News
A monument for Westerling and other possible futures
One of the hardest tasks for a historian is to resist the temptation of familiar outcomes – to reconstruct a time and place that was complex, contested and unscripted, much like our own. When no one knew what was going to happen. When many futures were possible. For example, the construction of a monument for Raymond Westerling, the notorious captain of the Dutch colonial army (KNIL) in Indonesia in the 1940s. Some regard him as a war criminal; others see him as a hero whose reputation deserves rehabilitation.
In her inaugural lecture, Professor of World Political History Susie Protschky examines two moments in recent history – one in 1950, the other in 2023 – when a monument to the controversial Westerling seemed conceivable.
Does technology make us stupid?
One third of young people is functionally illiterate. Although no direct causal link has been established, this development coincides with the rise of the smartphone. VU has therefore launched research into how technology affects reading and writing skills and how education can respond more effectively.
“Functionally illiterate young people can read and write; they attend school,” says organisational scientist Hille Bruns. “But they can no longer read a newspaper or understand an instruction manual. It’s not illiteracy in the classical sense, but a lack of sufficient skill to extract information from longer or more complex texts.”
How does Europe distribute refugees?
Research by political scientist and migration scholar Philipp Lutz shows that almost all 32 European countries distribute asylum seekers across different locations in their country. A well-designed distribution policy can reduce local overburdening and NIMBY (Not in my backyard) reactions and thus increase political support for reception.
In the Netherlands, the much-discussed spreidingswet has been in force since 1 February 2024. Its aim is to distribute asylum seekers more fairly across the country, as a significant number of municipalities offered no reception for years. During the most recent general election, several political parties stated in their manifestos that they wanted to abolish the law. Refugee reception therefore remains a current and heavily debated political issue.
AI works better than it should. Why?
Why do AI chatbots display abilities that even their creators did not expect? And what does theology have to do with it?
In his recent lecture at TEDxVUAmsterdam, university lecturer in Theology & AI Marius Dorobantu shares an intriguing perspective on how thinking about language in the space between theology and AI – the oldest and the newest academic disciplines – can shed surprising light on the groundbreaking technological achievements we are witnessing today.
A school against inequality of opportunity
How can we ensure that in our changing society we continue to see one another? And that everyone can participate, even when circumstances and social systems make that harder? Theologian Samuel Lee founded both a church and a school to address inequality of opportunity in the Netherlands. “If Abraham Kuyper can found a university, then I can certainly start an academy.”
A changing journalism demands more creative scholarship
Journalism is changing fundamentally due to digitalisation, platforms and AI. News reaches us in fragments through social media, and algorithms increasingly determine what we see. This calls for a new, creative approach to academic research, argues Damian Trilling in his inaugural lecture as Professor of Journalism Studies.
magazine for social sciences and humanities alumni december 2025