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Alle locaties SPUI25 Online Rialto Posthoornkerk Paradiso Odeonzaal Amsterdamse Academische Club (AAC) Doelenzaal Nationale Opera & Ballet De Brug (Roeterseiland) De Duif De Brakke Grond Binnengasthuisstraat 9 Aula Roeterseiland Nationale Opera & Ballet, Odeonzaal Singelkerk OBA Theater Vondelkerk Agnietenkapel

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.

31 10 23

Power and the Future of the Digital Society

Eaten by the Internet

Our world is eaten by the Internet. This means that those who control the Internet control the bounds of public speech, economic production, social cohesion, and politics, making its infrastructure a core political terrain in the networked age. This evening we honor a new book about the power of Big Tech and the future of the digital society, Eaten by the Internet. The discussion with the book’s authors and editor will make Internet infrastructure visible as a key force of political power and urge us to ask how can we ensure the Internet will sustain us, rather than consume us?

30 10 23

NIAS Talk

Voting in Turbulent Times: the Dutch Elections in a Comparative Perspective

On 22 November Dutch voters will cast their ballot in the Parliamentary Elections, bringing new urgency to questions that have been occupying politicians, pundits, and political scientists for years. How has the electoral behavior of key social groups such as the working class changed in the last decades? Are we witnessing a crisis of the Left or is there new hope for social democratic and other parties? Have political elites in the Netherlands and Europe become more diverse, and (why) does it matter who our representatives are?

27 10 23

A Hundred Years Of Republican Turkey

The year 2023 marks the centenary of the Republic of Turkey. The recently published book A Hundred Years of Republican Turkey: A History in a Hundred Fragments, a project of Leiden University’s Turkish Studies, explores Turkey’s complex history since 1923 through one hundred expertly curated fragments of historical sources. Our panel will discuss this innovative new exploration of Turkey’s past century.

24 10 23

Satanic Panic

In response to the brand new documentary Satan Wants You, which will premiere at the Imagine Fantastic Film Festival this October, our panel discusses the so-called “satanic panic” in the 1980s and how it relates to contemporary moral panic about ritual child abuse.

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.

11 10 23

A Multi-Species Perspective

War Pollution and the Environment

Across the globe, military action and warfare have caused detrimental social, environmental, and multi-species harm. How does war pollution, particularly resulted from explosives and chemical warfare, continue to impact humans, other species, and their ecosystems? How do local and international efforts to address these legacies intersect with our heightened concerns over climate change? Bringing together scholars who research different socio-political contexts, this roundtable is aimed at facilitating a comparative discussion of these questions.

10 10 23

Gender and Self-Fashioning at the Intersection of Art and Science

In her forthcoming book, art historian Catherine Powell explores the intriguing life of Agnes Block, a remarkable seventeenth-century Dutch woman who we can find at the intersection of art and science. Powell will share her findings in a lecture, followed by comments by botanical philosopher Norbert Peeters and a presentation by literary scholar Feike Dietz.

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.

02 10 23

Book Launch

Forum Groningen: New Views on Public Space

Forum Groningen gives a kaleidoscopic view on the genesis of the architectural Forum project – the new cultural centre in the inner city of Groningen. This festive book presentation aims to explore the broader significance of this remarkable building by connecting the architects, book makers, invited critics and you, the audience. The panel reflects on the local and international meaning of the Forum in Groningen as a new form of public space that connects diverse cultural functions and merges architecture with cityscape. A large model of the Forum is present to illustrate the speakers’ views. Moderation by writer Dirk van Weelden.

28 09 23

Stories of Climate Breakdown: Emotions and Inequalities

Climate change is having profound and distressing impact across the world. The ways in which the effects of climate breakdown are felt, lived, and experienced are deeply varied and uneven. In this event we will discuss the role of emotions in these lived experiences, exploring in particular the place of storytelling and narratives in emotional responses to climate breakdown.

19 09 23

Platform Perspectives

Navigating the Sharing Economy and Its Transformative Impact

Have you ever shared your house, your car, your household items or borrowed a dress via a sharing platform? Or are you curious, but still a bit weary to try it?

19 09 23

Systems Thinking for Our Future

What can a systemic view of the Earth teach us about our future? Does the current understanding of the socio-ecological crisis give us the necessary tools to catalyze meaningful transformation? In this talk, Arthur Keller develops an in-depth overview of the systemic and interconnected challenges we face in our volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous world and suggests novel transformation strategies.

15 09 23

Sexual Self-Fashioning: Iranian Dutch Narratives of Sexuality and Belonging

Anthropologist Rahil Roodsaz investigates Iranian Dutch narratives of sexuality and belonging in her book Sexual Self-Fashioning: Iranian Dutch Narratives of Sexuality and Belonging. During this programme Roodsaz will present her new book, addressing the ways in which sexuality and gender have come to serve as measures for cultural belonging in discussions of the position of Muslim immigrants in multicultural Western societies. Roodsaz’ lecture marks the opening of the Amsterdam Research Centre for Gender & Sexuality’s new academic year.

