New PhD Common Room openA spacious lounge with comfortable sofas and lovely wooden bookcases: welcome in the new LIAS/LUCSoR PhD Common Room. In May the basement of Matthias de Vrieshof 3, the former storage area of the Faculty of Archaeology, was turned into a fabulous new fl exworking space and lounge for PhD candidates. José Brittijn is one of the coordinators of the project: “We at LIAS/LUCSoR have some sixty self-funded PhD candidates, who until recently had no workspace. We are glad that they can now come here.”

Babylab to LipsiusSince the start of June, Lipsius has its own Babylab. The language aspect of the lab, where experimental research is conducted into language development in babies, is moving from the Pieter de la Court Building to Lipsius 1.10. Head of the Language Development Babylab Claartje Levelt says, “We’re pleased to be moving. We wanted to bring the lab closer to the linguistics students who conduct research there.” Different language observation and production tests are carried out in the lab on babies from seven to thirty months.

fgw nufgw•nu is an internal publication for all staff members of the Leiden University Faculty of Humanities // nr3 • June2015

about getting as many students as possible through a programme. I do understand why, because it is much easier to capture such an objective in numbers than an abstract term such as ‘quality’. But the current parameters could lead to the quality objectives being whittled down. And that is the last thing we want. Th e name Leiden University does stand for something!”

3 4 8

“Even Muslims are tired of IS” What is the value of valorisation? Global Imaginations exhibition

Th e hottest topic of them all must be the relationship between success rate and quality. Do we see these as mutually exclusive or can they co-exist? Björn Köhnlein (lecturer in German) has no fundamental objection to measuring quality or monitoring progress, but he does think that you need to use the right parameters. “Th e current performance agreements are

Systems thinking gone madJan Sleutels, as chair of the Faculty Council, strongly agrees. “I think that everyone agrees about the higher goal: good quality teaching and research that we can aff ord and monitor. Th e thing is that there are various ideas on how to achieve that goal. In my opinion a system has been implemented that threatens to engulf the factor of ‘quality’. If you

look at how much time we spend on paperwork just to demonstrate our accountability, we are well on the way to becoming a spreadsheet university. It’s systems thinking gone mad. Th e world of education is by no means unique

here: the same is happening in the health sector and is causing unrest there too. Of course it is not a good thing that there is cause for unrest, but this unrest does ensure that we are now

Et al Achievements at the Faculty of Humanities

pausing for thought and that society is reconsidering what the essence is of higher education or the health sector, or any other sector where the system is threatening to take over.”

Th e future of the ‘small languages’ is another hot topic. Try not to mention the term to Asghar Seyed-Gohrab (senior lecturer in Persian) or steam will immediately come out of his

ears. “Small languages! Millions of people in the world speak these languages and they cover an enormous cultural sphere that we have no access to if we cannot speak these languages. Th e term ‘small languages’ has the wrong connotations, because they are not small at all.”

Otto Boele (senior lecturer in Russian Literature) has a similar opinion. “Although some language programmes are small in terms of student numbers, we still count as an academic discipline with its own intrinsic value and also in society. If we are not careful, the Netherlands will soon have no

fgw•nu // nr3 • june 2015 | 1

Hot topics and visions of the futureThe quality and future of higher education have been the focus

of public attention since this spring, partly due to the student

occupation of the Bungehuis and Maagdenhuis in Amsterdam.

We are familiar with the opinions of those behind De Nieuwe

Universiteit (nationally and in Leiden), but what do our

colleagues think about the hottest topics in this discussion?

The term ‘small languages’ has the wrong connotations, because they are not small at all

2

more academics who can explain to us what people in the rest of the world think. If no one can read a Russian or Syrian newspaper any more, that is bad for our security. If no one can translate a Hungarian or Hebrew book any more, that is bad for our culture. If no one knows how the Slavic or Arabic world works any more, that is bad for our trade.”

BroadeningTh e ‘small language programmes’ are not under threat here as in Amsterdam. “We don’t just look at the number of students for language X or Y,” says Faculty Dean Wim van den Doel. “It’s important that we as a Faculty stay fi nancially healthy and attract enough students across the whole Faculty. As long as we manage to do that, the small language programmes are safe with us.”

