Existential Tuesday: How political should a university be?

Do you want your university to take a stand on political and societal issues like war, genocide, or climate change? Or would you prefer it stay neutral and uninvolved?

There’s so much going on lately, both locally and globally, that it’s hard to keep up. Even at Studium Generale we simply don’t have enough time to address every single issue or perspective with an event, let alone do the required research to stay informed on everything.

How must it be for the people in charge of the university? Apart from running the place, they have to deal with a number of dilemmas, like working together with fossil fuel companies; working together with Israeli universities with ties to the defense industry; working directly with the defense industry in general; responding to the massive budget cuts in higher education announced by the new government; addressing problems with social safety at the university; and a host of other issues they have to deal with one way or another.

More and more, universities are being called on to take position on societal issues like these. To have an opinion, make a statement, cut the ties, or take some other action. But to what extent should or shouldn’t a university be political? As the institution for critical, intelligent, scientifically sound, creative, and hopefully ethical thought, how much distance can you maintain from the rest of society?

This is an open conversation about the role and identity of universities in society.

Existential Tuesdays

Existential Tuesdays are small weekly* lunch discussions in the Nook of the TUD Library. Practice your critical thinking skills, learn to see the world from different perspectives, and hang out with your fellow deep thinkers in Delft.

Interested in other events in the Nook? Sign up for the newsletter to find out what else we’re planning.

* no sessions during exam weeks or study weeks

Organised by: Studium Generale