Course: Culture and Civilization of Dutch Speaking Areas I

ECTS credits: 3

Language: Croatian

Duration: one semester

Status: obligatory

Course type: 2 hours of lecture

Course description: This course covers following topics: state regulation, politics and economy. Students will be provided with information from the media and latest news from the country.

Learning outcomes: Students will be able to: distinguish socio-historical processes in the Netherlands and compare them with the processes in other Dutch speaking areas; identify and name the most important geographical features of the Dutch language area; describe the centuries-old water management in the Netherlands and identify and analyze the most effective flood defense methods; describe the Dutch (and Belgian) colonial past; name members of the Royal House and the Royal family and compare their roles within the monarchy; name and describe Dutch political parties and place them in the context of the Dutch government; critically evaluate pluralism in the Dutch society in comparison to the Western European society in general; apply business communication skills.

Teaching methods: teaching through lectures, exercises and teacher-led demonstrations in the classroom, presentations, classroom discussion, E-Learning (Omega, etc.)

Literature: A: Ashworth, G., Groote P., Pellenbarg P., A compact geography of the Northern Netherlands, Assen 2007.; Shetter, W.Z., The Netherlands in Perspective. The Dutch way of Organizing a Society and its Setting, Utrecht 2002, + articles and films from the Dutch media; B: Snel, K., Zaag, J. van der, Hoe hoort het eigenlijk ... in Nederland?, Haarlem: Becht, 2006; Rooi M. de, The Dutch, I presume?, Weesp 2005, Vossestein, J., Zo werkt dat in Nederland, Amsterdam 1998; White C., Boucke L., The UnDutchables, Colorado 2001.

Evaluation Methods and Grading: class attendance, written exam