The integration of geography in a curriculum focused to internationalization and interdisciplinarity: A liberal arts & sciences perspective from the U.S. and the Netherlands

(1)

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=cjgh20

Journal of Geography in Higher Education

ISSN: 0309-8265 (Print) 1466-1845 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjgh20

The integration of geography in a curriculum focused to internationalization: an

interdisciplinary liberal arts perspective from the Netherlands

Paul F. Hudson & Sarah E. Hinman

To cite this article: Paul F. Hudson & Sarah E. Hinman (2017) The integration of geography in a curriculum focused to internationalization: an interdisciplinary liberal arts perspective from the Netherlands, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 41:4, 549-561, DOI:

10.1080/03098265.2017.1337089

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2017.1337089

Published online: 13 Jun 2017.

Submit your article to this journal Article views: 196

View related articles View Crossmark data

Citing articles: 1 View citing articles

(2)

https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2017.1337089

The integration of geography in a curriculum focused to internationalization: an interdisciplinary liberal arts perspective from the Netherlands

Paul F. Hudson and Sarah E. Hinman luc the hague, leiden university, the netherlands

ABSTRACT

Internationalization has been an important concept in higher education over the past two decades. The way that internationalization is manifest has consequences to academic disciplines, including geography. A new system of liberal arts colleges in the Netherlands has created opportunities for interdisciplinary education, representing a departure from the traditional model of European higher education.

At Leiden University College the focus on global challenges created an opportunity for geography to be integrated into a diverse interdisciplinary and international curriculum. The positioning of geography into the curriculum, however, occurred because its adaptability and breadth, which enabled it to be incorporated into diverse facets of the overall teaching programme. To be successful, however, geographers should be cognizant of specific facets of the discipline suited for an international context. The case study herein reviewed highlights important differences between the U.S. and Dutch (European) context. Additionally, important points for academic geographers (academics) who are in interdisciplinary programmes (i.e. not a geography department) are emphasized, which relates to the development of course materials to suit an international context.

The identification of key thematic and methodological disciplinary strands serves as bridges to interdisciplinary opportunities, which was essential to geography’s successful establishment within an international curriculum.

Introduction

Internationalization has been a major thrust of western higher education over the past two decades. The concept of internationalization stands as a key academic goal cited by universities related to strategic vision, accreditation committees, and can also serve as motivating factors for institutional reorganization (De Vita & Case, 2003; Altbach & Knight, 2007; de Haan, 2014; Marginson & van der Wende, 2007). While internationalization is a popular concept to espouse, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the concept, as it has multiple meanings

KEYWORDS liberal arts;

internationalization;

the netherlands;

interdisciplinary;

geography ARTICLE HISTORY received 23 May 2016 accepted 30 april 2017

this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution-noncommercial-noderivatives license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

CONTACT paul f. hudson p.f.hudson@luc.leidenuniv.nl

OPEN ACCESS

(3)

and dimensions (cf. Jacob, 2015; Knight, 2003). Stakeholders, including academic institutions and established disciplines, such as geography, are then able to strategically plan and position themselves to effectively take advantage of the opportunities provided by internationalization.

At the institutional level most discussion regarding the concept of internationalization in relation to curriculum and interdisciplinarity is aimed towards undergraduate (Bachelor) education (e.g. Knight, 2003; Teichler, 2009).

The push towards internationalization has created opportunities and challenges for traditional disciplines, and this includes geography. Opportunities include items such as new academic staff positions (hiring), increased student enrollment, and additional campus resources in support of efforts that enhance internationality (Hénard, Diamond, &

Roseveare, 2012). Challenges include having curricula and academic staff misaligned with an international agenda, competition from other internationally oriented disciplines and institutes on campus, and the reallocation (reduction) in campus resources away from traditional programmes (Helms, Rumbley, Brajkovic, & Mihut, 2015). In view of such initiatives, however, geography would seem to be a discipline well poised to exploit the promise of an international agenda within higher education. Having learned valuable lessons caused by setbacks to the discipline in the 1970s and 1980s following the demise of normative and regional approaches to geography (Murphy & O’Loughlin, 2009), the discipline of geography has entered new promising era. As a discipline, its very identity espouses the merits of internationalization, a concept many academic geographers feel a certain affinity (Pandit, 2007).

The purpose of this treatise is to examine several facets of the concept of internationalization as it relates to the integration of geography in an explicit interdisciplinary liberal arts undergraduate context. We utilize a Dutch case study associated with the development of a globally focused undergraduate curriculum. The study objectives include, (i) provide an overview of distinct facets of the concept of internationalization as it relates to the discipline of geography, (ii) relate the concept of internationalization to an interdisciplinary perspective, and (iii) situate the discussion within the context of the liberal arts (and sciences).

