What do you see in a city like Rotterdam from the perspective of migration and diversity? Traces of the past and present of migration spreads across the port and historically lower-income neighbourhoods. Essential sites like Pauluskerk and Hotel New York also tell dynamic stories about economic developments fostered by globalization and, political choices, and social policy.
Last Friday, new students of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus master's degree Governance of Migration and Diversity joined the master's famous welcome day city tour through the city. Passing landmarks and monuments that tell something about migration and diversity and with explanations and stories by teachers and professors, students received new perspectives and "lenses" to look at the migration city
The master's degree has been able to count on great interest for many years. Also, this year, a group of 60 partly international students started the masters. At the Rotterdam Wijkpaleis, a community centre for and by residents, they already got to know each other and the teachers over a delicious Syrian lunch.
At the Waalse Church and Hotel New York Historians prof. dr. Marlou Schrover and dr. Rebekka Grossmann gave the students an insight into the city's complex history of migration and how it is connected to topics such as ethnicity and religion.
Dr. Andrew Shield talked about the LGBTQIA+ history of Rotterdam and sociology teacher dr. Laura Cleton elaborated on undocumented immigrants and the role of the Pauluskerk, where a lot of help is provided for this group.
Dr. Maria Schiller, coordinator of this master's degree, explained Rotterdam's urban planning. She elaborated on gentrification and showed neighbourhoods where the idea of social mixing, such as the Middle Land and the New West, was historically embedded in its urban planning.
Learning and studying about migration and diversity is complex and, at times, abstract. Going beyond the university's walls and observing and getting a sense of migration and diversity in the city is vital to a meaningful learning experience. As coordinator Dr. Schiller says in the video below, 'Migration is about people and not about things'. For curious new GMD students, this city tour that offered them new lenses is a good start for this interdisciplinary master's.
Read more about the mastertrack Governance of Migration and Diversity