Abraham Kuyper Lecture 2025
Désanne van Brederode
Writer in Residence VU Amsterdam academic year 2024-2025
Over the past year, philosopher and alumna Désanne van Brederode has served as Writer in Residence, with her tenure shaped by the theme of ‘play impulse.’ She delivered her farewell to VU Amsterdam and its students in the form of the Abraham Kuyper Lecture.
During her lecture, Van Brederode made an unexpected appeal: we should wash each other's feet. “I believe we can learn to truly listen to one another in a different way—not through words, but through service, kneeling, with a basin, water, and a towel. Our hands cradling the bare feet of another, someone who simply crosses our path."
“It is through play that we become truly human—sensitive, imaginative, and free.”
Abraham Kuyper, known in his time as a gifted writer, would likely have recognised himself in her words when she said: “I believe that careful imagining, rereading, editing, rewriting is a form of dynamic, active meditation. I would almost call it prayer.”
Play Impulse
Spieltrieb, or play impulse, is a term coined by German playwright and thinker Friedrich Schiller. According to Schiller, “It is through play that we become truly human—sensitive, imaginative, and free.” And where better to play than at a university?
"Where there is room for play, imagination takes root.”
Imagination
“Where there is room for play, imagination takes root,” says Van Brederode. “It allows you to step into a character’s shoes, to become a different 'I' by temporarily forgetting yourself. You must sacrifice your own experiences and good intentions.” Or, as Goethe—Schiller’s close friend—put it: “Die and become.” Van Brederode explored this concept with students in the Dutch-language bachelor's programme in Creative Writing, which launched in September 2024 and has already attracted a significant number of students.
New Writer in Residence
At the close of the event, Rector Magnificus Jeroen Geurts announced that novelist and essayist Thomas Heerma van Voss will succeed Van Brederode as Writer in Residence, beginning 1 June. The Writer in Residence position is made possible in part by the support of VUvereniging.
Désanne van Brederode (1970) is a writer, philosopher, and essayist with an extensive literary oeuvre. She studied philosophy at VU Amsterdam and made her debut with the novel 'Ave verum corpus' in 1994. Since then, she has published a large number of other works, including Mijn denken is een hartstocht (2002), the diary Barsten (2006), 'Modern dédain' (2006) and Hoe het vuur te redden (How to Save the Fire, 2024). She recently released her new book Waarover ik niet spreken kan (About which I cannot speak).
Van Brederode is also involved in social initiatives; she was a board member of The Syrian Committee and is a member of the Advisory Board Philosophy at VU Amsterdam.
magazine for social sciences and humanities alumni june 2025