Abram de Swaan (; born 8 January 1942) is a Dutch essayist, sociologist and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

. In 1996, he became member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

. He was elected a member of the Academia Europaea in 2000. He developed the concept of a

global language system The global language system is the "ingenious pattern of connections between language groups". Dutch sociologist Abram de Swaan developed this theory in 2001 in his book ''Words of the World: The Global Language System'' and according to him, "the ...

. He received the

P. C. Hooft Award The P.C. Hooft Award (in Dutch: P.C. Hooft-prijs), inaugurated in 1948, is a Dutch-language literary lifetime-achievement award named after 17th-century Dutch poet and playwright Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft. The award is made annually. Background E ...

in 2008.P.C. Hooftprijs voor Abram de Swaan
''

de Volkskrant ''de Volkskrant'' (; ''The People's Paper'') is a Dutch daily morning newspaper. Founded in 1919, it has a nationwide circulation of about 250,000. Formerly a leading centre-left Catholic broadsheet, ''de Volkskrant'' today is a medium-sized c ...

, 15 dec 2007'' (Retrieved on May 11, 2008)

Bibliography

Books in Dutch

*''Amerika in termijnen'' (1968) *''Halverwege de Heilstaat'' (essays; 1983) *''Zorg en de Staat'' (1989) *''Perron Nederland'' (1991) *''Moord en de staat'' (2003) *''Tegen de vrouwen'' (2019)

Books in English

*''In Care of the State'' (1988) *''Words of the World'' (2001) *''The Killing Compartments'' (2015)

Awards

(2008) for his oeuvre

References

External links

* 1942 births Living people Dutch essayists Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Writers from Amsterdam P. C. Hooft Award winners University of Amsterdam faculty {{Netherlands-writer-stub