A former dramaturg, Hans van Maanen is now a professor of Art  Society and Theatre Studies at the department of Arts, Culture&Media Studies at Groningen University, The Netherlands. His main area of research is the functioning of art, particularly theatre, in society, from an organizational and political point of view, and in relation to the societal meanings of aesthetic experiences. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Cultural Policy, the South African Theatre Journal and of the IFTR book series Themes in Theatre. He hold several functions in the Fund for the Stage Arts of the Netherlands and advised on theatre policy on the levels of the government, provincies and cities. Among his publications are Het Nederlandse Toneelbestel van 1945 tot 1995, Amsterdam, 1997: Amsterdam University Press; Theatre Worlds in Motions: Structures, Politics and Developments in the Countries of Western Europe (co-edited with Steve Wilmer) Amsterdam, Atlanta 1998: Rodopi Editions and a number of articles and chapters in, among others, the International Journal of Cultural Policy, Nordic Theatre Studies, Theatre Research International and Cremona e.a. (eds) Theatrical events: Borders, Dynamics, Frames, Amsterdam, New York 2004: Rodopi Editions. Besides that he wrote several reports and articles on youth theatre, theatre politics and arts education in the Netherlands. A book titled How to Study Artworlds is forthcoming in 2008. Together with Andreas Kotte (universität Bern) he co-chairs an international group of scholars that investigates the functioning of theatre systems in different regions of Europe (STEP, Project on European Theatre Systems).