While we examine the relation between geography and internationalization from several perspectives, an important motivation of our study is to inform academic geographers employed outside of their discipline. Many academic geographers are employed in departments or institutes outside of their discipline, including allied disciplinary or interdisciplinary programmes (Butler, 2010; Monk, Foote, & Schlemper, 2012). It is essential to the stability and growth of the discipline that such contributors are successful, as it assures the discipline reaches a wider and more diverse audience, and because it represents an opportunity to exchange ideas across disciplines. In such cases the successful integration of geographers in other programmes is a vital opportunity to bring visibility to the discipline. And this may especially be important in major research universities which no longer have a geography department (or institute). Geographers who are employed (teaching, research) in such programmes need to be aware of much larger structural drivers, such as internationalization, that impacts their potential to be successful. In this context, a secondary goal of this study is to provide such geographers with several “lessons learned” so that they may be successful.

Our case study is situated in Leiden University College (LUC), a new (2010) liberal arts college embedded within Leiden University, a large European research university and the oldest university in the Netherlands. At LUC, geography has an important role from the standpoint of contributing to an interdisciplinary curriculum, but is not housed within its own disciplinary major department (institute). The authors provide a personal view on

(4)

the topic, albeit thematically supported. Our perspective is that of American geographers trained in the traditions of physical and human geography, and our hiring at a Dutch liberal arts college was in part to support the creation of an international faculty (academic staff) and curriculum. All of our degrees are in geography, ranging from liberal arts bachelor degrees to completion of the doctorate. Additionally, all our respective academic mentors (advisors) received all their degrees in geography. Thus, the authors are thoroughly exposed to geography and are indeed proponents of the discipline. Because liberal arts education has only recently returned to its European roots (van der Wende, 2011), this case study provides several valuable lessons for how to effectively situate geography within an increasingly interdisciplinary European educational context.

Our use of the term “liberal arts” is in the American context (cf. Lang, 1999), an ideal setting for interdisciplinary geography higher education (Murphy, 2004b). Aside from tech- nical universities, liberal arts in the U.S. is the dominant educational model and spans from large public research universities to small private undergraduate colleges (Association of American Colleges and Universities [AACU], 2017). The typical liberal arts framework includes about two years of general education or core curriculum, spanning the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, and a couple of years of specialized study within the major.

Students usually are not required to declare a major until one or two years after enrollment, with some differentiation based upon the degree (B.A. or B.Sc.) and major. And as the classical meaning of the term “liberal arts” already implies sciences, we utilize liberal arts rather than “liberal arts and sciences.”

Internationalization in higher education: the place of geography International or global?

The terms international and global are often interchangeably used, although they imply different perspectives (e.g. Knight, 2003; Marginson & van der Wende, 2007). As with internationalization, global is a familiar concept to geographers and has always been a core facet of the discipline. Global and international, however, have too often become synonyms.

And quite often international and global are utilized without considering the distinction between the two concepts (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Both concepts are valuable and deserve being differentiated, especially by geographers.

Global is increasingly recognized as borderless, whereas international explicitly includes the concept of borders and differentiation from one side to the other (European University Association [EUA], 2013; Knight, 2003; van der Wende, 2003). As opposed to global, an international perspective pertains to differentiating conditions or characteristics of a phenomena between different nations (or regions). This often-overlooked distinction is not trivial. Internationalization is thus inherently political and often includes cultural or socioeconomic differences across borders. Additionally, as discreet spatial entities geographers recognize that international borders are in themselves unique socioeconomic places (i.e.

“borderlands”). Whereas global is considered, for example, above politics and offering a more “general” (i.e. universal or generic) perspective. An obvious quality of internationalization is that it is bound to land (and marine territory). While geographers are keenly aware of the importance of topography (e.g. mountains and river valleys) in forming political and cultural borders, the very subject matter of physical geography requires also being cognizant

(5)

of atmospheric and deep Earth (i.e. plate tectonics) phenomena that is not necessarily attached to terrestrial surfaces. Thus, aside from significant cultural or policy differences that impact physical processes, physical geography is inherently more global than human geography.

