Prof. Dr. Bernard (Ben) Arps (Leiden, 30 Mèi 1961) iku nimpuna Sastra lan basa Jawa sing misuwur banget. Panjenengané mligi dadi misuwur déning dhisertasiné sing ajudul Tembang in Two Traditions (1992). Spésialisasiné bab médhia modhèren`, musik lan pamentasan kagunan Jawa. Ben Arps iku wis omah-omah lan pinaringan patang putra; loro lanang lan loro wadon.

Mangsa cilik 
Ben Arps miyos ing Leiden, Walanda. Nanging bapané miyos ing Indhiya Nèderlan. Kajaba iku éyang buyuté, sing asmané ya Bernard Arps, sawijining palukis sing misuwur lan pinter. Para leluhuré Ben Arps asalé saka Schleswig-Holstein, Jerman. Ing Leiden Ben Arps sakolah VWO (sajinising SMA tingkat dhuwur) ing Christelijke Lyceum Dr. W.A. Visser ’t Hoofd. Ben Arps mèlu ujian ing taun 1979, jurusané jurusan eksakta.

Sawisé iku dhèwèké ndaftar ing Universitas Leiden ing jurusan Basa lan Budaya Asia Kidul-Wétan lan Oséania. Ben Arps miwiti studhiné nyinaoni basa-basa Nusantara. Ing taun 1982 dhèwèké bisa lulus cum laude kanggo ujian S1-né.

Panglelanané menyang Tanah Jawa 
Sawisé lulus S1, Ben Arps mangkat menyang Surakarta, Jawa Tengah lan nerusaké sinau ing Akademi Kagunan Karawitan Indonésia ("ASKI"). Ben Arps nyinaoni kagunan wayang sataun suwéné lan bisa dadi dhalang.

Mangsané nalika Ben Arps ing Tanah Jawa uga mangsa sing mulya. Rikala iku Ben Arps omah-omah karo Djumilah, sawijining wanita Jawa.

Bali menyang Walanda 

Sawisé manggon ing Tanah Jawa, Ben Arps bali menyang Leiden. Ing kana Ben Arps nerusaké studhiné lan saiki nyinaoni basa lan sastra Jawa. Ing taun 1986 Ben Arps bisa lulus cum laude kanggo ujian S2-né. Tésis dhoktoralé iku bab sastra Kawi miring utawa pupuh tembang Sekar Ageng sing digunakaé ing Surakarta.

Sawisé iku Ben Arps bisa nyambut gawé saparo wektu dadi dhosèn basa Indonésia ing universitas Leiden. Sawisé nyambut gawé sataun Ben Arps miwiti dhisertasiné. Nanging saliyané iku Ben Arps olèh pagawéan ing The School of Oriental and African Studies ing University of London. Ing kana Ben Arps uga bisa ngajar basa Indonésia.

Nalika ing London, Ben Arps aktif banget. Ing taun 1991 Ben Arps lan Annabel Teh Gallop nulis buku Golden Letter / Surat Emas. Buku iki sajatiné katalog manuskrip-manuskrip Indonésia sing nalika iku dipamèraké dadi pérangan paméran jalan. Saben manuskrip diwènèhi dhèskripsi jangkep lan yèn prelu alihaksara lan alihbasa Inggris utawa Indonésia.

Kajaba iku nalika ing London Ben Arps uga nyinaoni manuskrip-manuskrip Jawa péranganing kolèksi tartamtu sing wayah samana disinggahaké ing India Office Library.

Dhisèrtasi 

Ing taun 1992 Ben Arps promosi lan lulus ujian S3 ing Universitas Leiden. Judhul dhisèrtasiné ya iku Tembang in Two Traditions. Studhiné iki, kaya wis dibahas ing dhuwur, nyinanoni prakara transmisi pamentasan tembang macapat ing rong papan; ya iku ing Ngayogyakarta lan Banyuwangi. Ngayogyakarta iku punjer kabudayan Jawa ing Jawa Tengah lan Banyuwangi iku laladan pinggiran. Studhiné Ben Arps iki astamiwa amarga bisa ndokok tradhisi kuna tembang Jawa ing konteks modhèren.

Kanggo nglakoni studhi iki, Ben Arps kudu nganakaké panalitèn lapangan. Banjur ing buku iki Ben Arps ngwedaraké téyori lan praktèk nembang macapatan Jawa. Sadhawaning sajarah, ing Tanah Jawa lan laladan-laladan mancanagara, akèh pupuh tembang digawé. Nanging jaman saiki sing akèh dhéwé digunakaké utawa dienggo cacahé ana sewelas.

