The next 100 years of Dutch studies
Henriette Louwerse
You will all be aware of the importance of 2019 for Dutch studies in the UK and Ireland: it is the centenary year of Dutch studies at UCL and, by extension, of the discipline in the UK.
The executive committee of the ALCS wants to use this historical moment to draw attention to the state of Dutch studies in the UK. Our report ‘The state of Dutch studies in the UK and Ireland’, which we presented in Sheffield in June 2018, is the starting point of a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of Dutch language and cultures studies for the UK and Ireland.
Recently, Henriette Louwerse, Chair of the ALCS, published the following opinion pieces:
‘Time for business: The next hundred years of Dutch studies in the UK’
‘Neerlandistiek in tijden van Brexit’ (in Dutch)
Nicola McLelland (our former ALCS Chair) raised the position of Dutch during a British Academy Round Table in London, 30 January. She pointed out that monitoring of the national coverage of so-called specialist language such as Dutch is required.
We are hopeful that a comment on the provision of Dutch and other specialist languages will find its way into the briefing that Janice Carruthers (AHRC Leadership Fellow for Languages) will produce from the various consultation round tables about languages.
More positive action is needed to raise the profile of Dutch Studies. We are working with various partners to inform policy makers in the UK and the Low Countries and we call on all our ALCS members and friends to speak up and point to our report whenever they can. We will keep you informed.