Dimensions of internationalization and its relation to geography

Internationalization in higher education may be considered from four broad dimensions (Table 1), including (i) curriculum, (ii) the composition of its student body, (iii) the origin and research profile of its academic staff, and (iv) the exposure of students to international experiences (Table 1) (Baerwald, 2010; EUA, 2013; Knight, 2003; Teichler, 2004, 2009;

van der Wende, 2003). The latter commonly includes study abroad, faculty exchange, university resources, speaker series, and events which are internationally oriented (e.g. de Haan, 2013). Making a case for the relevance of geography in an international academic landscape would seem straight forward, and it is a challenge that most geographers wel- come. In a sense, it plays to the strength of the discipline’s core themes. Modern geography (and geographers) acknowledges the importance to emphasize the unique thematic aspects of place and internationality, and are cognizant of the trap of being labeled a specialist in traditional regional geography (i.e. Allan, 2016; Murphy & O’Loughlin, 2009). Unlike newer disciplines, geography is a mature discipline and is represented by an international array of long established professional academic organizations, such as the International Geographical Union, American Association of Geographers, Royal Geographical Society, and has doctoral programmes in developing and developed nations in all four hemispheres.

Thus, as a geographer one has the opportunity to take advantage of an extensive network of resources and there is a rich potential for the discipline to foster international educational activities within all four facets of the concept (e.g. Table 1).

Curriculum

Developing a teaching curriculum around internationalization requires considerable effort and involves changes at the level of instructors and programme definition. Consistently drawing upon local or national case studies (e.g. Mt. Saint Helens eruption, Grand Canyon, etc …) is less appreciated from international students. At a minimum, therefore, existing courses which had been focused to specific settings or regions require considerable updating.

In such cases it is important that each example or case study be related and compared to a larger “general” condition. For some courses new taxonomic systems should be incorporated. Course material on soils, for example, benefit by utilizing the U.N. Food and Table 1. necessary dimensions for universities to attain internationalization^a

aBased on multiple sources, including Knight (2004), altbach and Knight (2007), teichler (2009), van der Wende (2011), hénard et al. (2012), eua (2013), de haan (2014), and helms et al. (2015).

Dimension Characteristics

i) teaching curriculum Selection of courses with international and global content, overhaul case studies, adjust learning outcomes

ii) Student body distinction between undergraduate and graduate, eu and u.S.

iii) academic staff – origin – research home nation

Setting for research activities

iv) extracurricular activities Study abroad, university resources, speaker series, activities, exhibits

(6)

Agricultural Organization’s soil categorization system rather than the soil classification system of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service. And some long-offered courses may need to be (painfully) abandoned, and replaced with themes and topics more suited to an international profile. This is not to suggest locally oriented subjects are less important, but rather that singularly considered they are less suited for an international student body.

In some cases entire new courses can be developed around such broader – global – themes.

A popular avenue here are the courses related to “big questions” courses which have become common amongst a range of disciplines within both the humanities and hard sciences.

At the institutional level the move towards an international oriented curriculum should logically require changes in programme goals to explicitly include a global or international perspective with learning outcomes that can be formally assessed (AACU, 2007).

Student body

Increasing the international representation of students within geography is consistent with the disciplines emphasis on embracing diversity (Murphy, 2004a). But there are significant differences in the way international student recruitment occurs between U.S. and European institutions, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. From the perspective of graduate education, direct recruitment of international students into geography programmes is possible because of the process of graduate admissions. This is especially the case in U.S. institutions because of a long-held tradition of encouraging students to pursue their graduate degree from a different institution than the bachelor. In continental Europe, this works quite differently. The signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999 had the effect of formally removing direct (and automatic) admission from a bachelor programme into a Master’s programme. There remains a strong legacy, however, of its continuance, and students often complete a three year bachelor programme and continue directly into the Master’s programme (M.A./M.Sc.) (de Haan, 2014; Keeling, 2006). Most university level students complete a masters, which may be either an applied one year or a research focused two year degree. The continuation from the same bachelor to Master’s programme is especially the case in the Netherlands, because of barriers to access caused by Master’s programmes requiring students to have had specific courses from the bachelor programme. Regardless of the U.S. or continental European context, however, because the population (size) of a graduate programme in geography is usually much smaller than its undergraduate population, there is the potential to substantially strengthen the international profile of the graduate student body.

Because of the liberal arts model of undergraduate education that prevails across U.S.

universities, the potential to increase international representation within the student body varies from traditional European universities. In the U.S., student recruitment usually occurs at the university level. Major specific programmes, such as geography, therefore, recruit their students from the larger pool of undeclared majors across the university. And the pool of undeclared majors, most commonly first and second year students (freshman and sophomore), are fulfilling their general education requirements which are somewhat specific to either the B.A. or B.Sc. degree within the liberal arts programme structure. Thus, the only practical way to increase the international representation within geography at the undergraduate level is to recruit from the existing pool of students already enrolled within the university. Within the Netherlands, but also more broadly across Europe, individual disciplinary institutes, including geography, routinely participate in university recruitment

(7)

events, such as Open Days, several times a year. This represents an important mechanism to directly increase international representation within geography undergraduate student body in Europe, which is much less an option in the U.S.

