The research institute for Culture, Cognitive, History and Heritage (CLUE+) and the Network Institute are the foundational institutes of the “Connected World” profile theme.

This has culminated in Ivar Vermeulen’s book “Connected World”. In fact, it is authored by 100 Vrije Universiteit academics who give insights on how to build genuine bonds in our world which is more digitally connected than ever before, yet where true social cohesion is becoming scarcer.

Two weeks ago the book was presented in the VU’s Kerkzaal (see some photos here) with many of the authors present and including Jeroen Geurts (Rector Magnificus) & Susan Legene (Dean FGW).

It is available for free in an Open Access digital format here, where you can also buy it as a physical copy, fresh off the VU’s press for €24.50.

Chapter titles and authors:

1. The Power of Poetry.  Diederik Oostdijk
2. TikTok Is My Village: Adventures in Digital Parenting. Giulia Ranzini
3. The World Has Broken Down into Parallel Technolinguistic Communities. Can They Be Bridged? Nyíri Pál
4. Less Is More. Linda Douw
5. Why Robotics Labs Should Look More Like Theatres. Kim Baraka
6. Corporeal Connectivities: Imagining Institutions As Social Power Plants. Daniel Neugebauer
7. Cinema. Emma Beauxis-Aussale
8. Nothing Human Is Alien to Microbes. Bas Teusink, Frank Bruggeman and colleagues from the Systems Biology Lab
9. Feeling Disconnected? Read a Novel! Anita Raghunath
10. From Modern-Day Pinocchios to Social Robots in the Wild. Elly A. Konijn, Daniel Preciado Vanegas and Peggy van Minkelen
11. Connecting Neuroscience, Education and Society to Tackle the Problem of Performance Pressure. Nienke van Atteveldt
12. The Digital Society Is Already Here – Pity It Is ‘Unsustainable’. Patricia Lago
13. Brand Activism: An Invitation. Peeter Verlegh
14. Tattoo Memory. Norah Karrouche
15. When Values Wither and Humans Lose: How AI Systems Change Our Social Foundations. Christine Moser
16. Hurdles to Clear in Sports Science Support. Peter J. Beek
17. From Brain to Brain and Body to Body: Connecting People through the Emerging Field of Interpersonal Neuroscience. Sander L. Koole
18. The Promises and Perils of AI for Crowd Management. Charlotte Gerritse
19. It’s the Media, Stupid! Ivar Vermeulen
20. Time to Leave Our Comfortable Tech Silos and Linguistic Ivory Towers Behind: Why We Need Brave New Interdisciplinary Thinkers. Pia Sommerauer
21. Deep Random Connections. Marije Martijn
22. Connecting Women Innovators in West Africa Social Innovation through Regreening and Building Resilience in Low Resource Environments. Wendelien Tuijp and Anna Bon
23. Are We Too Connected? Our Ultra-Connectedness Is Definitely Not Green. Ivano Malavolta
24. Reaching Out to Planet Alzheimer. Sietske Sikkes
25. Imperial Past, Human Family and the World of Nations. Susan Legêne
26. Linguistic (Un)boxing: Understanding Social Categorisation, Diversity and Inclusion by Focusing on Language Use. Camiel Beukeboom
27. Law Is a Human Enterprise. Tina van der Linde
28. Anonymity and Incivility on Social Media: Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater. Peter Kerkhof
29. Knowledge Graphs As Universal Knowledge Sharing Technology: Four Challenges to Connect the Unconnected. Victor de Boer
30. In Search of a Home: Migration Crises and the Lessons Learned. Mirjam van Veen
31. Sustaining Our Connections by Limiting Infectious Disease. Joshua Tybur
32. A Connected World of Academics in the Fediverse. René Bekkers
33. Learning in Dialogue: What Cultural Heritage Specialists Can Learn from Climate Scientists – and Vice Versa. Linde Egberts
34. Survival of the Coolest. Guszti Eiben
35. Burning Down the House. André Krouwel
36. Opening a Dialogue about Mental Health through Comics and Creative Writing. Erin La Cou
