Jessie Hendriks

is a Dutch girl at the age of 21 who is currently a student at Erasmus University College majoring in Cultural Analysis. After EUC, she will do the master English Literature in Leiden. This is no surprise, since next to EUC, she doubted to study Literature in Amsterdam as a bachelor as well or Creative Writing at Artez in Arnhem. This is because she has a passion for language and how it can create the most beautiful stories, poems and images in someone's head. Telling stories and hearing them is one of the things she loves most. She has been writing books, poems and sometimes songs since the age of 11. She is a music lover too, plays the harpe and loves singing.

She is very excited for this minor as it gives her an opportunity to use her creative side too for her studies and she is looking forward to meeting all of the others and working together as a team!

Esmee Tanis

I am a 22-year-old Dutch Econometrics student. Before this bachelor I shortly studied Nanobiology at the TU Delft, as it combined a lot of sciences of my interest. The academic environment at the TU and the fundamental research orientation (including lab work) of the bachelor however, did not suite me. As I had always liked mathematics and thought that I would enjoy the more entrepreneurial, business-oriented environment at the EUR, I continued my studies with the bachelor Econometrics. After my first year at the EUR, I felt the urge to meet people from different disciplines, develop myself outside of my studies and invest in my interest in sustainability. I did a board year at the Erasmus Sustainability Hub, where I really enjoyed the hands on, learning by doing, way of working, as well as shared motivation to contribute to social challenges together with an interdisciplinary group of young ambitious people. After a lot of involvement in the field of sustainability, I wanted to learn about other social challenges and experience a different environment. I joined the ErasmusX team as a student assistant and now work on education innovation projects.

I am naturally curious, open-minded and eager to learn. Lately I have started spending a lot more time on spirituality and meditation, and also gained more interest in dance and movement. Next to that, I started working in my new garden during corona, and refound my passion for cooking and reading.

I hope that working on social challenges by re-imagining them through the arts and sciences can bring me new insights and perspectives beyond what I would currently be able to realize and perceive by learning from everyone involved in the minor and the various types of knowledge and ideas shared. This would be of much value as my aim is to continue to work on co-creating solutions to solve social challenges. For me, the artistic and cultural aspect of the minor is new but exciting and something I would love to become more involved with. Having a very technical and analytical background, I am curious to explore my own creativity.

Francesca Giunta

I am a Willem de Kooning student, majoring in Audio-visual design. This being my second bachelor course, I am a bit older than the average art student (I am in fact almost 28 years old). I took my first bachelor degree in Italy at the Fine Arts Academy of Catania in 2015 and after a while I have decided to change my career from Fine Arts (painting, mostly) to film-making as I felt that the two dimension of a canvas were not enough for my creative ambitions.

Indeed I have been craving for interdisciplinarity for a while now and this is especially because of my background and education prior to Art school. My father is a composer, pianist and orchestra director and my mum studied "conservation of cultural heritage" at the university, so all my life has been filled with music and visual arts since a young age. Furthermore, I had the opportunity fall in love with philosophy, history and literature during my high school years as I specialized in classical studies. I try to combine all of these disciplines and approaches in my work, while recognizing my gaps of knowledge and lack of tools. That is why I value and seek for the collaboration with people form different backgrounds where I can put my own skills at service of a more extensive and complex project and greater goals.

Lately I am more and more concerned with some societal issues around the condition of women in today's world, but also minorities and LGBTQ+ communities, and I wonder what I can do as a film-maker and designer to really make a difference and speak up in a critical and thorough way.

Check my work at: https://fragiunta92.wixsite.com/ilmiosito

Süeda Işık

I'm a 23-years old history student within the focus area of Social History at Erasmus University Rotterdam. I have studied Journalism and decided to make the switch to History to broaden my knowledge about how the past shaped present-day societies and issues. I'm currently researching the link between the (former) Ottoman Empire and Schiedam, in the 17th century and now, for Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. I work as a freelance journalist for several media including VICE/NOISEY and my passion is to translate academic information into 'cool' and accessible texts, with a pinch of activism.

