Do you want your university to take a stand on political and societal issues like war, genocide, or climate change? Or would you prefer it stay neutral and uninvolved?
There’s so much going on lately, both locally and globally, that it’s hard to keep up. Even at Studium Generale we simply don’t have enough time to address every single issue or perspective with an event, let alone do the required research to stay informed on everything.
How must it be for the people in charge of the university? Apart from running the place, they have to deal with a number of dilemmas, like working together with fossil fuel companies; working together with Israeli universities with ties to the defense industry; working directly with the defense industry in general; responding to the massive budget cuts in higher education announced by the new government; addressing problems with social safety at the university; and a host of other issues they have to deal with one way or another.
More and more, universities are being called on to take position on societal issues like these. To have an opinion, make a statement, cut the ties, or take some other action. But to what extent should or shouldn’t a university be political? As the institution for critical, intelligent, scientifically sound, creative, and hopefully ethical thought, how much distance can you maintain from the rest of society?
This is an open conversation about the role and identity of universities in society.
EXISTENTIAL TUESDAYS
Existential Tuesdays are small weekly* lunch discussions in the Nook of the TUD Library. Practice your critical thinking skills, learn to see the world from different perspectives, and hang out with your fellow deep thinkers in Delft.
Interested in other events in the Nook? Sign up for the newsletter to find out what else we’re planning.
* no sessions during exam weeks or study weeks
Check out SG’s related events this quarter on the theme: Power and Privilege
This quarter is all about wealth, greed, and the roots of inequality. With more billionaires than ever, global crises in the 21st century have enriched the few while billions have been made poorer. Can our society keep sustaining this divide? And if not, where will you stand in the next mass uprising?
Existential Tuesday: How rich is too rich? | Sept 10th | @ The Nook
Existential Tuesday: (When) is privilege a problem? | Sept 17th | @ The Nook
VOX Book Club: Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi | Sept 19th | @The Nook
Existential Tuesday: Who really rules society? | Sept 24th | @ The Nook
Exterminate All the Brutes: Conversations on the Colonial Past | Sept 30th | @ 38CC
Existential Tuesday: How political should a university be? | Oct 1st | @ The Nook
Existential Tuesday: How would you trigger a global revolution? | Oct 8th | @ The Nook
Moral Ambition: How Badly Do You Want to Do Good? | Oct 8th | @ TUD Library
Critical Mass Sessions: Eat the Rich | Oct 14th | @ Theater de Veste
Exterminate All the Brutes: Conversations on the Colonial Past, pt.1 | Oct 21st | @ 38CC
