Maagdenhuis Debate 8 December - On Teaching and Research

After the Maagdenhuis occupation, friend and foe were in agreement that universities are not functioning as they should and that change is necessary. The exact nature of the issue, however, is subject to debate. Protesters and the University's executive staff have found common ground in the idea of organising a series of debates about the university - the 'Maagdenhuis Debates'. The debate on 8 December 2015, on the theme of teaching and research, will be moderated by Janneke Wesseling.

One of the hot issues in the debates about the neoliberal university is the relation between research and teaching. ReThink UvA proposes an urgent and fundamental transformation of the current organization of teaching and research which it has summarised in two position papers. During this debate at the Maagdenhuis, a panel will briefly discuss these two position papers, to identify major problems and suggest solutions. The panel's comments are meant as a starting point for an open debate about the current state of affairs regarding the academic profession and its future.

The Maagdenhuis Debates are open to the public - no registration is required.

Venue: central hall of Maagdenhuis
Time: December 8, 17.30-20.00h

Moderator/chair:

• Janneke Wesseling: art critic at NRC Handelsblad, Research Professor in Art Theory and Practice, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, and co-director of PhDArts, Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, Leiden University

Panel members:

• Markus Stauff: Assistant Professor and BA programme director, Media Studies Department, University of Amsterdam
• Sicco de Knecht: PhD Candidate (Neurosciences), Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam
• Marc de Wilde: Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the Paul Scholten Centre for Jurisprudence, University of Amsterdam
• Pim Klaassen: Postdoctoral researcher and Lecturer, Athena Institute for research on communication and innovation in the health and life sciences, VU University Amsterdam

To be confirmed:

• Annelies Moors: Professor in Contemporary Muslim Societies and director of the Muslim Cultural Politics research group, Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam
• Chris Lorenz: Professor of Historical Culture of Germany, VU University Amsterdam

Lectures Kunst & Kritiek

On 11 and 12 November, Janneke Wesseling will give a lecture entitled ‘Kunst & Kritiek’ about looking at and writing about the visual arts, based on her recent publication De Volmaakte Beschouwer (2015). The lecture is part of the KunstNU series, a six-part crash course on contemporary art that is a collaboration between Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art and De Appel arts centre.

11 November 2015, 19.00-21.00 hrs – Witte de With, Rotterdam
12 November 2015, 19.00-21.00 hrs – De Appel, Amsterdam