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Dutch Studies

College of Letters and Science
Department Office: 5319 Dwinelle Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3243

Program Director: Jeroen Dewulf, PhD
Department Website: Dutch Studies


Overview

Introduce yourself to the language, literature, culture and history of the Netherlands. Dutch Studies offers English-taught courses on Dutch cultural history, literature and linguistics, as well Dutch language courses. Through a broad curriculum, you learn about important cultural developments from the medieval towns in Flanders over the Dutch “Golden Age” and the Netherlands’ colonial expansion up to the contemporary multicultural, liberal and European identity of the Low Countries.

Major Requirements

As flexibility and interdepartmental cooperation are of essential importance to the Dutch Studies Program, there are no requirement courses to the Dutch Minor or Major besides the two introductory Dutch language courses (Dutch 1 and 2). This enables students to compose the Dutch Minor or Major according to their personal interests. It also makes it easier to add Dutch Studies as a minor or a double major. Due to the fact that the number of upper division courses offered in the Dutch Studies program is limited, we strongly encourage students considering a major in Dutch Studies to apply to the UC Berkeley Study Abroad Program  and to spend a semester at one of our partner universities in the Netherlands.

Formal Requirements

Dutch Minors are required to take the following courses:

  • Prerequisites: Elementary Dutch 1 and Elementary Dutch 2 or equivalent
  • Five upper division courses from the following: 
    • Advanced Dutch 110 
    • Dutch for Reading and Translation Knowledge 100 
    • The Structure of Modern Dutch 107
    • Conversation and Composition Dutch 125
    • Topics in Dutch Literature Dutch 140
    • Travel/Study Course Dutch 177
    • One course in the Dutch 160-series (may be repeated as topics change)
    • One course in the Dutch 170-series (may be repeated as topics change)
    • One related upper division course outside the Department (with approval by the program director)
Dutch majors and double majors are required to take the following courses:
  • Prerequisites: Elementary Dutch 1 and Elementary Dutch 2 or equivalent
  • A minimum of 30 upper division units. Required courses include:
    • Advanced Dutch 110
    • Conversation and Composition Dutch 125
    • Additional courses are to be selected from the following to complete the major:
      1. The Structure of Modern Dutch 107
      2. Dutch for Reading and Translation Knowledge 100
      3. Topics in Dutch Literature Dutch 140
      4. Travel/Study Course Dutch 177
      5. Senior Thesis Dutch 190
      6. One course in the Dutch 160-series (may be repeated as topics change)
      7. One course in the Dutch 170-series (may be repeated as topics change)
      8. A maximum of two related upper-division courses outside the Department (with approval by the program director)

For more information on the Dutch Studies course requirements, please contact the student adviser Mrs. Nadia Samadi at germanic@berkeley.edu.

Graduate Program

Designated Emphasis (DE) in Dutch Studies

In October 2012, the Graduate Council of UC Berkeley established the “Designated Emphasis in Dutch Studies.” The DE in Dutch Studies will provide curricular and research resources for students who want to concentrate on Dutch Studies within their respective disciplines and have their work formally recognized in their degree designation. Designed to bring together faculty and students from different departments, the DE will be administered by the Graduate Group in Dutch Studies and will provide a unique context for rigorous cross-disciplinary research. Sponsoring departments include German, History, History of Art, Southeast Asian Studies, African-American Studies, Comparative Literature, French, and Sociology. However, the DE is open to interested students regardless of whether their home department is officially affiliated with the DE The program will help advance Berkeley’s position as America’s leading Dutch Studies program and facilitate research in and cooperation with other universities in the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Indonesia, and the Caribbean, for example, who also have strong Dutch Studies programs. Students applying to the DE must be prepared to integrate high-level research in Dutch Studies into their coursework, qualifying exam and dissertation.

For information regarding curricula and program requirements, please see the Dutch Studies website .

DUTCH 1 Elementary Dutch 5 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 15 hours of lecture/laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Dutch language course for beginners. Focus of the course is on acquiring basic communicative competence in the language, i.e., developing the ability to appropriatly use the language (spoken as well as written) in authentic situations.

DUTCH 2 Elementary Dutch 5 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 5 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.

