Humans share meaning through language. Over time, repeated interactions have shaped languages into forms that match our cognitive preferences, making them structured, expressive, easy to learn, and ultimately, meaningful.

This special issue explores social meaning from the perspective of current theories in pragmatics.

How is generative AI changing the way we learn, communicate, and make sense of the world today? As AI tools become part of everyday life, they don’t just produce text but shape meaning, influence trust, and impact how we find and share information. This project explores how people use, experience and…

How do authorities and citizens construct meaning in the aftermath of jihadist terrorist attacks through the use of frames, rituals, and symbols. What does this reveal about the communicative impact of terrorism?

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The leading argument of this doctoral thesis is that Aristotle’s text De Interpretatione is of methodical relevance for present-day philosophical thinking. In the era of science and technology, the status of philosophy has become problematic.

Researchers within the cluster are committed to the close and expert analysis of the materiality and content of the arts, literature and media they study. Different types of media bring various aspects of this core interest to the fore.

This dissertation focuses on irregular patterns in Vedic Grammar and Poetry.

Transcutaneous vaccination is attractive because it is non- or minimally invasive, pain free and the site of administration (skin) is easily accessible. What’s more, transcutaneous immunization can lead to a strong immune response owing to the presence of immune-competent cells in the skin.

There are several ways to become a donor to the LUC Fund, both from the Netherlands or abroad.

In this thesis, several aspects of software debugging from automated crash reproduction to bug report analysis and use of contracts have been studied.

This article explores how the meaning of the rule of law has evolved over the past century in UK and US parliamentary speeches, focusing on procedural (thin) and substantive (thick) conceptualisations.

In romantic love, we often invoke an idiom of infinity—for instance, when we promise to love each other forever, or declare the other to be the one. But what does this metaphysical appeal signify? And how can such a promise of infinite love be made within the bounds of a finite life? In attempt to answer…

Promotor: M. de Jong, Co-Promotor: Samtleben

The high velocity tail of the total velocity distribution of stars provides essential insight into fundamental properties of the Galaxy.

The subject of this thesis, ‘Approach to Markov Operators on Spaces of Measures by Means of Equicontinuity’, combines an analytical and probabilistic approach to Markov operators.

Promotor: P. T. de Zeeuw, Co-promotor: N. Neumayer; G. van de Ven

Death’s Social and Material Meaning beyond the Human is edited by Jesse D. Peterson, Natashe Lemos Dekker and Philip R. Olson

On January 30th, Lennart van der Velden succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Lennart on this great result.

This project investigates the professionalisation of university libraries in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, through the lens of the medieval manuscript holdings. Taking Leiden University Library as a starting point, it sheds light on the changing practices surrounding the conservation,…

Over time, the temperature in all buildings will be regulated in a sustainable manner. In this way, using gas will not be necessary anymore.

Promotor: K.H. Kuijken

The Sun and all the stars in the night sky reside in the Milky Way galaxy. In the at-rest reference frame of the Galaxy, typical stars travel with velocities of about 100-200 kilometres per second.

Astronomer and Marxist Anton Pannekoek was a remarkable figure. This book aims to study the connections between his life as a socialist theorist and as a pioneering scientist through the prism of Pannekoek's biography.

Geometrical patterns serving as decorations do more than just that; they always have a meaning, according to art historian Arthur Crucq. Doctoral defence 17 May.

Natascha van der Zwan, Assistant Professor at Leiden Univeristy, together with two other authors, wrote a book that explored some of the ways coronavirus is impacting the global capitalist system – and how this could change for better and for worse.

On 12 March, Frederik Heitmüller defended the thesis 'Combatting tax avoidance, the OECD way? The impact of the BEPS Project on developing and emerging countries’ approach to international tax avoidance'. The doctoral research was supervised by Madeleine Hosli and Irma Mosquera Valderrama.

This book is about the workings of networks of the mobile in Africa, a continent usually associated with the ‘global shadows’ of the world.

Presents a novel philosophical account of psychedelic experiences, arguing that they can be induced by means other than psychedelics — such as meditation and yoga.

Open Educational Resources (OER) have the potential to change teaching in Higher Education, but adoption is low despite the growing amount of resources available. The current project aims to investigate if and how teacher communities can foster adoption of OER in curricula.

A collection of newly written chapters by various specialists from different disciplines (with a background in philosophy) on the subject of free will as it is discussed in their (inter)disciplinary field.

In which way and to which extent is integration articulated in concept maps and which factors affect the resulting concept maps? By which factors is the perceived usefulness of such concept maps affected?

This study is the first to directly relate brain development to sex differences and school performance. The results debunk the myth that brain development is slower in boys.

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word UN? Is it just the Security Council and the ‘blue helmets’ or is there more to it? These are some of the questions tackled by the Chair’s research group.

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Promotor: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens, Co-Promotor: J.B.R. Oonk

Isabel van Vledder and Dieuwertje van der Vlugt, 2 astronomy students from Leiden University, have mapped the entire Milky Way galaxy in dwarf stars for the first time. This result is the most comprehensive model ever for the distribution of these stars. The findings appear in a new paper in Monthly…

Leiden University has an active open science community. Open science means transparency in all phases of research by precisely documenting every step of the way and making this publicly available. ‘It’s time to be open,’ say psychologists Anna van ’t Veer and Zsuzsika Sjoerds. There is increasing awareness…

On 29 april 2020, Beth Van Schaack defended her thesis 'Imagining Justice for Syria: Water Always Finds Its Way'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C. Stahn.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H. J. A. Röttgering, Co-Promotor: Dr. M. Haverkorn

On 5 May we celebrate freedom, a basic human right that should not be taken for granted. We asked international students and staff what it means to them.

It is almost two and a half years since Russia invaded Ukraine, but the conflict between the two countries has been going on for much longer. Central to it is the question of what it means to be Ukrainian. Guest researcher Viktoriia Ryhovanova teaches a course on the subject. Last academic year, the…

As sea levels rise and climate change speeds up, knowledge about the ocean becomes increasingly important. But how is this knowledge being created and how can we use it best to prepare for the future? To answers these questions, Jackie Ashkin studies the day-to-day work of ocean scientists from up c…

As of October, Joeri Reinders has joined the Leiden Teachers’ Academy, a group of innovative lecturers who each receive a €25,000 grant for projects focused on educational innovation. For Joeri, this revolves around sustainability and climate change.

In The Golden Mean of Languages, Alisa van de Haar sheds new light on the debates regarding the form and status of the vernacular in the early modern Low Countries, where both Dutch and French were local tongues. The fascination with the history, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary of Dutch and French…

Kyra van der Moezel defended her thesis on 7 September 2016.

What do refugees use their mobile phones for? And what does it mean for aid workers in reception camps? The Leiden Centre for Innovation studied this issue together with researchers from Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Data & Society.

Stefan de Jong is Knowledge Broker at Luris. But what does Luris actually do? And what is a Knowledge Broker? This week we take a closer look at Stefan’s work.