Faculty origin and research

Most discussion about enhancing internationalization devotes little attention to the academic staff. Perhaps the most effective way to ensure an international perspective within curricula, however, is the hiring of academic staff with an international research profile (e.g.

Keeling, 2006; Knight, 2004; Nissani, 1997). This can be accomplished in two ways, including hiring domestic staff who work internationally, and in directly hiring international staff.

The latter is the most effective, as it ensures an “organic” development of an international dimension to undergraduate curriculum, especially because such staff introduce non-domestic perspectives and tangible case studies into the classroom environment. Because academic staff are the prime drivers and deliverers of education (teaching and advising), setting up an international curriculum should consider staff research as much as their past course offerings. This is also in accord with the trend towards teaching that is centered along staff research, which may include several approaches along an active to passive spectrum, including research-led, research-oriented, research-based and research-informed teaching (see Healey, Blumhof, & Thomas, 2003).

Internationalization can stimulate interdisciplinarity. The interdisciplinary landscape is familiar to geographers, particularly in view that being a specialist within geography requires expertise in at least one major complementary field outside of geography (e.g. Baerwald, 2010; Winkler, 2014b). And because disciplinary strengths and traditions vary from nation to nation (e.g. Belcher, 1994; Healey, 2001), hiring international staff fosters interdisciplinarity, as staff must look beyond their discipline and identify appropriate research collab- orators either across campus or to adjacent universities (e.g. Hall & Weaver, 2001; Jacob, 2015; Spelt, Biemans, Tobi, Luning, & Mulder, 2009). This can help to fortify geography’s position upon university campuses, as such scholars make linkages with relevant institutes outside of their home department. In the case of physical geography in the Netherlands, for example, ample opportunities exist for geomorphologists to collaborate in research with aquatic biologist, civil engineers and archaeologists.

Extracurricular activities

An increasingly vital component to undergraduate education is study abroad (Hénard et al., 2012; Pandit, 2006). While efforts to increase U.S. study abroad should be lauded, that one-third of U.S. study abroad students elect for just three countries, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain warrants some reflection. Such efforts clearly support internationalization but do not necessarily support a global perspective so cherished in the fervent calls for

“global citizenship” (i.e. Clifford & Montgomery, 2014). Interestingly, the success of the European Union’s Erasmus Mundus student exchange programme has promoted international opportunities, but largely within Europe. Here again the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany are the most popular (European Commission [EC], 2014). Nevertheless, the long tradition of field work and field trips in geographical education and research (i.e. DeLyser

& Starrs, 2001) supports the position that geographers should take advantage of increased funding and visibility of coordinating and leading international study opportunities within Europe and North America, and beyond. Other avenues for increasing international includes

(8)

invited speaker series and sponsoring students (undergraduate and graduate) to participate in academic conferences with a high proportion of international attendees (e.g. de Haan, 2014). While it is inherently easier for European academics to attend international conferences in Europe, large conferences organized by American academic organizations also draw large numbers of international attendees (e.g. American Association of Geographers, American Geophysical Union). Such venues include increasing numbers of both graduate and undergraduate student attendees.

A new place for geography in the Netherlands

Interdisciplinarity and the return of liberal arts education

The Netherlands has a strong tradition in higher education with several universities consistently ranked among the top one hundred in international rankings (de Haan, 2014). Of the fourteen research universities in the Netherlands, five offer a doctorate (Ph.D.) in geography (Table 2), including the universities of Groningen, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Radboud, and the Free University Amsterdam. In comparison to North America, however, there are two important difference in higher education geography in the Netherlands. Unlike geography in North American universities, university geography education in the Netherlands is decidedly split into human and physical geography. And in most instances human and physical geography are in different faculties (colleges). This point is significant because it makes collaboration between human and physical geographers more challenging, and inhibits interdisciplinarity.

