Dutch Studies can be compared to a house with many rooms. Within in it resides researchers from different disciplines such as literary studies, linguistics and language proficiency/communication.

• Literary studies researchers are interested in the functions and effects of (Dutch) literature on culture and society. Their research is focused on the relationship between literature and other discourses (politics, ethics, science..).

• Linguists explore the dynamics of language, study the relationships between language variations, language changes and (second) language acquisition, and try to gain more insight into human language capacity.

• Language proficiency is concerned with argumentative language use, with research combining dialectical and rhetorical perspectives on argumentation with the exploration of argumentative texts and discussions in different institutionalised contexts.