Mission

The purpose of the program is dual: to foster a multi-disciplinary and global perspective that strengthens and diversifies the Dutch Studies academic and cultural initiatives at UCLA; and to facilitate scholarly and professional dialogue between UCLA and its partner institutions in the Netherlands and Belgium on critical issues of mutual concern to European and US societies.
 

History

Initiated in 1999 under the direction of Margaret Jacob, now Professor Emeritus of History, the Dutch Studies Program started with an agreement between UCLA and the University of Utrecht that has enabled the two institutions to exchange faculty and students since 2000. Through Professor Jacob’s sustained efforts, the program has grown to include the Anton Van Dyck Chair for the history and the culture of the Low Countries, which was given to UCLA by the Belgian government in 2006. In 2017, the agreement with the University of Utrecht was renewed and a similar agreement with the University of Leuven was established. With a broadened global perspective on Dutch Studies, these programs have further promoted international scholarly exchange and collaboration. The UCLA program has also grown stronger through the remarkable generosity of Jan and Jo Anne Van Tilburg, whose endowed gifts have funded an annual lecture in Dutch Studies since 2006 and now provide additional support for UCLA students participating in the Utrecht and Leuven exchange programs

Programs

Dutch Studies at UCLA is the largest program in the US focused on the study of the Netherlands and Belgium in a global perspective. UCLA offers a varied academic program that includes courses on Dutch, Flemish, and Indonesian history, art, and literature, Dutch and Afrikaans language courses, and the annual lecture in Dutch Studies, which brings together audiences from the campus and larger Los Angeles communities. UCLA’s program is enhanced by agreements with the Universities of Utrecht and Leuven, which enable graduate and undergraduate student exchanges between the partner universities and make it possible for visiting professors from Utrecht and Leuven to teach courses at UCLA in any disciplinary area relevant to Dutch Studies. The disciplinary base of the program is also strengthened by the Van Dyck Chair, which allows for humanities and social science courses to be taught at UCLA by visiting professors from several Belgian universities. Visiting professors further enrich UCLA’s academic life by giving public lectures and forging new connections across multiple fields of study.


Amsterdam. Photo by Tobias Kordt on Unsplash.

Dutch Studies Advisory Board

Recent Visiting Scholars

Tulip field in the Netherlands. Photo by Christiana Bohorquez on Unsplash.

In 2005, Johannes Van Tilburg and his wife, Jo Anne, gave the Dutch Studies Program at UCLA a remarkably generous gift to establish in perpetuity the Johannes Van Tilburg Lecture in Dutch Studies.

Mr. Van Tilburg came to the USA from The Netherlands in 1965. In 1971, he became the founding principal of Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh, AIA and has led this 100 person firm to the forefront of planning and design. His work as a designer is widely recognized throughout the state and indeed the entire country. In 1992, he was honored by his peers and elevated to the level of Fellow of the American Institution of Architects. In 2007, Johannes Van Tilburg was honored by the Netherlands America Foundation of Southern California. Mr. Van Tilburg is deeply committed to education and continues to work as an adjunct Professor in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at USC. In 2010, Mr. Van Tilburg was appointed Honorary Consul of The Netherlands in Los Angeles.

List of Johannes Van Tilburg Lectures

Instances of Reciprocal Illumination: Thinking-Making Through the Theater
• February 23, 2023
• Maaike Bleeker, Utrecht University
• Co-sponsored by the Center for European and Russian Studies, and UCLA Department of Theater

Moroccan Migration in the Netherlands: Facts, Myths and Moral Panic
• February 24, 2022
• Nadia Bouras, Leiden University
• Co-sponsored by the Center for European and Russian Studies, Center for Near Eastern Studies, Center for Study of International Migration, Moroccan Jewish Studies Program at UCLA

Homegrown Foods, Homegrown Sentiments? a Cultural Analysis of the Dutch Fear of Esthetic Contamination, 1770-1914
• February 13, 2020
• Saskia Pieterse, Utrecht University
• Co-sponsored by the Center for European and Russian Studies