An additional important difference with North American higher education is that university education in the Netherlands (and Europe) is strongly mono-disciplinary over the duration of the undergraduate degree. That is, entering university students declare a major before starting classes in August, and from that point forward only take classes in their chosen major over the entirety of their undergraduate programme (a three-year B.A. or B.Sc.). This latter difference is significant because it is the antithesis of a liberal arts education. Moreover, it is a formidable structural barrier to developing an interdisciplinary curriculum. Finally, a more recent phenom- enon occurring in Dutch geography higher education is similar to North American geography, in that the name of some of its departments (or institutes) and degrees are being changed or rebranded (Winkler, 2014a). Human Geography at Groningen University, for example, has been changed to the Institute of Spatial Sciences whilst the University of Amsterdam has changed the name of its B.Sc. and M.Sc. in physical geography to Future Planet Studies.

The recognition that higher education in the Netherlands was mono-disciplinary and lacked an international perspective stimulated the development of university colleges, which are explicitly liberal arts, international, residential, and interdisciplinary (van der Wende, 2011). This has resulted in the formation of a network of undergraduate colleges in the Netherlands that share an educational philosophy and are institutionally housed within a parent university (Table 2). The purported model for Dutch liberal arts colleges are the classic small private U.S. liberal arts colleges (e.g. Middelbury, Swarthmore, Smith, Vassar). But by comparison, the new Dutch liberal arts colleges are much more interdisciplinary than U.S. liberal arts colleges, as the focus is thematic learning outcomes rather than discipline-driven learning outcomes. It should also be noted that the Dutch model of liberal arts (and sciences) colleges is part of a broader reemergence of liberal arts colleges

(9)

in Europe, especially northwestern Europe (van der Wende, 2011). Per the network of European Colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences there are some thirty liberal arts colleges in Europe, with the Netherlands being the most strongly represented. During the past five years liberal arts programmes based upon the Dutch model were created in major universities within University College London (United Kingdom) and Freiburg University (Germany) (Eschenbruch, Gehrke, & Sterzel, 2016).

Placing geography in a new international liberal arts programme

Only a few Dutch university colleges provide geography classes (Table 2), although ample geography courses may be offered at the parent institution if it offers a doctorate. Leiden Table 2. liberal arts colleges in the netherlands.^a,b

aaccording to the network of university colleges in the netherlands.

bother universities offer liberal arts and science programmes but are not considered university colleges.

cincludes formal geography courses as well as thematic courses (based on readings and ph.d. of instructor); n/a = opens autumn 2017 (curriculum not established).

dincludes a ph.d. in geography at parent institution.

eincludes geography track (sequence of courses).

Name Main university

(Ph.D. in Geography)^d Location #Geography Classes^c Formal majors university college

Groningen Groningen university^d Groningen 1 (Cultural Geography) cognition and Behavior;

health Sciences; energy physics; philosophy, politics and economics;

free Major erasmus university

college erasmus university rotterdam 0 economics and Business,

Social and life Science, humanities

leiden university

college leiden university the hague 13 (World Geography; GIS; Ad- vanced GIS; Urban Geography;

Health, History, and Society;

Natural Resource Manage- ment; Sustainable Earth;

Energy, Climate and Sustain- ability; Soils; Field Methods;

Earth Systems Science; Natural Hazards; Water and River

Management)

earth, energy, Sustain- ability; Governance, economics, and development; Global public health; human diversity; international Justice; World politics

amsterdam university college

university of amsterdam^d and free university amsterdam^d

amsterdam 2 (Hazard and Risk Manage-

ment; Intro. GIS) Science; Social Science;

humanities university college

utrecht utrecht university^d utrecht 4 (Urban Geography; Field Study; Human Geography;

Development Studies)^e

Science; Social Science;

roosevelt utrecht university Middelburg 5 (Intro. Human Geography;

Global Cities; Environment and Society; Power and Space)

arts and humanities;

Social Sciences; Science university college

leeuwarden Groningen university leeuwarden n/a politics; philosophy;

economics; psychology university college

Maastricht Maastricht university Maastricht 0 Science; Social Science;

tilburg tilburg university^d nijmegen 0 humanities; Business and

Management; Social Sciences; european law; cognition and neuroscience university college

twente university of twente enschede n/a Science and Math; Social

Science; humanities

(10)

University does not have a doctorate in geography, but LUC offers by far the largest num- ber of geography at a university college in the Netherlands. LUC, therefore, represents an interesting case in which to consider the development of a new internationally oriented interdisciplinary curriculum that includes geography. And, it also represents a success story whereby geography has returned to a major European research university.

An important reason for the successful integration of geography into LUC’s teaching programme is related to its thematic focus. LUC’s curriculum is focused toward “global challenges,” which complements the United Nations Millennium Goals. The curriculum is then oriented around six major global challenges, being sustainability, development and policy, human diversity, international justice, world politics, and global public health.