One way to stay fi nancially healthy as a Faculty and attract suffi cient students is to broaden the curriculum. Asghar has experience with this, from the perspective of ‘his’ Middle Eastern Studies. “Broadening

the curriculum defi nitely has its advantages,” he says. “Lecturers who have taught three or four students for years can share their knowledge and expertise with larger groups. Broadening also has advantages for the students. We now give them more knowledge about the background, religions and cultures of neighbouring linguistic regions than we used to. You do of course have to make an extra eff ort to keep the linguistic specialism of Persian, Turkish, Hebrew or Arabic at a high level despite broadening the curriculum, but we have managed so far. I am actually quite proud of what we have achieved: a broad introduction but with the retention of specialisation.”

Keep goingTh e relatively new International Studies programme also shows that broadening the curriculum can turn out well. Th e programme is a success in terms of student numbers, and many lecturers enjoy sharing their expertise with more students than previously, although you do perhaps have to try a bit harder than with

‘specialised’ students. Otto Boele can see these advantages, although he does think that there is a limit to how far you can broaden the curriculum. “Otherwise we only end up training generalists,” he warns. Boele also points out that broadening the curriculum is at the expense of specialised language programmes. “Th ey attract fewer students aft er all and bring in less income. Before you know it, the conclusion will be drawn that they must make cuts or even exit the fi eld completely, when these broad programmes are only able to exist thanks to the specialised knowledge from the ‘small’ programmes,” he argues. “Alongside the intrinsic value, this is therefore an extra reason why the Faculty and University should preserve these small programmes, and it is just as much a consideration for society. Do we as a society want higher education to become nothing more than a degree factory? I don’t believe that for a minute. Times are changing, so I personally am pleased with the current commotion about higher education: it generates the momentum for a review.”

Three PhD candidates with NWO grant at LUCAS

LUCAS now has three PhD candidates with an NWO Doctoral Grant for Teachers. Coen van ‘t Veer, Martijn Wijngaards and Eric Haverbeke all received this grant, which gives secondary-school teachers the chance to conduct four years of research at Leiden University. Coen van ‘t Veer, PhD candidate and Dutch teacher at SG Spieringshoek in Schiedam, says, “I’m enjoying my PhD research. In Leiden you quickly build up a network and this makes great things possible.”

On governments and secrecy

Dorota Mokrosinska’s ‘Democratic Secrecy’ project launches on 1 August. Mokrosinska, who will lecture at the department of Philosophy from the summer, will research government secrecy in a democracy. “This topic gathered momentum with the revelations by Wikileaks and Edward Snowden,” says Mokrosinska. “We’re going to look at whether a democratic government should be transparent or whether a certain amount of secrecy is legitimate.” The project, which is funded by an ERC Starting Grant, will run until June 2020.

Ghost ship further analysed

As part of the Dr Ernst Crone Fellowship, historian Louis Sicking will research a mysterious model ship from the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. Miraculously enough, the model is complete. Sicking: “On the ship is a Bible text and the year 1560. One of the things I’m going to research is whether this year is correct. It would be rare, because we know relatively little about ships from the sixteenth century.”

Researchers at Orpheus

Five docARTES PhD candidates and postdocs from Leiden University will present their work at the end of September at the Orpheus Research Festival in Ghent. DocARTES is a PhD programme for musicians in which the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts works together with eight other institutes, including the Belgian Orpheus Institute. Frans de Ruiter, who is on the docArRTES management team, is proud of the programme: “DocARTES is a unique programme that successfully brings together different cultures.” The Orpheus Research Festival is from 30 September to 2 October 2015.

fgw•nu

Read more: Hot topics and visions of the future

Colophonfgw.nu is a periodical publication for all employees of the Leiden University Faculty of

Humanities

Chief editors // Jolanda Riel, Marjolein Aarts

Advisory editors // Wim van den Doel, Sanne Arens, Gareth O’Neill, David Cörvers

Executive editors // Julia Nolet, Esther van Haren, Marieke Enter, Marjolein Aarts

Cartoon // Bas van der Schot

Photography and illustrations // Juliën van Eck, Mariël Kolmschot, Erik Kwakkel, John

Brash, Universiteit Leiden Beeldbank, Shutterstock, Creja ontwerpen

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Keep seeking balanceWim van den Doel: “I don’t think the faculty of the future will be much diff erent from today, with its mix of broad and narrow interdisciplinary and disciplinary programmes. We can then continue to serve a wide target group of students, both the eighteen-year-old who already knows that he or she wants to be an Egyptologist and the student who actually wants a broad programme. I do think that it will continue to be a quest for the right balance between quality and success rate. Th e days of the university as a refuge where you could stay without being subject to any requirements are defi nitely over. And it doesn’t really bother me that the lack of requirements is history: I think it’s our duty to educate our students successfully without too much delay. But it shouldn’t be considered a disaster if students take half a year longer to complete their master’s degree because they want to pursue a relevant internship.”

