Pedagogical Support Unit
The Faculty of Philosophy and Letters has a Cellule d'appui pédagogique (CAP) whose primary mission is to organize aide à la réussite activities for students. These consist of: methodological workshops, applied to the requirements of the faculty's courses, particularly in terms of writing; mock exams and feedback sessions; (on request) personalized follow-up.
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History of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters
The FoundationsOn May 1, 1831, the Fathers of the Society of Jesus founded a college in Namur with the distinctive feature of providing philosophical education at both secondary and higher levels.Two years later, in August 1833, a two-year candidacy in "Speculative Philosophy and Letters" was devised and created. It would be effectively undertaken the following academic year, that of 1834. This was the birth of UNamur's Faculty of Philosophy and Letters.As early as 1835, the new program advocated enabled students to prepare for the state jury examinations to acquire the legal grade of Candidate in Philosophy and Letters. The program was then legally recognized as a diploma.Early developmentsIn 1890, the application was enriched by offering four sections: philosophy, history, classical philology and Romance philology. A preparatory section for law was added and became an autonomous faculty in 1967.From College to UniversityIn the inter-war years, the establishment progressed. The law of 1929 assimilated the Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix's faculty of philosophy and letters to the universities, which awarded candidate diplomas in philosophy and letters. Students were no longer obliged to be examined by the central jury.The time of reformsDespite a difficult financial situation due to the lack of state subsidies, the faculty continued to develop.The second half of the twentieth century saw the advent of numerous reforms. From 1953 onwards, girls were admitted to the Faculties on condition that they were from the city of Namur or a contiguous commune (the condition was lifted in 1965).In 1955, new, more spacious buildings made it possible to accommodate more students, even if their numbers did not increase significantly until the 1980s.In 1961, the sections of Germanic Philology and Art and Archaeology completed the existing sections. Lay professors were gradually added to the teaching staff.From 1971, the government decided to grant the university operating subsidies calculated according to the same criteria as for other university institutions. The Faculty of Philosophy and Letters thus benefited from the improved financial situation of the institution as a whole.The "today of the faculty"In 1994, the decree on the university study regime empowered the faculty to organize the doctorate in philosophy and letters.Ten years later, in 2004, following the so-called "Bologna" reform aimed at enabling greater collaboration between universities at European level, the candidacy cycle was transformed by ministerial decree into a three-year bachelor's degree..
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Studies in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters
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Service to society
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Association of Old Germanists
Creating links, building bridges to Germanic culture with rigor and passion: this was the major objective of the "Founding Fathers", Professors Martien J.G. de Jong, Michel Hanot and Léo Somers, who created the Germanic section in September 1961. A lot has changed since then, in academia as in the world at large, but no matter where our lives take us, we always retain this part of our Namur and German identity: "I'm from Namur", "Were you at the Facs too?", "Ah, we miss the 5th floor!"On this webpage, we'd like to share with our alumni a few tributes to our founding fathers and their successors. We also offer a look back at our 50th anniversary celebrated in 2011, and some photos of our more recent activities. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you'd like to add your contact details so we can get in touch with you about activities, and/or if you'd like to help us organize activities in the future!
Read an Alumni testimonial
50 years of Germa
Join my alumni association
Find out more about the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures
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Help to succeed in Philosophy and Letters
Succeeding in a year of study at university involves many challenges.To help you meet them, UNamur accompanies you in the development of your disciplinary, methodological, human skills... with the support of many professionals.
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Help to succeed in Philosophy
Preparatory courses
Discover university education and life at UNamur while revising the subjects essential for your future training.To get your first year of study off to a good start, at the end of August the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities is offering sample courses and exercises that will enable you to: check your command of the French language, your ability to take notes and report on an oral presentation or a text;approach activities specific to philosophy; discover the demands of university life and the student profession; introduce you to the methodological principles of your discipline; confront your choices of disciplinary orientation.
Discover the preparatory course program
Do you have what it takes?
Test your knowledge and skills with "Passeports pour le bac".At the start of your first year, "Passeports pour le bac" allow you to compare what you've learned with what your teachers expect.Following these tests, the Faculty offers you sessions and workshops to reinforce your:reading strategy;analysis of questions and construction of appropriate answers.You thus fill in any gaps and promote your success.
Are your methods appropriate?
