Iuventus Prize for students

Twelve students of Dutch Studies at the University of Oldenburg have received an "eervolle vermelding" at the Iuventus Award ceremony organised by the Nederlands Genootschap van vertalers. Their translation of the Dutch story "Bederf is de weg van alle vlees" by Marcel Möring was recognised as a promising working translation. As a prize, two representatives of the students, Katih Quecke and Thorsten Robra, were presented with the recently published new three-volume Van Dale dictionary at a symposium in the Amsterdam Tropenmuseum on 25 September 1999.

The translation was produced in two seminars in the summer semester 1998 and winter semester 1998/99 under the direction of Prof Dr Ralf Grüttemeier with the students Jörn Anders, Julia Antufjew, Eugen Blank, Aina Kazimagomedowa, Clara Finke, Maria Ganseforth, Katih Quecke, Maren Pannemann, Thorsten Robra, Andrea True, Michael Urban and Arno Wanders.
The seminar was concluded with a visit by Marcel Möring to the university on 16 February 1999, where he discussed their translation with the students.

NWZ from Tuesday 03 May

NWZ from Monday 28 December 98:

Oldenburg. It is 15 May 1648 and the delegates are standing around a round table, each with their right hand raised. Spanish and Northern Dutch delegations have gathered in the council chamber in Münster. The news of peace spreads quickly throughout the Republic of the United Netherlands. Tower bells ring, people celebrate.
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 not only ended the Thirty Years' War, but also marked the conclusion of "Perpetual Peace" between the Netherlands and Spain, as the first chapter of the joint peace treaty states. The Spanish and Dutch had been fighting for more than 80 years. This side of the Peace of Westphalia is shown in the current exhibition "Eeuwige vrede - Ewiger Friede 1648" in the Oldenburg State Library. The "National Committee Peace of Münster" from the Netherlands has put together the travelling exhibition 350 years later.
The exhibition begins with a picture of the swearing of the peace in Münster. But scenes of war can also be seen. Soldiers massacre each other. Drawings and engravings show everyday life during the war:
Women, men and children lie exhausted on the ground, plucking grass from the earth and slaughtering their own relatives from hunger. There are explanations in German and Dutch. "Catholic Spain did not want to lose its influence in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. The northern provinces defended themselves against religious persecution and the absolutist unitary state," explains Hans Beelen, lecturer in Dutch Studies at the University of Oldenburg. He brought the travelling exhibition to the State Library.
Beelen added 40 books from the State Library's collection to the travelling exhibition's display boards. This is actually a double exhibition," he explains. The works are mainly from the 17th century. In addition to Spanish-Catholic sources, Dutch historians have their say, and pamphlets are also on display, such as an anthology from 1620. "Many propaganda writings appeared about the uprising in the Netherlands," reports Beelen. "A basket of the Heyl. Römischen lmmenschwarms seiner Hummelszellen (or Himmelszellen) Hurrnaußnäster, Bräm(s)engeschwurm und Wäspengetöß..." is the title of the pamphlet by Philips van Mamix, a staunch Calvinist, for example.
Beelen has also selected literature on warfare from the National Library's collection, including descriptions by Herman Hugo (1558-1629). He was the confessor and counsellor of the Spanish troops during the siege of the city of Breda in 1625.
Two atlases from the 17th century provide maps of the Dutch provinces at the time. The final part is a collection of portraits by AnseIm van Hulle. The portrait of Hermann Mylius (1603-1657), a diplomat who campaigned for Oldenburg's neutrality during the Thirty Years' War, is included.
Beelen particularly appreciates the peace treaty's recognition of the Netherlands and the diplomatic achievement as such. "Perhaps this agreement was the first step on the way to a Europe."

NWZ from Thursday 23 April 9

“Dutch Studies” programme approved
Oldenburg The Ministry of Science in Hanover has approved a Master’s degree programme in “Dutch Studies” at the University of Oldenburg for the 1998/99 winter semester. The degree programme, developed by Professor Dr Ralf Grüttemeier from the Department of Literature and Linguistics, is being offered in collaboration with the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. The approval is initially limited to five years. Grüttemeier describes it as a “regional degree programme” designed to open up employment opportunities for graduates in both countries. The programme is divided into a four-semester foundation phase, which corresponds to the foundation phase of Dutch Studies. During the four-semester advanced stage, a period of study abroad in Groningen is compulsory: one semester whilst studying the subject as a minor, and two whilst studying it as the main subject. Conversely, the same applies to students taking “German Studies” in Groningen. Part of the programme involves a work placement in the business sector, with an emphasis on close cooperation with companies on both sides of the border.

UNI - INFO April

From the coming winter semester, students will be able to enrol on the ‘Dutch Studies’ subject at the University of Oldenburg. Following a proposal from the university, the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture has approved the Master’s subject. It is initially planned as a five-year pilot project. The programme involves, on the one hand, the departments of Literature and Linguistics, Social Sciences, and Economics and Law at the University of Oldenburg, and, on the other hand, the School of Humanities at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Whilst the foundation stage corresponds to the Dutch Studies programme already on offer, the advanced stage also covers the fields of Economics, Law, and a comparative study of the history, politics and sociology of the Netherlands and Germany. Two semesters must be completed in Groningen, along with a work placement in the business sector. According to the proposal’s explanatory statement, it is expected that the degree programme could play an important role in north-western Germany and the northern Netherlands. The Groningen-Ems/Dollart-Oldenburg-Bremen region exhibits great similarities in terms of its social and economic structure. The cross-border degree programme could provide this region with important impetus. Furthermore, the degree programme is of supra-regional significance: both the political efforts of recent years and the problems associated with major German-Dutch corporate mergers demonstrate the need for German-Dutch intermediaries with cultural and economic ‘bilingualism’.