Feeling responsibleAsghar Seyed-Gohrab: “I think that we all fully appreciate that we are nurturing and training a new generation. And that we

therefore need to think good and hard about the learning outcomes of our programmes and strictly monitor the level. Th is also relates to the students themselves: good, passionate students get what they want out of their programmes. But we as lecturers also do our best for the other students, because quite simply we feel responsible. It would be lovely if more people understood this.”

More trust pleaseBjörn Köhnlein: “I hope that the politicians dare to relinquish the urge to control and have more faith that, in principle, the universities and faculties are able to give students a good education. Th e current systems approach is almost counter to what students need to learn at a university: that, quite simply, the world is vague and we do not have an answer to everything, that you therefore need to gather your own information and form your own opinion, but to realise at the same time that you never have absolute certainty. Th ese skills are at odds with the world of structures, systems and fi gures that now seems to reign in the world of education.”

Moderation in market thinkingOtto Boele: “My main hope is for more direction. Each faculty and each university mainly looks to itself and asks, how well are we doing? Market thinking threatens to take over; hardly any attention is paid to the intrinsic value of certain subjects and sciences. I am certainly not so conservative that I want to hold onto the situation from thirty years ago, but these developments are really worrying.”

Better viewJan Sleutels: “My biggest hope is that in the future people in the Netherlands and Europe will have a better view of the humanities than now. Th e natural sciences are currently the bee’s knees, because they are reassuringly concrete and are of tangible use to society. Th e humanities are oft en brushed aside as a kind of superfl uous luxury that serves no real purpose. Completely unfairly, because ‘Humanities make a diff erence’, and they have done for centuries.”

To conclude, a small round of future hopes and desires from the interviewees

Pagina 3: - Interview (1/1 pagina, tekst en groot beeld: portret van de geinterviewde)

fgw•nu // nr3 • june 2015 | 3

Let’s get straight to the point: what’s going on in the Arabic world? Why does radicalisation seem to be on the increase?“We currently see two major trends. The first is that the social,

political and legal role of Islam in the Arabic world has been growing

since the 1980s. The second is that there is an increasing need for

self-determination. People nowadays want Islam and democracy.

This is against the backdrop of fifty per cent of the current Arabic

population being younger than 25. All these young people want

something to happen. The testosterone is flying all over the place.

All these factors have led to an eruption: the revolutions – the Arab

Spring – and Islamic State.”

Does the media focus on Islam increase the need for an academic interpretation?“We at the LIOP certainly have the wind in our sails at the moment.

When the Islam discussion flared up in The Hague last summer, it was

suddenly radicalisation here, there and everywhere. But I don’t want

to get carried away. I had the exact same experience ten years ago,

after Theo van Gogh was murdered. The Netherlands was fixed on

radicalisation then too. The big guns were brought out, but two years

down the line the hype was over and everything returned to normal.

The LIOP must stick to a structural course and ensure we don’t get

drawn into all the mud-slinging, because otherwise we can stop

again in two years’ time.”

Th e LIOP wants to ‘match the knowledge in Leiden about Islam to the needs of Dutch society.’ Do you notice that these needs are changing? “If you look at Muslims themselves, they are now tired of IS. The

vast majority see IS as a bunch of criminals and want nothing to do

with them. They are interested in Islam here and want to know, for

instance, how you can put Sharia, Islamic law, into practice in a way

that is applicable to the Netherlands. But we also get questions

from Dutch people who don’t know what to do about the reports

in the media. People are nervous because the government has

These are turbulent times for Islam. The horrors of Islamic State dominate the news and the

Dutch are worried about radicalisation. What exactly is going on? Fgw.nu spoke to Maurits

Berger, Professor of Islam and the West and responsible for the Leiden Islam Outreach

Programme (LIOP), about current developments in the Middle East, radicalisation in the

Netherlands and the role of the LIOP.