I am an activist fighting against racism and for the rights of coloured communities facing social challenges. I would love to learn from people with an artistic view because my academic background doesn't leave much space for that! 

I am looking forward to meeting y'all!!!

Helena Łomnicka

I was raised in Warsaw and moved to Rotterdam two years ago to start my studies at EUC. I'm majoring in Cultural Analysis, working mostly with philosophy and art theory. I feel comfortable with written text and, thus, I contribute to different visual projects with my writings. Recently I've been involved in an upcoming zine, made in collaboration between Warsaw and Amsterdam, on the topic of ecosexuality for which I've written a short piece, as well as worked with my boyfriend during the lockdown on a publication exploring the themes of magic and spirituality in the light of the unfolding pandemic. As I'm practising Tarot (if you would ever like to come for readings, just let me know!) magic and spirituality are important areas in my everyday life, but I'm also interested in exploring them from a theoretical angle.

Also, I'm strongly engaged in the current political battle in Poland. Most of the concerns that constantly reemerge in Poland are connected to cemented institutions and systems of power. A society drunk with omnipresent catholicism letting the Church cover decades of child rape and still be favoured by the state generously. The domination of heterosexual patriarchy over the discourse and legislature resulting in lack of security for women and the LGBTQIA+ community. Or, lastly, a never-ending, paranoic anti-communist crusade that legitimises a hardcore edition of capitalism that makes Poland least egalitarian in the EU.

I'm very excited about the minor as I hope it will give me an opportunity to bring all of the theory into practice and do something more active, engaged and hands-on than what the academia is used to. Hence, I would like to start using the knowledge I’ve gained and, through help from people having experience with other disciplines, embodying it into forms, which can be more accessible, open and beneficial than an alienated, individual, intellectual work that I’m used to.

Leonie Schmitt-Siegel

I am one of the many German Psychology students here in Rotterdam. Before coming to the Netherlands, I took a gap year after school. During this year I went travelling for a few months and then volunteered at a workspace for disabled people for half a year.
In my free time I enjoy hanging out with my friends, doing yoga and meditation, trying to play the ukulele, reading, sitting on my balcony while listening to music, but also partying to techno music (which is unfortunately a bit difficult these days).
I am very excited to do this minor with you guys since I love the mixture of the several disciplines and I think that I will benefit a lot from it. Since I am coming from a very scientific background, I am super interested how people from an artistic background will approach the same problem.

For me it is important to meet in person throughout the minor since I think this is the best way to properly work in a team on the same project. Looking forward to meet you in person :)
p.s. that's my favourite video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlBskd3IaNw

Gabija Bubnytė

I am 21 years old and a RASL student, combining graphic design at
WdKA with international relations and politics at EUC. Originally I am Lithuanian (and feel very connected to this place and its issues) but I also have lived a big chunk of my life in Luxembourg.

My main goal (and struggle) throughout my studies was finding a way how I can combine these two fields. Right now I am comfortable in
seeing myself as a bridge/mediator between the disciplines; and being capable of understanding and translating research into more approachable and engaging mediums. I am still, however, learning how to navigate interdisciplinary studies and I believe this minor is the perfect opportunity to explore.

I have a big interest in critical philosophy, trying to take as many courses in it as my EUC major allows. One issue that I am concerned by is the question of inclusion, especially at the intersection of race, gender and sexuality (though that's quite broad so I still am very open!). During this minor, I hope to take the time to re-discover these topics from perspectives that are new to me and then apply it beyond the academic walls. I also wish we could meet in person because I find it important to immerse yourself in such a project.

All in all, I am eager to meet you and excited to finally work on a
project that is suited towards my interests and my own
interdisciplinary studies!

here is some work of mine (limited mainly to design): www.bubnyte.com

Matti Hitzerd

I am an Aerospace Engineering student at the TU Delft. I basically learn how to design aircraft, rockets or satellites and things like that. For my study I use a lot of math and physics and not that much art. However, I have always had a passion for the arts, I like to draw or take photos in my free time and I took fine arts in high school.
Due to the fact that my study is very technical, I have been missing being more creative and that is the reason I applied for this minor. I hope to find a way to implement the arts in my working field and I wish to get better at making graphical designs or taking photos.

