Going Dutch: Culture and Society of the Netherlands

The Dutch have a saying: “God created the world but the Dutch created the Netherlands” referring to the fact that it was through the construction of dikes and land reclamation (or ‘impoldering’) that 65 percent of the country was created and became protected against flooding.

German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1865), referring to the abolition of slavery in the Dutch colonies in 1863, which put the Dutch at the back of the queue of West-European states to do so, wrote:

And in 2007, when she was not yet Queen, Princess Maxima, who is originally from Argentina, caused a lot of discussion when she said: "The Dutchman doesn’t exist”, presumably meaning that you can’t say there is such a thing as a typical Dutch person.

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All three quotations (many more could be given) relate to topics that are addressed in this University Minor. It not only provides students with a solid basis of knowledge on current issues in Dutch culture and society, on its literature and history, but also with the necessary analytical tools to identify and to reflect on, among others, its physical creation, its colonial past, its multicultural diversity, and its self-image, in an international perspective.

For whom?

The University Minor Going Dutch: Culture and Society of the Netherlands primarily caters for international degree students who have gone Dutch in the sense that they currently live and study in Groningen. Individual courses are open to exchange students (Erasmus+). Also Dutch or Dutch speaking degree students may enroll in this Minor.

Language of instruction

The language of instruction in all courses in the core programme (except for the language proficiency courses) is English, but Dutch is used as a language of communication (reading, speaking, writing) where necessary and possible. All non-Dutch/non-Dutch speaking students take mandatory language proficiency classes in Dutch. Naturally, the language level of Dutch of the participating students is always taken into account.

Overview of courses

Elective courses for students with language proficiency exemptions:

• Block 1a:
  • Cultural Heritage in Art, Arch. and Landscape or
  • Inleiding Prehistorie van Nederland
• Block 1b:
  • Designed Landscapes 1800-Present or
  • To be determined

Registration

Students have to register for the whole Minor as well as for the course units of their choice within the Minor via Progress in Spring. More information about the enrolment procedure.

More information

For any questions, please contact the secretariat Minorities, Information (Science), Linguistics, Literature and Communication: sec-millc rug.nl