“Even Muslims are tired of IS”

warned them about radicalisation. They start to worry and say

things like, ‘how can I identify radicalisation and when should

I report my suspicions about a colleague or student?’ This

emerging informer’s mentality is something that seriously worries

me.”

Is the fear of radicalisation exaggerated then?“I think that the concern about radicalisation is justified, because

it is happening. But the way we are collectively developing a

system to identify it is something that worries me. My students

are also scared of the sudden change in society.”

In what respect? “People in the Netherlands are pointing the finger at Muslims for

what is happening in the international arena. Take the question:

‘What do you think of IS?’ Muslims hate being asked it, whereas

I have colleagues and friends who consider it to be a burning

question. Muslims see the question as a reversal of the burden of

proof. If people ask them it, they think: ‘The mere fact that they

are asking me that question means that I’m a potential suspect,

even though I consider it just as bad as the rest of the Netherlands.

Apparently I need to reassure them, but who will reassure me?’”

Who is Maurits Berger?Maurits Berger (1964) is a legal and Arabic scholar. He has held the

chair in Islam and the West at the Centre for the Study of Religion

at Leiden University since 2008. Berger previously worked as a

lawyer in Amsterdam for a number of years and as a journalist and

researcher in Egypt and Syria, where he lived for eight years. He

now gives courses to the police, schools and municipalities, and

advises various Dutch ministries on issues relating to Islam.

fgw•nu

Valorisation basically means creating value from knowledge. What value do we ascribe to Humanities? And to what extent does it influence the way we do our research? According to Leiden humanities researchers there is still much to say on the topic of valorisation.

What is the value of valorisation?

in the Greeks’ reaction to a worldview in which money started to play an increasing role.” Alongside her research and teaching Van Berkel regularly engages in dialogue with bankers. “I would certainly not wish to pretend that I can solve economic issues, but I hope that by talking about Antiquity I can add fuel to the debate.”

Not knowing what you want to knowProfessor of China Studies Frank Pieke believes that you should think from the very start about who in society might be interested in what you do. He tries to produce knowledge together with those very people. “People in government, the media and business want to know a lot, but they don’t really know what they want to know. They mainly respond to whatever is happening at the moment.” He aims to create a win-win situation with these parties right from the start of the research process: he answers smaller questions for various parties while he himself studies

the bigger picture.

Valorisation from step 1?Thijs Porck (English) is also positive about valorisation and the attention paid to it. “Alongside it being noble to share knowledge with society, it is principally great fun to share your passion.” However, he’s somewhat reserved about valorisation when his research is still underway: “I give a lot of lectures about Tolkien and Old English through the Young Academy’s Kennis op Straat initiative, but I only started doing that after I had published an article about it.” Porck also has experience with ‘unplanned’ valorisation with guest blogs and his Facebook group Old English Enthusiasts. He can use these media to respond to current affairs or publish a chance find that he would otherwise do nothing with.

4

Professor of Classical Languages Ineke Sluiter likes to emphasize how socially relevant it is to study Antiquity. “The questions that we ask are inspired by contemporary questions. We research how innovations become ‘anchored’ in the culture that they are intended for. The Greeks were always going on about the past, and yet they lived in one of the most innovative periods in history.” Sluiter believes that if we want to innovate successfully, we need to embed innovation in what we already know – just as the Greeks did.

Intrinsic value of knowledgeHer colleague Tazuko van Berkel thinks that knowledge in itself is already of value. “I see valorisation as realising the value of curiosity and knowledge: the ability of a society to ask unexpected questions. A society that as a whole is curious and sees knowledge as value in itself is in my opinion more sustainable.” She herself studies the history of ideas. “That makes you aware of things you take for granted. How the ideal of unconditionality in a personal relationship is not a given but was once an idea, is well illustrated

But some 180 young Dutch Muslims have travelled to Syria. What appeals to them about the ideology of IS? “There are push and pull factors. The push factor is that many Muslims

in the Netherlands have a strong feeling that they do not belong

here. The pull factor is that some Muslims feel that a battle is being

fought in Syria that is worth giving their life for. The establishment

of an Islamic state is an idea that has been around for a long time in

the Islamic world. When I lived in the Middle East, I regularly asked

people if they liked the idea of an Islamic state. They all wanted one.

