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. 

Wouter Houben

What’s your name and where are you from?
My name’s Wouter and I’m from Eindhoven originally. I’ve been living in Utrecht for two years now.

What do you study?
I study Dutch language and culture at Utrecht University.

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
There’s a really beautiful park near my house in Utrecht called Amelisweerd. I spent plenty of summer days there swimming, reading and napping.

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
I love the word verkering. It literally translates to courtship but is more often used as the kindergarten word for a relationship. It has a really cute childlike ring to it. 

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
My favourite song changes by the day but right now I’d say Voor alles bang - Sef / Wende. It’s actually based off of a poem by Joost Zwagerman.

A Dutch or Flemish book or film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
The first one is the Flemish film Close (2022) by Lukas Dhont. It’s an absolutely gut-wrenching story about two boys whose friendship gets ripped into shreds in early high school. The second must-watch movie is the cult classic New Kids Turbo (2010). It has aged really poorly and must be viewed through the critical lens of our own Zeitgeist but then, if you ignore all the ways in which it is problematic you’ll get to enjoy some true unfiltered Dutch culture.

Eline Timmerman

What’s your name and where are you from?
Hai allemaal, my name is Eline and I’m from the beautiful city of Utrecht in the Netherlands!

What do you study?
I study Literary Studies (Literatuurwetenschap) at Utrecht University. My bachelor’s is focused on mostly modern literature from all over the world.

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
The forests, for example on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and the Veluwe. I love to take a nice long walk through a forest every once in a while.

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
You’ve probably heard this one before, but I love the word ‘gezellig’! It’s hard to translate, but that’s part of what I like about it: it captures an atmosphere that seems to be specifically Dutch.  

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
‘Noodzakelijk Verdriet’ by Froukje. If you’re looking for good Dutch music, I would definitely recommend her!

A Dutch or Flemish film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
While the old Dutch is probably a little hard for beginners, I would really recommend Wij Slaven van Suriname by Anton de Kom. It shares important insights into Dutch colonial history, which is essential for anyone studying Dutch culture in my opinion.

Florence Gavel

What’s your name and where are you from?
Hi, my name is Florence and I’m from the wonderful city of Ghent, in Flanders!

What do you study?
I study French & English literature and linguistics. I’m currently doing a Master’s to become a teacher!

Favourite spot in the Low Countries?
It’s very difficult to pick just one… I really like spending time in Ghent. Whether it’s charity shopping, visiting bookstores or having a hot chocolate with friends, there’s always something fun to do in the city! When I’m home from uni, I love biking around the countryside and watching the sunset. 

Favourite word or expression in Dutch?
I love the expression ‘ik zie je graag’. Literally translated it would be ‘I love seeing you’, but it’s the Flemish way of saying ‘I love you’. To most of us it actually feels stronger than ‘ik hou van jou’!

What’s currently your favourite Dutch song?
It’s certainly not a recent song, but ‘Mia’ by Gorki holds a very special place in my heart! I get goose bumps thinking of every time we sing it live with a crowd. 

A Dutch or Flemish book or film you want to recommend to our students? And why?
I’d probably recommend exploring Flemish comics! Because of their style, I think comics are an accessible form of literature for students. Growing up, I loved reading ‘Kiekeboe’, ‘Jommeke’ and ‘F.C. De Kampioenen’! Accordion content.

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