Within this project, early modern Dutch literature is studied with a focus on the intersection between literature and society. The dialogue with early modern literature, starting from contemporary social issues, will receive special attention in the project. This invites, for example, postcolonial, materialistic, and ecocritical approaches to historical literature. More specifically, there will be subprojects on the relationship between poetry and activism, the role of theater in political debates, and the relationship between literature and (early) capitalism.