The @vonden: Alicja Gescinska – Women in dark times

Also in 2026–2027, Charlotte De Cort, Gawan Fagard, Jeroen Theunissen, and Wouter Hessels De @vonden are organizing a series of lectures and screenings on society, media, and technology that connect with the professional bachelor's degree program Audiovisual Creations of RITCS.\n\nWe are honored that Alicja Gescinska wishes to open the academic year for us. On October 1, she will talk about her recent, widely acclaimed book 'Vrouwen in duistere tijden', and will be interviewed by Jeroen Theunissen.\n\nAlicja Gescinska (1981) is a Flemish-Polish philosopher and writer. She became known to the wider public with her book 'De verovering van de vrijheid' (Lemniscaat, 2011). She subsequently wrote several philosophical essays, including 'Thuis in muziek' (De Bezige Bij, 2018), 'Intussen komen mensen om' (De Bezige Bij, 2019), 'Kinderen van Apate' (Leminscaat, 2020), and 'Humanitas' (Confituur, 2022). In December 2025, her widely acclaimed book Vrouwen in duistere tijden was published. In addition to her non-fiction works, Alicja has also written fiction: a novel, poetry, and theater texts. She is also active as an academic, and is president of PEN Flanders. She also regularly writes opinion pieces for various media.\n\nIn 'Vrouwen in duistere tijden', Alicja Gescinska takes the reader on a turbulent and philosophical journey through the past century. In ten biographical portraits, she shows what humanity can learn from women who were as courageous as they were intelligent: Rosa Luxemburg, Anna Achmatova, Edith Stein, Hannah Arendt, Martha Gellhorn, Simone Weil, Jeanne Hersch, Etty Hillesum, Barbara Skarga, and Judith Shklar. With word and deed, they fought oppression, dehumanization, the urge for destruction of their time. They were beacons of light in the darkest hours of humanity. They often paid a high price for this: from death in camps to a life in exile. Vrouwen in duistere tijden is not only a philosophical portrait of ten women, but also offers a necessary gender correction, and above all is an urgent book about the courage it takes to keep thinking.