Next to styding, I spend my time rowing, meeting with freinds and this summer I organised a live stream with DJ's on an Airbase, for which I made a logo, posters and other designs.

I am interested in looking into climate change in this minor, because I am used to thinking of technological innovations to solve this problem, but I would love to hear what solution you would think about.
Even tough I am interested in this, I am also very open to work on other sociological problems, like loneliness of the elderly or anything else really.

I am just really looking forward to meeting you all and to start working together, which I hope we can do in real life to get the most out of this! :)

Francesco Jen

I am 23, from Taiwan. I just finished my 6 months internship in Antwerpen, Belgie. I have lived in the Netherlands since 6 years ago. I went to international high school in Rotterdam. In order to understand people around my daily life, I think communication and interaction are very important to live in the Netherlands. Learning Dutch is not only a tool to communicate with people but also is a sort of cultural appreciation so I decided to learn Dutch for the daily conversation. I practice Dutch via youtube channel and books. I can understand better when people are having a conversation. I’m studying fashion design at Willem de Kooning Academy. The reason I like about fashion is because fashion can be a tool to express your ideas to the public. As we can see, fashion is all over the place now, which generates wastes. And I am focusing on the environmental issue and the functionality of fashion, and trying to reduce the use of material as much as possible. I like the concept of “ZREO WASTE’’ and “ Minimalism”. Then I tried to combined many used garments to create new looks without wasting materials. I did the army service for 6 months in Taiwan two years ago, and I realised the importance of collaboration as a team, and I would definitely apply the spirit in to this team work project.

I love traveling around the world. I dare to experience different cultures and food, it does not matter if it is a good or bad experience. To get inspired by different people and ideas that is the way how I create my future fashion brand. I am glad that I have this opportunity to work on a project with people from different fields. And hope you can learn from me as well!

Konrad Kruse

I am 22 year old student from Germany, currently studying psychology and philosophy at EUR. I started out with psychology but have now become more invested in philosophy, because it seems to offer a more general and less rigid method of attempting to understand people, society or other systems. One main issue I have with my psychology studies is the very empirical approach present in modern psychology as well as a lack of attention to society and culture as the things that make up or create our identity and mental "problems". This is also why the interdisciplinary approach of this minor appealed to me.

The things I am mainly concerned with at the moment are ecology and capitalism. My current struggle with this is the overwhelming gap between utopian ideas and what can be done in our current reality. This, again, is something that I hope to gain more clarity on over the course of this minor.

In my free time I make a bit of music, cook or just chill with friends.

Betsie Loeffen

I am a 21-years old Industrial Design Engineering student at the TU Delft. The study really suits me because I like the challenge of social-cultural issues and coming up with solutions. During a minor last year I lived in Nigeria for three months to conduct a project concerning nomadic farmers. I then intensely collaborated with two students from other disciplines at the TU Delft. Besides the project being very educational and exciting as to experience working in such a different culture, it gave me insight in what skills I possess as a designer and what my insights from my bachelor can add to an interdisciplinary team. I expect working together with people with a more social or artistic background, will again be an exciting and valuable experience.

Especially because I am following the education of becoming a designer, I believe it is highly important to work in interdisciplinary teams. Designing is a very personal process; what do I stand for and what do I want to contribute to the world? TU Delft has quite a specific method and view on design. Through working in interdisciplinary teams I can experience other perspectives and create my own style even more.

Besides studying, I like to be active physically through doing sports such as rowing/cycling/running/yoga, which also gives me discipline and self-confidence. In my second study year I organised a music festival from the study association (see https://iofestival.com//2019/).

Next to this RASL minor I will be following philosophy courses this year, since it got my interest and I believe it will add great value to my vision and skills as a designer. I am looking forward to start the project and meet you!

