Arkadi Zaides 

• 18 December 2025, 20:00-21:15: The Cloud performance, Minnemeers NTGent, Minnemeers 8, 9000 Gent, info & tickets​
• 19 December 2025, 10:00-12:30: doctoral defence, Minnemeers NTGent, Minnemeers 8, 9000 Gent
• Joint PhD with the University of Ghent
• Supervisors: Timmy De Laet (UAntwerpen), Annouk Van Moorsel (Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen), Jelena Jureša (KASK & Conservatorium, HOGENT), Christel Stalpaert (Universiteit Gent)

Abstract

In this artistic doctoral research, Arkadi Zaides explores how choreography might respond to today’s societal urgencies and topical issues. He develops a documentary approach to dance and embodied practices, where – unlike in theatre, film, or the visual arts – the use of historical facts and documentary sources is only now beginning to emerge. More specifically, Zaides examines how, through various formats, documents can be reimagined choreographically to reveal divergent – and at times conflicting – ways of engaging with society and the arts, particularly in times of crisis.

The research unfolds through three major projects: Necropolis, Necropolis-United (later updated to Shu-Ha-Da), and The Cloud, each exemplifying distinct strategies of societal engagement and intermedial experimentation. Necropolis confronts the deadly consequences of migration through choreographic and cartographic protocols that trace grave locations of people dying on migration routes while cooperating with communities and institutions to bring dignity to these dead. This work extends into Necropolis-United: Integrated Data-Platform of Dead and Missing Migrants in Europe (I005522N, 2022–2026), an interdisciplinary project supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO). Under its updated title Shu-Ha-Da, this project brings together artists, scholars, technologists, and activists in the collaborative construction of commemorative information systems honoring dead migrant people and questioning the dissemination of sensitive data in an ethical and sustainable way. The Cloud expands the migration topic to environmental terrains, investigating the pervasive algorithmic “cloud” of Artificial Intelligence within the context of ecological crisis. It focuses specifically on the Chernobyl catastrophe to explore the entanglement of human and non-human actors as well as material and immaterial infrastructures.

^{(Photo Giuseppe Follacchio Courtesy Orbita Spellbound)}

On the occasion of his doctoral defence, Arkadi Zaides invites external jury members Rabih Mroué and Yumna Masarwa to share their respective practice with students, researchers and a wider audience.

Arkadi Zaides (b. 1979, Homel, Belarus, former USSR) is a choreographer, performer, and researcher whose work investigates the effects of social and political contexts on individuals and communities, through the use of documentary materials. He is interested in the notion of the border—understood both literally, by identifying choreographies emerging in border areas, and metaphorically, by exposing discourses and apparatuses at work in relation to the figure of “the other.” For the past two decades, Zaides’ works have been presented worldwide, and he has received numerous awards, among them the Émile Zola Prize for Performing Arts (2013) for his engagement with human rights issues. From 2024 to 2027, he is an associated artist with the Montpellier Danse Festival in France.

Zaides earned a master’s degree from the AHK Academy of Theater and Dance in Amsterdam, and since 2021 he has been a doctoral researcher in the arts at the University of Antwerp, Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, Ghent University, and KASK & Conservatorium (HOGENT – Howest). He is a member of the CORPoREAL research group at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp and of S:PAM (Studies in Performing Arts), a research unit at Ghent University. In addition, Zaides continuously develops platforms that promote contemporary performance discourse. Together with scholar, curator, and dramaturg Sandra Noeth, he initiated Violence of Inscriptions at HAU Hebbel-am-Ufer in Berlin (2015–2018), a series of events that brought together artists, thinkers, and human-rights activists to negotiate the role of the body in producing, negotiating, and confronting structural violence. Within his doctoral trajectory, Towards Documentary Choreography has evolved into a series of encounters at various venues in Brussels, bringing together artists, scholars, and activists to examine how documentary materials can be embodied, reimagined, and performed. www.arkadizaides.com

Konrad Rudnicki

• Doctoral defence: 5 January 2026 at 10 a.m.
• Promotiezaal Grauwzusters
• Supervisors: Piotr Łukowski & Bert Leuridan
  

Abstract

For centuries, philosophers and scientists have debated the relationship between logic and the human mind. We often describe clear, rational thinking as "logical," assuming that the strict rules of formal logic act as the instruction manual for human reasoning. However, while classical logic offers a normative framework for valid inference, empirical observation suggests that human thought processes frequently deviate from these rigid formalisms.. This dissertation bridges the gap between the abstract world of logic and the biological reality of the human brain to answer a fundamental question: What kind of logic do humans actually use?

