STUDIUM GENERALE
Studium Generale offers a programme of lectures, debates and talkshows, lecture series, art, film, theatre and we organise the biennial PAS Festival.
Heb je interesse in ons Nederlandstalig programma? Verander rechtsboven de taal van de website.
Emotions Across Cultures | Lecture
TUE 29 SEPTEMBER, 20:00
Auditorium, Tongersestraat 53
Register (free)
What if emotions aren’t just something we feel on our own, but something we do—together? In this lecture, Mesquita, author of Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions, explores the idea of emotions as relational experiences, rather than just internal ones.
Dutch Dance Days | Dance Visit | Student Discount
Nederlandse Dansdagen celebrates the heritage, current events, and future of Dutch dance. From classical ballet to urban and from masters to new talent: the festival showcases the full breadth and quality of Dutch dance. Studium Generale offers students special discount tickets (€10,-) for the following programmes:
Film Programme Cine Dance – Breaking the Chains – Tickets (only for students)
FRI 2 OCTOBER, 20:30 – 22:00
Vrijthof Theatre, Vrijthof 47
Multiple Bill Dance Church – The Power of Vulnerability – Tickets (only for students)
SAT 3 OCTOBER, 18:00 – 19:30
St. Janskerk, Vrijthof 24
Multiple Bill Upstairs Theatre – Yes, I am – Tickets (only for students)
SAT 3 OCTOBER, 20:30 – 22:00
Vrijthof Theatre, Vrijthof 47
Belief in Conspiracy Theories | Venlo Lecture
TUE 6 OCTOBER, 19:30
Lecture Hall, Nassaustraat 36, Venlo
Register (free)
Conspiracy thinking plays an increasing role in processes of polarisation and radicalisation. Van Prooijen highlights how conspiracy theories can lead to a black-and-white world in which one's own group is seen as morally superior, while other groups are demonised. Conspiracy theories can therefore contribute to violations of the rules, a rejection of democracy, illegal forms of protest, populism and sometimes even violence.
From Followers to Role Models: What Do Influencers Owe Us? | Lecture
WED 7 OCTOBER, 20:00
Auditorium, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Register (free)
In this talk, we’ll consider whether arguments about the ethics of celebrity and role-model duties apply to influencers. We’ll see how complex this is: influencers invite attention and admiration by sharing their lives, but their public persona is carefully curated, suggesting a right to privacy.
Two Years of Trump 2.0 | Lecture
MON 12 OCTOBER, 20:00
Auditorium, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Register (free)
Since Donald Trump assumed office for the second time in early 2025, U.S. foreign policy has seemed increasingly unpredictable. But if we look closely, patterns are visible. This lecture will explore the goals underlying Trump’s foreign policy, and how he has reshaped the policymaking process in order to pursue them.
Waiting for the Barbarians | Opera Visit
TUE 27 OCTOBER, 19:30
Vrijthof Theatre, Vrijthof 47
Tickets (only for students)
Based on J.M. Coetzee’s Nobel Prize-winning novel, Waiting for the Barbarians is centered around the topical theme: ‘us’ and ‘them’.
A spectacular theatrical extravaganza in which singers, dancers and a massive orchestra perform this late masterpiece by the most important living classical composer, Philip Glass.
How Deep Is Your Love | Film & Talk
TUE 27 OCTOBER, 19:30
Lumière Cinema, Bassin 88
How Deep Is Your Love transports the viewer to the very depths of the ocean, where a team of marine biologists is searching for unknown life forms in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast untapped region in the Pacific Ocean that is under threat from deep-sea mining.
A visually astounding and topical film about biodiversity, climate, technology and the responsibility that comes with exploring the unknown.
Trump, Putin & the United States of Europe | Lecture
MON 2 NOVEMBER, 20:00
Auditorium, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Register (free)
Hans-Werner Sinn argues that it is high time, following economic and monetary integration, to press ahead with the military unification of Europe, as only military unification can bring about genuine political union and prevent the great powers from continuing to push Europe around. This lecture reviews the failed attempts to achieve political union and discusses what could and should be done now.
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Towards a Critical Theory for the 21st Century | Lecture Series
TUE 3, 10, 17 AND 24 NOV, AND 1 DEC – 19:30 TO 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Register
This lecture series examines not only the historical significance of the Frankfurt School but also the contemporary relevance of the Critical Theory it developed. This theory will be compared with the diverse critical approaches that have emerged from postcolonial studies, poststructuralism, queer theory and related intellectual movements.
The Perfect Storm: Perspectives on a World in Flux | Lecture Series
THU 5, 12, 19 AND 26 NOV, AND 3 DEC – 19:30 TO 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Register
Geopolitical tensions, wars, the rise of illiberal politics, climate change, technological changes, energy insecurity – the world is facing several crises at the moment. Crises that are not isolated developments, but which interact with one another, producing new forms of instability and political tensions.
In this lecture series, we explore a number of these crises from perspectives within the humanities and social sciences.
Opera Zuid: Uprising | Opera Visit
FRI 13 NOVEMBER, 19:30
Vrijthof Theatre, Vrijthof 47
Tickets (only for students)
Uprising is a large-scale community opera that addresses one of the defining issues of our time: the climate crisis. Above all, it looks at the conversation surrounding it: on the streets, in politics, around the kitchen table, across generations and in the school playground.
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Knock-Out Comedy | Stand-Up Comedy
The Case Against Conscious AI | Tans Lecture
THU 19 NOVEMBER, 20:00
Franz Palm Lecture Hall, Tongersestraat 53
Register (free)
Will an AI ever have feelings, including the ability to suffer? Many experts in AI seem to think so, but there are many reasons to be sceptical. Anil Seth will discuss the prospects for ‘conscious AI’, and the ethical and social implications of AI systems that either are, or merely appear to be, conscious.
Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves | Lecture
MON 23 NOVEMBER, 20:00
Auditorium, Tongersestraat 53
Register (free)
Building on his own research on monarch butterflies, and taking us on a tour around the globe, Jaap de Roode introduces us to a whole menagerie of medicating animals, from apes to ants, from bees to baboons, and from cats to caterpillars.
Mariinka | Film & Talk
TUE 1 DECEMBER, 19:30
Lumière Cinema, Bassin 88
Set in the town of Mariinka in Eastern Ukraine, this film traces several young Ukrainians whose lives have been shaped by more than ten years of conflict in the Donbas.
Mariinka begins long before the world watched the full-scale Russian invasion, after which the town was completely destroyed. A story about belonging, national loyalty and the fault lines where political conflicts can trump even the bonds of blood.
Nature as an Ally in Tackling Climate Change | Venlo Lecture
TUE 1 DECEMBER, 19:30
Lecture Hall, Nassaustraat 36, Venlo
Register (free)
Ecosystems such as forests and grasslands are currently slowing down climate change by compensating about a quarter of our CO2 emissions. Over the last half century, their CO2 uptake has actually increased. Can we expect this increase to continue over the next few decades, or will climate change itself threaten this land carbon sink?
The New Economics of Stability | Joan Muysken Lecture
WED 2 DECEMBER, 20:00
Auditorium, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Register (free)
Over the past decades, we have approached economic progress primarily through the lens of efficiency. At the same time several crises have shown that efficiency and resilience do not always align. This calls for a reassessment of resilience as an economic value.
