This course studies the cultural heritage of the Low Countries from a critical perspective. Monumental buildings, museum collections and cultural landscapes in the Netherlands and Belgium give us a selective historical understanding of both countries.
This course studies the cultural heritage of the Low Countries from a critical perspective. Monumental buildings, museum collections and cultural landscapes in the Netherlands and Belgium give us a selective historical understanding of both countries.
Heritage is what a social context wants to preserve in the present for enacting certain futures; also in the Netherlands and Belgium certain pasts have been preserved, and others have been deliberately forgotten. In this course, we study the mechanics and politics of heritage-making by zooming in on the Low Countries.
We learn about both countries' carefully constructed historical landscapes and explore the politics and tensions behind them. Students learn and engage with a series of heritage and art collections and learn about Dutch and Belgian culture and politics and how heritage played a role in making society and citizens. Since many collections and monuments have been made in the 19th and 20th centuries students learn about the cultural history of that period as well.
The course importantly also zooms in on more contemporary debates about heritage preservation: we look at the contested memory of fascism, slavery and colonialism. In the course, three excursions are planned across the Low Countries.
The programme is open to students from all disciplines. This is a course in the area of humanities / social sciences.
This course introduces participants to the history of the Netherlands and Dutch art.
On non-excursion days we meet at 9-10h30 for a lecture on the theme of the day. We hold a seminar in the afternoon 13h30-15h.
The housing costs do not include a Utrecht Summer School sleeping bag. This is a separate product on the invoice. If you wish to bring your own bedding, please deselect or remove the sleeping bag from your order.