to conference
- book (author)
- book (editor)
- conference participation
- public engagement
- non textual
- other contribution
2020
Derks, S. (2020). Frontier Interactions. René de Challant and Transregional Lordship [Review of: Matthew Vester (2020), Transregional Lorship and the Italian Renaissance. René de Challant, 1504-1565]. Virtus. Journal of Nobility Studies, 27, 155-158. https://doi.org/10.21827/virtus.27.155-158
2012
Derks, S. (2012). Ferrante Gonzaga: het individu en het systeem [Review of: Gianvittorio Signorotto ed. (2009), Ferrante Gonzaga. Il Mediterraneo, L'Impero (1507-1557). Atti del Convegno di studi, Guastalla, 5-6 ottobre 2007]. Virtus. Journal of Nobility Studies, 18(2011), 203-206.
2024
Derks, S. (2024). The Duchess's Agents: A Preliminary Exploration of Farnese Diplomacy and Communication. In G. Bertini, & C. Cecchinelli (Eds.), Margarita di Parma, perla d'Europa: Atti del Convegno di Studi, Parma, 22 settembre 2023 - Piacenza, 23 settembre 2023 (pp. 31-42). Grafiche Step.
2019
Raeymaekers, D. & Derks, S. (2019). Repertoires of Access in Princely Courts, 1400-1750. In D. Slootjens, & H. Kaal (Eds.), New Perspectives on Power and Political Representation from Ancient History to the Present Day: Repertories of Representation (pp. 78-93). (Radboud Studies in Humanities; Vol. 9). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004291966_007
2016
Derks, S. & Raeymaekers, D. (2016). Introduction: Repertoires of Access in Princely Courts. In D. Raeymaekers, & S. Derks (Eds.), The Key to Power? The Culture of Access in Princely Courts, 1400-1750 (pp. 1-15). (Rulers & Elites. Comparative Studies in Governance; Vol. 8). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004304246_002
2015
Derks, S. (2015). The Fruits of War: The Representation of Alessandro Farnese in Paolo Rinaldi's Liber Relationum. In L. Geevers, & M. Marini (Eds.), Dynastic Identity in Early Modern Europe: Rulers, Aristocrats and the Formation of Identities (pp. 153-178). (Politics and Culture in Europe, 1650–1750). Ashgate Publishing Ltd..
2013
Derks, S. (2013). Le ricompense della guerra: giustificazione e rappresentazione di Alessandro Farnese nel Liber relationum di Paolo Rinaldi. In G. Bertini (Ed.), Militari italiani dell'esercito di Alessandro Farnese nelle Fiandre. Atti della Giornata di Studio, Fontevivo, 24 settembre 2011 (pp. 205-230). Mattioli 1885.
2011
Derks, S. (2011). Madama's Minister: Tomás de Armenteros at the Court of Margarita of Austria. In R. Vermeir, M. Ebben, & R. Fagel (Eds.), Agentes e identidades en movimiento. España y los Países Bajos, siglos XVI-XVIII (pp. 49-69). Sílex universidad.
2008
Derks, S. (2008). Reconstrucciones de una reconquista. Léon Van der Essen y el ejército español en los Países Bajos. In G. Janssens (Ed.), Léon Van der Essen, El ejército español en Flandes 1567-1584 (pp. 27-44). Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste.
2018
Petram, L. van Lottum, J. Koert, van, R. & Derks, S. (2018). Small Lives, Big Meanings. Expanding the Scope of Biographical Data through Entity Linkage and Disambiguation. In Biographical Data in a Digital World 2017: Proceedings of the Second Conference on Biographical Data in a Digital World 2017 (Vol. 2119, pp. 22-26) http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2119/paper4.pdf
2016
Nijenhuis, I. J. A. Sluijter, R. G. H. Scherer, M. Derks, S. Ravenek, W. & Hoekstra, F. G. (2016). From Handwritten Text to Structured Data: Alternatives to Editing Large Archival Series. Paper presented at Digital Humanities 2016, Krakow, Poland. http://dh2016.adho.org/abstracts/36
2016
Derks, S. & Raeymaekers, D. (Eds.) (2016). The Key to Power? The Culture of Access in Princely Courts, 1400-1750. (Rulers & Elites. Comparative Studies in Governance; Vol. 8). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004304246
2002
Nijenhuis, I. J. A. Derks, S. C. Haks, D. Smit, J. G. & de Valk, J. P. (Eds.) (2002). Nederland in de wereld: Opstellen bij honderd jaar Rijks Geschiedkundige Publicaties. Boom.
