Explore the complexities and paradoxes of gender and sexuality in the Netherlands and Morocco.
16
Relevant & demonstrated previous coursework
Dutch
English
Sep 1 – Dec 12
Netherlands
Morocco
Amsterdam
Identity & Human Resilience
Famous for its “progressive” social policies, Amsterdam is an ideal city to explore the intersections of gender and sexuality with race, class, and religion. You will interrogate the city’s self-styled reputation of tolerance by homing in on the shifting nuances of gender and sexuality in the context of theory, policy, and lived experience and across geographical and cultural boundaries. These issues will come to life in the guest lectures and site visits that round out the program. You will learn first-hand from activists, academics, and practitioners what it means to do the work of advancing gender and sexual equality, and how cultural differences both shape their approach and define their obstacles.
You will visit the Prostitution Information Center, the Black Archives, and COC Netherlands and hear from guest lecturers on topics such as sex education, queer sexual health, transgender representation in the media, and the Dutch immigration and asylum process for queer asylum seekers. During the two-week excursion to Morocco, you will explore how these issues are inflected by religion and resonate differently in a Muslim-majority country. Site visits in Morocco include a roundtable meeting with the country’s leading women’s rights organization, a tour of a family planning and sexual health center and a Q&A session with the medical staff, and a half-day visit to a foundation dedicated to facilitating migrants’ and refugees’ access to housing, education, and employment in Morocco.
Previous college-level coursework or background in sexuality or gender studies, as assessed by SIT for the novice track. For the advanced studies track, students must have a major or minor with demonstrated coursework in women's studies, sexuality, gender, or queer studies.
Each semester, students get the opportunity to spend a day in the Dutch city of their choice. You can either choose a city close to Amsterdam, like Haarlem or Utrecht, or you can travel to the far corners of the country, like Groningen in the north or Maastricht in the south. The cost of the train tickets will be paid by SIT.
Migration, particularly the immigration of Muslims, is arguably the most relevant political and social issue in Europe. In the Netherlands, much of the discussion focuses on Dutch Moroccans, one of the largest migrant communities in the country, and one that is often othered on the basis of their purported hostility to gender equality and sexual freedoms. You will deconstruct this binary through site visits to NGOs, women-led cooperatives, museums, and historical sites. You will also uncover the nuances of gender and sexuality in a Muslim-majority country by attending guest lectures delivered by Moroccan activists and academics. Students will have plenty of opportunities to explore Morocco by themselves through spending an afternoon in the ocean or on the beach, trekking through the desert on the back of a camel, haggling with shopkeepers in centuries-old souks, and more.
Please note that SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, however, SIT may have to change or cancel programs.
Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:
The following syllabi are representative of this program. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, actual course content will vary from term to term.
The syllabi can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.
Students choose between the following two thematic seminars, one for novice learners and one for advanced.
Theory and Application of Feminist, LGBTQI, and Queer Studies – syllabus
(GEND3000 / 3 credits)
Queer theory developed in the 1990s, mostly in the U.S., as an outgrowth of feminist and gender studies. Building on the work of the structuralists (particularly linguistic structuralism), the post-structuralist deconstructionists, and scholars from all fields, turned intellectual lenses onto understudied populations. It has grown from what was essentially the study of hetero- and homosexuality into a more far reaching theoretical expression of liminal spaces and what can be considered abnormal. This course, suitable for students who are new to queer and feminist theory, examines the crucial principles of queer theory, particularly as they play out in the Dutch and broader European context. We will engage with fundamental queer and feminist ideas, and explore how they relate to our city, our country, and our continent.
OR
Advanced Theory and Application of Feminist, LGBTQI, and Queer Studies – syllabus
(GEND 3500 / 3 credits)
Queer theory developed in the 90s largely to analyze the gay community but has grown into something so much more. So much more, in fact, that is seems unmanageable. It is amorphous, its boundaries so fungible that they seem to disappear. Sometimes it gets desperately, vexingly hard to nail down what queer theory is. This course, suitable for students who have a solid grounding in queer theory, uses the lens of queer to explore these frustratingly elusive liminal edges of the field. We also explore some neighboring states, like trans, disability, and postcolonial studies in the Dutch/ European context. We aim to understand not only the theoretical possibilities, but also the lived experience, of the populations under study.