No one knew exactly what it was, but they thought it would certainly

be better than the current situation. Chaos reigned there and the

Islamic state was their utopia. Now an Islamic state really is being

established, even though it actually has nothing to do with these

wonderful ideals, it still has an enormous impact. The propaganda

films that IS makes appeal to the idea of a homeland.”

But don’t the young people see the horrors committed by IS on TV? How can they accept them? “I don’t think that young people go to Syria to commit murder.

They go there for a holy state. It’s only once they’re there that they

realise that murder is part of that. Furthermore, they won’t be quick

to accept what the Western media say, because they see them as

anti-Islam. Change will only occur once it filters through their own

community that the Islamic State is not the holy land.”

How do you think the Netherlands should prevent radicalisation and do you see a role here for the LIOP?

“We take a long-term approach. I assume that Muslims in the

Netherlands will continue to be reasonably to very religious. Islam

will remain important for the foreseeable future. Our job is education

that enables us to provide both Muslims and non-Muslims a broader

perspective on Islam. I hope that we help make Dutch Muslims more

resilient towards radical ideology. We must appeal to Muslims from

the perspective of Islam and show them the wide, rich heritage

that they have. Islam stands for an enormous civilisation. If we can

appreciate this, we no longer need to huddle together in that narrow

tunnel in which everything is only ‘haram’ and ‘halal’.”

Read more: ‘Even Muslims are tired of IS’

What is the LIOP?

The Leiden Islam Outreach Programme is the initiative of Maurits

Berger and is part of the Leiden University Centre for the Study of

Religion (LUCSoR). The LIOP wants to extend knowledge of Islam

beyond the university walls. Developing new forms of education

is one of its focal points. Berger: “The basis of the LIOP is that we

use the knowledge and skills that we have here at the LIOP to the

benefit of what is currently going on.” The LIOP includes a think

tank of students from different degree programmes.

Luris: society and us

What role would you like to play as researcher? Luris works

together with Leiden researchers with the aim of applying

relevant knowledge to society. Luris brings these researchers

in contact with researchers from other disciplines and with

partners from society. If you want to find out more or attend

events, click on luris.nl

Facts & Figures About valorisation by Leiden humanities researchers in practiceWhat is the value

of valorisation?

Hidden curse“If we make valorisation into a method, then we should call it valorisatiek. The Dutch word for curse, ‘vloek’, is concealed in that word,” says Dr Peter Verstraten (Film and Literary Studies). He worries about the negative effects of the pressure to valorise, in particular in the visual arts, theatre, music, literature and film. “These disciplines were prestigious in academic traditions, but within the current domain of Creative Industry – one of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Top Sectors – fashion, design, games and journalism suddenly appear to be much more profitable. Grant applications for these topics manage to find financial backers, but the massive cuts in the cultural sector have created huge problems for the domain of visual arts, theatre, music, literature and film.”

Pieke is also aware of the flipside. An unwanted effect of valorisation is a loss of independence for academia. Pieke thinks we should watch that we don’t become think tanks or corporate research departments. Along the same lines, Van Berkel worries that the National Academic Agenda creates a ‘you ask, we do it’ mentality.

Science for the general publicOne of the pillars of valorisation is ‘communication about science’. Inès van Arkel (science communication consultant) says, “You can, for example, interest the media for your research, take part in popular science events or become active on social media.” The University can help you come up with the best communication strategy or write a press or news report. Van Arkel can help you find the right approach to attract the interest of the largest possible group in a study.

Windows and doors openOne humanities researcher who is very successful on social media is Erik Kwakkel (Book and Digital Media Studies). It isn’t just the large number of followers on his blog and Twitter account that shows there is a substantial audience for his posts on mediaeval books, it’s also the many young researchers who come to conferences. He even notices it at schools. Should other researchers also venture into the public eye

fgw•nu // nr3 • june 2015 | 5

Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, book number UBL_SCA_40, Photographer: Erik Kwakkel

93

researchers on Twitter

groups or individual researchers have blogs

24

On average 15 to 20 lectures and conferences

per month

with their findings? Definitely, thinks Kwakkel. “Why should you keep the windows and doors shut?” However, Kwakkel does add that sharing things online like this won’t appeal to every researcher. “Not everyone can or wants to, often due to the time that it takes. But if you do, it’s a good advertisement for the discipline.”

