Events and Lectures

Photo Contest: Liberal Arts & Sciences goes Visual

The educational concept underlying AUC’s curriculum is that of the Liberal Arts and Sciences – LAS, in short. Such a concept means different things to different people. When you chose AUC you also chose LAS – so it must mean something to you, too! What we want to know is what it means to you.

We therefore invite you to visualize your idea of LAS in a photograph. Submit a photo to the AUC photo contest, plus a short text (max. 200 words) that explains how your photo embodies the LAS concept for you.

The jury judging your submissions consists of Rachel Esner (humanities), Kathy Zandbergen (social sciences), Dora Tamari-Tutnjevic (student representation) and Cor Zonneveld (sciences). The submissions will be gauged on technical quality, originality and creativity. Moreover, students are invited to cast a vote for the ‘student award’ – details will follow.

• Prize: high quality print plus frame. The best three submissions will be exhibited in AUC’s Hall of Fame – aka the Common Room
• Deadline for submissions: 31 May 2011 (early submissions welcome too!)
• Submit a JPG plus accompanying text to Cor Zonneveld (contact details below).

9 June: Selection in Higher Education - Dutch Experience in International Perspective

Amsterdam University College and University College Utrecht invite stakeholders to attend this seminar during which they will share their experience with and knowledge of selective admission.

14 March: Boris van der Ham visits AUC

On 14 March 2011, Member of Parliament Boris van der Ham, spokesperson of D66 will visit AUC. On behalf of D66, a social-liberal party currently in the opposition, Mr Van der Ham is a spokesperson for education issues. He will meet with staff and students during his morning visit. A debate with students is part of the programme.

16 March: masterclass Wageningen University and Research Centre on Psychobiology of Eating Behaviour

Prof. dr. ir. Kees de Graaf will come to AUC on Wednesday 16 March to facilitate a master class. His master class focuses on the Psychobiology of Eating Behaviour. It deals with the basic sensory and metabolic processes in the regulation of food intake and food choice. One of the topics is the development of food preferences in infants and young children. Another topic concerns the effect of properties of food on hunger and satiety. Professor van der Graaf will also be able to answer any questions you may have regarding following a master’s degree at Wageningen University.

Kees de Graaf  is professor at the WUR's Department of Human Nutrition, specialising in eating behaviour. He is an authority in the field of nutrition, consumer and behavioural topics.

16 March: Black Hole Horizons: The Gravity of Paradigms

No one can really tell, but falling into a black hole is not likely to be a pleasant experience. Black holes are the most massive objects in our universe. The centre of our galaxy is likely to host a black hole that is millions of times heavier than the sun. Black holes are thought to hold some of the keys to reconciling quantum mechanics with general relativity. In this talk De Haro will review Stephen Hawking’s conjecture that black holes may be in conflict with most of what we know about the laws of nature and how those difficulties have been overcome in the context of string theory. The key idea is that observers who fall into or stay outside of a black hole hold complementary views on what they see. Their views can be seen as irreconcilable, but complementary paradigms. This is an extension of the old idea of quantum mechanics that the wave and particle descriptions are dual but complementary descriptions of nature.

Admission is free for students, others €5,-.

This lecture is part of the "The Philosophy of Physics" lecture series, co-organised by NSA, AUC and CREA Debate.

9 March: Philosophy of science: Gravitation

Starting from first principles and general assumptions, Newton's law of gravitation is shown to arise naturally and unavoidably in a theory in which space is not a fundamental but an emergent entity. Gravity is explained as an entropic force caused by changes in the information associated with the positions of material bodies. A generalization of the arguments leads to Einstein's theory of general relativity. Because space is emergent, even Newton's law of inertia needs to be explained. The equivalence principle leads us to conclude that the origin of the law of inertia is entropic.

Admission is free for students, others €5,-.

This lecture is part of the "The Philosophy of Physics" lecture series, co-organised by NSA, AUC and CREA Debate.

17 February: U.S. Black History Night at the Movies - Democracy, Justice and Hope

The U.S. Consulate General Amsterdam and the U.S. Embassy, in coordination with Amsterdam University College, presents U.S. Black History Night at the Movies - Democracy, Justice and Hope.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as a great orator, deeply impacting the nation and the Civil Rights Movement. His eloquence and inspirational words, and his dedication to promoting peace resulted in 13 years of civil rights activities.

The U.S. Consulate General invites you to celebrate U.S. Black History Month with Lois Pot-Mothershed, activist during the Civil Rights Movement, as she speaks about her experiences, followed by a viewing of Roads to Memphis.

Space is limited and reservations are preferred. You can register by sending an email with your name and contact details to the U.S. Consulate General Amsterdam (see email address below).

8 February 2011: Corporate Governance in a Globalised Context

Shareholders in listed companies seem to be the most trustful people in the world. They have no contractual relationship with the companies whose shares they hold. To recoup their money they have to find another investor willing to buy the shares. Nonetheless zillions of savings are invested in listed equities all over the world. But how do shareholders get managers to return some of the profits to them? How do they make sure that managers do not steal the capital or invest in bad projects? How do shareholders control managers? That is what corporate governance is about.

