Partner Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen

Programma’s uit het verleden

13 12 24

Voltaire lezing

**Geannuleerd** Traîtrise et universalisme. Peut-on penser l’universalité dans le monde dit « arabe » ?

Comment penser contre le communautaire ? Comment penser contre soi et les siens ? L’intellectuel et artiste d’origine arabe pose une question qui ne se pose plus depuis longtemps pour l’intellectuel occidental : est-on un traître ? Qu’est-ce que l’universalisme pour « l’Arabe » et le musulman ? Peut-on sortir du décolonial sans reniements ? Comment un écrivain ou un intellectuel d’origine arabe, perçu comme tel, peut-il s’exprimer en Occident ? Quels sont les risques ? Quelle est la légitimité ?

28 11 24

War, Famine, and Paths to Peace

Spotlight on Sudan

Sudan is suffering the worst crisis of its turbulent history. With 13 million people displaced and much of the country facing famine, the toll on ordinary Sudanese is staggering. An expert panel unpacks the war’s background, the dynamics that fuel it, and discusses potential paths to peace.

14 11 24

Religious Radicalisations and a Crisis of Culture

In conversation with Olivier Roy, we discuss the tension and connection between the crisis of culture and religious radicalisations in both Islam and Western societies. How should we understand the call for Jihad? And what does ‘European culture’ mean today?

**Due to technical issues there won’t be a livestream/recording available**

This program is fully booked.

04 11 24

A Conversation with UvA’s Americanists

Emotion Commotion on Election Eve

US elections are occasions for a range of emotions, including anger, melancholy, and relief. On November 4, Americanists from the University of Amsterdam will inspect the election on its eve.

***Fully Booked***

01 11 24

The European Literature Prize of Literature 2024 & The State of European Literature

An Evening with Olga Tokarczuk

This evening, none other than Olga Tokarczuk will be at the Aula of the Lutheran Church. She will engage in a conversation about the state of European literature, the importance of translation and her oeuvre.
**This program is fully booked**

25 10 24

New Directions in Sonic History

What Are Sound Studies?

Professor Holger Schulze will give us a Brief Introduction to a Very Young and Very Old Field of Research: Sound Studies. He will shed light on the more recent history of Sound Studies and the current developments in the 2020s to decolonize sound studies and investigate aural diversity.

24 10 24

De geschiedenis van Nederland 1795-1914

De wentelende negentiende eeuw

De negentiende eeuw is een eeuw van tegenstrijdigheden: industrialisatie en kolonisatie, revolutie en modernisering, nationalisering en mondialisering. Hoe kijken historici tegenwoordig naar deze periode en welke zeggingskracht heeft deze eeuw nog in de eenentwintigste eeuw?

**Dit programma zit vol, kijk mee met de livestream op deze pagina.**

24 10 24

A Conversation with Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí

Disrupting Colonial Practices of Gender

Professor Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí offers a transformative perspective on gender, challenging Western ideas and its global application. The pioneering sociologist will dive into her most influential research, discussing how African perspectives can reshape our understanding of gender, women’s rights, and knowledge production.

**This program is fully booked, the livestream is available on this page**

18 10 24

Panel International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs

Emergencies of Authoritarianism: Global Entanglements

A rich panel of internationally renowned scholars sheds light on the global entanglements of authoritarianism. Based on their specific local experiences and situated knowledge, they discuss some of the main characteristics of authoritarianism today. How are its different variations connected with each other? How are they dependent on other global developments?

**This program is fully booked. The livestream will be available on this page.**

03 10 24

De veertiende Jacob van Lennep-lezing

De invloed van Betje Wolff en Aagje Deken op romanschrijvers in de 19e eeuw

In deze veertiende Jacob van Lennep-lezing zal Marita Mathijsen ingaan op de doorbraak die de romans van Betje Wolff en Aagje Deken veroorzaakten. Zij onderzoekt daarbij op welke wijze deze romans ook negentiende-eeuwse schrijvers, zoals Jacob van Lennep, beïnvloedden.

27 09 24

Ruim veertig jaar verhalen

De diepe sporen van hiv/aids

Het is ruim veertig jaar geleden dat Amerikaanse artsen in juni 1981 alarm sloegen: zij ontdekten een nieuw virus, dat vooral rond leek te gaan onder homoseksuele mannen. Enkele jaren later zal het virus hiv genoemd worden. Miljoenen mensen zijn wereldwijd overleden, onder wie duizenden in Nederland. Vandaag praten we over de erfenis van de hiv-epidemie en de verhalen van mensen die deze van dichtbij hebben meegemaakt.