Internationalization has been operationalized in several ways over the past couple of decades as the concept has evolved (de Haan, 2014; Knight, 2004). Geography at LUC is positioned to illustrate key dimensions of internationalization (i.e. Table 1). This include the design of its curriculum, extracurricular activities, and the profile of its academic staff and students. The four academic staff geographers at LUC are international (non-Dutch).

Additionally, forty percent of the students are international, and many of the Dutch students have international backgrounds or dual citizenship.

From the perspective of its curriculum, geography at LUC developed through a careful coordination and assimilation of essential disciplinary strands into other elements of the curriculum. Several facets of the discipline have contributed to its effectiveness, specifically, sustainability and environmental sciences (fluvial geomorphology, soils geography, energy and natural resource management), global public health (medical geography), methodological training (geographic information systems, field methods), and global citizenship (historic, urban and world geography).

Thematically, a focus on sustainability provided opportunities for geography content to contribute to a B.Sc. major in sustainability that also includes courses in the biological sciences as well as physics based energy science. From the perspective of ecosystem sciences, this has resulted in classes such as fluvial geomorphology and soils providing the context for which the physical environment is created and modified. Additionally, the location of The Hague, being a dense urban environment located on the coast of the Rhine delta, has proven to be effective in providing a local context to the global issue of climate change and sea level rise.

LUC’s emphasis on global citizenship, which has become a distinct field (Clifford &

Montgomery, 2014), is supported with courses in urban geography, provides a basic framework in which to appreciate the complexity and challenges associated with globalization.

Moreover, the rich tradition of urban geography has been integrated within the broader global trend of urbanization. This is approached by providing insights into the historic development of the urban structure (morphology) and making linkages to culture, environment, and public health (e.g. Boone & Modarres, 2006). Indeed, the city of The Hague provides a mosaic of urban settings that developed with different demographic trends within Europe and the Netherlands, and their spatial configuration is in relation to social, historic and environmental factors that influences many large urban settings.

Methodologically, geography is integrated into sustainability science with courses in field methods and geographic information sciences (GISc). Field methods builds upon other courses in physical geography, but importantly also provides “generic” methods useful in data collection, analysis, and report preparation. But the strongest methodological role is

(11)

certainly the development of GISc courses. This has created a strong niche for geography to be integrated with a range of social and natural sciences (e.g. Kawabata, Thapa, Oguchi,

& Tsou, 2010). In addition to linkages to environmental science and sustainability, GIS at LUC is also formally integrated into majors comprised of international development, economics, policy science, as well as global public health. This role was possible in part because, although GIS is utilized in other programmes across Leiden University, no single department (institute) within the university had assumed an educational role. Thus, prior to the development of LUC’s courses, only minimal formal instruction in GIS was offered at a large research university.

The inherent linkages between geography as a discipline and sustainability, public health, global citizenship, however, were in themselves insufficient to ensure that former geography topics taught by staff from the U.S. and Europe would be appreciated by LUC students with strong interests in international content. At LUC there is an expectation that courses will draw upon “international” or “global” material, readings, and case studies. And specific case studies should be related to a broader international or global relevance. When confronted with these expectations, formally expressed in course evaluations as well as committee meet- ings with colleagues, we found that “classic” geography courses required new case studies and examples. An interesting – if not somewhat ironic – realization was that American case studies presented to a largely European student body were often not viewed as international. We speculate this is attributed to the saturation of American media, including text books and news sources. The development of geography courses, therefore, required considerable effort to redesign the lineup of topics and materials so that they indeed had a more international or global perspective. This ensured that such courses were attractive to an international student body and that the courses remained an important component of the LUC curriculum.

Finally, an important feature of the LUC curriculum that helped to create opportunities for geography (and geographers), although the discipline had been absent from Leiden University for over five decades, are the programme learning outcomes. At LUC the learning outcomes of the programme require graduates to “… have insight in the origins and interaction of humans with each other and the planet they inhabit, based in the natural sciences, law, social sciences and humanities …” as well as “… place global challenges in multiple perspectives.” While internationalization occurs across multiple dimensions within universities (i.e. Table 1) its ideals ultimately need to be formulated into higher level “general” learning outcomes prior to the development of an international curriculum.

Conclusions and lessons learned

The reintroduction of liberal arts higher education in the Netherlands and its interdisciplinary manifestation along “global challenges” at LUC in particular represented an opening for geography. This was facilitated because many geographers are inherently interdisciplinary and are already accustomed to making extensions to other programmes across campus.

