APPLICATION DETAILS:
Priority Application Deadline:
October 13, 2023*
*Students who require a visa to visit the UAE must apply by the priority deadline to ensure there is enough time to process your visa
Priority Notification Deadline:
October 20, 2023
Commitment Deadline:
October 27, 2023
Please note: This program is only open to graduate students. Applications will continue to be accepted for this program until it fills.
Gender and Sustainable Development in the Gulf Region
Course Number: GLOB1-GC2343
INFORMATION SESSION: OCTOBER 2nd
11:30am – 12:15pm (online) – Register Here
Term: January 2024
Location: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and the Northern Emirates
Travel Dates: January 6 – January 18 (students must arrive by Saturday, January 6 and depart on Thursday, January 18)
NY Based Pre-departure course sessions (REQUIRED): 5 intensive pre-departure sessions during the Fall 2023 semester (TBA)
Instructors: Sylvia Maier
Degree Requirement: With the approval of the department, this course can count as a concentration requirement. If not taken toward concentration requirements, the course will count toward your elective credits.
Registration for program: All students must apply for this program using the online application form and with the submission of a personal statement uploaded to the form. The personal statement should address the following: “In 500 words, please explain why you would like to go on the GFI, what questions/issues you’re interested in, and how the GFI relates to your academic and/or professional goals.” Accepted students will be registered by the department.
Documents: A valid passport is required for entry. General info about visa requirements can be found below, but more specific guidance will be provided by the department and the NYU Office of Global Services. Use this resource link to help you determine your visa requirements.
Entrance to U.A.E.: U.S. Citizens do not require visas for entrance to the U.A.E., however, visas may be required for non-U.S. Citizens.
Program Overview:
Over a period of less than thirty years, the United Arab Emirates, in particular Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have transformed themselves from small, oil-rich Gulf monarchies into “global cities,” ranking among the most highly developed nations in the world, leading innovators in renewable energy, glittering hubs for international art, media, finance and banking, hosts to globally renowned educational institutions, and at the forefront for women’s empowerment in the Gulf States. Yet the country is not resting on its laurels. Faced with finite natural resources and a young population, Abu Dhabi, in its Vision 2030, and Dubai, in its Dubai Plan 2021, lay out ambitious, holistic plans to transform the Emirates into a vibrant, modern, multicultural and global knowledge society that seamlessly integrates a constitutional monarchy, limited democratic participation, religion and cultural traditions with high technology. How is this kind of development sustainable, socially, economically and environmentally? How are the Emirates dealing with the inevitable social and environmental transformations and trade-offs such a success story requires? Is such extensive social and economic development possible without also expanding political participation rights? Additionally, the UAE, a close ally of the United States and Saudi Arabia, is located in one of the most volatile regions of the planet and conducts a moderate realist foreign policy that is anchored in state security, stability, regional co-operation, anti-extremism, and builds alliances through substantial development assistance. The principal objective of the course/global field intensive is to explore how the UAE navigate the complicated dynamics of cultural traditions, social change, the demands of gender equality, the post-2015 development agenda, and geo-political imperatives. Through site visits and meetings with representatives from academia, think tanks, women’s rights and youth organizations, government, the private sector, and the arts, we will explore the pathways and strategies for sustainable social development that the UAE have taken as well as ponder the challenges that remain.
Trip Leaders:
SYLVIA MAIER, Ph.D., M.A.
CLINICAL PROFESSOR
Prior to joining the CGA, Sylvia Maier was on the faculty of the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies at NYU and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science in 2001 from the University of Southern California.
Professor Maier’s principal fields of interest are women’s rights and empowerment in the Global South, with a particular focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UAE, where she has worked, taught and conducted extensive field research, honor-based violence, and women’s movements in the Middle East, Gulf and South Central Asia. She has spoken and published on these and related subjects and is currently working on two book manuscripts, tentatively titled “Paradise in Her Hands: Women’s Empowerment in Afghanistan” and, with Jens Rudbeck, “Baring It All: Women, Nudity and Social Protest.”
Basic Itinerary:
January 6: Arrival in Abu Dhabi
January 7-11: Meetings and site visits in Abu Dhabi
January 12-14: Excursion to Ras al Khaimah
January 14-17: Meetings and site visits in Dubai
June 18: Departure day from Dubai
Program Costs:
Tuition: Cost of 3-credit tuition (at a special discounted rate for our GFI courses). *Normal Registration & Service Fees Apply to this tuition
Program Fee: $2,132 (shared double room); single rooms may be available for an additional fee.
The program fee includes the following:
Lodging in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras al Khaimah and other regional excursions
All in-country transportation (excludes arrival and departure airport transfers)
All meetings and guest lectures
Multiple local and regional site visits and cultural excursions
Geoblue travel health insurance
All breakfasts, some lunches, and 2 special dinners
NOT Included
Airfare, airport transfers (other than those specified in program), passport fees as needed, personal items such as wines, liquors, laundry services, lunches, dinners (other than those specified in the program), special arrangements before or after the program, and other items not specifically mentioned as included. Insurance for trip cancellation, flight cancellation, luggage loss or damage, medical and accident is not included but is strongly recommended.
Other Travel Details:
Lodging/Accommodations
Students will stay in centrally located hotels in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras al Khaimah.
Booking Flights – Arrive: Abu Dhabi/Dubai (on Saturday, January 6, 2024); Depart: Dubai (on Thursday, January 18, 2024)
Student participants will be responsible for booking flights to and from the GFI entry and departure cities. Students should plan to arrive in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, January 6 (at the latest). Students will depart from Dubai on Thursday, January 18 (program officially ends on Wednesday, January 17). More information will be provided upon your registration.
Program cancellations must be made in writing. To protect yourself, we recommend that you purchase flight cancellation insurance.