To answer this, I did not study how we solve simple, everyday problems. Instead, I focused on "edge cases"—mental phenomena that push our reasoning abilities to their breaking point. Just as stress-testing reveals the structural limits of physical materials, analyzing how the mind processes these logical anomalies provides unique insights into the boundaries and underlying principles of human reasoning.

Using neuroimaging technology (EEG), I recorded how the brain reacts when it encounters impossible sentences. First, I investigated the famous "Liar Paradox" (e.g., the sentence "This statement is false"). Does the brain get stuck in an endless loop trying to solve it? My research suggests otherwise. The results showed that the human brain processes this paradox exactly the same way it processes a simple lie. This supports a theory from the Middle Ages: that our minds automatically assume every statement is claiming to be true, and when it claims otherwise, we simply reject it as false.

Second, I explored how we handle direct contradictions (e.g., being told conflicting information simultaneously). While some theories suggest humans can tolerate believing two opposite things at once, my findings indicate that the brain strongly rejects strict contradictions. When faced with them, the mind does not generate conflicting predictions; instead, it tends to "implode"—stopping its reasoning process entirely—or simply ignores one half of the contradiction to maintain coherence.

Collectively, these results suggest that the logic of human reasoning is neither strictly classical nor inherently paraconsistent. Instead, it appears to be a pragmatic, content-sensitive system that prioritizes consistency, actively resolving or rejecting logical anomalies to maintain a stable model of reality.

Gemanen Gyuse

• Doctoral defence: 8 January 2026 at 10 a.m.
• Online
• Supervisors: Isabelle Robert and Jim Ureel
• ​Register by email before 5 January​
  

Abstract

Translation involving English and French is crucial in Nigeria. As an English-speaking country surrounded by French-speaking countries, translating between English/French language pair in Nigeria can bridge communication gaps with the neighbouring countries. However, do translator trainees in Nigeria really translate in ways that can produce the required communicative needs between Nigeria and its French-speaking neighbours? This study focused on the effectiveness of translator trainees’ translations from English (their language of habitual use) into French (L2). This reflection constituted the problem or phenomenon one sought to address in this research. The study posits that these students frequently produce translations rife with errors that obscure the intended meanings of the source text (ST). To investigate this phenomenon, a mixed-methods approach was adopted involving quantitative and qualitative data collection. Specifically, a translation test was administered to Year 4 bachelor’s students of French at Benue State University in Makurdi, Nigeria. The Gile’s Integrated Problems and Decision Report (IPDR) model was utilised to gauge students' perceptions of their translation problems and applied problem-solving strategies. Additionally, demographic data were collected via questionnaires. Error analysis was conducted using Granger and Lefer's error typology and tagging principles (i.e., Translation-oriented Annotation System - TAS). For the generated reports, these were analysed based on the problem typology drawn from Hurtado Albir and Rodríguez-Inés’ translation theory. While the error analysis yielded quantitative findings regarding students’ error patterns, the IPDR analysis offered qualitative insights. Results revealed that students commonly made content transfer errors, culture errors, and language errors, but showed no errors related to translation briefs. The demographic data indicated a significant influence of English on their French translations. This was confirmed by the PLUS meta-data, which suggested that many errors arose from source language intrusion (SLI). Besides, many translations contained nonsensical structures due to pervasive language- and content-related errors. Concerning the IPDR responses, they highlighted various problems, including linguistic, textual, and extralinguistic issues. The study revealed that although participants employed good strategies in some instances, they also applied inappropriate strategies in other instances, indicating that a combination of factors led to the observed errors such as poor strategies, English interference, inadequate reformulation, limited translation competence (TC), and misuse of French syntax and lexis. Indeed, this research can stimulate further studies involving English–French translation not only in Nigeria where the study area is grossly under-explored or nearly absent, but in similar settings where students’ second language (L2) into which they translate is of limited scope. The study thus contributes to the fields of English–French translation, translation competence, L2 translation and other key Translation Studies issues. It also pioneers a new research interest in Nigeria, and can be a good reference material for subsequent English–French or L2 translation research in Nigeria and similar settings.