Lydia Stavraki

I was born and raised in Greece. While growing up, I shared my time between school environmental projects, theatre and music. In 2013 after a series of coincidences I moved to The Netherlands to study Psychology. While studying I was active making music, working and being part of different projects (e.g Music in the ICU, TU Delft). In 2017, captured by the buzzing sounds and the vibrant atmosphere of the city I loved to Rotterdam and later applied to the Latin Department of Codarts. What makes me passionate next to music, is poetry, human rights, sustainability, cultural diversity and visual storytelling.

Working with people from different fields is very similar to making music with people from different corners of the world/ different genres. And science can be as creative as music. Observation, introspection, curiosity and critical thinking are common pathways that are intertwined between Science and the Arts. I am very interested in this type of fusion and what I seek from this minor is exploration without borders and community.

:)
https://soundcloud.com/lydialstavraki/tarde-em-itapua

Filippo Deorsola
I am an Italian pianist, currently studying Jazz performance at CODARTS, going into my fourth
year. From a purely musical perspective, I am interested in free improvisation--especially in small formations, where authentic interplay is more directly at reach-- as well as in the idea of form and how it can be shaped by musical qualities other than harmony, melody and rhythmic structure, or at least not in their traditional conception. I have also been been experimenting with electronics. What interest me in particular is how acoustic sounds can be altered or organised electronically. What is the sonic potential that can be extracted from a Pan ? A church bell ? A casserole lid ? For a general idea of what i do :
https://soundcloud.com/filippo-deorsola/2846-tin-pan-alley (electronic composition for digitally altered voice, pans, lids and piano)
https://soundcloud.com/filippo-deorsola/grundbegriff-system-phase-2 (trio free improvisation)
https://soundcloud.com/filippo-deorsola/in-contro-leonedeorsola ( duo free improvisation)

These interests made me connect with other types of art forms and those experiences aroused in me an awareness of the synergic qualities of the Arts and I started researching the idea of Gesamkunstwerk, finding its quasi-‘totalitarian’ nature of fascinating. I grew curious of the relations between ideological and artistic structures and started researching them through theoretical and practical means. This for me is the point where the RASL minor really comes into play. The different theoretical and practical experiences of each of those disciplines can work in unity to create something that englobes many deep, precise understandings of specific concepts. At the same time, each individuals can inform and support their personal research when they confront each other on an intellectual and practical level. There is a loop of information being transferred from the Arts to the Sciences and this information can be activated by each individual to use in a personal or communal setting, be it practical of theoretical.

Different disciplines have different ways of relating themselves to reality, on its many levels and its many components (Science,Philosophy,History etc..) to space as such ( for example Dancing and Theatre, Physics), to language and sensory outputs ( Cinema, Music, Writing, Figurative art, Architecture etc…). Because each of those mediums are, in some tangible way fundamentally incomplete in their perception, they can be organised together and channelled into structures which, though they are nevertheless still ‘incomplete’, are undoubtedly more apt to define their relation to reality and its relation to us as Subjects and as societies. But this incompleteness is exactly the gap between reality and representation: This is where the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk really takes full shape for me, in its paradoxical nature. Insofar as more disciplines are grouped together into ‘Total Art’, the work becomes more precise, more ‘close’ to reality in how it englobes complex systems, whilst alienating itself from reality, growing more and more deformed. The contingency of reality can never be fully squeezed into organisation, however refined it may be. I find this obscene nature of Gesamkunstwerk— almost obverse, and adverse, side of reality—to be deeply beautiful because it holds a truth about us as human beings. It is always in gross excess but always-also severely lacking. Simultaneously ‘too much’ and ‘not enough’ in how it relates to itself and to the outside and thus perfect, as it can almost exactly portray our condition as Subjects and how we exist.

Sam Wullems
Nice to meet you all!
I am more than excited to start working with everyone from all these different disciplines!
And even more so to see what we create together :)

Nadja Pudar

I am a History student from Erasmus University. My personal favourite era is the 16th century because I think it’s super super dramatic, but I also love religious and Romanov Dynasty history. I felt that studying History at university made the most sense, as it combines so many different fields – politics, economics, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, etc. – all into one. Aside from that, I have always had a very keen interest in drama. In Doha, I was employed as an actor in Qatar National Theatre for 2 years, whereupon I played leading roles in numerous productions including Polly Teale’s Bronte, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good, alongside classics including Shakespeare, Brecht and Sophocles.

