About this research
This largest and broadest line of research within the Titus Brandsma Insitute focuses on two research areas: philosophical-theological research and literary-historical research.
1. Philosophical-theological research
This part of the research looks at how spiritual and mystical ideas have developed since the sixteenth century and what impact they have had on modern culture and thought. In doing so, we focus on three main questions:
- What makes spirituality and mysticism unique since modern times?
- How are spirituality, mysticism and asceticism (or exercise in virtue) interrelated in different spiritual movements?
- What critical questions and new insights do spiritual and mystical traditions bring to our current culture?
In addition, we examine why mysticism and spirituality came back into focus in the twentieth century, for instance within science, politics, art and popular culture. Specifically, we look at the influence of mystical and spiritual traditions on art and culture. How have mystical experiences and spiritual sources influenced different art forms? And how do aesthetic and spiritual experiences relate to each other?
2. Literary-historical research
This part of the research focuses on the Modern Devotion and the mystical literature of the period. Some important themes are:
- Completing the edition of Geert Grote's work, an important source for the Modern Devotion.
- Researching monastic and mystical traditions that influenced the Modern Devotion.
- The relationship between mysticism and asceticism (virtue practice) within the Modern Devotion.
- How the Modern Devotion spread further and its influence on spiritual and mystical movements in the early modern period.
Specifically, we delve into the unique mystical culture that emerged in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th centuries, especially in women's monasteries. We also look at the broader heyday of mysticism in the 16th and 17th centuries, with a particular focus on Carmelite mysticism.
Through this research, we aim to make the spiritual and mystical culture of Christian heritage accessible to a contemporary audience and contribute to the understanding and appreciation of these rich traditions.
Researchers
A.H. Poirters (Ad)
Scientific associate (Titus Brandsma Institute)
R.H.F. Hofman (Rijcklof)
scientific collaborator (Titus Brandsma Institute)
L. De Maeyer (Lieven) MA
scientific collaborator (Titus Brandsma Institute), externally funded PhD student (Textual, historical and systematic studies of Judaism and Christianity)
Also involved in this line of research are
- As volunteer researchers:
Marc de Kesel, Charles Caspers - As associate researchers:
Dick van Biemen, Kitty Bouwman, Matthias Laarman, Peter van Ool, Wolfgang Christian Schneider, Gerrit Steunebrink, Gert den Hartogh, Toine van den Hoogen, Hans Kienhorst, Kick Bras and Ruud ter Meulen.
Publications
Hans Kienhorst & Ad Poirters, 2023:
‘Book Collections as Archaeological Sites’.
With the presentation on 8 February 2023 of their monograph Book Collections as Archaeological Sites, Ad Poirters and associate researcher Hans Kienhorst have completed their methodologically innovative, book archaeological study of the history of the historical library of Soeterbeeck monastery at Deursen.
Ad de Keyser & Marc de Kesel, 2023
Eye to eye with the wound (Oog in oog met de wond)
Marc De Kesel, 2023
Sex in biopolitical times. Art of living with Foucault and Lacan
Results
Recent activities
- Geert Grote edition project Rijcklof Hofman is working on his multi-volume critical edition of Geert Grote's Opera omnia (expected completion date 2027).
- Ad Poirters published an article on the liturgical sources used by Thomas van Kempen in De navolging van Christus.
- Together with Peter Nissen, Ad Poirters edited the volume of proceedings of the 2021 International Congress commemorating the 550th anniversary of Thomas van Kempen's death. The book will be published in 2024.
- Ad Poirters and volunteer Charles Caspers have submitted their contributions for the textbook Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ: The History of a Book to be published in the Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition series, edited by Mathilde van Dijk (RUG). Publication of this book is also expected in 2024.