The emphasis in this course is on the emotions which people experience with respect to their country, its history and culture. The complex history of the Low Countries, with its different nations, its many links to the wider European world and beyond, and its traditions of economic success and cultural excellence, provides a good example of the range of issues on which human emotions focus and in this way shape history. From the civic pride in the medieval cities, over the rifts caused by the Dutch revolt, to the issue of regional identities in a unifying Europe, the course of Low ountries history is followed chronologically.
Special attention is given to the history prior to the twentieth century and the many ways in which this history has shaped contemporary society and has left numerous traces in the country and the minds of the people. For the recent history emphasis is on the constantly shifting meanings of people’s historical memories under the influence of such issues as nationalism and regionalism, wartime experiences, migrations in the modern world etc. In this sense the course opens the debate on the specific position of small countries in larger political zones

This course analyses the European (dis-)integration process in the context of the international relations since World War II. It examines to what extent, how and why European countries cooperated, integrated and competed between 1945 and today. The course also explains how and why both ‘Europe’ and ‘integration’ were defined in different ways during this period.

Introduction: Milestones in European integration and co-operation.
Concepts and theory-building.
Institutional structure: Governance – EU institutions/bodies and involvement of actors and stakeholders. Decision-making procedures. Policy instruments.
European policies: Development, implementation and evaluation of core European policy projects and accompanying policies.
Current issues in the framework of European integration and co-operation.

We start with an introduction to the human being as an interactional creature, whose life starts in the relations with the parents. In 12 sessions we look at how parent-child relations changed from the Old Testament to the Gospels and further till contemporary art. In each session we discuss ca. 10 paintings in detail, using concepts from philosophy, psychology and art history, relating them to the mentality of their era, moving from Antiquity to the posthuman. This allows us to recapitulate the history of Europe in a nutshell with focus on the changes in emotionality. These paradigm shifts have a vital effect on the different languages used in paintings: body, gestures, clothes (fashions), images, words and spatial expression.

The purpose of this course is to initiate the student in aspects of Eastern (foremost Far-Eastern) thought from the perspective of comparative philosophy, or, alternatively, to enlighten aspects of western thought or of universalizing conceptions of philosophy through comparison and contrast with Eastern thought. This is done by interactive lectures as well as by discussing texts that have been read in advance by the students. At the end of this course the student should be able

to have a feeling for and a balanced judgment on the diversity of conceptions of philosophical thought and its relation to practices
to apply such insights to one or a few specific topics such as the ones mentioned below under ‘contents’.
to give diligent comments on philosophical texts on issues such as the ones mentioned (texts that do not presuppose philological expertise in the intellectual traditions in question).