Current semester courses

I. Dutch Language Courses:

Dutch 1 – Elementary Dutch

Prerequisites: None

In this beginner’s course, students will familiarize themselves with the basics of Dutch: its sounds and spelling, its grammatical structure, and its vocabulary. The class focuses on oral communication with an emphasis on vocabulary: learning words and learning how to use these words. By reading texts and dialogues (and listening to the audio version), students will build their vocabulary. In class they will get the opportunity to practice their newly learned words and phrases. By the end of the semester, students will be able to express themselves in speaking and in writing about a variety of topics, including introducing yourself, time, living, studying, traveling, and talking about present and past situations.

Esmée van der Hoeven, M-W 12-2P + F 12-1P, 5 units.

Dutch 100 - Dutch for Reading Knowledge

Prerequisites: None

This is a course designed for students, primarily graduate students, who want to be able to read Dutch for research purposes. The course is taught in English and targeted at students who have no knowledge of Dutch, however, students who wish to solidify their knowledge of Dutch grammar and their Dutch reading skills are welcome to participate. By focusing on reading strategies and analyzing texts on sentence and word level, students will develop their reading and translation skills in Dutch. A lot of attention is paid to grammar, syntax and basic Dutch vocabulary. This course works with authentic texts (book reviews, newspaper articles, scholarly pieces). Students are welcome to bring in texts or topics for texts in their own field of study.

Esmée van der Hoeven, M-W-F 3-4PM, 3 units.

Dutch 110 - Advanced Dutch

Prerequisites: Dutch 2 or equivalent

In this advanced Dutch language course, students will continue to build their vocabulary based on texts dealing with a variety of topics: the history, culture and society of Belgium and the Netherlands, current affairs and discussions, and literature and art. Class revolves around the reading and discussions of texts, and (newly) featured grammar will be discussed along the way. A lot of attention is paid to speaking skills and presentation skills. By the end of the semester, students will have developed their fluency in Dutch to the level of an advanced speaker. The course is open for students who successfully completed Dutch 1 and 2 (or have an equivalent level).  

Esmée van der Hoeven, M-W-F 2-3P, 4 units.

II. Courses in Dutch History, Culture, Linguistics and Literature: (in English)

Dutch 161AC – Multiracial Americans: The History and Future of Racially-Mixed Communities in the United States

In this course, we study three multiracial communities with a Dutch-American connection, one that identifies as  African American, one as Native American and one as Asian American, and take these cases as a point of departure  for a broader discussion on the history and future of racially-mixed people in American society. This focus is  important considering that people of mixed race have experienced a long history of discrimination in the United  States. Racial mixture was long associated with degeneration, and racial theorists claimed that it weakened physical,  intellectual and moral qualities such as strength, endurance, honesty, and even fertility. During the era of segregation,  this discrimination reflected itself in anti-miscegenation laws. However, out of World War II and the Holocaust grew  the awareness about the dangers of theories advocating racial purity or superiority, which had a positive effect on the  nation’s attitude toward racially-mixed relationships. A major accomplishment was the 1967 Supreme Court decision  in the Loving v. Virginia case that ruled against laws banning interracial marriage. While opposition against racial  mixture continues to the present day by racist groups advocating white supremacy, the number of partnerships  between people of a different race has experienced a steady increase. 

This increase in racially-mixed partnerships has been accompanied by a shift in the approach of multiracial  Americans to the traditional ethno-racial pentagon. Since the introduction of a multiple race option in the 2000  census, the number of Americans identifying with more than one race has increased significantly. This evolution raises  important questions about the future of the nation’s diversity model. Is the increase in number of Americans who  identify with multiple races the forebode of an evolution whereby new generations will question established boundaries with regard to race in similar ways as those regarding gender and sexual orientation? Will new generations  of multiracial Americans continue to embrace diversity in the traditional way, as a rainbow of different racial and  ethnic groups, or aim at achieving new forms of diversity by blurring the established boundaries? No matter how this  debate will evolve in the coming decades, there can be no doubt that racial mixture and multiracial identity will be  crucially important notions to the nation’s understanding of race, culture, and ethnicity. This course aims to provide  Berkeley students with a better understanding of the history of these notions and to enrich the debate on race, culture,  and ethnicity in American society with a critical analysis of racial mixture and multiracial identity.  

No knowledge of Dutch language is required; all readings and discussions in this course will be in English.

Jeroen Dewulf, Tu/Th 2-3:30P, 4 units