Dutch and Flemish Studies

Not a major program

Dutch Studies has been an integral part of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures since the early 1970s. The program offers both language and literature courses. The first- and second-year courses satisfy the language requirement. Upper-level courses have ranged from the most modern literature to medieval genres, the literature of Rembrandt's time, and Vincent van Gogh's letters or Dutch colonial literature from The East Indies. Independent studies in combination with for instance European or World History, Anthropology, South African, or Indonesian Studies are encouraged. Hovering between English and German, Dutch is easy to learn for English speakers. Tutorials in the closely-related South African language Africaans are available on request.

A special course is offered: Anne Frank in Past and Present (DUTCH 492), in which the famous diary and its impact are studied and compared to other Holocaust writings. The first-year seminar entitled Colonialism and its Aftermath (DUTCH 160) enhances and emphasizes the wide scope of Dutch and Flemish Studies, as the history of the low countries is examined in contacts with new worlds in East and West.

Each year in May, students of Dutch have the opportunity to acquire the internationally recognized certificate of proficiency in Dutch, on four levels.

The Martin Zwart Scholarship for Study in the Netherlands and Belgium is awarded each year. Grants are also available from the Dutch and Belgian Government for summer courses in Zeist (The Netherlands) and Hasselt (Belgium).