Name: Emmie Arnold
Home University: Vanderbilt University
Summer Courses at DIS: Children with Special Needs, Prostitution and The Sex Trade
I can’t believe that 3½ weeks have passed already since my arrival to Copenhagen.
I can’t believe that the break between sessions 1 and 2 is already over. (Everything related to study abroad goes even more quickly than you can imagine – prepare yourself for that!)
I spent the break taking my first ever solo travel adventure to Switzerland, where I went hiking,
PARAGLIDING (!!!),
and city-hopping, including to a city where old family friends live and were nice enough to host me for 2 days.
It was amazing beyond words. Lucky for me, though, I’ve heard that the class that I’m taking session 2 is also amazing: Prostitution & the Sex Trade.
I’ve always been interested in gender and sexuality and am excited to have a chance to learn from an expert in the field. I have so many questions: does legalizing prostitution help or harm the people involved? What is the best way to help someone in the field without making them feel judged? What is considered prostitution and why is it frowned upon when it’s seen as acceptable for workers at Abercrombie & Fitch to be paid to stand around and look good?
From the information in the syllabus, this course looks like it’s going to be fascinating. Our professor works as a legal adviser for women trafficked in Denmark and is the chairwoman of a non-profit organization. So cool. We have many guest lecturers scheduled, who all have worked with trafficked women around the world. We’re watching movies, having a debate, any sort of interactive experience you can imagine… and then we’re going to the Red Light District in Copenhagen and, for our study tour, to the Red Light District in Amsterdam for 5 days.
I have a feeling this course will make me think (maybe as much as this guy)
and make me more aware and mature in ways that I can’t even imagine right now.
