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Netherlands: Sexuality and Gender Identity (SIT) - Main Page

Travel around Europe, and see life through the eyes of minorities fighting for rights.

The Netherlands is known for its atmosphere of tolerance and progressive social thinking. Its liberal laws concerning gay and lesbian rights, sexuality education, birth control, and euthanasia set it apart from the United States as well as from many of its European neighbors. However, while progressive, this country still struggles with issues inevitable in a multifaceted society.

The School for International Training (SIT) offers this interdisciplinary program, which integrates classroom lectures and multiple theoretical models with field excursions to sites in Amsterdam, throughout the Netherlands, and to key locations elsewhere in Europe to provide a comprehensive view of the impact of legislation on the daily life of various communities and minorities. Opportunities to interact with community outreach organizations add to your understanding of the study of sexuality and gender.

Housing and Meals

Students will participate in a homestay during their semester in Amsterdam. Through a homestay, students become a member of a family and share in its daily life. This opportunity facilitates cultural immersion, helps develop further language skills and provides a context for academic learning. Students frequently cite the homestay as an educational highlight of the semester.

Homestay placements are arranged by a local coordinator who screens and approves each family's suitability. These families represent a variety of occupational, educational and economic levels and live in diverse neighborhoods, towns and rural settings. Families include one or more adults and may or may not include children. The success of the homestay experience depends largely on your willingness to adapt as an active family member.

When traveling with the program, you stay in lodgings chosen under the guidance of the academic director. Accommodations may include guest houses, educational institutions, hostels or small hotels, depending on local conditions and customs.

Educational Excursions

Excursions to Berlin and Madrid provide opportunities to learn more about sexuality, and gender identity in other EU countries, specifically other urban environments. This is a 10-day excursion. For more information on these study trips, please visit the SIT Web site.

Schedule

The spring 2007 program dates should be announced shortly; the spring 2006 program dates should be used a guide for tentative planning until the official dates are announced.

Fall 2007 schedule:

• August 27, 2007 International Student Arrival to the Netherlands
• December 9, 2007 Group Flight Departure from the Netherlands

Spring Semester 2008:

• February 4, 2008 International Student Arrival to the Netherlands
• May 18, 2008 Group Flight Departure from the Netherlands

Prerequisites

Previous college level coursework or other significant preparation in sexuality, gender, and/or identity studies as assessed by SIT.

Courses

Introduction to Dutch Language and Culture (DUTC 1000/ 4 credits)- Required

Emphasis on speaking and reading "survival" Dutch and cross-cultural adaptation and skills building. The cultural portion of this class focuses on important institutions within the Netherlands. Historical, political, economic and social developments are highlighted as facets of contemporary Dutch society. Students visit sites of cultural interest, such as museums, churches, and local organizations, as part of their field studies.

Sexuality and Gender Identity Seminar (GEND 3000/ 6 credits)- Required

An Introduction to the field of sexuality and gender studies with a focus on the Dutch perspective of individual and group cultural identities. Most topics are taught from a social science perspective and include the history of sexology in Europe; biology versus social construction as behavioral determinants; the history of sexual and gendered communities in the Netherlands; sexual issues in the Muslim community; sexuality and gender in the media; cross-cultural considerations in sexuality research; gay/lesbian political activism in the European Union; feminist and postmodern theoretical perspectives on sex and gender identities. Excursions: Local excursions include tours of the red light district, sex museums, a prostitution research center, a gender reassignment clinic, and other organizations and services within the fields of sexuality and gender. In addition, the program includes lecture visits and educational excursions to Berlin and Madrid to enable students to learn from a variety of academic, community, and social perspectives and settings

Field Study Seminar (ANTH 3500/ 2 credits)- Required

A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. Introduction to the Independent Study Project. Material includes project selection and refinement; appropriate methodologies; field study ethics; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; maintaining a work journal.

Independent Study Project (ISPR 3000/ 4 credits)- Required

Conducted in Amsterdam or other location appropriate to the project. Includes an investigation into a population or topic dependent on direct methods of data collection from primary sources. Samples from previous students include: transgender asylum-seekers and the Dutch asylum policy; reconceptualizing disability in relation to deafness and sexuality in the Netherlands; anti-homophobic education in Dutch secondary schools; HIV risk perception and safer-sex practices; second-wave feminism in the Netherlands.