To succeed in your first year, you need effective strategies.Working methods sessions are organized to familiarize you with university learning techniques:taking clear and comprehensive notes;summarizing and synthesizing material;understanding material in depth;memorizing large amounts of information;managing your time during class and blockade periods;organizing your work;anticipating teachers' requirements.In addition to these methodological sessions, your Faculty's Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique organizes individual assessment interviews after your tests and exams. If you request it, you can also benefit from personalized follow-up throughout the year.If you're experiencing difficulties with your study method in general, the Cellule Interfacultaire d'Appui pédagogique also offers individual follow-up. An advisor is on hand to review your study methods and techniques and help you improve them.Finally, on the eve of the first blockade, you can take part in an exchange and advice session with 2nd or 3rd year students under the supervision of the Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique.
How can you consolidate your reading and writing skills?
Learn to express yourself correctly in writing and deepen your understanding of texts.The Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique enables you to strengthen your skills in various areas:writing assignments and exam answersby language tests at the beginning of the year assessing spelling, vocabulary, syntax;by reinforcement sessions in workshops and through online exercises;by supervision of some of your written work: commented, individual and group corrections ;by organizing mock exams (November tests) ;by individual follow-up (by e-mail and face-to-face).reading and comprehension of university-level textsby a reading test at the beginning of the year;by reinforcement sessions on reading strategies.Special follow-up is provided for students whose mother tongue is not French.
What resources are available to you?
Central and department libraries, computer space and e-learning platform: valuable resources.At the central library ("BUMP" for Bibliothèque Universitaire Moretus Plantin), you can consult: catalogs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, literary works, CD-ROMs, databases... Rarer or specialized journals or books can be obtained on request.At the departmental library, located on the floor of your section, you have free access to most of the working tools you need: journals, special grammars and dictionaries, summary collections, scholarly studies, exemplary monographs, collections of published or manuscript sources and even sometimes microfilm reading devices. You'll also benefit from practical advice from more senior staff, and even from the professors occupying the adjoining offices.For writing up your assignments, familiarizing yourself with the various programs specific to your discipline and carrying out your research on the Internet, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters puts a computer area at your disposal.And that's not all! Thanks to the WebCampus e-learning platform, you can download the documents that teachers make available to you, access discussion forums with other students, and ask your questions live...The WebCampus e-learning platform allows you to download the documents that teachers make available to you.
Practice
Check and clarify your understanding of the subject.Most specialty courses take the form of a dialogue with the teachers. In this way, you can check your understanding of the subject as you go along, and clarify it. Repetitions and quizzes are offered regularly.For all courses, lectures are enriched by the commented reading of articles or extracts from philosophical works. Thanks to your personal assignments, you directly confront the study of precisephilosophical questions, become familiar with research and are introduced to the philosophical dissertation.
How can you prepare for the exams?
Study regularly, acquire good methods, but also get to know the teachers' requirements and their way of questioning.In the first year, formative assessments are organized in early November on at least one of the most voluminous subjects. Teachers correct your papers, comment on them and organize group correction sessions. Following these assessments, the Cellule d'Appui Pédagogique organizes individual assessment interviews and offers more personalized follow-up, particularly in French.These tests do not play a part in the grades awarded at the end of the year. They are merely a training tool to help youaccount for the teachers' level of demand and judge the effectiveness of your work.Beyond the first year, you adapt your effort more effectively to the nature and importance of each subject in the program. As a result, you no longer benefit from regular quizzes, other than as part of tutorials.
Exam organization
January, June and, if necessary, August... three sessions to prove your mastery of the subjects.In January, you sit the exams on the 1st term courses. If you fail, you can retake the relevant exam in June and/or August. Three chances to succeed, but only in the first year. From the second year onwards, any exam failed in the January or June session is automatically carried over to the August session.According to the choice of the teachers, exams may be assessed either in writing or orally. Assessment procedures are specified during the first course and are detailed on the university website.Verification of knowledge gained from technical courses is almost continuous; it relies above all on your personal work completed during the year.You conclude your training by demonstrating, through your end-of-cycle work, the acquisition of personal reflection.
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Les études en Faculté de philosophie et lettres
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Etudier à l'UNamur
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Vie du campus
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Academic freedom and democracy. University in danger?