I was born in London and have British nationality however I am originally from Bosnia, although I lived in the Middle East for most of my life. Having two parents who lived through the Yugoslav war meant that politics was always a topic at home, and I’m grateful for the exposure I had to the political world from an early age. Living in the Gulf for 10 years was a very weird, almost fever-dream like experience, and I like to think that it was character building. Regardless, it gave me the opportunity to interact with people from quite literally all over the world, and the chance to travel across all of Asia with far more ease. I love jazz, funk, breakbeats and psychedelic rock. I have a very large shell collection and my dream has always been to be posted as a KGB agent in Cuba.

I look forward to meeting you and working together!

Egle Duobaite

I'm 22 years old, studying Arts and Culture at EUR. I lived in Lithuania until I was 12, then moved to Norway and after finishing high school there, decided it was time for me to move away again. Rotterdam so far has been a fabulous experience and the city, the nightlife and the beautiful people I've met have been inspiring me ever since.
What I'm really interested in is - sociology, looking at things from the sociological perspective, defamiliarising the familiar and questioning the things we find natural or normal. How much of our actions are actually affected by the structure? How much agency do we really have? I did my internship in The Performance Bar and what fascinates me about that place is how much they question whats "normal", and how they combine contemporary art with partying. Other than that I've been thinking about a lot of random stuff lately like dreams, the placebo effect, death, when will corona go away.
All societal issues touch everyone in different ways, and as much as i'm involved in LGBTQ+ rights and women's rights, The BLM movement and climate change have been the main areas of concern for me lately and have been occupying my mind the most these past months. I would also love to do something in helping to educate people about consent and boundaries someday.

I think this minor will be a great and cozy experience and I'm looking forward in collaborating with everyone :)

Laila Fantozzi,

Hi there, I'm Laila a 21 year old audiovisual design student at the Willem de Kooning. I grew up in France before moving back to the Netherlands for my studies 4 years ago. My mum is Dutch and my dad is French, I grew up bilingual while learning about both cultures at home and at school. I always felt kind of different, not quite French nor quite Dutch I was always in the middle. I have always loved watching movies and wad always fascinated with the behind the scenes and the process of film making. I never thought I would do those studies or be part of it before I found out about WDKA. I finished my internship at Make Way Film, as a production assistant. I loved my internship and learnt a lot about production and the misconceptions people might have about it. What I really loved about the company though was the fact that they want to focus on making fantasy, horror and sci-fi movies which is pretty rare in the Netherlands and especially here in Rotterdam. I am just very glad that I can be part of the whole process and the development of projects.

Nathan
I study sociology at EUR and I am also enrolled in the double-degree philosophy program there. I have been interested in social systems for as long as I can remember. I guess that stems from my ethnically mixed background. With one set of grandparents being refugees from the turmoil of the Indonesian decolonization process and with the other set of grandparents having lived through WWII in the Netherlands, ethnocentrism and the systemic exploitation of people have always been curiosities to me.

These interests of mine have also been reflected in my tastes. As a child I was a big fan of a television series of socio-political allegories called Star Trek and I have been listening to Rage Against the Machine since my early teens - for example. So from the perspective of a proto wannabe social scientist the boundaries between the social, the cultural and the political have always seemed fuzzy to me. Which is why I chose to take part in the RASL minor, because I have the impression that it is that fuzziness that we will be exploring in this program.

Hi guys,

My name is Andrés de la Cruz, I am a third year psychology student at Erasmus University. I have a deep passion for ‘learning’. Therefore, I consider myself a life-long learner. Which means that I will never stop being curious, and I am always open for new insights, opinions, ideas, etc. This is probably the biggest reason for choosing the RASL Minor.

In my free time I like to spend time on other things that I’m passionate about, such as expanding my skills as a pianist, exploring new cuisines (currently exploring the Japanese cuisine), writing about self-actualization and mental health, and many more.

