Amsterdam Program

The Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris Program is one of the longest continuously running short-term study abroad programs at DePaul University. From its beginning in 1996, the program has been centered on the city of Amsterdam and has since expanded to include other European cities. This expansion of sites involve more than extending the range of cities we visit. Rather, it involves using contemporary urban and sociological imagination to understand how cities are produced in a context of social, economic, political and cultural transformations brought by the globalization process of the contemporary world. Importantly, the program is designed to deal with different city histories that intersect and overlap in contributing to the way we understand cities, their strategic locations, their economic and political power as well as the flow of human cultures that often disrupt their existing rhythms and relationships across time and space.

The program is guided by a belief that an intellectually grounded and culturally sensitive study abroad program offer students the requisite knowledge and experience that are necessary to navigate in a globalized and interdependent world. Grounding one's self with the intellectual and cultural knowledge of the contemporary world is a vital component of an undergraduate education.

Dear Prospective Student:

We are delighted that you have applied to one of the most exciting short term program to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris scheduled for November 29 - December 23, 2009. You will be the 13th group of DePaul students who have already taken opportunity to travel to explore the role of globalization and its broad social, economic and cultural impacts on Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.

Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris symbolize the accelerated movement of globalization with headquarters of multinational corporations, transnational banks, world trade centers and five-start hotels and a sprawling network of related high technology oriented service sectors manned by a growing coterie of transnational professionals and specialists. From the optics of this high-rise corporate economy and corporate culture, these cities below appear to be inhabited by a swirling mass of immigrant population competing for low-wage jobs in an increasingly informalized urban economy as the local government retreat from its welfare functions.

The course explores the role of Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris as global cities and the social and economic forces that have shaped and continue to shape their spatial and social structure. How is the global movement of capital, commodities and people and cultures shape the urban structures and cultures of Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris? In what ways does global and regional migration of people and cultures impact Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris and how do these cities cope and respond to the challenges posed by globalization? In what specific ways globalization reconstitute the multitude of networks of different local cultures in these global cities and how does globalization create new spaces of opportunity for different groups and in what ways different groups in these cities are mobilized to pursue their political visions?

The understanding and appreciation of other cultures are essential components of a liberal arts education at DePaul University. Study abroad gives you an exciting opportunity to learn about other cultures and provides the international perspective that you will need in order to compete successfully in today's global society. Whatever your field of study or future career plans, you will live and work in an internationally integrated, interdependent and global environment. Preparing yourself for tomorrow is one of the most serious challenges you face as a student today.

The course is structured to broaden your comparative knowledge and perspective about Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris and their distinctive role in the globalization process. It is also designed to broaden and deepen your intellectual and cultural horizon.

Dr. F. Demissie		Dr. S. Jackson
Public Policy Studies		Women and Gender Studies