The notion of "academic freedom" is often evoked in public debates, but is it really known in its singularity? Where does it come from? What is its history? What decisive role does it play in our democracies and the defense of the university's role as a counter-power? To what extent is it threatened today, particularly by the reforms announced?This morning of reflection, open to all, will explore these questions from a variety of perspectives. Historians, philosophers and jurists will shed light on the subject. Institutional leaders will share their concrete experience and their analysis of the threats that reforms could pose to this essential principle.An organization of the Philosophy Department, the History Department, the ESPHIN Institute in collaboration with the Centre d'Action Laïque Namur.The speakers- Anne-Emmanuelle Bourgaux, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Mons- Nicolas Offenstadt, Professor of History at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne- Quentin Landenne, Qualified Researcher at the FRS-FNRS at the UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels, scientific leader of the ERC BildungLearning project- Susanna Zellini, Research Fellow at the FRS-FNRS at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels- Annick Castiaux, Rector of UNamur- Edouard Delruelle, Professor of political philosophy at ULiège; Chargé de mission by the Rectrice of ULiège on "ULiège facing global conflicts".PracticalitiesThéâtre Jardin Passion 39, rue Marie Henriette - 5000 Namur.Free admission - Welcome from 9amAn organization of the Departments of Philosophy and History of the University of Namur and the ESPHIN Institute in collaboration with the Centre d'Action Laïque Namur with the support of the ERC BildungLearning project.
I want to register
The ERC BildungLearning project is funded by the European Union (n° 101043433). The views and opinions expressed, however, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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Studies in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters
Dive into the vast heritage of the productions of the human mind in search of meaning and value. Explore the past, perceive art across the centuries, decode ancient and modern languages, and take a fresh look at the captivating world of cinema.Through works, languages, documents and currents of thought, journey through the cultural, contextual and temporal diversity of humanity's great questions.Your curiosity is the only limit. Welcome to the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities at UNamur!
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Service to society
Teachers and researchers at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters contribute to developing the cultural dynamism of the Cité. Through cultural activities, publications and training courses, but also through interventions on request, their work is regularly embedded in the economic and social context of civil society.
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Studying in the Faculty of Science
If the phenomena you observe fascinate you and feed your curiosity, your need to understand and go further, your future starts here. Embark on a captivating journey to the heart of exploration, knowledge and innovation, where every experience shapes your potential. Welcome to the Faculty of Science at the University of Namur!
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Public defense of doctoral thesis in languages, literature and translation - Manon HOUTART
Jury members
Prof. David VRYDAGHS (President), UNamurProf. Denis SAINT-AMAND (Promoter, Secretary), FNRS - UNamurProf. Olivier BELIN, Sorbonne UniversitéProf. Anne REVERSEAU, FNRS - UCLouvainProf. Anne-Christine ROYERE, Université de ReimsYou are cordially invited to attend this defense.The proclamation will be followed by a drink at the Salle académique.
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Spring open courses
In practice
Who are open courses for?Open courses are open to all, although they are primarily aimed at secondary school students to help them take that first step in exploring higher education.What is the schedule for open courses?Courses are open from February 27 to Wednesday, March 5, 2025, from 08:30 to 16:30.To find out the precise timetable and location of each course, please visit the Info études service (Rue de Bruxelles, 85 5000 Namur), 15 minutes before the start of the course.The provisional program is available 15 days before the start of open courses.How to meet a guidance counselorYou have the opportunity to meet a guidance counselor at the guidance workshop scheduled for Tuesday, March 4, 2025, from 1:30 to 4:00 pm.The aim of this workshop is to help you think about the guidance process, gain a better understanding of the higher education landscape and define the main markers in the process of clarifying your project (educational and professional).Our advisor is also available by appointment for a one-to-one meeting throughout the week of open courses and outside of it.Do you have to register to take part?Access to open courses is without prior registration.To participate in the orientation workshop, however, online registration is mandatory and will be available some ten days before the start of the open courses.Who organizes the open courses?Open courses are organized by Info études, the service that provides information on all matters relating to choice of studies, prerequisites, reorientation, gateways, course curricula, job opportunities, additional training, recognition of prior learning... or any general questions about university life in Namur.
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Spring Open House
Save the date!
The next UNamur Open House will take place on Saturday, March 29, 2025, from 1pm to 5pm.Save this date in your diary already!!On the programInspiring encounters: chat with our professors, assistants and students.Immersive tours: explore our auditoriums, classrooms and laboratories.Valuable information: get answers to all your questions about our programs and the specifics of studying in Namur.Practical resources: discover all the services available to support you before, during and after your studies.Stay tuned!The detailed afternoon program will be available some ten days before the event.Can't join us? No worries! A second open house is scheduled for Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 1pm to 5pm.
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