Prerequisites: 1 or equivalent.

In this course, one reinforces and expands knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, increases fluency through oral and written exercises, and builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in 1.

DUTCH 39A Cultural History of the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg) 3 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

This course offers a general survey on the cultural history of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Through written texts, audiovisual materials, and discussions, we will study important historical, social, political, and cultural aspects of these three countries that represent European history in a nutshell. All readings and discussions in English.

Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

DUTCH 100 Dutch for Reading and Translation Knowledge 3 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Prerequisites: Dutch 1.

This is a two-track course, designed for 1) research scholars/graduate students who need to learn how to translate Dutch texts in their area of expertise, and 2) Dutch Studies majors and minors who are interested in the professional field of translation (Dutch to English). While some knowledge of Dutch and/or German is required, a Dutch 1 class prior to this class is a prerequisite.

Students will receive no credit for Dutch 100 after taking Dutch 10. Instructor: Hollander

DUTCH 107 The Structure of Modern Dutch 3 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

A basic course on the structural properties of modern Dutch, including phonetics and phonology, morphology, and syntax. Comparison with English and German.

DUTCH 110 Advanced Dutch 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Prerequisites: 2 or equivalent.

Includes a grammar review with exercises (Jenneke Osterhoff, Intermediate Dutch). Conversation is taken to a higher plane, role playing becomes increasingly important, newspaper articles of the more difficult papers are read, and radio programs and television programs are listened to and watched. These activities provide material for short essay assignments. Problems in the essays create occasions for more grammar review.

Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

DUTCH 125 Conversation and Composition 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Term course may be offered: Spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Prerequisites: 110 or consent of instructor.

This course is designed to improve both the oral and written style of the student in Dutch, employing a variety of sources ranging from the newspaper to the essay to the creative forms (poetry, short story). The art of correspondence, both formal and informal, will be taught as well as the widely-varying spoken styles.

Course may be repeated once for credit.Course may be repeated for a maximum of 6 units.

DUTCH 140 Topics in Dutch Literature 3 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/discussion per week.

Prerequisites: 2 or equivalent.

While the focus will be on some of the major novels in the Dutch language, relevant works of poetry will be included too, and to give this class the widest exposure possible, the class will consist of an English track and a Dutch track (the latter will accommodate our Dutch majors and minors who will read and reflect on these works in Dutch).

Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

DUTCH C164/SEASIAN C164 The Indonesian Connection: Dutch Literature About the Indies in English Translation 4 Units

Department: Dutch; Southeast Asian

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

In postcolonial thought on European claims to cultural supremacy, the case of the "Dutch East-Indies" (the future Indonesia) still arouses questions like: What made the Dutch colonial policy different from that of other European powers? What were the main characteristics of the "Dutch East-Indies"? How did a small country like the Netherlands manage to rule a territory that was fifty-two times its own in scale? And how can we explain that 350 years of Dutch domination left so few traces in contemporary Indonesia?

DUTCH 166 Anne Frank and After: Dutch Literature of the Holocaust in English Translation 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of consultation per week.

Post-War Dutch literature is replete with works dealing with the Holocaust, by both victims and survivors. The course will focus on literary as well as historical documents, examine the history of anti-Semitism in the Lowlands, and compare a number of literary genres from the Diary to ego-documents and fiction.

DUTCH 170 Dutch Culture and Society 3 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Term course may be offered: Spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/discussion per week.

The course will focus on the culture of the Low Countries, including both the Netherlands and Belgium. Through reading, audiovisual materials, the World Wide Web, guest lectures, and discussions, we will cover the major social, political, and cultural aspects of modern Dutch society. The course is organized around five larger themes: water management and environmental issues; language and education; art, literature, and culture; politics, religion, and social welfare; and social issues.

DUTCH C170/HISTORY C194/SOCIOL C189 Dutch Culture and Society: Amsterdam and Berkeley in the Sixties 4 Units

Department: Dutch; History; Sociology

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/discussion per week.

This course will focus on the cultural aspects of protest- and youth cultures in two cities that were influential in the sixties: Amsterdam and Berkeley. Particular attention will be paid to how American popular culture was perceived in a European context. All readings and discussions in English.

