Agenda

02 05 25
Sieg Maandag: Trauma and Art in the Aftermath of Bergen-Belsen

Sieg Maandag (1937-2013) was seven years old when he was photographed by George Rodger as he walked among the piles of bodies in the liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. His father was killed there, his mother survived camp Beendorf and was reunited with him six months after the war. Sieg’s family were diamond dealers. After the war he learned to work with diamonds, traveled the world, fell in love, sang at the Paradiso night club, and painted hundreds of paintings and ceramics. This presentation, on the 80th anniversary of the photo documenting his liberation, focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to his art as representation and transformation. 

Datum
Vrijdag 2 mei 2025 17:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
08 05 25
Big Tech & the State, Media, and Democracy
The Rising Power of Big Tech (rescheduled)

In a moment of rapid change for global politics, Big Tech platforms and their owners are shaping up to be international power brokers. Trump’s White house cozies up to Silicon Valley oligarchs as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, and clashes with the EU over its platform laws. How does the power of Big Tech affect our democracies, and can it be contained? In this panel discussion, researchers Theresa Josephine Seipp and Paddy Leerssen will discuss their latest research on platform power and regulation.

Datum
Donderdag 8 mei 2025 17:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
08 05 25
PEN Belarus’s fight for freedom of literary expression and human rights
Forbidden Voices

Under the present Lukashenko regime, freedom of literary expression in Belarus has ceased to exist. Writers are persecuted and locked away, some have fled. In exile, PEN Belarus continues to fight for Belarusian voices to be heard and read. Tonight, our panel will shed light on this ongoing struggle.  

Datum
Donderdag 8 mei 2025 20:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
09 05 25
A Conversation with Bado Ndoye
Thinking African Philosophy

How to conceive of the characteristics, possibilities, and boundaries of contemporary African philosophy? Senegalese philosopher Bado Ndoye engages with this question and reflects on the challenge of philosophizing from Africa while undertaking the urgent task of decolonizing Western philosophical legacies. Moderation: Jamila Mascat 

Datum
Vrijdag 9 mei 2025 17:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
09 05 25
How to reclaim a continent
Europe up for Grabs?

The 9th of May is Europe Day. What should we celebrate in these turbulent times? In a time of geopolitical tension, democratic backsliding, and cultural upheaval, why is it important to come together now, and what does European unity mean in practice?

Datum
Vrijdag 9 mei 2025 20:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
12 05 25
Agents and Agency at the EU and Mexico-US Borders

Our news media offer daily accounts of migration crises in the Mediterranean and North America. Yet much of the reality of human agency, mobility, and power in border regions remains unseen and unknown. What are the historical roots of the brutal inequalities manifested at international borders? How do migrants and residents of border regions survive, subsist, and exist? And who benefits from migration crises, as well as the narratives that surround them?

Datum
Maandag 12 mei 2025 17:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
14 05 25
The Center Cannot Hold: A Case for Left Populism?

It has become redundant to say that the Left is in crisis. The electoral decline of traditional left-wing parties across Western democracies, fueled by the defection of their historical voter base to the populist Right, paints a bleak picture for progressive politics. The old anchors are slipping, and the Left, long the bearer of emancipatory promises, finds itself disoriented If the far Right thrives by mobilizing populist rhetoric, could a left variant offer a viable alternative? And if so, what are the costs? 

Datum
Woensdag 14 mei 2025 20:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
15 05 25
Can there be a planetary citizenship?
Citizenship: New Trajectories in Law

To what extent can progressive movements become planetary movements? In what ways can discourses of citizenship and rights help imagine transnational solidarities beyond national authorities? 

Datum
Donderdag 15 mei 2025 20:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
16 05 25
Girl Online: Symposihmm #1

Girl Online is a full-day programme hosted by The Hmm, a platform for internet cultures, taking place across SPUI25 and University of Amsterdam locations on Friday 16 May. Expect talks, performances, workshops, and more. This first ever Symposihmm will dive into girl trends, self-infantilisation, girl as a strategy in digital spaces, and the future of girlhood. It is part of This is who you’re being mean to, The Hmm’s broader 2025 year theme, exploring gender expression online. 

Datum
Vrijdag 16 mei 2025 14:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
Entree
Toegang vanaf22.5
20 05 25
Democracy and AI

The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in democratic societies is an ongoing concern for many researchers, albeit for different reasons. During this event, we will explore the often illegitimate but not illegal applications of AI in democratic practices, focusing on the role of the news media, political decision-making, and policy. 

Datum
Dinsdag 20 mei 2025 16:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
26 05 25
The Jewish Street: Amsterdam and Paris After 1945

Jewish urban landscapes throughout Europe changed irreversibly during the mid-twentieth century. Taking the concept of the “Jewish street” and zooming in on French and Dutch case studies, our lectures will analyse what happened to Jewish sites and quarters between the 1930s and the 1960s, with an emphasis on the post-war period. 

Datum
Maandag 26 mei 2025 20:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
12 06 25
In cooperation with BC and Open Science Community Amsterdam
Celebrating Open Science: The 2025 OSCAWARDS

In recent years, the Netherlands has taken significant steps toward embracing Open Science. However, as this movement gains momentum, concerns about protecting scientific output and growing skepticism toward science are also on the rise. The third annual OSCAWARDS aims to strengthen the Open Science Community in Amsterdam by recognizing and celebrating the outstanding contributions of its members in advancing Open Science.

Datum
Donderdag 12 jun 2025 17:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25
17 06 25
Ambient Extremism in Reactionary Digital Politics

In this second talk of ACES’sDiagonalism” series, Robert Topinka engages with the idea of “ambient extremism. This type of contemporary digital reactionary politics entails a dissolution of distinctions between democracy and authoritarianism, information and misinformation, legitimacy and illegibility. How does this phenomenon reshape the terrain of democratic discourse and, thus, democratic public life generally speaking?  

Datum
Dinsdag 17 jun 2025 17:00 uur
Locatie
SPUI25