STUDIUM GENERALE
Welcome!
Studium Generale offers a programme of lectures, debates and talkshows; lecture series;
art, film, theatre, and poetry events and we organise the biennial PAS Festival.
Also interested in our Dutch programme? Change the language of this site. (Upper right corner)
November-December Programme

The programme booklet November-December is out now.
Leaf through the booklet via this link
... or scroll down for an overview with further explanation
of all activities till December.
Opera Zuid: Der Schauspieldirektor
STUDENTS VISIT OPERA
Sunday 3 December, 19:30
Vrijthof Theatre, Vrijthof 47
Tickets: only for students €10
Studium Generale and Opera Zuid are teaming up to offer students a unique opportunity to go to the opera – at a quarter of the normal price!
In the brilliant comedy Der Schauspieldirektor, the composer takes a crack at the opera world. Everything has a place in the opera, from rival singers, big egos and hectic rehearsals to arguments on stage.
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Il Gattopardo (The Leopard)
FILM & TALK
Tuesday 5 December, 19:30
Lumière Cinema, Bassin 88
Tickets: students €5 / others €10
Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) is an epic on the grandest possible scale. The film recreates, with nostalgia, drama and opulence, the tumultuous years of Italy's Risorgimento — when the aristocracy lost its hold and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy.
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Life and Work of a Filipino Human Rights Defender
SHELTER CITY LECTURE
Thursday 7 December – 20:00 to 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Registration (free)
Our guest is a human rights defender who is dedicated to the empowerment of minorities and marginalized groups in the Philippines. As a result of her work, she has been on the receiving end of harassment and intimidation. She will speak about her work and the situation in the Philippines.
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Human Rights - Steel or Chewing Gum?
HUMAN RIGHTS LECTURE
Monday 11 December, 20:00
Auditorium Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Reservations (free)
This year's human rights lecture will debunk some of the myths about human rights and show how they can be as solid as steel, yet as flexible as chewing gum.
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Data and AI for Better Health Care
LECTURE 5 SERIES DIGITAL SOCIETY
Tuesday 12 December – 20:00 to 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Registration
AI and big data, where does it lead to? This is the fifth lecture of a series in which we get in tune with the digitisation wave, leading us to a wide range of themes and research areas that affect all of us. It is possible to join the individual lectures of this series. Check the link below for more information or use the link above for direct registration.
Read more (and check for registration per individual lecture)

Why and How Should we Grow Crops in Space
TECHLEC
Tuesday 9 January – 20:00 to 21:30
Auditorium Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Registration
When humans settle on Mars or the Moon, one of the challenges will be to grow their own food. In this lecture, ecologist and exobiologist Wieger Wamelink invites us to explore the conditions that need to be met in order to grow viable crops in these extreme circumstances. Wamelink will show that Wageningen University & Research is experimenting with growing a range of different crops on Moon and Mars soil simulants. He will show that they are using natural resources as far as possible and are now focusing on setting up a closed sustainable agricultural ecosystem. What will this look like in practice?
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Psychological Science in Court
LECTURE SERIES
WED 10, 17 AND 24 JAN, 7 AND 21 FEB – 19:30 to 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Registration
Science plays an important role in the criminal justice system, with forensic scientists examining and analysing evidence from crime scenes and elsewhere to develop objective findings that can assist in the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of crime or absolve an innocent person from suspicion. In this series we take a look at some developments in psychological science and what they can lead to in court.
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Participation of Child Advocates in Armed Conflict
LECTURE
Monday 15 January – 20:00 to 21:30
Auditorium Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Registration
Generally, participation of children in armed conflicts is considered of two types: child soldiers and children affected by conflicts. In this lecture children’s rights researcher Mariam Muradyan suggests to look at the protection and care of children whose normal life course is disrupted due to armed conflicts. The presentation will zoom in on the case of Nagorno Karabakh.
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Documenting the Holocaust: Our Story
FILM & TALK
Tuesday 16 January, 19:30
Lumière Cinema, Bassin 88
Tickets: students €5 / others €10
It is hard to comprehend all that happened in the concentration camps of World War II. In the documentary Auschwitz. Our Story, six survivors of the holocaust tell their personal story. The interviews focus on where survivors drew strength from and how they gave meaning to their lives after the war, despite their experiences of loss and trauma.
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Environmental and Health Impact of Polluting Industries in Border Regions
DEBATE CAFÉ
MON 22 JAN – 20:00 to 21:30
Dominicanen Bookstore, Dominicanerkerkstraat 1
Registration
More and more often, we read about the influence of industries on the environment and health. People who live in the immediate vicinity of factories often notice it immediately, but it can often take a very long time before other people and the government become aware of the impact of pollution and nuisance. In the Netherlands, for example, we had cases in recent years involving Tata Steel in IJmuiden and Chemours in Dordrecht, where the pollution was allowed to continue for years and the possible measures were taken too late (if at all).
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Breaking Social
FILM & TALK
Tuesday 6 February, 19:30
Lumière Cinema, Bassin 88
Tickets: students €5 / others €11,50
Breaking Social takes stock of a decaying system to show that while corruption and social inequality are growing problems worldwide, there are still plenty of people who want to reverse this trend. There are scenes of activists in multiple countries living their everyday lives, who talk about what made them decide to resist and the opposition that they face.
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The Empathic Brain Across Species
LECTURE
Tuesday 20 February, 20:00
Aula, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Registration (free)
Why do we care about what happens to others? Humans and rats activate neurons and brain regions involved in their own pain while witnessing the pain of others - indeed as if they were in pain themselves. Perturbing this system makes us care less about others. Biology thus wires us to share the joys and distress of others. Yet empathy does not just happen to us: Christian Keysers will also show how easily we can turn off our biologically predisposed empathy – and we should thus learn to use it wisely.
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