2022
Sebastiaan Derks (2022). Modelling and Visualizing Historical Data. 08-06-2022. (Data for History – Workshop. A Dialogue with DH.ARC)
2021
Sebastiaan Derks (2021). The Meaning of Data. A Hybrid Approach to Managing Data for Historical Research. 24-08-2021.
2020
Lodewijk Petram, Sebastiaan Derks (2020). Challenging Pasts. Fostering research of complex data collections. 27-05-2020. (Digital History Humboldt Universität Berling – Forschungskolloquium)
2019
Lodewijk Petram, Sebastiaan Derks (2019). Fostering historical research in fuzzy and complex data collections. 11-10-2019. (Digital Hermeneutics: From Research to Dissemination)
2018
Lodewijk Petram, Harm Nijboer, Sebastiaan Derks, Antske Fokkens, Veruska Zamborlini, I. Zandhuis, Menno den Engelse (2018). The semantics of cyberpast. Modelling historical data for LOD research environments. 07-06-2018. (DHBenelux Conference 2018)
2017
Marnix van Berchum, Lodewijk Petram, Sebastiaan Derks, Jauco Noordzij, Ger Dijkstra (2017). Make the most of Humanities Data. 04-07-2017. (Digital Humanities Benelux Conference 2017)
2014
Sebastiaan Derks (2014). Dynastic Branding: The Farnese, Habsburg Service, and the Politics of Memory. 28-03-2014. (The 60th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, New York)
2012
Sebastiaan Derks (2012). De organisatie van kleinstatelijke diplomatie: Farnese en Habsburg. 19-10-2012. (Symposium Diplomatie in Middeleeuws en Vroegmodern Europa, Leiden)
Sebastiaan Derks (2012). Accounting for Power: Tomás de Armenteros at the Habsburg Courts in Iberia and the Low Countries. 24-03-2012. (The 58th Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America, Washington D.C.)
2011
Sebastiaan Derks (2011). In Alessandro's Shadow. The House of Farnese and the Politics of History. 06-10-2011. (1st Arenberg Conference for History: Dynastic Identity in Early Modern Europe. The Dynamics of Aristocratic Identity Formation in Comparative Perspective, VU University Amsterdam)
Sebastiaan Derks (2011). Importanza del 'Liber Relationum' di Paolo Rinaldi per gli studi sulle guerre di Fiandra. 24-09-2011. (Giornata di studio: 'Militari italiani nelle Fiandre nell’esercito di Alessandro Farnese, 1577-1592', Fontevivo (Parma), Convento dei Cappuccini)
2022
Sebastiaan Derks (2022). Netwerk Maritieme Bronnen. 13-05-2022. (Symposium Natuur op Zee)
2018
Petram, L. van Lottum, J. Derks, S. Quist, T. Beek, W. & de Groot, T. (2018). Demo Netwerk Maritieme Bronnen. Website https://stories.datalegend.net/netwerk-maritieme-bronnen/
Petram, L. Kruithof, G. Dechesne, E. Derks, S. Nijboer, H. Kuys, G. Balkenende, J. Bloothooft, G. de Heer, E. & Sleebe, V. (2018). Person Name Vocabulary. Website http://w3id.org/pnv/
2010
Derks, S. (2010). Armenteros, Tomás de. In Diccionario Biográfico Español (Vol. Vol. V: De “Arcaya y Guendica” a “Asúa y Mendia”, pp. 1084-1085). Real Academia de la Historia. http://dbe.rah.es/biografias/10329/tomas-armenteros