13 09 23

How we got here, why they matter, and what our technological future will look like

“Chip Wars”

Computer chips have taken center stage in the current geopolitical conflicts. Many debates tend to depict these issues as new challenges, but they are not. The geopolitics of computer chips has a deep and complicated history. In this sixth event of our “Geopolitics of Technology” series, we will discuss how decades of globalization have built and re-built our supply chains; why and how states have always played a key role in chip markets; and how and why concepts of economic, political and military power intersect particularly in this technological field.

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?

11 07 23

‘Strategic foresight’ building ‘strategic preparedness’ for a rapidly evolving world

Navigating the Future

In a rapidly evolving world driven by innovation, the ability to anticipate and prepare for future advancements is crucial. ‘Technological foresight’ has become paramount for policymakers as they navigate the path ahead, serving as a compass to evaluate the potential societal impacts of complex scientific and technological developments. It also aids decision-makers in gaining a more strategic understanding of the issues they must address.

29 06 23

German and Dutch Perspectives

Debating Holocaust and Colonial Memory Culture: Historikerstreit 2.0

In 2021, a heated debate ignited what the Australian historian A. Dirk Moses called “The German Catechism.” Moses criticized the German consensus on the uniqueness of the Holocaust. While defending this uniqueness, comparisons with other genocides are often not taken into account. Moses depicted German intellectuals as “high priests” who by all means defend their ideas. Simultaneously, they tend to overlook the colonial context of German atrocities in Eastern Europe, as well as wider debates on a variety of memory cultures. In his lecture, historian Michael Wildt sheds light on this new “Historikerstreit.”

27 06 23

Algorithmic Injustice

Algorithms play an increasingly important role in our daily life but come with serious societal risks. In recent years we have seen many cases of algorithms that show unfair biased behavior towards particular groups or individuals, for instance the Dutch Toeslagenaffaire. This leads to growing concerns about harmful discrimination and reproduction of structural inequalities once these technologies become institutionalized in society. During this evening on algorithmic injustice we explore and discuss both the philosophical and technical aspects as well as the lived experiences of people who suffered from unfair algorithms.

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.

20 06 23

Book Launch

The Lost Future and How to Reclaim It

The future seems increasingly uncertain. Our democracies are failing to prevent financial crises, energy shortages, climate change and war—so how can we look to the future with confidence? In his new book, The Lost Future: And How to Reclaim It, Jan Zielonka argues that it is democracy’s shortsightedness that makes politics stumble in our increasingly connected world. Tonight, he will discuss his book with Caroline de Gruyter and Luiza Bialasiewicz.

15 06 23

The road from state socialism through liberal democracy to autocracy

Democratic Erosion: The Case of Hungary

In the last decade, Hungary has received international attention for its democratic erosion. The country has been the first institutionally consolidated democracy to turn into an autocracy. How has this effect of ‘backsliding’ been possible? And what has marked the transition from democracy to autocracy? In this lecture the process of democratic transition as well as the main factors that allowed the Hungarian government to undergo the development without meaningful push-back will be discussed.

14 06 23

Uncommon Transitions? Memory and Forgetting between Eastern and Western Europe

Why do memories of transitions in the late 1980s and 1990s remain disconnected between Eastern and Western Europe? This NIAS talk explores the diverging interpretations and memory cultures of this turbulent time in history that have emerged in the ‘former East’ and the ‘former West’. Together with experts working on different parts of Central and Eastern Europe, we shed light on how these transitions are remembered and forgotten in the Netherlands as well as in other countries of the ‘former West’.

05 06 23

Rethinking Our News Diet: On Polarisation and Online News Consumption

When talking about polarization, populism, and misinformed publics, we often focus on the role of echo chambers, fake news, and radical rabbit holes on social media. A new project argues this is the wrong focus. Instead, we should turn our eye on our news diet and – specifically – on the alarming lack of quality news in this diet. This lack is a risk to democratic societies because less informed citizens are more susceptible to populist and manipulative messages. Join the presentation of this project and a discussion on how to increase our news exposure.

31 05 23

Reflections on wild game in the modern world

Photographing Hunting Cultures

Photographer and writer Isabella Rozendaal will be speaking about her documentary project Isabella Hunts and the time she spent among various hunting communities. Rozendaal is intrigued by man’s ambivalent relation to animals. Would we treat them differently if we had to hunt and kill our own food?

25 05 23

Cold War Camera

From Kabul to Kyiv and beyond, photography plays a prominent role in mediating the global Cold War and its protracted afterlife. This public event explores the visual culture of the global Cold War and features Pippa Oldfield, who will moderate a dialogue with Thy Phu and Erina Duganne, the editors of the new book, Cold War Camera, award-winning photographer Susan Meiselas, and historian and photographer Tong Lam.

23 05 23

Public Spaces, Contested Places, Cultural Encounters

Diversity of Belonging in Europe

Belonging – or not belonging – lies at the core of many of the recent ‘crises’ and ongoing processes of change that continue to shape as well as to shake up contemporary Europe. New forms of socio-spatial inclusion and exclusion have been both embraced and contested – and always (re)negotiated – as part of ongoing processes of social change, connected to migration and displacement, post-socialism and decolonisation, populism and polarisation.