DUTCH 171AC From New Amsterdam to New York: Race, Culture, and Identity in New Netherland 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 7.5 to 8 hours of Lecture and 2.5 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.

What would it mean to begin modern American history on the island of Manhattan instead of New England? We intend to question the Anglo-American perspective on the representation of cultural identity, national identity, ethnicity, and race by constrasting the traditional foundation story of the United States with that of the 17th-century Dutch colony on Manhattan. Readings will include historical and ethnographic writings, self-representations of the different ethnic groups, and fictional accounts.

Satisfies the American Cultures requirement

Instructor: Dewulf

DUTCH 173 Dutch Post-Colonial Studies 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. 5.5 hours of Lecture and 1.5 hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. 7.5 hours of Lecture and 2.5 hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Selected topics in Dutch or Flemish/Belgian colonial literature and/or history. See departmental description for current topic. All readings and discussions in English.

Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Instructor: Dewulf

DUTCH 174 Brussels: A Global Study of a European Capital City 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of Lecture and 1 hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

This course aims at a comprehensive study of Brussels, capital of the European Union: its historical richness, institutional complexity of Belgium, cultural diversity, linguistic contradictions, globalizing economy, and its rapidly transforming social divisions. Taught in English; no knowledge of French or Dutch is required.

DUTCH 177 The Amsterdam-Brussels Connection: The Art, History, and Literature of the Netherlands and Flanders 6 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Term course may be offered: Summer

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 10 hours of lecture and 10 hours of field trips and guided tours per week for 5 weeks.

With the 17th-century "Golden Age" as its starting point, the course traces the important cultural developments in Holland and Belgium (Flanders) up to the present. The interdisciplinary curriculum provides a clear picture of these two constrasting monarchies. The historical, cultural, and linguistic relationship is a constant focus of the course. The literature (documentary and fiction) concentrates on the Holcaust in the Low Countries. Students will engage with their subject matter not only in daily lectures, but also as eyewitnesses through regular field trips to museums and historical sites in Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem, Delft, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and other cities. Visits to the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, the House of Representatives, an interactive criminal trial, attendance at the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and the European Parliament in Brussels are included in the course.

Instructor: Snapper

DUTCH C178/AFRICAM C178/SPANISH C178 Cultural Studies 4 Units

Department: Dutch; African American Studies; Spanish

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/discussion per week.

Although the Caribbean has been recognized in recent years as being one of the most compelling areas in regard to questions of interculturality, hybridity, and miscegenation, the Dutch-speaking part of it has somehow been neglected. This course intends to give an opportunity to those who do not necessarily have a command of Dutch language, but wish to complete their knowledge of Latin-American and Carribean history, culture, and literature.

DUTCH 179 Cultural Studies 3 or 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/discussion per week. 1 additional hour of discussion per week, depending on the topic.

Selected topics in cultural studies. Offerings vary. See departmental descriptions for current topic. All readings and discussions in English.

DUTCH 190 Senior Thesis 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 1 2-hour consultation per week.

A major research paper in the areas of Dutch literature, culture, or the area of linguistics. Required of all majors.

DUTCH H196 Honors Studies in Dutch 1 - 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: 1 to 4 hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. 1.5 to 6 hours of Independent study per week for 10 weeks. 1.5 to 7.5 hours of Independent study per week for 8 weeks. 2.5 to 10 hours of Independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Prerequisites: Advanced standing.

Supervised independent study and research course for honors students.

Course may be repeated for a maximum of 4 units.Course may be repeated for a maximum of 4 units.

DUTCH 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring

Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.

Hours and format: 1 to 4 hour of Directed group study per week for 15 weeks.

Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

DUTCH 199 Special Studies in Dutch 1 - 4 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Undergraduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer

Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.

Hours and format: Individual conference.

Prerequisites: Overall G.P.A. of 3.0.

Enrollment is restricted by regulations in .

Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

DUTCH 299 Individual Studies in Dutch for Graduate Students 1 - 8 Units

Department: Dutch

Course level: Graduate

Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer

Grading: Letter grade.

Hours and format: Individual conference.

For graduate students engaged in exploration of a restricted field, involving the writing of a research paper.

Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.