Mini-courses

The Winter Academy is also offering longer courses from alumni. Three of these work on building skills: in data science, in written expression, and in activism. The fourth gives students a legal perspective on the housing crisis in the Netherlands.

Suggested Donation

20 euros for the first course, plus 5-10 euros for each additional one.

Make a donation to the LUC Fund

ACTIVISM & COMMUNITY ORGANISING

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND FRIDAY JANUARY 24, 26, 28: 9.00-11.00 @ AVB

People study at LUC because they have an interest in
the idea of "tackling global challenges". Of course the
careers that most students pursue contribute to this to
a degree, but in terms of the climate crisis it is also
clear that our politicians, policy makers, civil society
organisations, etc. are unable to impact the course of
climate policy to the extent that is necessary. This
means that we need a different approach to how we try
to influence power, one that is focused on becoming
powerful ourselves. This course will introduce students
to the basics of activism, and enable them to take on a
more active role in community organising themselves.

Pieter Sellies

After graduating in 2020 I could think of
nothing more significant than being part of
the movement for climate justice. I wanted
to try out different things to see where I fit
and what I was good at, so I joined XR to
learn about building movements, did 'big
organising' at Milieudefensie, got involved
in local politics and organised the
'Klimaatmars' during COP26.
Jonathan Legget

Hi, I’m Jonny! I graduated LUC in 2021,
having done my major in World Politics
and my minor in Earth, Energy, and
Sustainability. I’m now studying Global
Environmental Change and Policy at VU.
Alongside that, I’ve been involved in
Extinction Rebellion since it started in
2018, and have organized actions,
consulted on messaging, worked on
intersectionality and decolonizing the
movement, as well as outreach, training,
and collaborations with other
movements. When I’m not studying or
campaigning I like to cook, read, and
volunteer in my community garden!

REFRAMING WRITING

Writing is an essential part of LUC life, but we tend
to see it as a task rather than a tool. Although we
usually pay attention to the content and style of the
pieces of writing we turn in, we're missing an
awareness of what is taking place as we write. And
because we treat writing as a mechanical process
rather than a craft, we lose out not only on better
writing, but also a better relationship with writing.

This class will be useful for students who want to
strengthen their writing for academic purposes, but
it is equally suitable for those who care about
writing outside and beyond the university. This
series of three classes reframes writing as
understanding, as labour, and as sharing.

Instructor

Ailish Lalor

Since graduating from LUC in 2019,
Ailish has worked at a web magazine
and a bookstore. She is now in the
final stretch of her ResMA in History
at Leiden University, and also works
at LUC, at the Writing Studio and as a
TA for the College Project. She is
really good at having existential
crises and then writing about them.

SOCIAL DATA SCIENCE

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25: 9.00-11.00 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27 AND FRIDAY, JANUARY 28: 13.00-15.00 -- ALL @ AVB

The new and growing interdisciplinary field of social data
science combines theories, concepts, and methods from
the social sciences and the computational sciences. It
allows researchers to create viable datasets out of messy,
real world data, and to develop the tools and techniques to
analyze them to tell us something about the world. The
course will offer students a combination of theory and
methods. This course will be interesting to LUC students
from all backgrounds and majors because while big data
plays an increasingly large role in society and offers many
exciting opportunities, it also poses significant ethical,
legal, and social dilemmas.

Instructor

Willem Zents

After majoring in GED at LUC, Willem went
on to do an MSc in Social Data Science at
the University of Oxford. He currently works
as a data analyst at dating app Bumble,
working on safety and inclusion.

HOUSING AS A HUMAN RIGHT

TUESDAY AND THURSDAY JANUARY 25 & 27: 11.00-13.00 @ AVB

On the 17th of October 2021, thousands of people
took to the streets of Rotterdam to demand
adequate and affordable housing. More protests
have since taken place in different cities in the
Netherlands, with each one echoing the same call
for better housing provision. Residents’
associations have also started legal proceedings
against housing corporations, hoping to have their
housing rights formally recognized by national
judges. Where can we find this right to housing in
the law itself? What is its exact scope and what
obligations does it create for states? How do states
give life to this right, if at all? These are some
questions we will dive into during our two-day
winter course.

Instructor

Rana Kuseyri

My name is Rana Kuseyri and I
graduated from LUC with a major in
International Justice in 2020. I finished
my LLB in Dutch law this last summer
and I'm currently doing a research
master in law at Utrecht University. My
research focuses on how the law
interacts with and exacerbates socioeconomic
inequalities. I am currently
working in a few different roles - as an
executive editor for a journal, as a
student assistant for the Institutions
for Open Societies research group, and
as a research assistant for human
rights lawyer Nani Jansen Reventlow. I
am also an ambassador for ECHO and
for the Utrecht University First-
Generation Fund.