I don’t know if I can call this a passion - I just don’t know how else to call it - but I am currently researching how to fight stigmatization, stereotyping and polarization. I know, it sounds quite abstract. Hit me up if you want to know more about this, because it’s quite a lot…

For me, it is important to know about these stereotypes and stigmas. It would be wonderful to educate people about these things and how to become aware of them and change them. Eventually, minimizing polarization and getting rid these negative and stereotypical beliefs.

So, yeah, I think that apart from learning, researching and fighting social stereotypes is my biggest passion. If not my life mission. Because I am not the only one experiencing this. I am not the only one that feels, or has felt these the effect of these things.

Tyra Been

I am a 21 year old student at EUR starting my third year at the Arts and Culture program. I am from Norway, but do not have a close connection to my home country as I lived in Asia for 10 years from the age of 6 to 16. So, I feel a close cultural connection to Singapore and India. Having moved around so much, I have gained a passion for travelling and exploring new places and cultures, and I aim to spend some time travelling after finishing my bachelor’s degree. I have always really enjoyed the arts and I like to spend time drawing during my free time; however, I chose to follow a more academic/scientific path in my studies. I am looking forward to getting more insight from other disciplines and working with everyone.

The climate crisis is something that has become a growing interest/concern of mine the past few years, and unfortunately it feels like this ecological devastation is becoming increasingly worse. Therefore, this is something I wish to look further into in this minor, as well as the part our capitalist system plays in the fight for climate change.

In my free time I enjoy spending time with my friends, finding a creative outlet, taking care of my many plants, etc.

Zarah Cranko

Hi ! I'm Zarah
here's a picture of me at 12 years old
it says pretty much all you need to know about me
(I'm cool, I like cats and I'm creative)
also, I grew up mostly in South Africa, I major in Cultural Analysis at EUC and I'm into movies and books.
As I was uploading this picture I accidentally made it the background of the whole Hotglue page. Always learning ;)
Looking forward to working with you and excited for the minor !

Other likes:
poetry
singing
being a badass
meeting new people
coffee

Hiiii, my name is Ana :) I am 20 years old, and half Dutch, half American. I grew up in Amsterdam and lived there until I was 18, but also traveled to New York City every year (as my mom is from there). Growing up with two different cultures and being raised bilingually, I never felt that I could identify fully with either American or Dutch culture. I am a humanities major and psychology minor. Over the last 2 years EUC has taught me to think critically (very much so) and to be as open minded as possible.

Furthermore, my whole life I have had a strong passion for music. I love to sing and play the piano!
Lastly, some random facts about myself: I love earrings, I love hugs, I wear contacts, I LOVE (and need) coffee, I currently want new sneakers (let’s try to buy them second hand, but struggling), one my favorite singers/artists is Patrick Watson, I am interested in many different social issues, including the climate crisis and my own relationship to nature, intersectional feminism, decolonizing the classroom, fast fashion and many more. Finally I am very excited about this minor and can’t wait to get to you all :))

Julia Hovenier

I’m a 20 year old Cultural Analysis Major at Erasmus University College. I’m originally from the United States (I’ve spent a lot of time in Seattle and D.C), but I grew up in a diplomatic family so I’ve lived in Athens Greece, Lima Peru, and Berlin Germany.

I’ve been involved in “leftist” politics since I was 15, starting with socialist reading groups in Berlin and marching with old german communists on Erste Mai, and as a natural progression of such, I’m now currently involved in establishing an International chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. When I’m not on my soapbox, I’m a big fan of making zines, gardening (I have a plot in a community garden here) and cooking. I’m a big fan of the genre of magical realism and draw a lot in inspiration from novels like Beauty is a Wound and The Old Drift in the way I conceptualize history and position myself in the present.

My primary area of focus is typically climate politics, but particularly the way other movements have to potential to intersect with the climate movement. For example the prison ecology movement in the US that argues a punitive justice system ultimately leads to more environmental destruction. I’m also especially interested in Labour history, and viewing its interactions with climate movements in the future. All in all I'm very excited to get to know you all and the new futures were imagining together :^)

Loïs Kooij

Hello! I'm 21 and a third year student at the Erasmus University College. I'm double-majoring in Political Philosophy & Critical Theory and Cultural analysis. I'm most interested in Laclau's theories on populism and anything related to critical theory!