25 09 24

Reframing Nature: Tracing Shifting Ecologies through Art

Depictions of the natural world in art offer profound insights into historical perspectives on humanity’s relationship with nature. In conversation with Estelle Zhong Mengual, Julia Kantelberg and Colin Sterling, we discuss the relation between aesthetics and ecology. How might art help us rethink our place within the natural world?

04 07 24

Lecture Axel Honneth

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back. Postcolonialism and the West

There are many ways to understand the theoretical and political claims of recent postcolonialism. In this lecture, Axel Honneth understands it as a powerful and fully legitimate attempt to raise awareness of the fact that colonialism is still oppressively present in the West, even in an age that presents itself as postcolonial. In order to meet this challenge, Honneth will explore in what ways European culture needs to change its own self-understanding with regard to the past, the present and the future.

01 07 24

The Female Impact: 17th Century Women on the Dutch Art Market

Since 2021 the Female Impact project has been studying the impact of women artists, patrons, and other prominent women on the seventeenth-century Dutch art market. What are their latest insights? And which hurdles lie ahead? During the project’s annual summer event, short presentations covering a wide range of topics will show where the Female Impact stands today.

28 06 24

Het verhaal van de Lage Landen

De populaire tv-series Het verhaal van Nederland en Het verhaal van Vlaanderen roepen allerlei vragen op: wat is de historische waarde(n) van deze series? Welke rol spelen historici in het ‘maken’ ? Voor wie en tegen wie spreken zij? Over deze en andere vragen gaan diverse historici en televisiemakers in debat.

27 06 24

On the afterlives of history and ideological upbringing in Greece and beyond

Niki means Victory – but over what?

On the occasion of the Dutch translation in 2023 of the novel Niki (2014) by the Greek writer Christos Chomenidis – longlisted for the (Dutch) European Literature Prize – the author will have a conversation with Michel Krielaars and Elke Weesjes about the myths and realities around ideological forms of education in Greece, the Netherlands, and former communist states, and the multiple afterlives of history in the present.

18 06 24

Decolonising La Mer Mortelle

Infrastructures of Displacement & Racialised Boundaries

EU countries have the most mortal borders of the world, with thousands of deaths of African and Middle Eastern people each year and many more detained or living under deplorable circumstances as “illegal”—which makes them easily exploitable and deportable people. In this third edition of Decolonising La Mer Mortelle, we will focus on the structural, infrastructural and longue durée colonial legacies in current migration policies and ideologies.

13 06 24

The History, Art, and Design of LSD Blotter

Tonight, author and scholar Erik Davis presents his latest book, Blotter: the Untold Story of an Acid Medium, the first illustrated history and analysis of LSD blotter art. Davis will be joined by blotter maker Ed Visser and Erwan Le Roux, who will explore the role that Amsterdam played in the underground blotter trade.

30 05 24

De clan van Orbán

Hij is Europa’s langstzittende en meest omstreden regeringsleider: Viktor Orbán, premier van Hongarije. Vijand van Europa’s progressief-liberalen, vriend van Poetin en van extreemrechtse avonturiers op de Balkan en in de polder. Orbán belichaamt de westerse politieke crisis, stelt Tijn Sadée in zijn nieuwe boek De clan van Orbán. Vanavond gaat hij in gesprek met Krisztina Lajosi-Moore, Stéphane Alonso en Matthijs Lok.

22 05 24

De Staat van de Europese Literatuur: Alicja Gescinska

Op 22 mei om 20.00 uur spreekt Alicja Gescinska de vijfde Staat van de Europese Literatuur uit. De Staat van de Europese Literatuur is een jaarlijkse lezing door een vooraanstaande auteur of dichter van internationale faam over de staat van de literatuur en van Europa vanuit het perspectief van de literatuur.

21 05 24

An event with Anita L. Allen

Postmortem Privacy

In 1903, a lawyer called W. Archibald McClean predicted that whatever “the future dominion of the right to privacy” would be, it would be built on the premise “that whatever right of privacy an individual has, dies with him or her.” Call this traditional view the “no-privacy-right-for-the-dead” doctrine. In this event, Anita Allen will discuss with other experts how today, a more sustained consideration of postmortem privacy is essential.

25 04 24

Heads above the Water? Writing History in the Anthropocene

Is history still relevant as accelerating climate change is rapidly transforming the world we live in? In her lecture, Sandra Maß explores the different layers of this pressing question and calls for a new type of historiography.