Ing buku iki banjur prakara-prakara iki kawedar:
Pambuka
Téyori tradhisional tembang
Macapatan
Paguyuban macapat
Versifikasi ("Nulis tembang")
Interpretasi ("Jarwa")
Maca tembang tradhisional Jawa

Mahaguru Jawa 
Ing taun 1992 Prof. Dr. Ras saka jurusan Sastra Jawa pénsiun lan dadi Profésor Éméritus. Ben Arps banjur kapilih dadi sing nerusaké, kamangka Ben Arps isih timur banget.

Tuga-tugas liya 
Ben Arps iku kapala pérangan Basa lan Sastra Asia Kidul-Wétan lan Oséania. Fungsi iki wis dijabat ing taun 1995 lan saka 1999-2000.

Kajaba iku Ben Arps uga sawijining Fellow-in-Residence ing Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences ing taun 2001-2002. Ben Arps ya uga sawijining Visiting Fellow ing Australian National University ing Faculty of Asian Studies and Humanities Research Centre ing taun 2005. Banjur ing taun akadémis 2006-2007, Ben Arps bakal dadi Mahaguru Tamu Walanda ing University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Amarga Ben Arps sibuk banget lan akèh pagawéyané, mula tugas-tugas dhosèné akèh sing dilakoni déning asistèné. Asistèné iku lumrahé para promovendi sing pinter-pinter.

