David Grégoire Van Reybrouck (born 11 September 1971, in Bruges) is a Belgian cultural historian,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and author. He writes historical fiction, literary non-fiction, novels, poetry, plays and academic texts. He has received several Dutch literary prizes, including AKO Literature Prize (2010) and Libris History Prize.

Background and education

Van Reybrouck was born into a family of florists, bookbinders and artists. His father, a farmer's son, spent five years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a railway engineer immediately after independence. He holds a doctorate from

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

Writings

Van Reybrouck's first book, '' De Plaag'' (in English:'' The Plague''), was a cross between a travelogue and a literary whodunnit set in post-apartheid South Africa. It received several awards, including the prize for the best Flemish debut in 2002 and a shortlist nomination for the Gouden Uil, one of the leading literary prizes in the Low Countries. It was translated into Afrikaans, French and Hungarian. A longtime op-ed writer for the Flemish national newspaper '' De Morgen'', Van Reybrouck has co-edited a volume on the

federal future of Belgium Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...

(''What Belgium Stands For: a Scenario, 2007'') and a thought-provoking pamphlet, '' Pleidooi voor populisme'' (''A Plea for Populism'', 2008), which was met with controversy. The latter won the Netherlands' most distinguished essay prize. His book ''Congo. Een geschiedenis'' (in English: '' Congo: The Epic History of a People'') was published in 2010. Over the years, Van Reybrouck has travelled extensively throughout Africa. The book is as much the result of his ten journeys through the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of the months spent in libraries and archives. He has interviewed hundreds of individuals, with a particular predilection for so-called "ordinary people", precisely because their lives and choices are so often extraordinary. The book portrays slavery and colonialism, resistance and survival. It includes archival material, interviews and personal observations. ''Congo. Een geschiedenis'' has been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Danish and Finnish. Van Reybrouck has also been actively involved in organising literary workshops for Congolese playwrights in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

and Goma. In 2020 he published ''Revolusi'' which applies to Indonesia the method he used in ''Congo'' - a combination of interviews with Indonesian Nationalists and genocide perpetrators that live in complete impunity. Discussing the events that lead to start of Indonesia's military dictatorship, with historical interpretation. In his book ''Against Elections: The Case for Democracy'' he advocates for a

deliberative democracy Deliberative democracy or discursive democracy is a form of democracy in which deliberation is central to decision-making. It adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule. Deliberative democracy differs from traditional ...

based on sortition.

Awards and honors

*2004, Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs *2007, Royal Academy of Dutch language and literature *2008,

Ark Prize of the Free Word The Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord (Ark Prize of the Free Word) is a symbolic award created in 1951 by Herman Teirlinck and the editorial team of the ''Nieuw Vlaams Tijdschrift'' (New Flemish magazine) to counteract ideologically driven restrictions ...

, ''Missie'' (play) *2010, AKO Literature Prize, ''Congo'' *2012, Prix Médicis essai, ''Congo'' *2014, Gouden Ganzenveer *2015, Doctor Honoris Causa of Saint-Louis University, Brussels *2017, European Book Prize, fiction for ''Zink''. Although a work of non-fiction, it won the fiction category. *2018,

European Press Prize The European Press Prize is an award programme for excellence in journalism across all 47 countries of Europe. It was founded in 2012 by seven European media foundations: The Guardian Foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jyllands-Posten Foun ...

, nominated with "Should media report differently in the wake of attacks? Think about it and join the discussion!"

Publications (English)

*2000, ''From Primitives to Primates. A history of ethnographic and primatological analogies in the study of prehistory''. Leiden, Sidestone Press, 2012. (Dissertation Leiden University, 2000). *2008, ''Missie'' (play) *2014, '' Congo: The Epic History of a People''. Transl. by Sam Garrett. HarperCollins, 2014. *2015, ''The First World War Now'' *2016, ''Against Elections: The Case for Democracy'',

Publication (Dutch)

*2016, essay "Zink" about Neutral Moresnet. *2020, ''Revolusi - Indonesië en het ontstaan van de moderne wereld'', De Bezige Bij, Amsterdam 2020,

References

''This article is wholly or partly based on material from Dutch Wikipedia''

External links

David van Reybrouck's personal website

David van Reybrouck's publisher's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reybrouck, David Van Flemish writers Belgian archaeologists Historians of Africa 21st-century Belgian historians Prix Médicis essai winners Writers from Bruges 1971 births Living people