19 04 24

With Shannon Dea

Academic Freedom in a Polarized Age

What are the values a public university must stand for in a polarized age? How should a university defend and conceptualize these values in practice and in dialogue with students, staff, and the wider academic community? These and other challenges will be discussed this afternoon with Professor Dr. Shannon Dea, a leading public thinker on academic freedom.

21 02 24

Do We Really Care? Public Values and Digital Technology in the Netherlands

What do the Dutch value in digital technologies? This roundtable presents the results of the first survey to explore the relation between public values, human rights, and technology design. We find that most people take measures to protect their online privacy, but also that half of the population has never heard of technical standards.

15 02 24

Het hinterland: ons voor- of achterland?

De tegenstelling tussen stad en platteland creëert meer problemen dan ze oplost. Omdat we de stad blijven zien als het centrum van de samenleving en het platteland als een soort achterland waar voedsel wordt geproduceerd, blijven veel aspecten van het 21^e-eeuwse leven, zoals vervuiling, het delven van grondstoffen, en het opvangen van vluchtelingen, moeilijk bespreekbaar.

05 02 24

De auteur leeft: Hannes Meinkema!

In november 2022 overleed schrijver, dichter en literatuurwetenschapper Hannes Meinkema, waarna haar feministische cultroman En dan is er koffie (1976) snel herdrukt werd. Ze schreef echter heel veel meer: romans, essays, poëzie, thrillers, en met Ethel Portnoy richtte ze in 1978 het tijdschrift Chrysallis op, waar vrouwelijke auteurs voorrang genoten. Tijdens De auteur leeft: Hannes Meinkema! gaan liefhebbers en kenners van Meinkema’s werk met elkaar in gesprek over wat haar werk zo goed maakt en waarom het gelezen dient te worden.

23 01 24

Deleuze and Guattari and the Psychedelic Revival

We are in the midst of a psychedelic revival. Scientifically, the therapeutic potentialities of psychedelics get a lot of attention. The philosophical and aesthetic dimensions of the inner journeys and its implied significance that often transgress medical scientific frameworks has received relatively less attention. Tonight, our panel will offer ideas and thought on these current developments with the launch of a special issue of the journal Deleuze and Guattari Studies.

17 01 24

Nederland en de herinnering aan de Jodenvervolging

Ter gelegenheid van de verschijning van het boek Nederland en de herinnering aan de Jodenvervolging 1945-2024 van historicus Frank van Vree, werpen verscheidene deskundigen tijdens dit minisymposium licht op de Nederlandse omgang met de meest pijnlijke en ingrijpende episode uit de moderne Europese geschiedenis: de vervolg en vernietiging van haar joodse burgers.

07 12 23

Art, Technology, and Intimacy: Writing Fiction in the Sharing Economy

In her debut novel The Sharing Economy (Gedeelde liefde in Dutch) Sophie Berrebi brings together art, social media, and love, and explores various, modern modes of intimacy. She will discuss her book and the ways we view relationships with cultural theorist Pınar Türer and author Ilse Josepha Lazaroms.

04 12 23

De auteur leeft: Renate Dorrestein

Renate Dorrestein (1954-2018) was een prominente Nederlandse schrijver, journalist en feminist. Op haar debuut Buitenstaanders (1983) volgde een lange reeks stuk voor stuk veelgelezen romans, verhalen en essays. Dorrestein schreef over rafelrandjes en taboes, over de strakke maatschappelijke normen waar vooral vrouwen aan moeten voldoen. Tijdens De auteur leeft: Renate Dorrestein gaan liefhebbers en kenners van Dorresteins werk met elkaar in gesprek over wat haar goed zo goed maakt en waarom haar werk sinds de jaren tachtig inspireert.

01 12 23

Voltaire-lezing 2023

De democratie als volkstuin

De volkstuin (een gemeenschappelijk terrein, verdeeld in individuele percelen) bestaat sinds jaar en dag, op elke schaal en overal. In zijn combinatie van het communale en persoonlijke, lijkt hij emblematisch voor de democratie. In de Voltaire-lezing van dit jaar verkent de Franse filosoof Joëlle Zask de volkstuin als innovatieve vorm van gemeenschapsdenken in de context van de ecologische transitie.

21 11 23

Double Book Launch with Carolyn Birdsall and Elodie A. Roy

Sonic Objects of Desire?

