Arts Lecture - Opening of the Faculty of Arts Academic Year

For over 35 years, the Faculty of Arts has opened its academic year with the Arts Lecture. During this lecture - with an interactive Q&A session afterwards - a famous Dutch person shares their opinion about the importance of the arts and humanities for society. Previous speakers include Ellen Deckwitz, Iris de Graaf, Abdelkader Benali, Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal, Stine Jensen, Ramsey Nasr, Anna Enquist and Femke Halsema.

The Arts Lecture is intended for staff and students of the faculty and also serves as a faculty welcome for new first-year students. Other interested parties are also very welcome to attend. The lecture is given alternately in Dutch and in English every year; this year it will be given in English.

The Arts Lecture 2024 took place on Tuesday, 3 September, delivered by none other than Ellen Rutten. The title of her lecture was 'Why new stories matter in times of war'.

Ellen Rutten (1975) is a Professor of Literature at the University of Amsterdam and co-founder of the academic solidarity project The University of New Europe. She studied Slavic Language and Literature at the University of Groningen. Her research interests include post-Soviet literature and art, digital media, social media, and memory discourse. In addition to her academic work, she writes background articles and essays, and contributes to various media and scholarly publications.

Previous speakers include: