Word from the LUCSoR Chair
Welcome to 2024! I hope this message finds you doing well and reenergised following the holiday season. With that said, I can imagine that many of us are not quite ready to be back in the classroom (either as a student or a lecturer)! The good news is that we have plenty of activities to jump start your semester and here are a couple I want to point out.
Coming this Thursday, 8 February starting at 16:30 at Café de Keyzer, we’ll be having a borrel to celebrate the start of the Spring semester. Your first drink and the borrel snacks are on us, so no reason not to join!
On Thursday, 29 February, I also want to invite you to join me for a film evening starting at 17:30. We’ll be watching Silence, the 2016 film directed by Martin Scorsese. While the film focuses on the encounter of Catholicism and Japanese Religions in 17th century Japan, its complex moral dilemmas and themes related to imperialism, representation, and material religion make its content intriguing for any student of religion. I’ll set the scene that evening by providing an introduction to the film and we’ll also reserve time for a post-film discussion. All are welcome!
Finally, two points of information worth pointing out. First, the MA Open Day is on Friday, 16 February. For those of you interested in our MA Religious Studies programme, there is an information session that day starting at 13:15. You can register your participation in this and other sessions here.
Secondly, the 2024 National Student Survey (NSE) is open until 10 March. This survey allows students the opportunity to provide crucial feedback on the academic programme, lecturers, the study atmosphere, etc. We very much appreciate your participation in the survey, as it gives us insight into your experience and is an important tool for improving the programme. An added bonus is that if the response rate is high enough, it makes us eligible to be considered for the “Topopleiding” award! So please help us by filling out the survey and making this possible.
That’s all for now. Welcome back on campus and hope to see you very soon!
Best,
Dr. Corey L. Williams
Chair of Religious Studies Programmes
Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion (LUCSoR)