The Voices of the Humanities

Episode 5: Social Media and Democracy with Marc Esteve Del Valle

In this episode, Diego and Hanne have a conversation with Dr. Marc Esteve Del Valle, who is assistant professor at the department of Media Studies in the University of Groningen about his specialization: the role of social media for democracy. In the media-saturated society we live in today and the recent developments with, for example, Cambridge Analytica, and the way in which Donald Trump makes use of Twitter, research on how these media work seems highly important. On an organisational note: this will be the last episode in a while, since Hanne is going to spend a semester in the U.S. We are working on different possibilities for interviews and special episodes, but we'll keep you posted! Sound design: Martin Bergmann Logo design: Tamara Ansing Hosts: Diego Casas and Hanne Nijtmans

Episode 4: Arguments about Things and Crises in America with Tim Jelfs

In this episode, Hanne and Diego have a special guest from the department of American Studies: Dr. Tim Jelfs. We talk about what "American Studies" is, why it is important and how it fits in the humanities. Furthermore, we discuss some of Tim Jelfs' own research, like his recent book "The Argument about Things in the 1980s: Goods and Garbage in an Age of Neoliberalism" and his current project that focuses on crisis narratives in the 21st century. Both projects offer valuable insights, not only in what American Studies can do, but also in some of the ideological and material forces that have defined American politics and culture for the past decades. Sound design: Martin Bergmann Logo design: Tamara Ansing Hosts: Diego Casas & Hanne Nijtmans

Episode 3: Why the Humanities Matter with Barend van Heusden

In this third episode, hosts Hanne and Diego receive professor Barend van Heusden to talk about perhaps the most relevant question for this podcast: What are the humanities? And why do they matter? Barend van Heusden specializes in culture, cognition, and culture education and helps us understand why and how the humanities should be taught, researched and valued. Sound design: Martin Bergmann Logo design: Tamara Ansing Hosts: Diego Casas and Hanne Nijtmans

Episode 2: Free Speech or Hate Speech at the Night of Philosophy

For this episode, Hanne and Diego will discuss the fine line between free speech in hate speech. This episode focuses on the controversy with philosopher Paul Cliteur, who was scheduled to speak at the "Nacht voor de Filosofie." Cliteur's affliation with Dutch populist party Forum voor de Democratie and his views on the Islam sparked a protest from students and some staff members. Joining us in this discussion are Veerle Ros, who initiated the protest and wrote about this event on socialisme.nu and Nard Willemse, who took a break from studying American Studies to pursue student politics for De Vrije Student. Sound design: Martin Bergmann Logo design: Tamara Ansing Hosts: Hanne Nijtmans & Diego Casas

Episode 1: Dead White Men and the Academic Canon

This is the first episode of the podcast "The Voices of the Humanities" in which hosts Diego Casas and Hanne Nijtmans, both from the University of Groningen, discuss current topics, events and new research in the humanities with different guests each episode.  This first episode covers the topic of 'canon wars', focusing on the question "Don't we read too much dead white men?" To discuss this, Hanne and Diego are joined by Dr. Kirstin McGee, assistant professor in the department of Arts, Media and Culture, who specializes in music, gender and the concept of intersectionality, and Dr. Thijs Lijster, assistant professor in philosophy, who currently teaches the course Arts and Media in society, focusing on identity politics and cultural wars. Sound design: Martin Bergmann Logo design: Tamara Ansing Behind the scenes: Janneke Strazdina Hosts: Diego Casas & Hanne Nijtmans