Meet the Team

Get to know our Dutch Studies academic staff and find out how you can get in touch with them. If you are an Erasmus student from the Netherlands or Flanders, check out our Taalunie Language assistants' opportunities and get in touch.

Dr Filip De Ceuster

What’s your name?
Filip De Ceuster, but you can call me Filip or Fip.

What’s your role within Dutch Studies at Sheffield?
I teach Low Countries History and Culture, and Dutch Language across all levels. I am specialised in Interwar Literature, but I also teach a module on ecocriticism in contemporary Dutch and Flemish children’s literature.

Favourite spot in Sheffield?
Definitely my colleague Yeti’s lovely garden, where at the end of the academic year all students of Dutch gather for the Gezellige Nederlandse Zomerborrel! Bunting, bubbles, bites and bulbs! 

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
That’s a difficult one...
Outside: the quays of the river Scheldt (Schelde) in the city of Antwerp. Watching the ships and seagulls on long summer evenings, cracked cobbles with dandelions… It was one of my favourite reading spots when I was a student.
Inside: the magnificent Printing Museum of Plantin-Moretus (also in Antwerp), which has a unique book collection and the oldest printing presses in the world!

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
So many! But here’s a good one: “Als de vos de passie preekt, boer, let op uw kippen!”. Literally: if the fox preaches the passion, farmer, watch your chickens! 

A tip for incoming SLC students?
Get out of your comfort zone, try new things and keep a journal. (I do realise that that is more than one tip.) And take up Dutch! (that’s four now). 

Check Filip's Academic Profile

Dr Henriette Louwerse

What’s your name?
Henriette Louwerse. In Dutch, Henriette is shortened to Jet, which you pronounce as /yet/. That is why I am also called Yeti (Jet in Dutch)

What’s your role within Dutch Studies at Sheffield?
I am the Director of Studies and I teach Dutch for Beginners and one semester of our Dutch Advanced course. I also offer a course on (post)colonial history and society and on the representation and ideology of the family in Dutch and Flemish literature and film. And finally I am interested in translation. 

Favourite spot in Sheffield?
I have many favourite spots, I like Tamper Coffee because it serves such a mean flat white. I like Weston Park because it is so green and timeless, but my top spot is the Western Bank Library. Go in, smell the books and you’ll  feel learned! Or at least inspired to read and study. And the staff are very helpful. 

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
I will go for anywhere in Friesland; I love the northern provinces a lot but it is where I grew up. I am also very fond of the beaches in Zeeland. And Groningen is my favourite city.

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
I love the ‘oe’ sound in Dutch which is close to English ‘oo’ but a little bit shorter. The word smoesje is one of my favourite words because it is sweet and short and (quite) harmless and it means excuse, little white lie. 

A tip for incoming SLC students?
Give as much as you take; engage from the start; and if you are unsure about something, just get in touch. We are here for you.

Check Henriette's Academic Profile

Megan Strutt

What’s your name and where are you from?
My name’s Megan and if you’re thinking that doesn’t sound very Dutch, you’d be right. That’s because I come from a small village in the Peak District!

What do you do?
I’m a teaching assistant in Dutch and German at the University.

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
Probably the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht. From the outside, the building looks like some sort of spaceship-windmill hybrid (very Dutch science fiction if you ask me). Inside, at the top of the building is a room nestled under the domed roof, with beanbags on the floor and intricate patterns painted in black and white on the ceiling. The perfect spot to sit and contemplate life after having a nosey at some art.

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
I’m a big fan of ‘jeetje mineetje!’ which has a meaning a bit similar to the good classic ‘tsjonge, jonge, jonge!

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
I’ve racked my brain for ages but can’t think of one - sorry!! 

A Dutch or Flemish film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
Two very different suggestions here - first of all, not a film, but the series ‘Amsterdam Vice’ on Netflix is a bingeable police action series set in the 80s. It’s super stylish and worth watching just for the flares and 80s cars to be honest… My second suggestion is indeed a film: het afscheid, a grainy black and white film from the 1960s, set in the Antwerp docks. If you want something plot-heavy, maybe give this one a miss, but if you’re like me and love a good atmospheric film that doesn’t really go anywhere, but lets you escape into another world for a little while, this one’s perfect. 

Stijn Oosterlinck

What’s your name and where are you from?
Hallokes Bokes, my name is Stijn (/stɛi̯n/, similar to Stan)! I'm from the quaint town of Kontich, to the south of Antwerp, Belgium.

