The department

The study of English Language and Culture focuses on three clear areas:

• Premodern English Literature studies literature in English, French and Latin until the sixteenth century.
• Modern English Linguistics examines Modern English in all of its varieties.
• Modern English Literature studies literature in English from the sixteenth century on.

History of the discipline

The academic study of English was first introduced as a discipline in Groningen at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1876 the University of Groningen was the firth university in the Netherlands to offer a university degree in modern languages. The first professor of English language and literature in Groningen was also the first in the netherlands in 1885.

Initially, the course was strongly philological; nowadays we pay attention to the broad cultural importance of contemporary English language and culture in a world-wide context.