Willy Calewaert Lecture Series - Beyond the fight
Registrations are now open
Dr. Alex Channon (University of Brighton, UK) has been awarded the Willy Calewaert Chair for 2026. He will deliver a series of lectures and a seminar on Martial Arts, Culture and Society between February and May 2026. The Willy Calewaert Chair examines socially relevant topics and disseminates liberal humanist thought through education. VUB collaborates with deMens.nu for this purpose.
18 February 2026: Inaugural lecture: nonviolent combat, consent, and the dimensions of ‘violent’ interactions in martial arts
4 March 2026: Lecture 2: Constructing, managing, and embracing risk in martial arts
22 April 2026: Lecture 3: Doing gender in martial arts: masculinities and femininities in an apparent ‘male preserve’
20 May 2026: Seminar: Martial arts for health and community wellbeing
The lecture series will be part of the course Sport and Society (Physical Education and Movement Sciences programme, Faculty of LK) and is hosted by the new Centre for Martial Arts and Sciences (CEMAS) at the VUB.
More information on the programme and registration is available here: https://events.vub.be/beyond-the-fight