In the Spanish town of Guadalajara, there is a street named ‘Burgemeester Fluiterstraat’, named after a descendant of Leiden migrants who had done well in the South. He was not the only Guadalajara resident with Leiden roots: at the beginning of the eighteenth century, a stream of Dutch textile workers…

All are warmly invited to the 3rd Annual Leiden Austrian Studies Lecture, organized by the Foundation for Austrian Studies and Special Chair for Central European Studies in cooperation with the Institute for History, Friday 29 October 2021, 15.15-17.00 in the Faculty Club, Rapenburg 73 in Leiden.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research has awarded a grant of 750,000 euros to the 'Visualising the Unknown in 17th-century Science and Society' project. Researchers will reconstruct how seventeenth-century scientists recorded and shared their groundbreaking microscopic discoveries. We…

Student initiative COOP is committed to a respectful and safe academic environment. Here is a report of the activities over the past few months.

A deliberate attack on a tangible element of a culture, such as a temple, is often also an attack on intangible elements: the religion or religious customs. Equally, the intangible can be attacked without the involvement of the tangible, for example the brutal curtailment of rights. How are these reflected…

In Bronze Age Europe many bronze objects such as axes, swords and jewels were deliberately left at specific spots in the landscape. PhD research by Leiden archaeologist Marieke Visser shows that these practices were expressions of people’s relationship with the world around them. ‘It was a completely…

Too expensive groceries, diseases suddenly breaking out: from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, hundreds of people documented the world around them in chronicles. A significant number of these texts have been digitised in recent years. Professor of Early Modern Dutch History and project leader…

In a new piece for The Conversation UK, Michiel van Elk examines whether mystical experiences are essential to psychedelic therapy. 'If the field is to mature, it may need to move beyond the assumption that transcendence is the secret ingredient.'

Fancy listening to a podcast over the long Whitsun weekend? Over the past few months, some excellent work has once again been produced at the faculty.

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Leiden University is well known for its student associations, which provide a great way for you to get to know your fellow students. As well as parties and social events, student associations also offer excellent sporting and cultural opportunities.

You can find an overview of the projects and a list of all research trainees below.

This February Metje Postma will stop teaching and retire. But she is not done with the discipline yet: she will finish her PhD and there are still five films on the shelf that she plans to complete.

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The ‘Dilemmas of diversity’ research project is to receive a subsidy of 1.8 million euros from the National Research Agenda (NWA). Coordinator Marlou Schrover will be examining the diversity policy of Dutch cities in the present, past and future, together with 37 societal partners.

In less than a week’s time, millions of Turkish people are going to decide who will govern their country for the next five years. These elections promise to be the most closely contested in years, with the opinion polls showing very small differences and everything at stake, including for Europe. Alp…

‘A Muslim and a Jew in the house of God.’ This is how historian Nadia Bouras introduced her recent conversation with colleague Sara Polak in Leiden’s Hooglandse Kerk. They discussed the rising tensions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. ‘Dare to ask each other questions.’

The perception of the Middle East is riddled with stereotypes that have had dire consequences on its people. What is myth and what is reality? How did these stereotypes come about? What consequences have they had? All of these questions and more are answered within this reading list.

The World Food Programme, Philips, the European Space Agency. An overwhelming list of organisations that Sarita Koendjbiharie, as founder of the PRINS consultancy programme of International Studies, has managed to recruit. ‘We keep reaching new highs and insights together with our students and organ…

Within just a few years, the Chinese government's policy towards the Uyghurs deteriorated sharply. From control and marginalisation, it shifted to violation of human rights. PhD candidate Elke Spiessens was right in the middle of it with her research. 'The fabric of the community is being completely…

From research on stellar winds to sign language: an impressive seven researchers from Leiden University will receive a prestigious Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

You have prepared a research project, put together a plan, and you are ready to travel to the country where you will be conducting your fieldwork. What do you do when Covid suddenly makes that impossible? Nadia Sonneveld was forced to relocate her project Living on the Other Side to a hybrid form: ‘It…

Author and political scientist Mounir Samuel has spent recent years delving into the many ways that language can exclude people and bring them together.

