Dr. Bouwe Postmus Returns to the University

Several former English Department students have found their way back to the university over the years. One is Bouwe Postmus (b. 1945). Dr. Postmus studied at the English Department from 1962 to 1965, and then received the Professor Harting scholarship to study in the UK, where he was a Master’s student at Leicester University. He obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Amsterdam in 1968.

After that, Dr. Postmus taught middle-school English, but during the summer of 1969 noticed that there was an opening at the English Department. After some initial hesitation about returning to his educational roots, he applied, and was awarded the position. He started teaching at the University of Amsterdam in September 1969, and focused on the Victorian novelist George Gissing in his research. He worked in the department for more than 35 years, retiring in 2008.