The year at NIAS turned out to be very fruitful for our theme group. Though we made less progress than was planned, the aim of the project became more ambitious through a further internationalization. The group organized three small conferences, which resulted in a 300 page volume with the provisional title The History of Concepts: Comparative Perspectives. This book will replace the introductory volume of 50 pages which was originally planned. The results of the three working groups, on ‘liberty’, on ‘fatherland/nation’, and on ‘civilization/culture’, will be published in the course of 1996 as separate volumes in the new series Nederlandse Begripshistorische Studies. A new working group started on the concept ‘Republic’.
Furthermore, plans were developed for groups working on other concepts. Another result of the theme group was the setting up of a European Science foundation project ‘Republicanism: A European Heritage’.
Theme group collaborating on the history of concepts.