Enjoying sharingVan Arkel considers Kwakkel a good example for his fellow academics: “He reaches many people with his communication and brings science to life. It’s also nice that he uses lots of photos.” Kwakkel says he enjoys sharing things online. “And it doesn’t take me much time to tweet a photo. Why should I keep a beautiful text to myself?” Porck wrote a guest post for Kwakkel’s blog two years ago that has since been read 68,000 times. “Much more than any of my other scientific articles. A blog is of course different from a real article, but it’s definitely not worth any less.”

The official definition of valorisationKnowledge valorisation is the process of creating value from

knowledge by making knowledge suitable and available for

economic or social use and translating it into competitive products,

services, processes and new business. (Dutch government:

Interdepartementale Programmadirectie Kennis en Innovatie,

2009)

3Three questions about performance agreements

2. //

BUT ALL THE SAME: WHAT IS OUR ‘SCORE’ SO FAR?

“For many of the performance agreements, we as a Faculty are on track, given the scores for 2013-2014, our last provisional grade before the de-fi nitive score. We are on schedule for the University Teaching Qualifi ca-tion (BKO) certifi cates. As for participation in the honours programme, interest has greatly increased since the Humanities Lab was set up. We expect a further increase in 2015, and what’s more, the University as a whole looks likely to meet this agreement. A big point of concern is the success rate for the bachelor’s programmes. At 54% this is way below the agreed level and, furthermore, it has decreased rather than increased in recent years. Th e success rate in 2015 may be somewhat higher due to the recent introduction of the thesis seminar, but it is now clear that we will not achieve the expected 70%. You might have your doubts about the performance agreements as a tool, but I do think we have to seriously look into why we don’t appear to suffi ciently enable students to earn their degree within the nominal period plus one year. We will do our utmost in the coming months to fi nd out what has caused this deterioration in the success rate. We will then be able to take supplementary measures that, for example, make our programmes more feasible to study. Because however you look at it, we are trailing behind national developments. Our fellow humanities faculties have seen an increase in the success rate in their bachelor’s programmes.”

3. //

WHAT ARE THE PLANS AND DEVELOPMENTS?

“Th e Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) and the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences have both told the media that they want to do away with the performance agreements. It’s perfectly possible that there won’t be a new round, or at least not in this form. Th e current round of performance agreements is a pilot, which the national review committee for higher education, or the Van Vught Committee, is evaluating. Th e minister indicated at the end of April that the current round would be assessed in 2016 as planned, but she did place the emphasis on giving the institutions the opportunity to explain the facts behind the fi gures. It therefore will not be a purely numerical calculation, although universities might still see cuts in their funding. Th is does not mean that investments won’t be made in higher education. Funding has become available with the abolition of the student grant. Universities can come up with their own plans on how they would like to invest this, for example, in smaller groups or more contact hours. It’ll be linked to what are known as quality agreements. Th e exact form that this takes will only become clear in 2017, once the performance agreements have been evaluated. An indication of the direction that is being considered can be found in the new Strategic Agenda of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), which will be published in the autumn. Whatever happens, money will thus be available to invest in education. It is a good idea to start thinking strategically about what we as the Faculty of Humanities want to do to further increase our quality.”

1. //

ISN’T THE REMEDY WORSE THAN THE DISEASE?

“Many members of staff and students see the performance agreements as one of the mechanisms that turn universities into learning factories rather than educational institutions. Th ey think that the underlying goals as expressed in the Strategic Agenda of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) (“challenging education that gets the best out of students”) are completely overshadowed by the focus on quanti-tative agreements. Furthermore, they think that the target percentages should be no more than an indication of whether a university is on the right track. However, as the agreements are linked to part of the funding, the idea has arisen that universities will do whatever is needed to achieve the agreed percentages. Th e term ‘performance agreements’ doesn’t help either. When I had just begun as performance agreement coordinator I heard from two diff erent sources on the same day that this mainly conjures up associations with communist fi ve-year plans. Th is of course is not particularly motivating or stimulating. I therefore prefer to focus on the goal rather than on the means.”

fgw•nu

The performance agreements have been under discussion since they were

made in 2012. And thanks to the protests at the University of Amsterdam

the discussion has become more heated than ever. What is the current

status? What does the Faculty of Humanities think about the performance

agreements? And actually, how are we scoring? Three questions to Marian

Wilts, our performance agreements coordinator.