I grew up in a small mountain village in Switzerland and came to Holland for my bachelor and will probably stay here to continue my studies. In my free time I love learning about food and cooking! Things that include some form of fermentation are the most fascinating. In addition that I keep a lot of plants and am getting into fishkeeping. I enjoy watching things grow and change, something that is sometimes rare to observe in a city. In accordance, I love learning about ways to use food waste to grow/make new food (like making apple cider vinegar from apple peels and growing mushrooms from coffee waste.

I look forward to learning from all of you! :)

Alexandra Kyproglou

I am 21 years old, studying Arts and Culture at Erasmus. I come from Greece, but was born in New York and raised in Switzerland. Growing up, I have always been immensely interested in the Arts, especially music and theatre. I performed in various plays and musicals prior to moving to Rotterdam, but now resort to playing my Ukulele as a musical outlet for my expression! I’m also very interested in design and fashion, and learned how to sew and crochet from a young age.

In my senior year of high school, I discovered my love for Economics, which really guided my choice to study IBACS as I could merge my two interests. I study IBACS because it offers a wide array of classes which allow me to explore creative industries and different disciplines. The Philosophy and Sociology courses provided quite eye-opening perspectives, which is why I’m very excited to engage in more interdisciplinary work.

India Lucesoli-Labelle

Hi, I am a 20-year-old International Relations and Political Science Student at Erasmus University College! I am Canadian, Argentinian and French, as well as French-Canadian (it sounds confusing but I swear its different). It may sound confusing but through my study, I have discovered that while I adore politics and international relations I would like my contribution to the field to be both non-academic and non-political, and I have recently started pondering how I can incorporate my love for these subjects outside of their respective fields. Since I was a child I have always loved stories, I was lucky enough that my parents' own story of how they met was so incredible and inspiring that I have fostered within myself a love for literature, history and philosophy. Strange as it may sound what fascinates me about the world about politics and post-colonial theory about any academic discipline or any idea or piece of art is the story behind it. Who created these narratives what do they show and what do they hide? I have always been passionate about language and literature and recently I have rediscovered my love for painting and dancing. I hope that through this minor I can find ways to develop interdisciplinary projects and passions.

Bonnie Giesen

studies at Erasmus University College. During high school in her home town Utrecht, she always believed that she would go to the art academy, to do either product design or lifestyle transformation design, however, in some way, she ended up on EUC. Currently she is majoring in Political Science and International Relations, and she is very happy with EUC, although she sometimes misses blending her creativity and knowledge into a final product, which is not an academic paper. But she has no clue what to do after graduating. Maybe still the art academy? Or a year full of “snuffelstages” (as we call them in Dutch: short internships)? We’ll see.

She is very excited to meet all of you, and to start working on this minor as she believes that everything she has learned over the past years may come together in the coming months.
PS: I am hoping to meet you all in person, as I believe this is really necessary to get to know you and set up a wonderful project!!

Emmie van Stijn

My name is Emmie van Stijn and I am a fourth year student at Codarts University. I study jazz vocals, but I also sing pieces from different genres like pop or soul music. I am 24 years old and I live in Rotterdam since May 2020.
When I graduated high school, I studied pedagogy for two years. I really liked the study, but I always wanted to study music (very cliche I know).

I am writing my thesis about collaborative musical workforms for refugee children and youngsters and the contribution to their feeling of empowerment and connection. This interest evolved from my involvement in several projects like Music Generations. This is a choir project involving youngsters and people from 50 years old with different nationalities. We have collaborated with rappers, singers and beatboxers from Syria, Eritrea, Russia, Indonesia and many more.

Topics I am the most concerned about:
- Capitalism > the need to have a perfect life and consuming
- Refugee crisis > how can we help these people
- Ecology > food waste, plastic waste

I am looking forward to meeting you an working together :)

For some of my music (bottom left corner):
https://emmievanstijn.hotglue.me/