• About Foundation
• General info

The Foundation for the History of Technology (SHT) in The Netherlands supports scholarly research in the history of technology. The Foundation's mission is to develop and communicate knowledge that increases our understanding of the critical role of technology in the history of the western world.

Research programs

Since its establishment in 1988, SHT has coordinated and raised funding for two large-scale national research programs. The first, Techniek in Nederland in de Negentiende Eeuw (known as TIN-19), was a multi-authored history of technology in The Netherlands in the nineteenth century, edited by Harry Lintsen. This project resulted in a series of six richly illustrated volumes completed in 1994.

TIN-19 was followed by Techniek in Nederland in de Twintigste Eeuw (TIN-20), edited by a large team (see below) led by Johan Schot, Harry Lintsen, and Arie Rip. Between 1994 and 2003, TIN-20 research was carried out by dozens of researchers from nine universities. The project resulted in several PhD dissertations, books, scholarly articles, exhibitions, and educational projects directed at secondary schools. Furthermore, similar to TIN-19, a significant series of seven richly illustrated volumes appeared as a result of this project. The first volume appeared in 1998, the seventh and last volume was presented to Her Majesty the Queen Beatrix in November 2003. The Foundation raised funding for this project from the Ministry of Economics, trade companies and industry. Major support came from participating universities and The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

TIN-20 focused on exploring the role of technology in Dutch history in a number of areas. In the first six volumes of the TIN-20 book series, the following areas were covered:

• Water management (editor: Nil Disco);
• Information technology in the office (editor: Jan van den Ende)
• Chemistry (editor: Ernst Homburg)
• Energy (editor: Geert Verbong)
• Minerals and mining industry (editor: Ben Gales)
• Food (editor: Anneke van Otterloo)
• Agriculture (editor: Jan Bieleman)
• Household technology (editor: Ruth Oldenziel)
• Medical technology (editor: Eddy Houwaart)
• Transport (editor: Johan Schot)
• Communication (editor: Onno de Wit)
• City (editor: Nil Disco)
• Building (editor: Liesbeth Bervoets)
• Industrial Production (editor: Mila Davids)
• The final synthetic volume of the series contains thematic explorations across areas covered in the first six volumes. Important themes are: the rise of a consumer society; material unification of The Netherlands; local coordination of large technical systems; the knowledge infrastructure; economic growth and economic structure; scale and technology; engineers and political decision-making; and colonial technological development. The main aim of this volume is to present a contemporary Dutch history of contested modernization through the lens of technology. (editors: Johan Schot, Arie Rip, and Harry Lintsen). An English edition of this synthetic volume is in preperation (publication in 2008-2009).

Teaching

Taken together, TIN-19 and TIN-20 have revised the history of The Netherlands. The role of technology in society and the ways in which technological and social developments influence and strengthen each other have been made visible. A major task of the Foundation still lies ahead - the diffusion of the results to teachers and students. Among others five major companies in the Netherlands (Philips, SHELL, Unilever, AKZO-NOBEL and DSM) are sponsoring the development of teaching material that compliments the book series. Furthermore, these companies have donated the complete TIN-20 series to the libraries of all Dutch secondary schools.

Internationalization

In recent years, the scope of the research and the scholarly network fostered by SHThas become increasingly international. The organization coordinates the international research network Tensions of Europe. Also international conferences were organized by the foundation: in 2004 the annual meeting of SHOT in Amsterdam and in 2007 the combined Launch of ESF Inventing Europe and the third Tensions of Europe Conference. In 2006 SHT developed a PhD program for PhD students from Central and Eastern Europe tied to the TOE Intellectual Agenda.

Other activities

Aside from the large programs described above, SHT also facilitates smaller projects often commissioned by individual companies or other organizations. These projects have resulted in a number of books on, for example, the Department of Public Works, Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Rotterdam Harbor, engineering contractors in the Netherlands, the (international) use of bicycles, DSM Research, geodesy in the Netherlands, the Philips Natlab, and the Dutch Land Registry. While many of these publications are in Dutch and intended for a general audience, some of them are available in English (to order see www.histech.nl). The Foundation also is active in building an extensive photo archive.