6

Want to respond?If you have a question or comment about the performance agreements or an idea about what might be the cause of the poor success rate in the bachelor’s programmes and what we can do about this, please

contact Marian Wilts. You can contact her at (071-527) 1620 or m.j.wilts@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

Dropout rate aft er 1 year

Switch aft er 1 year

4-year BA success rate

Participants in excellence

Propaedeuse contact hours

% BKO certifi cates

Number of support staff

≤

≤

≥

≥

=

≥

≤

17%

8%

70%

10%

100%

80%

18%

15%

7%

54%

6%

100%

74%

16%

20%

11%

61%

3%

60%

-%

17%

PERFORMANCE AGREEMENTS OF THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

Agreement 2015

Realisation 2014

Initial status2011

2008-200930%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014

LEI

RuG

UU

EUR

UM

UvA

VU

RU

TiU

Bachelor’s success rate in faculties of humanities

source: e-report 10 prestatieafspraken IM april 2015

3‘It’s different for those whose main source of income is their writing’

Who: Wim van Anrooij Post: Professor of medieval Dutch literature

In my student days I only received a bibliography, and it was then up to you to find the books and articles yourself. Today it is increasingly becoming the lecturer’s job to provide the secondary literature. That means that we now also deal with the question of copyright on Blackboard. Copyright in itself is a good thing and to put it simply, it’s the law, so I think it’s only logical that Stichting PRO checks this. However, in practice copyright often proves tricky when you are teaching. Sometimes you spend hours searching for literature, ordering it and making it available to students in a legal form. It’s not exactly easy. For people whose main source of income is writing, copyright is very important – I’m well aware of that – but it’s different for academics. I don’t need to earn a living from my articles. I have an income from the University. A distinction should really be made between people who have to earn a living from their publications and people who are already paid for their academic work.”

‘Copyright can greatly impede open education’

Who: Marja Verstelle Post: Programme Manager for MOOCs and online learning“Let me start by saying that I do understand that people who produce articles and images must be paid for their work. However, what I have noticed when organising MOOCs is that copyright protection can make it extremely difficult to develop open and online education, when open education is such a fabulous initiative that can reach people worldwide. For example, we often find it difficult to find suitable images for use in online courses. The best thing is if good quality material is shared under a creative commons licence, which provides good protection. If more universities started sharing their material like this, it would provide a real solution. I don’t blame Stichting PRO; they are only enforcing the law as it stands. But publishers and the publishing world need a wake-up call. Online education is taking off, so if publishers are clever they will come up with databanks and affordable subscriptions, where you can find suitable material à la iTunes for blended and online education. I think you should be able to share education.”

‘The enforcement must be transparent’

Who: Viktoria Kostadinova Post: PhD candidate in sociolinguistics

“I think it’s good that there’s an organisation that ensures that copyright isn’t infringed. If you don’t check for copyright infringement, that means that the law isn’t working. In Macedonia – where I come from – you have copyright just like in the Netherlands, but compliance with this law isn’t checked, so excessive and large-scale infringements of copyright can take place. I studied for five years at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje. Students there get their study materials by buying illegal copies of complete academic books in bookshops, which means that someone can unjustly earn money from someone else’s work. I think that if you consider copyright to be important, you must ensure that people comply with the law. However, Stichting PRO should make it clear how exactly they work: are they able to view confidential documents on Blackboard? And what happens with the money that is earned from the fines? It’s good that the law is upheld, but the way it’s done does need to be transparent.”

‘Money could be shared more fairly’

Who: Damiaan van Eeten Post: Copyright Information Desk

“I think it’s good that Stichting PRO is going to check what’s on Blackboard. Publishers currently have too little idea of what happens with their work. If this openness does come, the money could be shared more fairly and this would give a new impetus to academia. I do think that limitations must be set on what Stichting PRO can view. Alongside academic documents, there is also confidential material on Blackboard – about students, for instance. I also think the checks could be more efficient. Now they look afterwards to see which article or image hasn’t been paid for and can then fine the Faculty. Why don’t we reach an agreement for long extracts like the one that already exists for short ones? If the copyright for long extracts is bought for a fixed sum every few years, labour-intensive checks after the event are no longer necessary.”

