Netherlands

This course offers a comprehensive overview of key issues in the study of international migration and immigrant integration. A dynamic approach that follows migrants’ journey from their origin countries to their receiving societies and examines the interethnic relations that develop therein is taken. The course is structured around three main themes: theories of immigration and immigration governance; categorization of migrants; integration outcomes and policies. A combined multidimensional perspective (comparing the integration of immigrants and their descendants in various domains of life, including the education system, the labor and housing markets, the neighborhood, politics, etc.) with a cross-national lens (comparing classical immigration countries and more recent immigrant-receiving countries) and a multilevel and multi-actor analytical framework (considering immigrants in relation to both their home/sending and host/receiving countries, and the networks of actors with which they interact, such as families, ethnic communities, government agencies, local administrators, NGOs, etc.) is used. The course has a strong empirical focus: it critically analyzes and discusses empirical studies that test theoretically derived hypotheses in various contexts. The perspective adopted is primarily sociological but insights from other disciplines such as human geography, political science, social psychology, economics, and anthropology are used.

This course deals with some of the most fundamental questions concerning the development of the European Identity: what have been the decisive common experiences that have fostered a sense of European community and identity, and how have they evolved over time? The course provides an overview of the concept of Europe and the development of European identity, highlighting the specific characteristics of European political/social/cultural history, notably in comparison with that of other (non-European) societies, that contributed to a sense of European community and the European identity.

This course elaborates on the biological, psychological, and societal determinants of sexuality (in general) and sexual disorders (in specific). There are 4 lectures and 4 educational meetings in which a theme or group of complaints are discussed. These themes are (biological and psychological) theories on sexuality, sexual diversity, sexual dysfunctions in men and women, the impact of physical/psychological health and disease on sexual behavior and well-being, and the role of attachment and relationships (context and history) on sexuality. The theory is supplemented with practical clinical training in which students reflect on their own sexual development and learn to administer a sexual anamnesis.  The course also includes one theoretical practicum in which students discuss a specific research question and brainstorm possible research designs.

This course uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine various Gross Human Right Violations (GHRV). Students are introduced to a different GHRV each with its own psychological theories, mechanisms, and underpinnings. In addition to a theoretical understanding, students apply their knowledge to specific case studies by analyzing them through four parts. First, a historical incident where Human Rights were violated is introduced followed by a documentary on the specific situation. Second, students examine now declassified governmental cables, reports, and other sources thus reading influential documents in their original version without being dependent on anyone else’s interpretation. Third, a Perspective Challenge in the form of a scientific paper that has been controversially discussed is used to adopt a different perspective. Fourth, students analyze a currently ongoing or a recent violation of Human Rights to test if they are able to explain the psychological mechanisms at play.

This course focuses on brain-behavior relationships and aims at increasing one's understanding of how healthy humans (or brains) function and how brain disease, brain injury disorders, such as, traumatic brain injuries, stroke and dementia, express themselves and interfere with the demands of daily life. Relevant topics in this context are behavior, higher cognitive functions (e.g., memory, attention, executive functioning, language), emotion, and adaptation. During the course, students collect knowledge on: (1) the clinical phenomenology of the most important cognitive and behavioral disorders seen in humans; (2) the underlying brain-behavior relationships in these disorders; (3) the interrelationships between various cognitive dysfunctions, emotional-, and behavioral problems; and (4) assessment methods, diagnosis and treatment. Students also gain experience in the selection, administration, and interpretation of commonly used tests, measuring the above-mentioned domains of higher cortical functions, affective functions, and behavior.