A Stake in the Unknown

As a University of Applied Sciences located in Rotterdam, one of the most diverse cities in The Netherlands, we aspire to a diverse community, not only of students but also of faculty and staff. While diversity is portrayed by the community's national, racial, class, (dis)ability, sexual and gender identity pro? le, it also relates to the diversity of opinion and perspectives represented within the school. The notion of Cultural Diversity as represented through the Professorship of Applied Sciences of the same name is interested in aesthetic strategies, political action and socio-economic developments and their histories. Cultural Diversity is a contested term, often misunderstood and even more often regarded as a 'problem'. It is thus quintessential to ask: Where does the work on Cultural Diversity start: with ourselves, or with the other? Can we find meaningful answers through researching databases? Or rather through social inquiries, and by making visible those who have been excluded from this discussion? Drawing on developments in contemporary arts, this lecture will focus through a historical perspective on knowledge from various disciplines that has been neglected in a European context, in order to use these as a starting point for a discussion on what Cultural Diversity might mean today. Embedded in a historical understanding of our current condition, the Inaugural Lecture will unfold the potential that lies within seeing diversity as a state of constant change.