Migration, Gender, and Sexuality – syllabus
(GEND3005 / 3 credits)
The course examines gender and sexuality in the context of post-colonial and post-migration subjectivities in the Netherlands and around the globe. Integrating lectures, field visits to museums and grassroots organizations, readings, and reflection sessions, the course will focus on the international aspect of the overarching topic: migration, international issues, transnational encounters, postcolonial and postmigration afterlives. During a two-week excursion to Morocco, students study the interaction between Islam, gender relations, and sexuality in a predominantly Muslim country. The excursion and the lectures will allow students to draw a comparative understanding of how conceptions of gender and sexuality are constructed across cultures and societies. This course particularly prepares students for their two-week excursion to Morocco.
Dutch – syllabus
(DUTC1003 / 3 credits)
This course focuses on acquiring a working knowledge of the Dutch language related to sexuality and gender and to everyday life in the Netherlands. Students are almost always at the beginner’s level and during the semester acquire a basic understanding of Dutch, a vocabulary that is related to the program’s themes, and basic grammar. At the end of the course, most students are able to read news items and short articles in the Dutch language.
Research Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)
This seminar introduces students to the conceptual and practical tools essential to forming constructive relationships with organizations and/or individuals from other cultures, particularly those required for completing an academic project in the cultural context of the Netherlands. The course enhances students’ skills at building a network; initiating purposeful dialogue in the cultural context of the Netherlands; gathering, recording, and analyzing primary data; and writing an academic report. The course pays particular attention to the ethics of working, researching, and living as a cultural guest. The class situates these ethical issues specifically as they apply within the cultural context of the Netherlands and the program’s critical global issue: identity and human resilience. The course prepares students for their independent study project, and also gives students the intellectual tools to move about the world, learning and growing in an ethical manner.
In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)
This seminar consists of a four-week internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, or international NGO in the Netherlands. The aim of the internship is to enable students to gain valuable work experience and enhance their skills in an international work environment. Specifically, students will conduct an internship in the context of gender and sexuality issues in the Netherlands, and a focus will be on linking internship learning with the program’s critical global issues of migration, identity, and resilience. The seminar includes regular reflection and assessment meetings with the academic director or internship coordinator to review the progress of the internship and learning associated with the internship experience. Students complete a substantial academic paper in which they process their learning experience on the job, analyze an issue important to the organization, and/or design a socially responsible solution to a problem identified by the organization. Students also conduct an oral presentation of their internship experience and findings.
Previous internships have involved:
OR
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)
The last four weeks of the semester will be devoted solely to the ISP, during which time you will pursue original research on a topic you choose that is related to the program’s theme. The ISP is most often conducted in Amsterdam, but another location is possible as long as it is relevant to the project. Sample topic areas: negotiating religion and homosexuality; interracial relationships in the Dutch postcolonial context; multicultural approaches to sex education; black feminist activism in the Netherlands; Dutch-Moroccan women’s conceptions of virginity; gay men and their experiences with HIV testing; vernacular expressions of women of color. Please note that this program does not permit research that requires the active input of sex workers.
Sample ISP topic areas:
Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.
After a brief orientation, you will live with a local family in the greater Amsterdam area for the whole of the program. Commute times may vary, taking up to 45 minutes. Your homestay host can help you understand and navigate life in this thriving city of canals. You will stay with Amsterdammers who come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and include single parents, young professionals, retirees and some LGBTQ+ hosts. The homestay experience is often described as one of the program’s highlights, and one of the most rewarding experiences of the semester. All hosts offer unique insights into sexuality and gender from a Dutch perspective.
Your host will help you navigate the city, culture, and language. Think of them as your insider’s guide and private Dutch tutor who will help you integrate into your new host country. They can introduce you to the best of their neighborhoods – outdoor markets, the perfect café, a local shop – and advise you on the small towns and big cities you ought to visit while you are in the country.
Hostels and modest hotels
Students on this program come from many different universities and majors. Many have gone on to do work that connects back to their experience abroad with SIT. Positions recently held by alumni of this program include:
Associate director of college counseling and history at Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA
Birth doula at Birth Partners Doulas of Connecticut, Stratford, CT
Lead field organizer of the Alaska Democratic Party, Anchorage, AK
Project member at Love Matters, RNW, Hilversum, Netherlands
SIT Study Abroad is committed to ensuring that international education is within reach for all students. We believe in the transformative power of immersive, intercultural experiences and are dedicated to supporting students in their educational journey.
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A critical step in preparing for your study abroad program is planning how you will maintain your health and wellbeing. Please review the following information carefully and contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
View InformationRead three reasons why the Netherlands program is unique in advancing gender and sexuality studies in today’s world.
Sokhna Samb shares their experience interning with Diversity Rules.
