معرفی
Nadine Akkerman serves as Professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture at Leiden University, where she is affiliated with the Faculty of Humanities, specifically the Centre for the Arts in Society and the Medieval and Early Modern Studies research group. Her interdisciplinary work bridges literary studies, history, and material culture with a particular focus on women's roles in early modern intellectual and political networks.
Akkerman has established herself as a leading expert in deciphering historical correspondence and studying early modern intelligence networks, particularly the overlooked contributions of women as spies and intelligence gatherers during the 17th century. Her groundbreaking scholarship reveals how women's perceived political incapacity paradoxically made them effective intelligence operatives who could move undetected through political spaces. Her research methodology combines archival investigation with material analysis of historical documents, including innovative approaches to studying letterlocking techniques.
Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent research trajectory exploring women's agency in early modern political networks. The 2023 encyclopedia entry 'Women and Spy Networks' synthesizes her findings on gendered intelligence operations, while her 2018 monograph 'Invisible Agents' fundamentally reshaped scholarly understanding of women's participation in espionage. Current work on 'The Queen of Hearts: The Life of Elizabeth Stuart' continues her focus on royal women's political networks and correspondence.
- Member of the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), 2017
Akkerman actively supervises multiple PhD candidates including Marijn van Dijk, Joanna Greenland, Suzanne Klare, Clodagh Murphy, and Holly Riach, fostering the next generation of scholars in early modern studies. She chairs the committee organizing Leiden University's Annie Romein-Verschoor Lecture, demonstrating her commitment to promoting women's history and scholarship. Her research is supported by various academic grants that enable her interdisciplinary investigations into early modern correspondence, intelligence networks, and women's political participation.