Egalitarian Revolutions
• February 14, 2019
• Annelien de Dijn, Utrecht University
• Co-sponsored by the Center for European and Russian Studies

The Origins and Significance of Enlightenment Anti-Colonialism
• February 15, 2018
• Siep Stuurman, Utrecht University
• Co-sponsored by the Center for European and Russian Studies

Mining an uncharted continent: Popular conceptions of Europe in twentieth-century Dutch newspapers
• February 16, 2017
• Joris Van Eijnatten, Utrecht University
• Co-sponsored by the Center for European and Russian Studies

Terrorism – an Elusive Identifier
• February 18, 2016
• Beatriz de Graaf, Utrecht University

The Making of a Global Knowledge Society in the Low Countries
• February 26, 2015
• Sven Dupré, Freie Univeritat Berlin and Max Plank Institute for the History of Science, Berlin

The 'Polder Model' and Its Role in Dutch History
• February 20, 2014
• Maarten Prak, University of Utrecht

International Bestsellers in the Dutch Golden Age
• February 21, 2013
• Els Stronks, Utrecht University

The Tortured Emergence of the First Modern Corporation: The Early Years of the Dutch East India Company
• February 23, 2012
• Oscar Gelderblom, Utrecht University

Civil Society and the Dutch State: The Role of Freemasonry, 1735-1940
• February 17, 2011
• Margaret C. Jacob, Distinguished Professor of History, UCLA

Reading Trees: Stories of Wood
• February 25, 2010
• Ester Jansma, Chair in Dendrochronology, Utrecht University

Dutch Jewry in 1945
• February 19, 2009
• Ido De Haan, Professor of Political History, Utrecht University

Immigration and the question of Dutch identity
• February 21, 2008
• Paul Schnabel, Utrecht University

Rembrandt’s Last Painting
• February 22, 2007
• Gary Schwartz, Art Historian

Rise or Decline of Modern Dutch Literature: An Optimistic Perspective on Cultural Pessimism
• February 23, 2006
• Wiljan Van Den Akker, Professor of Dutch Literature, Utrecht University

The Anton Van Dyck chair for the history and the culture of the Low Countries was created by an agreement between the regents of the University of California at Los Angeles and the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) on November 30, 2006. The chair holder spends one quarter a year at UCLA and teaches both undergraduates and graduate students. The first holder of this honor in spring 2008 was Walter Prevenier, who taught two classes at UCLA: an undergraduate seminar on ‘The Golden Ages in the Low Countries (15th and 17th c.)’ and a graduate seminar on ‘The Social Position of Women in Medieval Low Countries’.

Recent Van Dyck Visiting Professors

• Ilja Van Damme, History, 2019-2020
• Jan Van Bavel, Sociology, 2018-2019
• Stef Craps, English, 2017-2018
• Anne Winter, History, 2016-2017
• Luc Herman, Comparative Literature, 2015-2016
• Bruno Blonde, History, 2014-2015
• Mark Delaere, Musicology, 2013-2014
• Dirk Geeraerts, Germanic Languages, 2012-2013

UCLA agreements with Utrecht University and KU Leuven enable graduate and undergraduate student exchanges between the partner universities and make it possible for visiting professors from Utrecht and Leuven to teach courses at UCLA in any disciplinary area relevant to Dutch Studies.


View of Utrecht's Cathedral Tower. Image by 0805edwin from Pixabay.

UCLA Library's Dutch Studies Research Guide is intended to support the program's mission to foster a multi-disciplinary and global perspective that strengthens and diversifies the Dutch Studies academic and cultural initiatives at UCLA.


Image of a desk by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay.

Contributions to the Dutch Studies program are welcome. Your gift will help advance our mission and provide funding for academic and cultural events and support for faculty and student research, language study, and professional development.

To make a donation by check, please make your check payable to the UCLA Foundation and mail to:

UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies - Dutch Studies Program
11367 Bunche Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1446


Girl on a retro bike riding from the sunlight into the shadows, Amsterdam. Photo by Marc Kleen on Unsplash.