Pratélan pustaka 

1985, Theater op Java samen met Cornelis Petrus Epskamp. Zutphen: De Walburg Pers. ISSN 0169-1546 ; ISBN 90-6011-408-6 Wrong ISBN 90-6011-259-8
1986, Sekar ageng: over antieke Javaanse versvormen. Doctoraalscriptie Rijksuniversiteit Leiden. Javaanse taal en letterkunde.
1990, Een voorstelling van het wayangverhaal Déwa Ruci uitgevoerd door Ki Anom Suroto ; transcriptie: Eko Santoso en Ben Arps ; Ned. vert. en vormgeving: Ben Arps. Oorspronkelijke auteur: Ki Anom Suroto. Samengewerkt met Eko Santoso. Uit: De Wandelende Tak"", VPRO.  Een radioprogramma voor de Wandelende Tak VPRO-radhio 4, uitgezonden op 29 maart 1990 in het kader van 'Wayang op de radhio'
1990, Wayang op de radhio: Déwa Ruci / [presentatie: Jos Janssen, Ben Arps, Walter Slosse ; uitgevoerd door Ki Anom Suroto ; transcriptie: Eko Santoso en Ben Arps ; Nederlandse vert.: Ben Arps]  Collaborator: Jos Janssen; Ben Arps. Hilversum: VPRO. Tekst van het radioprogramma voor de Wandelende Tak VPRO-radhio 4 op 29 maart 1990 
1990, Yusup, Sri Tanjung and fragrant water: the spread of a popular Islamic poem in Banyuwangi, East Java. Conference on Java and the Java Sea (18/22-06-1990 ; Leiden)
1990, 'Singing the life of Joseph: an all-night reading of the Lontar Yusup in Banyuwangi, East Java', in Indonésia circle: newsletter, ISSN 0306-2848, issue 53 
1991, Golden letters: writing traditions of Indonésia = Surat emas: Budaya tulis di Indonésia samen met Annabel Teh Gallop, London: British Library & Jakarta: Yayasan Lontar.         ISBN 979-808306-7
1991, Pengkajian basa dan sastra Jawa di Karajan Manunggal: sajarah dan keadaan sekarang, Konggrès Basa Jawa (Semarang) ; Paper Konggrès Basa Jawa, Semarang, 15-20 Juli 1991
1992, Tembang in two traditions: performance and interpretation of Javanese literature. Proefschrift Leiden.  
1992, 'Yusup, Sri Tanjung and fragrant water: the spread of a popular Islamic poem in Banyuwangi, East Java', in Looking in odd mirrors: the Java Sea, samen met V.J.H Houben en H.M.J Maier
1993, Performance in Java and Bali: studies of narrative, theatre, music and dance. London: School of Oriental & African Studies. ISBN 0-7286-0217-2 
1994, Serat lokapali kawi: an eighteenth-century manuscript of the old Javanese Arjunawijaya by Mpu Tantular: a facsimile edition of manuscript Cod. Or. 2048 in the Library of Leiden University, samen met Willem van der Molen. Leiden: Indonésian Linguistics Development Project (ILDEP) in coop. with Legatum Warnerianum in The Library of Leiden University. Serie: Manuscripta Indonesica, ISSN 0929-6484 ; vol. 3. ISBN 90-73006-04-X 
1994, Traditionele en moderne poëzie van Indonesië samen met Sirtjo Koolhof en Henk Maier. Leiden: Instituut Indonesische Cursussen. ISBN 90-72654-12-9
1994, Poetic performance and the lure of music: Javanese literature on audio cassette,  Leiden: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde, Congress: Workshop Performing Arts in South-East Asia ((Leiden) ; 6/10-06-1994)
1994, 'A tour of pantun tracts: planes of movement in a song from Banyuwangi', in Bahwa inilah Tanda Kasih, ya iku pisungsung persahabatan kepada yang termulia Prof Dr Muhammad Haji Salleh samen met Jan van der Putten. Leiden: Vakgroep Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië, Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
1995, Handbuch der Orientalistik = Handbook of oriental studies. 3. Abt.: Südost Asien = South-East Asia samen met M.C. Ricklefs en D.K. Wyatt. Leiden [etc.]: Brill.Note: Voortz. van: Handbuch der Orientalistik. 3. Abt., Indonesien, Malaysia und die Philippinen, unter Einschluss der Kap-Malaien in Südafrika = ISSN 0169-9571. Wrong ISSN: 0169-9571 (voorloper)
1996a, 'The song guarding at night: grounds for cogency in a Javanese incantation', in Vers une anthropologie de la prière: études ethnolinguistiques javanaises: Javanese ethnolinguistic studies. Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence
1996b, Contact languages in Indonésia and Malaysia other than Malay samen met Alexander Adelaar en W. Braginsky. Berlin [etc.]: Mouton de Gruyter
1996c, 'Javanese language, literature and theatre', in Southeast Asian languages and literatures: a bibliographical guide to Burmese, Cambodian, Indonésian, Javanese, Malay, Minangkabau, Thai and Vietnamese, London ; New York: I.B. Tauris
1996d, 'Joseph in Java', in Illuminations. The Writing Traditions of Indonésia door Ann Kumar and John McGlynn. Jakarta: The Lontar Foundation & New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill Inc.
1997, 'Koning Salomo en het dwerghertje: taalpolitiek, taalonderwijs en de eerste grammatica's in het Javaans', in Koloniale taalpolitiek in Oost en West: Nederlands-Indië, Suriname, Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba, samen met Kees Groeneboer. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press
1998, 'Karaoke op Java: gesprek met Prof. Dr. Bernard Arps', in De wijde wereld van de Kleine Talen: 25 portretten, samen met Dirk van Delft. Amsterdam: Bulaaq
1999, 'Title: How a Javanese gentleman put his library in order, in Bijdragen tot de taal-, land-en volkenkunde, ISSN 0006-2294, vol. 155  (1999), issue 3, page 416-460
2000, Hedendaags Javaans: een leerboek. Met medew. van Betty Litamahuputty. Leiden: Opleiding Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië, Universiteit Leiden. Series: Semaian, ISSN 0924-4840 ; ISBN 90-73084-20-2
2000, Woord en schrift in de Oost: de betekenis van zending en missie voor de studie van taal en literatuur in Zuidoost-Azië, onder red. van Willem van der Molen en Bernard Arps. Leiden: Opleiding Talen en Culturen van Zuidoost-Azië en Oceanië, Universiteit Leiden. Series: Semaian, ISSN 0924-4840 ISBN 90-74956-23-8
2002a, 'Javanese on the Internet', in Caraka. With Ignatius Supriyanto
2002b, Letters on air in Banyuwangi, International workshop on South-East Asian studies. *No. 17  Manuscripts from insular South-East Asia: epistolography. Leiden: Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology
2002c, The sound of space: how to hear mise en scène in audio wayang, Puppet theater in contemporary Indonésia: new approaches to performance events, Jan Mrázek (ed.), pp. 315–332. S.l.: Centers for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan, Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia, 50.
2003, 'Letters on air in Banyuwangi (and beyond): radhio and phatic performance', in Indonésia and the Malay world'', ISSN 1363-9811 vol. 31 (2003/91/301-316)

Pranala njaba 
Situs wèb resmi 

Arps
Lair 1961