19 05 23

The Hmm ON

Co-Creation with AI

AI technologies have been around for a long time, but it is only recently that we’ve had a chance to experience some of these tools ourselves in our daily lives. For instance, with ChatGPT, an advanced and exponentially popular AI chatbot, and with AI image generators such as DALL-E and Midjourney. Now that we have had the opportunity to personally collaborate with AI through image, text and audio generating tools, ethical and socio-political questions have started to surface about what it means to co-create with AI. How will these advancements in AI technologies reshape and reconfigure our daily lives? During this special evening it is time to reflect on AI and take on some new approaches to co-creation.

17 05 23

European Press Freedom under Pressure

Press freedom is increasingly coming under pressure across Europe. Reporters Without Borders have repeatedly measured a decline in press freedom in many European countries over the last few years, including the Netherlands. Where does this come from? And what are the various problems associated with and arising from declining press freedom?

11 05 23

NIAS Talk

Dutch Colonies of Benevolence

Last year, the UNESCO World Heritage recognized the lasting cultural significance of the unfree ‘colony of benevolence’ at Veenhuizen (now home to the National Prison Museum). This round table brings together three leading researchers on domestic colonies to discuss the international significance of this colony, which opened its doors 200 years ago.

11 05 23

Amsterdam German Studies Lecture

Living in a Vortex: On Writing World History at a Time of Globalisation Blues

The glory days of globalisation are over. After the sobering experiences of the last few years, little remains of the faith that growing international exchange will foster mutual understanding and cooperation. At the same, the environmental crisis makes it ever more important to think on a global scale. Pollution knows no borders, and the same holds true for erosion, loss of biodiversity, climate change and other issues at the interface of man and the natural world. The predicament of our times urges a new type of world history. In his Amsterdam German Studies Lecture, Frank Uekötter offers a novel approach.

10 05 23

Islam, Democracy and Development

Many Muslim-majority countries struggle with problems of authoritarianism and underdevelopment. In this year’s ACMES annual lecture, Ahmet Kuru will explore this issue by discussing Islam and its relation to Western political and socioeconomic institutions. He will address the matter by referring to his award-winning book Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

08 05 23

On epics and counter-epics

Is Europe a Joke?

As the The European Review of Books turns one year old, the questions remain: Books? Review? Europe? To ask what makes a “European” magazine is to ask what and who makes (or unmakes) a European culture.

19 04 23

Digital Childhoods: Learning Within New Media

How do digital media impact children’s experiences and learning? What is at stake when apps, robots, voice assistants and the so-called internet of toys are used by children? What role do big tech companies play in this critical period of life? With the help of experts in linguistics, communications, media studies, and cognitive science, this thought-provoking roundtable explores challenges and opportunities that digital technologies pose to bringing up children today.

18 04 23

Climate Change and Academia: What Role to Play?

What is the role of academics in confronting the climate crisis? Do academics have a special responsibility to get involved in climate justice activism? During this panel discussion, Gerrit Schaafsma discusses the subject with the academics Harriët Bergman, Thomas Wells, Anne Kervers, Christel van Eck and Marthe Wens.

17 04 23

Beter denken met Marcus du Sautoy

Wiskunde als kunst van de shortcut

In zijn nieuwe boek Beter denken introduceert Marcus du Sautoy de wiskunde als kunst van de shortcut. Aan de hand van verhalen, raadsels en puzzels verhaalt hij over zowel shortcuts waardoor de menselijke beschaving mogelijk werd, als handige shortcuts die ons dagelijks leven makkelijker maken. Vanavond presenteert Du Sautoy deze ingenieuze strategieën, waarna hij in gesprek gaat met Desiree Agterberg.

13 04 23

Female rewritings of ancient myths

The End of the Silence of the Girls

Unlike holy texts such as the Bible, Greek myths have always been extremely flexible and open to all kinds of rewriting. Recent years have witnessed a notable surge of rewritings of female characters, largely by female authors. Scholar Jacqueline Klooster and author Natalie Haynes will jointly reflect on this phenomenon.

05 04 23

Christoph Menke in dialogue with Beate Roessler and Titus Stahl

What is Liberation?

In his latest book A Theory of Liberation (Suhrkamp, 2022), German philosopher Christoph Menke claims that we live in a time of failed liberations: Sooner or later, all attempts at liberation have produced new forms of domination and thus of servitude. Tonight, Menke discusses this topic with philosophers Titus Stahl and Beate Roessler.

29 03 23

Navigating between nostalgic nativism and hopeful liberalism

Promises and Pitfalls of Liberalism

Liberalism has been much maligned in the last decade for its failure to provide people with a sense of collective identity and meaning. But for many people, liberal ideas themselves provide this meaning. In this interdisciplinary exchange, two books are discussed that, respectively, explore the extraordinary rise of nativism in liberal societies, and the possibilities for revivifying liberal ideals in a changing world.