Tanja Jadnanansing visited AUC

On 7 February 2011, Member of Parliament Tanja Jadnanansing, spokesperson of the PvdA (Dutch Labour party) on higher education issues, visited AUC. She met with staff and students. During the lunch break, a debate wasl also organised, focusing on higher education in the Netherlands in an international context.

2 February: Philosophical Implications of Quantum Theory

Physics has changed the world. Not only through its technical applications, but also by its sometimes shocking implications for our general view of the world: its philosophical implications. This lecture reviews some historical examples of this, such as the striking consequences of so-called classical physics (the physics before relativity and quantum mechanics) and of relativity theory. Finally, it turns to some of the amazing predictions of quantum theory and their consequences for our worldview. By Prof. Dr. Dennis Dieks, professor of the Philosophy and Foundations of the Natural Sciences (Universiteit Utrecht).

Admission is free for students, others €5,-.

This lecture is part of the "The Philosophy of Physics" lecture series, co-organised by NSA, AUC and CREA Debate.

31 January: Energy, Climate Change and the Limits of Planet Earth

In the first decade of this century, we are confronted with the limits of planet earth with an intensity reminiscent of the 1970's. Now as then the question is: will exponential growth hit the wall, or will new technology once again save the day. This broad topic will be explored starting from the Shell Energy Scenarios, and adding analysis by the author on the pace of technological change.

20 January: Feeding the world: the importance of sustainability

Sustainability is about reducing damage to mother Earth, developing an economy where everybody can participate now and in the future. We have to feed nine billion people in a sustainable manner by 2050. How can we accomplish this challenging task?

In this lecture, Berry Marttin will give some insights into this challenge we all face. Why is a sustainable supply chain important? What role can a bank play in the Food & Agri value chain in order to match demand and supply of food in a sustainable manner?

6 December: Understanding Scientific Understanding

Achieving understanding of nature is a central aim of science. But what exactly is scientific understanding and how is it achieved? Although these are clearly philosophical questions, they have long been neglected by philosophers of science because of the assumption that understanding is purely subjective and therefore irrelevant to a philosophical account of science.

Dr. Henk de Regt will argue against this view. After presenting two examples from the history of science, he will offer an analysis of the nature of scientific understanding that accords with scientific practice and accommodates the historical diversity of conceptions of understanding. Its core idea is a general criterion for the intelligibility of scientific theories that is essentially contextual: which theories conform to this criterion depends on contextual factors, and can change in the course of time. His analysis provides a general account of how understanding is provided by scientific explanations of diverse types.

Speaker:    Dr. Henk W. de Regt  Faculty of Philosophy
                     VU University Amsterdam
Convenor:  Dr. Sebastian de Haro

When:         Monday 6 December 2010, 18.30-19.00
Where:        AUC Artis Library (Plantage Middenlaan 45)

26 November: Energy Risk And Solutions For Cancún

If we continue to exhaust our fossil fuels, we will be heading for a worldwide energy crisis. This is no reason to panic and do nothing.

Two teams of students, young energy experts from Amsterdam University College, will prove that things can be approached  in a different way.They will provide keys to the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will commence in Cancún, Mexico on 29 November.

An expert jury will decide in public consultation with interventions from the floor which team has the best "thought-out" proposal. The content of the proposals will be taken to Cancún by Hugo von Meijenfeldt who represents the Dutch Government.

The jury includes Hugo von Meijenfeldt, who will be negotiating at the highest level in Cancún on behalf of the Dutch government, Lucia van Geuns, deputy head of the Clingendael International Energy Program, Karen Lagendijk, director External Affairs & Sustainability at NUON and Klaas van Egmond, professor Geosciences at University Utrecht. 

Presentation by Kees Vendrik. 

The 31st globalisation lecture is organised by Sandra Rottenberg and VUconnected. Supported by de Volkskrant, VPRO/Tegenlicht, Uitgeverij Lemniscaat, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, Sandra Rottenberg and Felix Meritis.

For more information on this event, please see the VUconnected website.

25 November: An evening about Goethe's Faust: Marco de Waard interviews Pieter Steinz

In "Literatuur op de Zuidas", VU Connected organises a series of evenings about famous titles from world literature. On Thursday, 25 November, starting at 19:00, AUC's Marco de Waard will interview historian and literary critic Pieter Steinz about his fascination for Goethe's Faust. Pieter Steinz works for NRC Handelsblad and is the author of a study of the cultural afterlife of the "Faust" myth (De duivelskunstenaar: de reis van doctor Faust door 500 jaar cultuurgeschiedenis).

When:     Thursday 25 November 2010, 19.00
Where:    Het Grand Café
                 Claude Debussylaan 2-8 324
                 Amsterdam

For more information on this event, please see the VUconnected website.