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To be given a platform to share my thoughts was a blessing. The actual writing process was far from it. Here is my last column for the Observant!
Many thanks to those that bothered to read my columns, especially to those that took the time to talk to me about them after reading. A very special thanks to Marieke for being my muse and Wendy for being a wonderful editor at The Observant. I’m signing off!
Don’t get me wrong, online teaching was great, but to be able to teach an offline class at the faculty with real, breathing students was a blessing. I had almost forgotten how exhilierating it is to discuss stuff with students without the help of Zoom. Snapshots from my course on Happiness, Positive Psychology, and Conflict Resolution today (courtersy of Inke).
We have the wonderful Gonny Willems, the managing director of Maastricht Working on Europe, lined up for our next Growing Up in Science event hosted by the Maastricht Young Academy! The event will take place on 3 June 2021 from 4-5pm (with yours truly moderating the event) and you can register for the event here! Come one, come all!
Put this in the category of doing interesting things with amazing people!! Our project invites people to think about and question the distinction made between migrants and expats. The term ‘expat’ is entangled with assumptions of privilege and class, whereas the label ‘migrant’ somehow connotes something lesser, even though both groups consist of people who moved away from their country of origin.
For this project, 20 foreign workers will be selected to be included in a virtual and physical photo exhibit. The exhibit will showcase how individuals who self-identify as migrants and/or expats may not look so different. Additionally, an expert panel will discuss the theme of migrant identity in Maastricht and beyond. During the panel, several topics will be addressed, such as: 1) whether the expat/migrant distinction is justified; 2) whether rooting out this distinction will have any meaningful impact on the acceptance of the migrant community as a whole; and 3) the role of academics and universities in this regard.
The aim of this project is to foster a dialogue on this important issue and to contribute to the inclusion and protection of the migrant community in Maastricht. The long-term impact of this project is the tearing down of obstacles that contribute to the perpetuation of this, potentially arbitrary, socioeconomic segregation. Finally, the photos can be continually used as a learning tool at Maastricht University.
The project is implemented by a diverse team representing five UM faculties in cooperation with Tetsuro Photography and the Expat Centre Maastricht Region. Many thanks to the UM Diversity and Includivity Office for giving us the grant to carry out this project!
If you are interested in being considered as one of the models for the project, please apply here!!
Our faculty is offering free lectures in our garden as we welcome back students into our facilities. There are bunch of interesting ones like Marieke’s “Are parents allowed to (lightly) spank their children? When different legal systems provide different answers.” I’m doing one on “Happiness, Positive Psychology & Conflict Resolution.” Lots of other fun talks by my friends and colleagues so come one, come all by registering here!
I love the website McSweeny’s and their extremely dry humor. One of my recent favorites was their hilarious dig at online education from 2020. While some of the tragically funny things wrong with online education listed in the article resonated with me (e.g. “extent to which instructor raged against the dying of the light”), online education has gone surprisingly well. Like every other teacher, I dreaded (if not hated) the idea at first and indeed I did miss a lot of the banter and personal interactions with the students during our Zoom classes. But with ample flexibility, wonderful teachers working together, and their willingness to put in the time and effort, online education - I’ve discovered - can be a wonderful thing! For the skeptics and the jaded cynics (I see you out there), see the feedback from our International Business Law students from last semester. Shout out to Megan, Emilie, and Grzegorz, my wonderful tutors, who made it all possible.
I had the chance to teach at a Dutch high school (Bernardinuscollege) in Heerlen. It was a great opportunity to engage with a younger audience on some of my favorite topics. There is something quite different about teaching in a high school relative to teaching at a uni. Not quite sure what it is, but I was a bit more nervous than usual.
I hate running. Haven't ran in at least a year. But today, I ran to the border of Belgium and back to raise awareness for #academicmentalhealth (just to be clear, I still really hate running). 🏃
Doing a webinar hosted by the student organization, InternAction, on the real cost of fast-fashion and modern slavery in the textile industry. I focus on my favorite topic: the role of corporations in the global supply chain.