37. Milieudefensie vs Shell: Legitimate Correction of Regulatory Failure or Judicial Overreach? Lodewijk Smeehuijzen
38. What Should English Sound Like? Amrita Das and Laura Rupp
39. Connecting the Unconnected: Decolonising ICTs for the Developing World. Francis Saa-Dittoh
40. Pop the Age Bubble! Laura Schaap
41. Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. Mark Hoogendoorn
42. The Pepper Corns in Ramesses II’s Nose: What Archaeology Tells Us about the Deep Past of the Connected World. Jan Paul Crielaard
43. Building a Restorative (VU) University through Dialogue. Nieke Elbers
44. How a Connected World Can Tackle Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Other Sustainability Problems. Oscar Widerberg
45. Embracing Multilingualism in Children. Petra Bos
46. Democracy Needs Empirical Logic. Jacob Bouwma
47. Use but Handle with Care: Gossip as a Means for Connection. Bianca Beersma
48. Connected Connectedness. Erik Verhoef
49. Smart Health Technology Should Focus on Increasing the Quality of Human Contact. Michel Klein
50. Turning the Tide: Reconnecting Citizens to Politics through VR. Mariken van der Velden
51. Borders That Unite. Freek Colombijn and Gertrud van Loon
52. Interdisciplinary and International Community Service Learning an Opportunity to Connect the World? Eduardo Urias, Sarju Sing Rai and Marjolein Zweekhorst
53. Out of the Bubble and into the Echo Chamber: Researching Media Use and Effects in a Post-Broadcast Era. Wouter van Atteveldt
54. Woman, Life, Freedom, and the Power of Social Media. Halleh Ghorashi
55. Connecting the Worlds of Business and IT in Practice. Bart van den Hooff
56. Harnessing Outrage to Create Social Change. Catherine Molh
57. Connecting Souls. Ruard Ganzevoort
58. The Rise of Immersive Technology: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. Tilo Hartmann
59. Amplifying Citizens’ Voice in Global Governance Why We Need Inclusive Deliberation Processes to Solve 21st-Century Challenges. Kristina S. Weißmüller
60. The Connected World at the Heart of Science. Frank van Harmelen
61. The Power of Stories: Connecting with Others and Ourselves. Katalin Eva Bálint
62. Connected World, Cultural Heritage and the Living Environment. Gert-Jan Burgers
63. Connected and Open: Next Level Open Access. David Oldenhof and Hilde van Wijngaarden
64. Should We Celebrate Education As the Great Enabler of a Connected World? Niels van Manen
65. Everything is Connected to Everything Else. Kristine Steenbergh
66. Citizen Assemblies as Method and Goal: Towards More Dialogical Science Communication. Jaron Haramba
67. Feeding Back Findings from Interaction Research: Lessons Learned. Joyce Lamerichs
68. Let’s Get Wild: Connecting the Human and More-Than-Human World. Peter-Ben Smit and Iris Veerbeek
69. Protesting in a Contemporary, Connected World. Jacquelien van Stekelenburg
70. Data is Plural, except for the Experts. Luuk Lagerwerf
71. Toward Sustainable Food Systems: The Need for Transformative Research and Innovation. Jacqueline Broerse and Kristiaan Kok
72. Connecting the Divine. Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte
73. From Connection to Correspondence As Approach to Transcultural and Transdisciplinary Collaboration. Joana Meroz
74. Broaden Norms to Connect the World. Marieke Slootman
75. Religious Heritage Amsterdam on the Map. August Den Hollander, Hermine Pool and Birgit Büchner
76. Luring in Casey and Emma: Use Hybrid Language, Break Routines and Let the Conversation Begin. Willemine Willem
77. Connecting Is More Than Being Friendly: Why Interdisciplinarity Is As Hard As It Is Vital. Lia van Wesenbeeck
78. Ties That Bind. Pepijn Brandon
79. Translation Is an Attitude. Interview with Jeroen Geurts