Q: One of the students on my campus wants to study abroad. What programs are friendly to LGB and T students? Are there any study abroad progams which focus on lesbian/gay studies or queer studies?

A: There is special interest group that's part of the Association of International Educators (formerly National Association of Foreigh Student Advisers). Visit their site at: http://www.indiana.edu/~overseas/lesbigay/. The study abroad section includes: What a study abroad office can do; GLBT Perspectives and Study Abroad Orientations; Questions for GLBT Orientation Panelists; and AIDS and Study Abroad

Also, the GLBT aspect of study abroad experiences can be entirely extracurricular in nature. One does not need to take gay/lesbian study courses to explore LGBT life in another country. Based on your field of study, there may be other programs much more appropriate for your long term career goals. Due to the small number of courses currently offered at at many colleges and universities on LGBT topics, some students might seek these type of courses out as a part of their study abroad experience to broaden their knowledge of this area, particularly if they expect to pursue graduate studies which may address these issues/information.

Here is some information on program/opportunities in specific countries which was garnered via a few GLBT listservs:

Netherlands:

School for International Training

The School for International Training (SIT) launched the the first-ever undergraduate lesbian, gay and bisexual study abroad program in February, 1994 in the Netherlands. The semester-long program, open to students attending colleges and universities throughout the United States, features interdisciplinary seminars on life and culture of the Netherlands, a country with a long history of tolerance. Faculty from the University of Utrecht and the University of Amsterdam lectured on lesbian, gay and bisexual studies and local activists. Representatives from numerous organizations, including the military and police, will participate as well. There is no ban on openly homosexual personnel among Dutch military or police.

Students receive language training and have homestays with Dutch families, including lesbian and gay families. The experience can include field trips are planned to Copenhagen and/or Berlin, homes of Europe's largest gay communities. In Denmark, students will learn about a culture where same-sex marriage is legal. In Berlin, a center of gay culture since the 1920s, students will learn, among other things, about the effect of Hitlerism on the gay community during the Third Reich and beyond.

The curriculum includes such topics as social theories of sexuality; homosexuality and law; study of lesbian and gay families; AIDS and the lesbian and gay community; as well as a survey of lesbian and gay literature. Students will also complete a self-designed independent study project.

SIT chose the Netherlands as the site of the program because of the country's long history of tolerance. Furthermore, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Utrecht are recognized throughout Europe as leading centers for lesbian, gay and bisexual studies and research. Both have programs dedicated to "Homo" studies--a Dutch term whose meaning reflects the full continuum of sexuality that the English word "homosexual" does not capture. The cost of SIT's program in 1999-2000 was about $11,900, (Fee includes international airfare, health insurance, tuition, full room and board, excursions, and other direct program expenses.). They will arrange gay-friendly 13 week homestays for students and the course work covers current gender theory and queer theory. The web address is http://www.world learning.org/csa/europe/netherlands.html.

University of Utrecht

University of Utrecht also has a gay/lesbian studies program. Visit their website (in Dutch) http://www.uu.nl/uupublish/home/onderwijs/studeren/301main.html and see if you can locate more information. Our existing link broke and our Dutch is not good enough to locate where it moved to. (If you find a better link, please let us know so we can update this page).

Homodok-Lesbisch Archief Amsterdam

The Homodok-Lesbisch Archief Amsterdam, Amsterdam branche of internal gay/lesbian archives and infocenter IHLIA (www.ihlia.nl). Visit them on the web, http://www.homodok-laa.nl (Dutch and English pages). From the Homodok-LAA home page click on OFFSITE. This will bring up a page on Queer Studies. Click on QUEER STUDIES and you get a page with further links to Gay studies in the Netherlands, other places in Europe and Canada.

