James Carleton Kennedy (born 1963 in

Orange City, Iowa Orange City is a city in, and the county seat of, Sioux County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 6,267 in the 2020 census, an increase from 5,582 in 2000. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler tradition ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

. He is the son of E.W. (Bill) and Nella Kennedy. The elder Dr. Kennedy was for years an eminent professor of religion at

Northwestern College (Iowa) Northwestern College (NWC and informally Northwestern Iowa) is a private Christian liberal arts college in Orange City, Iowa. It is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America and enrolls more than 1,500 students. In addition to approximatel ...

Biography

Kennedy grew up in

, a

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

village with a large portion of the population having roots in

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. His mother is a Dutch-born immigrant. He studied

foreign service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, obtaining his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in 1986,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

studies at

Calvin Theological Seminary Calvin Theological Seminary is a private Christian Reformed Church seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is closely tied to Calvin University, though each institution has its own board. History The seminary was founded in 1876 with the purpos ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, obtaining his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1988, and took his PhD in history from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 1995. He performed several jobs in the field of history before becoming an

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ...

and

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at the A. C. Van Raalte Institute,

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricul ...

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black River). ...

in 1997. In 2003, Kennedy moved to the

because he was appointed a professor of

modern history The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

(20th century) at the

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

. In 2007 he changed to 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 ...

, where he became a professor of the

history of the Netherlands The history of the Netherlands is a history of seafaring people thriving in the lowland river delta on the North Sea in northwestern Europe. Records begin with the four centuries during which the region formed a militarized border zone of the Ro ...

. In 2009 he succeeded professor

Piet de Rooy Piet may refer to: People * Piet (given name), a common name in the Netherlands and South Africa * Henri Piet (1888–1915), French lightweight boxer * Tony Piet (1906–1981), American Major League Baseball player Schools * Purushottam Institut ...

, head of the section of the history of the Netherlands. Between 1 October 2015 and December 2020, Kennedy was Dean of

University College Utrecht University College Utrecht (UCU) provides English-language Liberal Arts and Sciences undergraduate education. Founded in 1998, as the first university college in the Netherlands, it is part of Utrecht University. Around 750 students of 70 diffe ...

. Kennedy takes a special interest in post-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Dutch history. Because of his

belief he considers himself a Christian historian although he is reserved to point out how

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

is guiding human history. Politically, he characterizes himself as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. However, in the presidential campaign of 2004 he was in favor of

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

, the presidential candidate of the Democrats. James Kennedy is married to

Simone Kennedy-Doornbos Simone Jeanet Kennedy-Doornbos (; born 19 December 1970) is a Dutch politician of the Christian Union (Netherlands), Christian Union. Raised in a Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), Reformed family in 't Harde, Kennedy studied me ...

, a local Dutch politician for the

ChristianUnion The Christian Union ( nl, ChristenUnie, CU) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more sociall ...

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

. They have three children. The Kennedy family is a member of the

Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt)) are an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (') from the Reformed ...

, an orthodox reformed denomination.

Bibliography

*''Building new Babylon: cultural change in the Netherlands during the 1960s'' (1995, dissertation), translated in Dutch as ''Nieuw Babylon in aanbouw: Nederland in de jaren zestig'', Amsterdam, Boom, 1995) *''History of the Low Countries'' (New York, Berghahn Books, 1999), adapted translation from the ''Geschiedenis van de Nederlanden'', Hans Blom and Emiel Lamberts, 1993) * ''Een weloverwogen dood. De opkomst van de euthanasie in Nederland'' (Amsterdam, Bakker, 2002) - about the development of

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

in the Netherlands * ''Bezielende verbanden. Gedachten over religie, politiek en maatschappij in het moderne Nederland'' (Amsterdam, Bakker, 2009) * ''Stad op een berg. De publieke rol van protestantse kerken'' (Zoetermeer, Boekencentrum Uitgevers, 2010) * ''A Concise History of the Netherlands'' (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017) * ''Aan Het Werk'' (Amsterdam, Prometheus, 2021)

References

* Equivalent article on the Dutch Wikipedia

External links

*
dhr. prof. dr. J.C. (James) Kennedy
University of Amsterdam *
Professor James Kennedy new Dean for University College Utrecht
''Utrechtcentral.com'', 10 January 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, James 1963 births Living people American Calvinist and Reformed Christians American columnists American expatriates in the Netherlands 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American people of Dutch descent Calvin University alumni Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni People from Orange City, Iowa Reformed Churches (Liberated) Christians from the Netherlands University of Amsterdam faculty University of Iowa alumni Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam faculty Hope College faculty Historians from Iowa American male non-fiction writers