Wars begin when words lose their meaning. In the series War & Rhetoric we examine how language gradually becomes toxic in the run-up to conflict, but also how it can connect and heal.

Can we use technology, art, and philosophy to offer a hopeful, inclusive, and just perspective in which all earth-dwellers — human and non-human — can feel at home? Head of Studium Generale Leon Heuts reflects on the second edition of the For Love of the World Festival.

“Have you ever had a friend suddenly get mad at you?” Find out why Marieke thinks good communication skills are essential to success.

Veni, vidi, vici, Julius Caesar exclaimed after a victorious battle—three words that have since encapsulated the essence of decisiveness. Since then, the triad has become a powerful principle: from the Holy Trinity and the Three Wise Men to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the structure of a well-told story with a beginning, middle, and end.

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without but know we cannot live within,” writes essayist and civil rights activist James Baldwin in The Fire Next Time. This statement comes from a time of great social upheaval in the United States, the early 1960s. It was a period marked by political […]

Read a story written by one of the people who joined us last week’s Writing Huddle, written from the perspective of one of the creatures at the Arcadian Dreams exposition.

“When the woman/ man saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she/ he took some and ate it. She/ He also gave some to her husband/ his wife, who was with her/ him, and he/ she ate it.”

What if we could use language to cross the boundaries of culture, species, and technology, to reveal how words can either uphold or dismantle power? Together, we can craft new narratives for a world we love wholeheartedly.

What do political values even mean in the face of so much money? What chance do people have in a democracy that can be bought?

Wrinkles and creases, hairs and goosebumps. Toenails and hands that look so real that they remind you of your own. Bone structures and skin tones that resemble yours. And yet, despite all the recognition you feel estranged from what you’re witnessing in Echo’s main hall in the exhibition Arcadian Dreams

If you are looking for hard-earned lessons, look no further. I want to delve into Augustine’s meditations on grief.

I am the kind of person who still says “thank you” to ChatGPT after completing a task. Perhaps this is a “boomer” thing, but I wonder why I do it. I can’t help but view an entity with which I can have reasonably meaningful conversations as a “someone” with inner awareness or consciousness—in short, I don’t want to hurt its feelings.

What’s really wrong with extreme wealth? Haven’t men—since it’s nearly always men—like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos earned their fortune through hard work and smart business strategies? Who are we, the average people, to criticize them? Isn’t our disdain rooted in jealousy because we secretly wish to be like them? It’s curious that we even […]

Wednesday morning in my home office in the attic. I start up my laptop, get myself a cup of coffee, and put on an extra jumper so I will not be interrupted mid-sentence by the freezing of my fingers. I am rested and ready to edit the manuscript of my second novel. Wait, before I […]