What do you study?
I study Applied Linguistics, with the options Dutch, English and German.

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
My all time favourite spot in the Low Countries has to be the top of the MAS building – the Museum aan de Stroom – in Antwerp. It gives you a view of the city unlike any other. The port, the city centre, Linkeroever (Left bank)...If you ever visit Antwerp, go up there (it's free!!!).

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
‘Helaba’ has to be my favourite and most used word. It can be used as a greeting or when someone (particularly a young child) is doing something stout (naughty). You'll probably hear me saying it a lot.

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
This is impossible to choose. You can find me dancing to Pommelien Thijs, MEAU, S10 and so many other amazing artists any day of the week. But I also love Kleinkunst (a kind of Low Countries folk music), because I was raised on the smooth rhythm of Bart Peeters and the likes. If you want, I have a playlist with my favourite Dutch songs which I'm happy to share!

A Dutch or Flemish film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
If you want to watch anything, please watch the series ‘Het Eiland’, Eigen Kweek or De Luizenmoeder if you want to laugh your brains out. They are amazing and horrible at the same time. Looking for something more serious? Als de dijken breken, about the Delta Plans or De Dag, which is a thrilling crime show.

Romeo  Castillo Pereyra

What’s your name and where are you from?
Hi everyone! My name is Romeo and I’m from Hulst, a small town near the Dutch-Belgian border.

What do you study?
I am a Biology student at Utrecht University where I’m mostly taking courses in plant biology and ecology.

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
Hmmm, that’s a hard question. I guess I’ll have to say the botanical gardens in Utrecht. They are beautiful, especially during spring! If you ever have the chance to visit please do!! I’m sure you will enjoy them just as much as i do :))

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
I love the word “Koekwaus”. It means something along the lines of “dumbass”, it’s a pretty lighthearted way to comment on someone doing something weird or being clumsy.

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
I don’t listen to a lot of Dutch music, to be honest… But if I have to pick one I’d probably say Sterrenstof by De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, it’s a classic! There are a lot of great Dutch artists, so I should start listening to them more often.

A Dutch or Flemish film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
“Pluk van de petteflat”! I was obsessed with this film when I was a child, so it’s really nostalgic for me. It’s based on a book from Annie M.G. Schmidt, a famous Dutch writer. Her books are generally for a younger audience, but I still recommend checking them out!

Klara Van Vlaenderen

What’s your name and where are you from?
Klara Van Vlaenderen, which literally means “Klara from Flanders”. Fortunately, my name doesn’t lie, as I do live in Ghent in … Flanders!

What do you study?
I’m a Literature and Linguistics student for Dutch and English.

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
The garden of the Sint-Pietersabdij in Ghent is a wonderful place for a picnic, especially because it is located in the middle of the city, but also isolated from all of the noise and bustle. I once had a literature seminar there and it was straight out of a fairytale!

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
I love the word “geroezemoes” which is “murmur”, but it has something soft to it, like the background noise in a cosy cafe. The same goes for “konkelfoezen” - it means “talking secretly with each other”, but in a harmless way, like when two friends concoct a plan to steal their friend’s hat. 

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
This one is very hard for me, as there are so many good ones to choose from! For example, I really love everything Spinvis has written, such as the mysterious “club insomnia”, and the cheerful “Wespen op de appeltaart”, but I’m also a big fan of the marvellous guitars in “Compost” by Het Universumpje. Furthermore, I can really recommend Maria Iskariot if you like punk rock, and Brihang if you’re in the mood for some West Flemish hip-hop :)

A Dutch or Flemish film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
“Basta” by Neveneffecten is one of the funniest shows I have ever seen, and Lukas Dhont’s “Girl” is pure perfection.

Laurens van Hofslot

What’s your name and where are you from?
Hi everyone! My name is Laurens and I'm from Utrecht, the Netherlands!

What do you study?
I study History and Political Sciences at the University of Utrecht.

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
My favourite place has to be the national park “De Utrechtse Heuvelrug”, these woods are home to some of my favourite running routes!

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
My favourite Dutch word is “schorriemorrie”. It's a very old-fashioned word that is not used very often, but it means “thugs”.

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
My favourite Dutch song is “Morgen is het weer vandaag” by Froukje!

A Dutch or Flemish film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
Perhaps, if you want to have an experience that almost every Dutch kid has in primary school: watch the movie “Achtste groepers huilen niet”, and ugly cry like we all did at age 11 when we watched it in school!

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