Humanities as the heart of Leiden in 2022: get to know the team
In 2022, Leiden will be the European City of Science. During this year, Leiden will be the European stage for knowledge, with a programme filled with science, art and culture. Of course, the humanities also take part. Get to know the core team of our faculty.
Robert Zwijnenberg (chair)
Who are you and what is your function in the organisation for Leiden2022?
'I am professor emeritus Art and Science Interactions, associated with our Faculty of Humanities. In addition, I am the chair of the faculty core team that coordinates Leiden City of Science 2022. Furthermore, I am, on behalf of the faculty, a member of the science council of the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), the biggest multidisciplinary scientific meeting of Europe, which will take place in Leiden from 11 to 15 July, 2022.
What do you think people can expect from the Faculty of Humanities with regard to Leiden2022?
'The humanities can and must be prominently present in academic and societal debates about the great challenges of our time. The humanities must be at the centre of society, in an active and open exchange with it. This attitude is clearly present in the faculty projects that will be carried out during Leiden2022. For me, the societal urgency and relevance of the humanities are the starting point for stimulating and assisting in Leiden 2022; contributions from our faculty.'
Marcel Belderbos
Who are you and what is your function in the organisation for Leiden2022?
'I am a policy officer research at the Faculty of Humanities. Among other things, I am concerned with the societal impact of our research. In other words: how do we as a faculty stimulate, facilitate and value researchers who actively try to increase and demonstrate the positive impact of their research on society? In this role, I am part of the FGW-Leiden 2022 core group.'
What do you think people can expect from the Faculty of Humanities with regard to Leiden2022?
'During Leiden City of Science 2022, the faculty in all its breadth and diversity will enter into dialogue with the citizens of Leiden. Through various projects and initiatives, our staff will go out into the city, sometimes digitally, often physically, to make contact with the people of Leiden. Interaction is the key word: in addition to explaining what we do as humanities scholars and its importance, we will also listen to, and learn from, the citizens of Leiden. In this way, future research will be even better attuned to questions that people in the city have, and the contact between the city of Leiden and our faculty will be strengthened, also after 2022.'
Nathalie Borst
Who are you and what is your function in the organisation for Leiden2022?
'I am an advisor online communication and chief editor of the faculty. We try to bring the humanities of Leiden into the limelight in every possible way. What research do we do here? What study programmes do we offer? What contributions do the humanities make to society? We tell the stories, for example through our websites, the newsletter, events and our posts, blogs and podcasts. And of course through our film 'We are Humanities'. Leiden2022 offers us a great platform in that respect. My main focus in the core group is to achieve this visibility in collaboration with the partners.'
What do you think people can expect from the Faculty of Humanities with regard to Leiden2022?
'In any case, you can expect us to do our utmost as a group to communicate all faculty initiatives to the general public in an appealing way. And we do not only bring, we also have the explicit ambition to create interaction. I hope that Leiden2022 will be a beautiful, festive and interesting year, bringing together parties from within and outside our faculties. And that this special year will also result in the continuation of those relationships after 2022!'
Sanne van de Haar
Who are you and what is your function in the organisation for Leiden2022?
'My name is Sanne and I am a student assistant for the core team of Leiden2022 of the Faculty of Humanities! I offer the core team support in all sorts of areas; from organisation to coordination and communication. A real jack-of-all-trades, you could say. I am also your contact person if you have any questions about Leiden2022 within the Faculty of Humanities or if you have any good ideas and want to discuss them with the core group.'
What do you think people can expect from the Faculty of Humanities with regard to Leiden2022?
'Of course we will do our utmost as the core group to make Leiden2022 a very special and interesting year. A year in which we want to share the versatility and diversity of the humanities with everyone in Leiden and stimulate interaction between different parties in order to bring them closer together. In addition, we will be actively working to promote the sustainable presence of the humanities in the city, but we also hope that this will result in sustainable relationships and initiatives that continue after 2022!'
Ariadne Schmidt
Who are you and what is your function in the organisation for Leiden2022?
'I am professor by special appointment of History of Urban Culture, in particular of Leiden. In this capacity I am involved in research into, and education about, the rich history of Leiden. Attention to diversity is my priority. In addition to education and research, I am committed to connecting Leiden museums, heritage institutions and historical associations with the university. My participation in the FGW-Leiden core team ties in nicely with that.'
What do you think people can expect from the Faculty of Humanities with regard to Leiden2022?
'Humanities scholars can add depth to current debates. Exchange is crucial in this respect. In 2022, the Faculty of Humanities will go out into the city. By working together with the city and its inhabitants, informing and inspiring each other, we can broaden perspectives on societal issues. Leiden2022 offers a unique opportunity to expand, strengthen and consolidate ties with residents and the city.'
Kitty Zijlmans
Who are you and what is your function in the organisation for Leiden2022?
'My name is Kitty Zijlmans and I worked at the Art History department of this faculty for a long time, and from 2000-2021 I held the chair of 'Art History 1800-present/World Art Studies'. The latter expresses the wish to broaden art history from a Eurocentric to a global perspective. I am a member of the core group supervising the Leiden ECS2022 process for the Faculty of Humanities. As chairman of the Stadscuratorium Beeldende Kunst in de Openbare Ruimte (City Curatorium Visual Arts in Public Spaces, ed.) of the Lucas van Leyden Fund of the municipality of Leiden, I also have a bridging function between the faculty and the city.'
What do you think people can expect from the Faculty of Humanities with regard to Leiden2022?
'I hope that as a faculty, we will be able to present the importance of humanities-related thinking and acting in an organic but also structural way, the enormous pluriformity of perspectives and approaches related to the (worldwide study of) art, culture, language, history, religion, philosophy, the creative and performing arts, the entire palette that makes us human. Achieving this by establishing connections between staff, students and residents of and visitors to Leiden. The city is the canvas on which a multitude of images can be created. The humanities are the interpreters and questioners of context, culture and meaning, as was recently argued in NRC (26/27 June 2021). Our faculty houses a vastly broad and multicoloured palette of knowledge and expertise which reaches into the capillaries of society. With ECS 2022, this should more and more permanently manifest in the city.'
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Send an email to the core teamImage: Gabriele Liaugminaite. From left to right: Sanne van de Haar, Kitty Zijlmans, Marcel Belderbos, Nathalie Borst, Rob Zwijnenberg, Ariadne Schmidt.