3,223 signatures
Petition is addressed to: The Leiden University Executive Board; the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Humanities
The Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University plans to shut down the Italian Language and Culture program. The Faculty Board justifies its decision based on the following arguments: (1) a limited global perspective, a narrow geographical focus, and limited relevance of geopolitical developments within the field; (2) the uniqueness of the program; (3) societal significance, or the extent to which the program fulfills a social mission (e.g., as Italian is not a mandatory school languages in the Netherlands, the training of teachers in this language has no relevance). Additionally, (4) enrollment perspectives and future-oriented considerations are taken into account.
The program strongly questions the validity of this reasoning, particularly with regard to the first three points. As faculty members, we see that the relevance of the Italian Language and Culture program in our society and in the geopolitical context has by no means diminished—on the contrary. We are working to convince the Faculty Board and Leiden University of this relevance in an effort to save the program.
We kindly ask for your support in this endeavor.
Reason
The plan to close the Italian language and culture program stands in stark contrast to Leiden University’s international reputation in Language Studies. However, this decision aligns with a broader trend in Dutch national and academic politics to undervalue international languages and cultures. In our view, this policy has negative consequences for the critical and intellectual development of younger generations.
For this reason, we are fighting to prevent the closure of the Italian Language and Culture program in Leiden.
Details about the proposed decision can be found here.
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Petition details
Petition started:
01/29/2025
Petition ends:
03/28/2025
Region:
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Topic:
Education
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Why people sign
Italian has risen among the first most studied foreign languages globally. Links with Leiden are strong, as Italians are the largest foreign community living here.
L'italiano è la terza lingua più studiata al mondo, riconosciuta come veicolo di cultura e arte, in particolare nella musica, nel teatro, nella moda e nella gastronomia. Tuttavia, al di là di questo primato, tutte le lingue rappresentano strumenti di apertura mentale, mezzi attraverso cui conoscere l’altro, arricchire il proprio bagaglio culturale e ampliare le prospettive di vita.
È tempo di opporsi ai tentativi di costruire un pensiero unico, che soffoca lo spirito critico nato dall'incontro tra culture e dallo studio delle discipline umanistiche. Si studia per l’anima e per l’indipendenza, non solo per adattarsi a modelli imposti. È auspicabile una società in cui ognuno possa realizzarsi secondo le proprie inclinazioni e aspirazioni, anziché essere ridotto a un semplice ingranaggio di un sistema produttivo che favorisce pochi a scapito della felicità collettiva.
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Per salvare lo studio della lingua su scala internazionale sul piano della linguistica diacronica e sincronica