This spring saw the publication of The Power of Connection, a book which, through seventeen case studies, illustrates how academics across the whole spectrum of Radboud University are working to promote sustainability. Long before the book was published, Edwin van Meerkerk, professor of cultural education, had already realised that these stories could not only be inspiring, but also highly useful and instructive during lectures. He therefore developed a set of questions and assignments to accompany each story, compiling them into a handbook for lecturers. Van Meerkerk has already been using the case studies in his own lectures.
Every week, Van Meerkerk and his students discussed a case study: ranging from a geographer in Central Java investigating how to halt the subsidence of towns and rising water levels, to a Nijmegen Public Health Service (GGD) worker providing care to people living on the streets. ‘The case study of the street doctor for the homeless has stayed with me the most,’ says Jules Gribling, a student of Society, Language and Culture. ‘So many things came together there: the costs involved in providing this care, the image of homeless people, how we as a society think the streetscape should look, and the relationships between homeless people themselves.’