Geographers should be intimately aware of specific facets of the discipline which link to other fields, whether theoretical or methodological, and this certainly includes GIS. Other disciplinary facets, including environmental and urban, also lend themselves to integration across disciplines. In the case of Leiden University, because geography is not formally institutionally represented, support for its development was not assured.

(12)

To take advantage of opportunities presented by internationalization, geographers should be willing to rethink some traditional subjects so that they are of interest to students with international and global interests. The painful lessons and missteps of the discipline during the mid-twentieth century development of regional (area) studies centers should be carefully reviewed (i.e. Murphy & O’Loughlin, 2009; Pandit, 2007). Although the focus in higher education for internationalization provides geographers with important opportunities to contribute to interdisciplinary programmes, success is not guaranteed. Disciplinary traditions and perceived academic territory continue to dictate curriculum development (e.g.

De Vita & Case, 2003) and therefore it is important that internationalization is present in broader institutional learning outcomes.

The case study herein presented provides specific information related to the status and development of geography in liberal arts colleges in the Netherlands and its relation to internationalization. As the new liberal arts colleges in the Netherlands are seen as a model for liberal arts higher education in Europe, the experiences reviewed in this case study has relevance beyond the Netherlands. Additionally, while the topic of internationalization has been examined for higher education, dissecting the specific ways in which it plays out provides greater insights into the implications of an internationalist agenda, to geography and other disciplines. The experience from this case study also highlights several “general lessons” of relevance to all geographers employed outside of their major institute (i.e. geography departments), a large segment of academic geographers, confronted with internationalization. In this context, several key points are elucidated from this case study, including;

• Campus and community: Identify and emphasize themes and/or methods that link to other disciplinary institutes, in addition to NGOs, and/or government agencies. This fosters communication with academic staff concerning curriculum realignment and reorganization toward internationalization.

• Course offerings: Identify courses with key disciplinary strands that are inherently international and/or global, and of which are in accord with general programme learning outcomes. Some traditional topics are likely not well suited for international curriculum.

• Course redesign and rebranding: Overhauling old course materials requires considerable effort and careful coordination with the curriculum in which it is housed. Utilize case studies that can be examined in relation to international and/or global examples (i.e. generalization) and synthesis.

This treatise has provided an overview of specific ways in which geography intersects with various dimensions of internationalization from the perspective of a new interdisciplinary liberal arts college in the Netherlands. The growth of interdisciplinary liberal arts colleges in Europe suggests new opportunities for geography, although they may be manifest differently than in traditional disciplinary programmes. The continuing trend of internationalization in higher education provides geography with prospects to solidify and grow the discipline, especially with a view towards interdisciplinarity. To be successful, however, geographers need to be aware of the facets of the discipline that are suited to an international context.

The identification of key thematic and methodological disciplinary strands serves as bridges to interdisciplinary opportunities, which in the case of LUC was essential to geography’s successful establishment.

(13)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

References

Allan, C. (2016, January). Whither regional geography? Newsletter of the American Association of Geographers.

Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalisation of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11, 290–305.

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2007). College learning for the new global century:

A report from the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and American’s promise.

Washington, DC: Author.

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2017). Liberal education. Retrieved February 1, from https://www.aacu.org/

Baerwald, T. J. (2010). Prospects for geography as an interdisciplinary discipline. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 100, 493–501.

Bednarz, S. W. (2015, November). Undergraduate education: Let’s pay attention. American Association of Geographers Newsletter, President’s Column. doi:10.14433/2015.0027

Belcher, T. (1994). The significance of disciplinary differences. Studies in Higher Education, 19, 151–

161. doi:10.1080/03075079412331382007

Boone, C. G., & Modarres, A. (2006). City and the environment: An introduction to urban environmental issues around the globe. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Butler, D. L. (2010). Being a geographer in a non-geography department: Views from an interdisciplinary perspective, 10, 1–9.

Clifford, C., & Montgomery, C. (2014). Challenging conceptions of western higher education and promoting graduates as global citizens. Higher Education Quarterly, 68, 28–45. doi:10.1111/

hequ.12029

De Vita, G., & Case, P. (2003). Rethinking the internationalisation agenda in UK higher education.

Journal of Further and Higher Education, 27, 383–398. doi:10.1080/0309877032000128082 DeLyser, D., & Starrs, P. F. (2001). Doing fieldwork. Geographical Review, 91, iv–viii.

doi:10.1111/j.1931-0846.2001.tb00450.x

Eschenbruch, N., Gehrke, H.-J., & Sterzel, P. (2016). University College Freiburg: Toward a new unity of research and teaching in academia. In W. C. Kirby & M. C. van der Wende (Eds.), Experiences in liberal arts and science education from America, Europe, and Asia (pp. 91–108). US: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/978-1-349-94892-5_7

European Commission. (2014, July 10). Another record-breaking year for Erasmus. Press Release of the European Commission, IP/14/821.

