In memoriam Professor Emeritus Andries Teeuw Gorinchem, 12 August 1921 – Leiden, 18 May 2012

Abstract

The doctoral thesis written by Andries 'Hans' Teeuw at the University of Utrecht is Het Bomakawya; Een oud Javaans gedicht (The Bomakawya; An old Javanese poem). It indicates that his first interest in literary studies is old Javanese literature. Later development of his career as a researcher, teacher and writer, however, gives us an image of him as a scholar who not only spent most of his time studying old manuscripts untirelessly but also was interested in almost all subjects and topics about classical as well as modern Indonesian texts. For most of us, Teeuw will be memorized as one of a small number of foreign notables in that field; he had taught, given lectures, written books, and promoted a number of Indonesian scholars not only in the field of classical studies but also in diverse fields such as linguistics, history, oral tradition and modern literature. His interest in Indonesian culture in general and literature in particular grew strongly when he came to Indonesia in the period of 1945-1947 to conduct a research on classical Javanese literary work. He had the chance to develop his interest further during his second stay, after gaining his doctoral degree, in Indonesia as a visiting professor at the University of Indonesia in the period of 1950-1951. On his return to Holland, he chaired the Indonesian Studies Program at Leiden University. Right from the very beginning, he realized that although the Indonesian language was not the only living language that had produced literary works, Indonesian language and literature wre his main interest. His first collected writings, entitled Voltooid Voorspel and written in Dutch, was published in 1952. With some modifications, the book was then Source: http://niadlova.blogdetik. com/index.php/archives/944.