Note: This course listing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract between CIEE and any applicant, student, institution, or other party. The courses, as described, may be subject to change as a result of ongoing curricular revisions, assignment of lecturers and teaching staff, and program development. Courses may be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment.
CIEE Study Center Syllabi
To view the most recent syllabi for courses taught by CIEE at our Study Centers, visit our syllabi site.
Required CIEE Core Course
GEOG 3001 GUPS/URBS 3001 GUPS
Spatial Problems and Spatial Policies: The Dutch Experience
The core course uses the Dutch experience of defining spatial problems and devising, implementing, and monitoring spatial policies to investigate more widely applicable aspects of national, urban, and regional planning. It is taught by specialized staff from the Department of Spatial Sciences and coordinated through weekly tutorials and seminars. Lecture topics include Population Dynamics, Cultural Geography of the Netherlands, Physical Geography of the Netherlands, Dutch Water Management Policies, Transportation and Mobility, International Position of the Netherlands, Spatial Planning, Environmental Planning, Energ,y and Space, Death and Space, Rural Areas and Agriculture in the Netherlands, and Regional Economic Policies. The core course meets during the first block of the semester or “semester a” which lasts 10 weeks and delivers the historical, cultural, and environmental context and foundations for the research project that follows. Fall and spring.
GEOG 3002 GUPS/URBS 3002 GUPS
Group Research Project on Planning
The Group Research Project on Planning takes place during the second block of the semester or “semester b” and lasts six weeks in the Fall, and eight weeks in the Spring. The Group Research Project includes the theoretical and practical underpinnings of social science research, research design, and methods via lectures and targeted group tutorials before and during fieldwork. The group project provides students with the opportunity to do an in-depth and focused study on a specific urban/transportation/environmental/ demographic topic in the Netherlands. Research groups integrate U.S. and international students from various disciplines allowing for an impressive synergy of approaches and ideas. Fall and spring.
Department of Spatial Sciences Electives
Healthy Aging
This course introduces students to population aging, particularly as it relates to health and wellbeing. Students gain an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of aging and healthy aging, explore the many diverse societal and individual implications of aging, multidisciplinary approaches to aging, and reflect on outcomes of such research. Topics include theoretical perspectives, the effect of aging on the individual, and the influence of the individual within their society, intergenerational issues, constructs of aging, giving meaning, and diversity in aging, the life course, place attachment, desired living arrangements, urban design, entrepreneurship among disabled, and the study of final places. Fall.
Infrastructure, Economy, and Space
Students will learn about the relationship between infrastructure development and economic development. Part of this course will be discussing the effects of large infrastructural projects during the 90’s and the public discussion related to these projects. Spring.
Migration
This course represents a thorough scientific introduction to the different aspects of migration. Students learn to look at migration from an academic point of view, both from the macro societal level as well from the micro perspective of the individual. The goal of the course is to provide insight into the most important theoretical and empirical aspects of migration. After successful completion of the course students are able to understand and analyze the main trends and developments in migration, which includes international migration as well as internal migration (migration within countries). Fall.
Philosophies of Social Science, Human Geography, and Planning
This course introduces and engages learners who will not have encountered university philosophy before with key ideas and debates in the philosophies of social science. The aim is to explain how these ideas work out in examples drawn from the practice of human geography and planning in the post-war period. Spring.
Population Dynamics in the Netherlands and Europe
This course introduces students to recent demographic developments and challenges in the Netherlands and Europe, including population decline and population aging;, the link with the underlying processes of fertility, mortality, and migration, as well as the societal consequences. Also, attention is paid to the main demographic measures and data sources. Fall.
Population, Health, and Space
This course introduces students to the dual link between health at the population level and place or geography. The course is very interdisciplinary. The module will not only discuss concepts from (medical) demography and (health) geography, but also from epidemiology, medical sociology, and medical anthropology. The module expounds the clear relationship between demography, and geography/planning in the field of health through discussion of, for example, the relationship between mobility/migration and health. Fall.
Spatial Planning: The Urban Challenge
This course exposes students to theories, concepts, and multimedia techniques to understand the social, economic, political, and environmental characteristics of cities, and consequently how forms of intervention by planners relate to the history, evolution, and processes within urban areas. Fall.
Dutch Studies Electives
Communication In and About the Netherlands
This course deals with aspects of Dutch culture and communication within the Netherlands and across its borders. The Netherlands has always been a pluralistic society with different cultural and religious groups. In addition, as a seafaring nation, the Netherlands has always had contacts with foreigners. The book central to this course describes Dutch culture and mentality and its roots. Additional literature covers topics such as ethnic minorities in Dutch society and Dutch as a second language, and the image of the Netherlands abroad. Fall and Spring.
Dutch Language Course Electives
Dutch is offered at all levels each semester. Dutch language takes place throughout the semester, with two sessions of two hours each per week, ending before Christmas in the fall. Fall and Spring.
Dutch Modern History in International Perspective
This course deals with the social and economic history of the Netherlands from its “Golden Age” to the 21st century, from an international and national perspective. The emphasis is on developments in the social structure, economics, and economic and social policy. Topics include the global mercantile network, “the first modern economy,” land reclamation, social and political elites, retarded industrialization, the welfare state and its social and economic consequences, social policies in the 19th and 20th century, and the Dutch positions in European integration. Some attention is also given to the Dutch colonial empire in the Caribbean and Asia. Fall.
Dutch Studies Lecture Series
The lecture series on Dutch Culture and Society is a course aiming not only at foreign students, but also at visiting faculty members or employees of international business companies. In fact, every non-Dutch visitor to Groningen interested in any aspect of Dutch society will find something of his or her interest in this series. Every Wednesday evening, a lecture is given on a broad range of topics—Rembrandt, water management, language in the low lands, political culture, land reclamation, Dutch economy, and the former Dutch colonies are examples. Fall and Spring.
European Union, Myth or Reality?
During this course, students explore the policies, institutes, and history of the European Union in relation to global news issues. Special attention is placed upon the relationship between the European Union and the Netherlands. Fall.
International Human Rights: Dutch Perspective
In this course, the following themes are covered: the philosophy of human rights, the United Nations and human rights protection, regional mechanisms, EVRM, international minority protection, the Yugoslavia tribunal, Rwanda tribunal and the International Court of Justice, non-governmental organizations and their contribution and protection of human rights, and the Dutch role in protecting human rights. Spring.
Migration and Minorities in History
This course introduces students to some of the most important migratory movements in Western Europe, with a main focus on the Netherlands, and across the Atlantic to the North American colonies. Concepts of integration and assimilation are discussed and settlement patterns and group dynamics of migrants are analyzed. Spring.
The Language Situation in the Low Countries
This course provides an overview of the development of the Dutch language and its current position. Furthermore, students look at the similarities and differences between Dutch and English, German,and Friesian, and where the phonetics, morphology, and syntax are examined. Students explore the relationship between Dutch in the Netherlands versus in Flanders, the position of the Friesian language, and the relationship between Dutch and Afrikaans. Fall.
Literature and the Arts from 1870–1960s
The objective of this course is to provide insight into the development of Dutch literature and Dutch art from the period 1870–1970, where special attention is given to their relationship. Impressionism, symbolism, and avant-garde are discussed. Spring.
Literature and Intellectual Life in Dutch Golden Age
In this course, students become familiar with the most famous Dutch literary figures and their work. Various topics are covered within the broader cultural context of the 17th century, including sculpture, music, and philosophy. All texts are presented in English as well as Dutch. Fall.
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