Dirk van Miert

Dr. Dirk van Miert is Associate Professor of Early Modern Cultural History at Utrecht University and Director of the Huygens Institute for History and Culture of the Netherlands (KNAW). His research focuses on the intellectual history of early modern Europe, particularly the Republic of Letters and the history of knowledge. He has held significant roles including Editor-in-Chief of Lias. Journal of Early Modern Intellectual Culture and its Sources and President of the Belgian-Dutch Society for the History of Science and Universities (Gewina).

• PhD in Latin Language & Culture (Utrecht University, 2004)
• Doctorate in Latin Language & Culture (UAmsterdam, 1998)

Van Miert’s research spans philology, university history, biblical scholarship, and gender dynamics in early modern academia. He led the ERC Consolidator Project Republic of Letters (2017-2022) and co-edited the acclaimed Correspondence of Joseph Justus Scaliger (8 vols, 2012). His work on epistolography and knowledge networks has been published in leading journals.

Selected recent publications include chapters in The European Experience (2023) analyzing religious knowledge and educational systems, and 2022 studies on Isaac Casaubon’s legacy and hair symbolism in scholarly culture. He explores how concepts like the Republic of Letters functioned as speech acts for knowledge regulation.

• ERC Consolidator Grant (2017-2022)
• Co-editor, Correspondence of Joseph Justus Scaliger (2012), praised as a 'monument of scholarship'

Van Miert investigates digitization challenges in heritage preservation and contributes to public history through platforms like De Filosoof. He is actively involved in mapping early modern intellectual networks and serves as a visiting researcher at the Huygens Institute.