Stichting PRO, the foundation for the collective administration of copyright in the Netherlands, will soon arrive on the

doorstep to check that academic publications on Blackboard meet copyright regulations. If long extracts prove to be on the

web when they shouldn’t be, the institutes risk high fines. What do fgw.nu readers think of this?

The letter of the law:

copyright

fgw•nu // nr3 • june 2015 | 7

If you want to know what you are allowed to post on Blackboard, please contact the Copyright

Information Desk, tel.: (071 527) 2871.

ColumnThe right to be heardWhat would you do if a colleague asked if you were interested in employee consultation and if so, if you would like to stand for election to the Faculty Council? You would probably grab the dictionary to fi nd out what exactly employee consultation was.

consultation noun: the action or process of formally consulting or discussing.Good to formally consult or discuss things, but what exactly does consult mean? consult verb: seek information or advice from (someone, especially an expert or professional). Have discussions with (someone), typically before undertaking a course of action. Sounds good too, always nice to be asked for your opinion.

What does the Humanities website have to say? ‘Th e Faculty Council is a consultation body of the Faculty of Humanities that represents the interests of staff and students. Th e Council has approval right on some points in meetings with the Faculty Board, but mainly functions as an advisory body.’ I even read something about playing tennis with the Board. Sounds fun.

Pain I had heard the term ‘Faculty Council’ before, and I sometimes saw articles about consultation in the newsletters. I usually skipped those articles. Until a few weeks ago, I didn’t have much idea of what it entailed or that I as a PhD candidate could be part of it. Th is was despite the papers being full of articles about the occupation of the Maagdenhuis in Amsterdam and is was paining me to read reports about the precarious position of the ‘small’ languages.

A good thingHaving a say, a transparent administration, knowing what is going on and what motivates the various interests: these are things I have always considered to be good and necessary – without realising that I too could play a role in my own Faculty. For me it’s not just about the opportunity to represent my opinions or those of close colleagues or other PhD candidates in the Faculty. I’m also really intrigued about what exactly goes on behind the scenes. What does running such a faculty involve?

Encouraging wordsAs a PhD candidate I’ll primarily monitor decisions that are relevant to PhD candidates, and as a linguist at the LUCL I’ll be concerned with decisions that are relevant to our department. But it’ll also be interesting to learn more about the other departments and the Faculty as a whole. So, spurred on by the encouraging words of my colleague Gareth – ‘Just go for it. It’s fun!’ – I put my name forward.

The personal opinion of a humanities researcherThis time: LUCL PhD candidate Saskia Lensink //

fgw•nu

From 26 June to 4 October the Meelfabriek in Leiden will be the setting of the Global Imaginations international exhibition of contemporary art. The exhibition is part of Leiden University’s Lustrum celebrations. ‘Our’ Kitty Zijlmans, Professor of Contemporary Art History at the LUCAS, is on the team of curators. One of her favourite works is the installation

Paper Boats by Simryn Gill (1959, Singapore). Paper boats fashioned from pages torn from the Encyclopaedia Britannica lie strewn on and around a table. Gill alludes here to the historical connection between colonial expeditions, knowledge and power. Visitors are invited to fold their own paper boat from the pages that lie ready on the table, whilst

considering what knowledge is represented here and what it means to fold it into paper boats.Photo credits: Simryn Gill, Paper Boats, 2008, Encyclopaedia Britannica (1968 edition), variable sizes. Simryn Gill exhibition: Gathering, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 2010. Photography: John Brash.

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PROGRAMMELustrum Programme: 440 years of Leiden University23 June Encounters between Art and Science with Bas Haring

and Colin Benders

19.30, Paard van Troje, The Hague

25 June Humanity in Action conference: ‘Gateway to Justice:

The Hague’ (until 28 June)

Leiden University College, The Hague

25 June University Sports Challenge

13.00, University Sports Centre grounds, Leiden

26 June Lustrum Party

17.00, Reception and Dinner, Faculty Club, Leiden

20.00, Pieterskerk, Leiden

27 June Global Imaginations exhibition (until 4 October)

De Meelfabriek, Leiden

19 Sept Alumni Day

(Time and location to be announced)

19 sept Night of Art and Knowledge

City centre Leiden

Information about the Lustrum programme can be found at lustrum.leidenuniv.nl

One image, a thousand words