Catholic University of Nijmegen (NL)

There used to be a lesbian/gay studies program at the Catholic University of Nijmegen (NL). Michael L. Stemmeler assures us that there is no need to fear, they are quite liberal there! The web site is still listed on the university's social sciences page (as Lesbische en homostudies) but the link produces an error message. Here's the Social Sciences page: http://www.socsci.kun.nl/3ov-oeno.html#start

English pages for the university are at: http://www.kun.nl/english.html

Finally, check out this Dutch lesbian/gay studies site (in Dutch): http://www.kun.nl/cvv/homostudies.html

Mexico

CETLALIC (Centro Tlahuica de Lenguas e Intercambio Cultural--The Tlahuica Center for Language and Cultural Exchange)

CETLALIC was founded in 1987 in Cuernavaca as an alternative school, integrating intensive study of Spanish language with experiential cultural learning and analysis of contemporary issues. At CETLALIC, one learns Spanish in a friendly atmosphere while expanding one's knowledge of the region's cultural, socio-economic, and political realities, making connections between one's own country and Mexico/ Latin America today

Cetlalic is not just a language program, but sponsors trips to other parts of Mexico -- It is not just gay friendly but runs programs focusing on lesbian and gay politics in Mexico, feminist work, lectures include topics on the politics of Guatemala, refugees living in Mexico, the situation in Chiapas, Mexican politics, etc. They are certified by the government to provide college credit for the courses. Here is their contact information; Cetlalic, Tel/Fax: (52-777) 313-26-37;
email: infor@cetlalic.org.mx
WWW: http://www.cetlalic.org.mx

South Africa:

U of the Witwatersrand

If taking a GLB friendly arts course in a South African university is on any student's list, Ann Smith happily recommends her campus, the U of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg. She teaches in the department of English and is an openly lesbian academic activist. The English department offers four courses which are all explicitly named....(Ann's two courses: An(other) reading or I can see queerly now: Postmodernism and Queer Theory -- a mainstream lecture course and The Lesbian in Literature ; and The Homosexual Predicament and Queer Modernism which are offered by other openly gay staff members. Many of their students do 'glb-friendly' work at under- and post-grad level. Information furnished by Ann Smith.

Japan: Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto

Sabdha Charlton spent a year in Japan on exchange from Melbourne University to Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto (the One Year Programme). She reports they didn't know she is a lesbian before she arrived, but once there, she approached them for help in finding teachers who might know something about lesbian and gay issues. Although they couldn't help her, they tried their best and weren't phased at all by her request. In her group, there were 4 out of about 25 students that identified as "queer" (3 out of 9 male students - she was the only girl). Sabdha thinks it is unlikely that exchange students will find any actively pro-lesbian and gay universities in Japan, but they are also unlikely to find discrimination a problem (if her experience is anything to go by).

Sweden

We have yet to identify a program in Sweden which we can recommend you consider. Check out this article on the emerging field of lesbian/gay studies in Sweden. You may want to follow-up to see if there is a particular scholar you would want to take classes with as part of a study-abroad experience.

Search the web

A Northern Light search engine (http://www.northernlight.com/) search for "homostudies" resulted in 162 entries. Some of them are g/l studies programs. These web indexes change all the time and you will need to plow through a lot of "hits" that are not relevant to your search. Most search engines have less than 20% of all web documents indexed so you will need to try several different engines for a complete search (e.g., Alta Vista, Google, Excite, Lycos, etc.)

International Lesbian and Gay Association

While not focused on academic concerns, the website for the International Lesbian and Gay Association might prove helpful. Students can read about LGBT news in various countries to gain information as part of their decision process. The site provides an International Diary of Events, a country-by-country world survey of the legal position for lesbians, gays and transgendered people,plus in-depth reports on national conferences, the situation in particular countries, etc. Keep in mind, not all countries offer a safe environment for openly gay people. Be sure to research the climate for LGBT people before you select your study abroad program so that you know what you are likely to face after you arrive.

International Lesbian Bi Gay Resources

This site can help you research LGBT life in countries in Europe, the Asian/Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and the Americas through their long lists of links.

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

IGLHRC's mission is to protect and advance the human rights of all people and communities subject to discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status. Their staff collect information on the situation for sexual minorities on every continent. They also maintain a contact database of grassroots gay and lesbian and AIDS groups worldwide. They share this information as appropriate with activists, attorneys, researchers, the media, and others, and publish reports on rights violations against sexual minorities. They are working to make more of their nonconfidential information available electronically through the World Wide Web. If you specific questions about human rights conditions in a given country, you might contact the IGLHRC.

Submitted by David Barnett. Dr. Barnett may be reached at davidcbarnett@earthlink.net.

Note: Material on this page was gathered with the assistance of Sabdha Charlton, Ann Smith, Michael L. Stemmeler, Kristen Renn, Bev Tuel, Margaret Cerullo, Mary Jane Phillips, and Mindy Michels.

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