10 th Anniversary of the Department of Arts, Culture and Media will feature Martha Nussbaum

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Update

The Minister for Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker will unfortunately be unable to attend the event.

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Original notice:

On 25 and 26 June, the Department of Arts, Culture and Media at the University of Groningen will celebrate its 10^th anniversary with a special programme entitled Arts and Humanities: Of(f) Course. The programme will feature world-famous philosopher Martha Nussbaum, and the Minister for Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker. It will examine the role of arts and the humanities in an era that is increasingly questioning their value.

The anniversary programme consists of three parts:

• a public lecture entitled Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Arts given by Martha Nussbaum,
• a 1-day conference with prominent speakers from France, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain,
• a concluding debate between Martha Nussbaum, Minister Bussemaker and Rector Magnificus Elmer Sterken.

Martha Nussbaum

In her book ‘Not for profit’ (2010), Martha Nussbaum ponders the value of arts and the humanities in modern society, a relevant question in view of recent government cuts in the budgets for arts and culture. The value of art is now up for discussion and the same would seem to apply to teaching and research into art. According to Nussbaum, this is due to our obsessive interest in national economic growth. Increasingly, we see education as a way of making students economically productive instead of training them to become critical thinkers and sensible citizens.

More information: Dr Thijs Lijster , coordinator Arts in Society l