In the nationalist nineteenth century, people developed an interest in medieval language and literature. The study of medieval material in one’s own vernacular was thought to reveal a great national past. But why, then, was Old English studied by Germans, Danes, Italians and many other nationalities…

In the coming years, Hilde De Weerdt gets to spend over three million euros. She received grants from both the European Research Council (ERC) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for research on Chinese infrastructure. ‘It is great that it is also possible to develop large projects in the social sciences…

Monique Tekstra-van Lochem decided to develop a book of her own that all children can recognize themselves in. In May "Hey, who are you?" will be released, a children's book in which twenty fictional children from all over the world take you with them into their daily lives.

'Consider languages in their shared context.' That is the message of Professor and Arabist Beatrice Gründler, who will receive an honorary doctorate from Leiden University on 8 February. ‘I would like people to learn that Arabic history has a close connection with Europe.’

‘Countering violent extremism – the international deradicalization agenda’ is the name of the book Tahir Abbas published last month. In this interview the associate professor in Terrorism and Political Violence at ISGA tells about the backgrounds and goals of the book.

UNESCO has recognized an international set of fifteen manuscripts about Ferdinand Magellan's first circumnavigation of the globe and the three Hikayat Aceh manuscripts as World Heritage. The manuscripts are inscribed in the global UNESCO Memory of the World Register. This list contains documentary heritage…

A group of united astronomers have successfully convinced Europe’s leading astronomy journal Astronomy & Astrophysics to institute a name change policy for transgender people and others. ‘It’s really frustrating that such a large organisation needed an initiative from outside to adopt a more inclusive…

The importance of science communication and cross-boundary collaboration, and the ‘mantra’ of diminishing social cohesion in society: these all came up at Leiden University’s 448th Dies Natalis. A panel discussion including Leiden’s mayor Lenferink, music and two honorary doctorates completed the special…

Opting more often for mocktails or soft drinks rather than beer or wine, talking to others about their drinking and pointing out the ban on drugs. Leiden University’s new covenant on alcohol and drugs for study associations encourages providing more alcohol-free alternatives.

Florian Herrendorf has won the Fruin Prize 2023. His thesis was chosen out of 11 nominees as the best master's thesis in history studies.

What do you do when you’re suddenly given access to a whole lot of data but don’t know how to organise and analyse it? Maritime historians in the Faculty of Humanities joined forces with vocational college (MBO) students to build a database. ‘We’re so compatible with each other.’

The Bachelor Honours Class 'Homo Ludens: Why We Play' combines games, theory, and practice. Students dive into all aspects of humanity in which games play a part and discuss them, both on a theoretical an experiential level: 'Occasionally, you touch upon what play is, but then it eludes you.'

Third-year Security Studies students tackle real-world security challenges for organisations such as Microsoft, the NCTV and Schiphol. From AI and human smuggling to international cooperation, they present their recommendations to professionals in the field.

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Arts and culture

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The freedom to be who you are – woman, man, homosexual, heterosexual, transgender, religious, atheist, and so on – is perhaps the Netherlands’ greatest attribute. The principle of equality and the right not to be discriminated against are in the very first article of our constitution. Yet there is a…

Corinna Jentzsch, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science and co-convener of the Leiden University Center for International Relations (LUCIR) has conducted extensive fieldwork in Mozambique. Her resulting book, Violent Resistance: Militia Formation and Civil…

Computer says no: end of story. Twenty years ago, a hilarious line in the British TV series Little Britain, now a reality. We all blindly follow technology at times, with varying consequences. For ISGA lecturer and researcher Daan Weggemans, it's a subject worthy of a PhD.

Almost three years after receiving her honorary doctorate, Dr Graça Machel returned to Leiden University. Over the course of two days she spoke with students, researchers, and other interested persons, about human rights – particularly those of women and children – in a world in which these are continually…

After two years of corona restrictions, it was ‘back to normal’ in 2022. Migration, elections, the history of slavery, Russia, and Ukraine were much-discussed topics. We compiled an overview of the most-read news items and other events of the past year.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza or the global rise of the far-right: topics that stir up emotions but are also regularly discussed in classes at Political Science. Moreover, with a diverse group of students, there is a great diversity of life experiences, backgrounds and opinions.…

Judith Pollmann, Professor of Early Modern Dutch History, has been awarded the Spinoza Prize. ‘An unbelievable honour.’