Dutch expert to speak on European health care

Dr. James Kennedy, an Orange City native who is professor of Dutch history since the middle ages at the University of Amsterdam, will present a lecture on European health care at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, in Northwestern College’s England Proscenium Theatre.

Kennedy’s lecture is entitled “Socialist Health Care? The Dutch/European Experience.” The public is invited to attend.

A frequent commentator on Dutch life, Kennedy will speak about the different European health plans, why the Dutch have moved to a privatized system, and what that entails. Kennedy has written books on the rise of euthanasia in the Netherlands and on the Netherlands in the 1960s.

Kennedy is the son of Dr. Bill and Nella Kennedy, who were longtime members of Northwestern’s faculty and staff. He attended Northwestern from 1982 to 1984 and earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign service at Georgetown University. He received a master’s degree at Calvin College and a doctorate in history at the University of Iowa.

Kennedy served on Northwestern’s faculty in 1990-91 and later taught at Valparaiso University and Hope College. He became a professor of contemporary history at Free University in Amsterdam in 2003 and joined the University of Amsterdam faculty two years ago. He is currently writing books on the future of Dutch Protestantism and on the history of the Netherlands.