Dutch Culture: Society and Current Issues

This course will explore the question of Dutch identity by placing the Dutch society in a wider European and transatlantic perspective. You will analyze internationally debated issues in Dutch society such as euthanasia and drugs policy, as well as the heated disputes over immigration and integration after the political murders of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh.

Every week will be devoted to a specific theme:

Theme 1
Society. Lectures discuss the most characteristic institutions and arrangements of Dutch society such as the welfare state. Since the Dutch live in a small geographical space, environmental planning and engineering always have been of vital importance to them. You will learn about the real role of the windmills, but also about other factors that contributed to the economical success and international orientation of the Netherlands.

Theme 2
Contemporary Issues. The last week of this course explores public debates in Dutch society at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Topics discussed are religious diversity and secularization, immigration and integration, permissiveness and Dutch law in action and the traditions of cooperation and international law reflected in the Peace Palace and the International Criminal Court.

» Download the day-to-day programme (PDF)