European University Association. (2013). Internationalisation in European higher education: European policies, institutional strategies and EUA support. Brussels: Author.

de Haan, H. (2014). Internationalisation: Interpretations among Dutch practitioners. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18, 241–260.

Hall, P., & Weaver, L. (2001). Interdisciplinary education and teamwork: A long and winding road.

Medical Education, 35, 867–875.

Healey, M. (2001). Developing the scholarship of teaching in higher education: A discipline based approach. Higher Education Research and Development, 19, 169–189.

Healey, M., Blumhof, J., & Thomas, N. (2003). The research-teaching nexus in geography, earth and environmental sciences (GEES). Planet, 11, 5–10. doi:10.11120/plan.2003.00110005

Helms, R. M., Rumbley, L. E., Brajkovic, L., & Mihut, G. (2015). Internationalizing higher education worldwide: National policies and programs. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

Hénard, F., Diamond, L., & Roseveare, D. (2012). Approaches to internationalisation and their implications for strategic management and institutional practice: A guide for higher education institutions. OECD, Higher Education Program IMHE. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/

edu/imhe/Approaches%20to%20internationalisation%20-%20final%20-%20web.pdf

(14)

Jacob, W. J. (2015). Interdisciplinary trends in higher education. 1:15001. Palgrave Communications.

doi:10.1057/palcomms.2015

Kawabata, M., Thapa, R. B., Oguchi, T., & Tsou, M.-H. (2010). Multidisciplinary cooperation in GIS education: A case study of U.S. colleges and universities. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 34, 493–509. doi:10.1080/03098265.2010.486896

Keeling, R. (2006). The Bologna process and the Lisbon research agenda: The European Commission’s expanding role in higher education discourse. European Journal of Education, 41, 203–223.

Knight, J. (2003). Updating the definition of internationalisation. International Higher Education, 33, 2–3.

Knight, J. (2004). Internationalisation remodeled: Definition, approaches, and rationales. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8, 5–31.

Lang, E. M. (1999). Distinctively American: The liberal arts college. Daedalus – Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Science, 128, 133–150.

Marginson, S., & van der Wende, M. (2007). Globalization and higher education (OECD Education Working Papers (no. 8)). OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/173831738240

Monk, J. J., Foote, K. E., & Schlemper, M. B. (2012). Graduate education in U.S. Geography: Students’

career aspirations and faculty perspectives. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 102, 1432–1449. doi:10.1080/00045608.2011.601199

Murphy, A. B. (2004a). Thoughts on geography’s diversity. Association of American Geographers Newsletter – February, President’s Column, 39, 2.

Murphy, A. B. (2004b). Geography and a liberal education. Association of American Geographers Newsletter-June, President’s Column, 39, 5.

Murphy, A. B., & O’Loughlin, J. (2009). New horizons for regional geography. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 50, 241–251. doi:10.2747/1539-7216.50.3.241

Nissani, M. (1997). Ten cheers for interdisciplinary: The case for interdisciplinary knowledge and research. Social Science Journal, 34, 201–216.

Pandit, K. (2006). Integrating study abroad into geography higher education. Association of American Geographers Newsletter, President’s Column, 42.

Pandit, K. (2007). Internationalization with caution and care. Association of American Geographers Newsletter, President’s Column, 43.

Spelt, E. J. J., Biemans, H. J. A., Tobi, H., Luning, P. A., & Mulder, M. (2009). Teaching and learning in interdisciplinary higher education: A systematic review. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 365–378.

Teichler, U. (2004). The changing debate on internationalisation of higher education. Higher Education, 48, 5–26.

Teichler, U. (2009). Internationalisation of higher education: European experiences. Asia Pacific Education Review, 10, 93–106.

van der Wende, M. (2003). Globalization and access to higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7, 193–206.

van der Wende, M. (2011). The emergence of liberal arts and sciences education in Europe: A comparative perspective. Higher Education Policy, 24, 233–253.

Winkler, J. (2014a, April). What’s in a name? The rebranding and renaming of geography departments.

Association of American Geographers Newsletter, President’s Column. doi:10.14433/2014.0006 Winkler, J. (2014b, June). The future of physical geography. Association of American Geographers

Newsletter, President’s Column. doi:10.14433/2014.0009