In contemporary culture, outdated ideas persist about sound media, such as radio, as being for the ears only. Yet sound media cultures have also variously engaged vision, touch, smell, and taste. This event will focus on the cross-sensory and material qualities of sound media by a double book launch of new books in Media Studies by Carolyn Birdsall and Elodie A. Roy.

03 11 23

Objects, Emotions, Connections

Soviet Cultural Entanglements During the Cold War

On the occasion of the publication of the book Journeys of Soviet Things: Cold War as Lived Experience (Routledge 2023) by Sudha Rajagopalan, we explore the subject of Cold War era cultural connections between the Soviet Union and the world. Putting “things” at the centre of the history of the Cold War, a panel of three speakers will share their research about the role of everyday objects in shaping popular imagination at a time of a deep ideological divide between East and West.

13 10 23

Between Gender, Space and Racialization

Prisons and Urban Inequalities

How do criminal justice interventions impact urban inequalities? Conversely, what would the criminal justice system look like if we were to center the resolution of inequalities instead of crime? These are questions that lead the Amsterdam-based research project The Principle of Inequality: Between City District and Criminal Justice System in Amsterdam. As this project draws to an end, the research team has organized an international colloquium, bringing together critical research on prisons and inequalities from around the world. Dr. Rashad Shabazz will share his work on the ways in which carceral power interacts with urban planning, and the policing and confinement of Blackness.

09 10 23

Bea Vianen is niet dood!

Bea Vianen (1935-2019) was een van de belangrijkste Surinaams-Nederlandse schrijvers van de twintigste eeuw. Haar romans Suriname, ik ben (1969) en Strafhok (1971) werden onlangs heruitgegeven en bereikten een enthousiast nieuw lezerspubliek. Tijdens Bea Vianen is niet dood! gaan liefhebbers en kenners van Vianens werk met elkaar in gesprek over wat haar zo goed maakt en waarom haar werk toen en nu mensen inspireert.

06 10 23

A Conversation with Mark Rowe

J.L. Austin: Philosopher and D-Day Intelligence Officer

Mark Rowe has just published the first full length biography of the celebrated ordinary-language philosopher, J.L. Austin. The book reveals the true complexity of Austin’s character, and the full range and significance of his achievements, including his lesser known role in planning the D-Day landings. Tonight, Rowe will talk about his new book with philosopher Tamara Dobler and English Literature scholar Rudolph Glitz.

05 10 23

De dertiende Jacob van Lenneplezing

De ontdekking van Insulinde: op reis in Nederlands-Indië in de negentiende eeuw

Het ‘prachtig ryk van Insulinde dat zich daar slingert om den evenaar, als een gordel van smaragd’. Met die woorden verheerlijkte Multatuli Nederlands-Indië in zijn Max Havelaar (1860). Vanaf de vroege negentiende eeuw trokken allerhande reizigers eropuit om het ‘moederland’ te informeren over het koloniale project. In de Jacob van Lenneplezing van dit jaar onderzoekt Rick Honings de indrukken en ervaringen die in hun reisverhalen zijn terug te vinden.

12 09 23

Decolonising La Mer Mortelle: The Experiences of Migrants at the European Borders

EU countries have the most mortal borders of the world, with thousands of deaths of African and Middle Eastern people each year and many more detained or living under deplorable circumstances as “illegal”—which makes them easily exploitable and deportable people. In this first edition of Decolonising La Mer Mortelle, we center the experiences and ideas of refugees themselves to explore alternatives for today’s lethal situation. How to get out of the current dynamic in which public empathy surges at dramatic moments, but is succeeded by policies that supposedly “prevent” dramas, yet actually worsen refugees’ situation?

26 06 23

The 1981 Massacre in Iran: Uncovering a Forgotten Mass Atrocity

June 2023 marks the 42nd anniversary of the 1981 massacre in Iran, the most extensive massacre in its recent history. In the past few years, a group of scholars and investigative journalists formed a research collective (Rastyad Collective) and studied this highly neglected massacre. In this event, the speakers will discuss the historical, legal, and political significance of the 1981 Massacre and reflect on the results of this research project.

22 06 23

Character assassination and antiliberalism in (pre-)Revolutionary France

Tyranny and Terror

Character assassination and antiliberalism often go hand in hand. Two distinguished British historians will speak about character assassination and antiliberal elements in the 1700s. While Enlightenment ideals led to a surge of liberalism and sparked the birth of Europe’s first liberal democracies, these developments also triggered strong counter reactions.