STUDIUM GENERALE
Studium Generale offers a programme of lectures, debates and talkshows, lecture series, art, film, theatre and we organise the biennial PAS Festival.
Scroll down for an overview of our upcoming (English) program.
Heb je interesse in ons Nederlandstalig programma? Verander rechtsboven de taal van de website.
AI and Society | Lecture Series
THU 8 AND 15 JAN, AND 5, 12 AND 26 FEBRUARY – 19:30 TO 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Register
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way we live, work, communicate and perceive the world around us. While continuous advancements in AI offer a promise of progress, these developments also challenge us to critically reflect on fundamental questions about ethics, truth manipulation, authorship, knowledge production and human responsibility.
Peering Inside the Giants: What our Solar System Teaches us About Exoplanets | Lecture
MON 12 JAN, 20:00
Auditorium, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Register (free)
Combining insights from NASA’s Juno and Cassini missions with James Webb Space Telescope observations reveals how giant planets form and evolve. By linking our detailed knowledge of Jupiter and Saturn with thousands of known exoplanets, we can build more realistic models of their interiors—transforming our understanding of planetary physics and the diversity of worlds beyond our solar system.
Critical Theory and the New Fascism | Lecture Series
TUE 13 AND 20 JAN, AND 3, 10 AND 24 FEB – 19:30 TO 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Register
A new fascism is on the rise worldwide. It raises the question of how this development should be interpreted. This lecture series will explore the extent to which critical theory can be helpful in answering this question.
Reel Borders: Grensdwalers | Film & Talk
TUE 13 JAN, 19:30
Lumière Cinema, Bassin 88
Tickets
Borders are more than just lines on a map. They are histories rooted in the landscape; scars that hold an archive of pain, and symbolic demarcations that protect and divide. The Reel Borders research project presents these complex realities through essayistic documentary cinema. This film programme tells stories that show us the environment around borders, as well as their residents and visitors.
After the screening of the four short films we will talk with two or three of the filmmakers about borders and identity.
Exploring the World of Plants | Lecture Series
WED 14 AND 21 JAN, AND 4 AND 11 FEB – 19:30 TO 21:30
Karl Dittrich Hall, Student Services Centre, Bonnefantenstraat 2
Register
We live on a green planet, although we often take it for granted. Plants are everywhere, yet most of us know very little about them. A better understanding of the plant world will helps us see the roles played by plants in our own environment.
This lecture series invites you to look closer at these organisms that power life on Earth. By understanding how plants live, grow and interact with their environment, you’ll gain new appreciation of the green world around you.
Protecting Democracy in Europe | Lecture
MON 19 JAN, 20:00
Auditorium, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Register (free)
The future of Europe as a community of democratic states is deeply uncertain. The European Union aims for peaceful, prosperous cooperation, but this ideal has been battered by a series of bruising crises, and now by war. In this lecture, Tom Theuns will talk about his book Protecting Democracy in Europe, in which he examines how the EU can safeguard democratic governance in member states. He argues that the EU must correct policies that enable backsliding and contain autocratic influence, and where these efforts fall short, expel autocratic members.
The Human Footprint and the Path to Coexistence with Biodiversity | Lecture
TUE 3 FEBRUARY, 19:30
Lecture hall, Nassaustraat 36, Venlo
Register (free)
Christopher O’Bryan leads the Planetary Health Lab, studying how our actions reshape the natural world, how people and wildlife coexist, and how nature supports human well-being. In this lecture, he takes us inside his research—from mapping the impacts of the global human footprint to uncovering the unique benefits biodiversity provides—and shows how we can create futures where both people and nature can thrive.
Digital alchemy. How do you convert a digital euro into cash? | Lecture
TUE 24 FEBRUARY, 20:00
Auditorium, Minderbroedersberg 4-6
Register (free)
The European Central Bank (ECB) is hard at work developing the digital euro, as a full replacement for cash. But cash has unique features that are difficult to copy in digital form. This presentation will look at the ECB’s plans and at what technology is required to approximate the features of cash in the digital domain. The digital euro will, however, never be the equivalent of cash.
