During this past winter break, students from Carleton College participated in an off-campus studies program in Amsterdam from December 2nd-12th. This program was originally planned to take place in Ghana, but because of Ebola concerns and a few other factors the students were forced to relocate their trip. More information about the relocation decision will be provided later in this article.
In Amsterdam, the group of fourteen students was directed by Laird Bell Professor of History, Harry Williams, and co-directed by Dean of Students, Hudlin Wagner. Under little time and with no previously existing connections in Amsterdam, Professor Williams, assisted by helpful suggestions from Professor Bill North, was able to organize a new program schedule during the sixth week of fall term.
Throughout the ten days of the program, the students participated in lectures, day trips to Utrecht and Haarlem, visits to memorials and monuments, and independent research projects. The lectures were rooted in themes associated with blackness in Western Europe, Dutch involvement with slavery, and the Netherlands as a post-colonial society. Students visited the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank house, slavery monuments, and many other interesting public history sites while on the trip. Additionally, central to every student’s experience in Amsterdam was the responsibility of an independent research project of their own choosing. Students pursued their independent research through oral interviews, visits to museums and archives, and constant ethnographical consciousness. Limited by the late shift in plans and lack of extensive contacts, students displayed admirable pride and assertiveness in pursuit of their research questions.
One student in the group, after being denied an interview at an advertising agency, waited outside the building until closing time and asked every employee for an interview. After numerous denials and dirty looks, the student was able to obtain an interview and gained important information and insights from the discussion. This account accurately represents what most of the students had to face in pursuit of their independent research.
A few weeks ago, the newsletter team was able to sit down with Professor Williams to discuss the relocation to Amsterdam.
According to Professor Williams, the decision to cancel the program in Ghana was not entirely justified. Of central importance to his argument is the following statement, “When the college made the decision to cancel the program in mid-October, Ebola was not in Ghana. As of today, Ebola is still not in Ghana.” He continued and asserted that the decision to cancel was based on speculation of hypothetical “what if” questions rather than on concrete factual evidence. These “what if” questions include: “What if Ebola comes to Ghana? What is the process of evacuating Carleton students? What if a Carleton student on the program catches Ebola?” He notes that these hypothetical questions were all raised in the realm of hysteria---which was “rooted in Afro-pessimism, financial concern, and lawsuit concern.” Another significant reason for the program’s cancellation was the inability of the college’s insurance agents to guarantee evacuation in the scenario that Ebola came to Ghana. Finally, the college was concerned with the financial losses that could occur if a student contracted Ebola while in Ghana, rooted in the assumption that participants’ parents could potentially sue the college.
Despite the immense disappointment the decision created, Professor Williams was pleased with the outcome of the Amsterdam program and the positive influence it had on his students. By traveling to Amsterdam through this program, he and students were introduced to an aspect of Dutch life that otherwise would not have been received. Of these particular aspects, the program highlighted topics that most of the participants were ignorant of, such as the details of Nazi occupation, socioeconomic situation of black immigrants in the Netherlands, and cultural debates of the Dutch identity. In sum, given the limitations, he was satisfied with the outcome of the Amsterdam experience. Nonetheless, he felt that the decision to cancel the program “disrespected him as a professional” and was unfair to the students who signed up to participate in the Ghana program.
Student photos from the program can be viewed here on the History Department's Facebook page.