From the Polders to the Mangroves: A Polycentric View on Dutch Language and Culture

2/24/2006

3335 Dwinelle Hall

Jeroen Dewulf (Universidade do Porto) How is it possible that the Netherlands, which only a few years ago were seen as a multicultural model for the rest of Europe, seem to have been driven completely off course after the killings of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh? In a response to the current uncertainties over the future of the Netherlands as a multicultural society, Jeroen Dewulf presents a polycentric view on Dutch language and culture. By putting the periphery in the centre, he questions the traditional Dutch norm(s) and particularly the effectiveness and perspectives of the famous Dutch tolerance, proposing a different approach to multiculturality.