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Conference | Symposium

Humanities PhD Symposium 2026

  • PhD councils of Leiden University’s Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS), Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), and Institute for History (LUIH)
Date
Friday 12 June 2026
Time
Address
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden
Room
1.23

This second edition of Humanities PhD Symposium  provides an excellent opportunity for PhD candidates from across the humanities to share and discuss their ongoing research with peers and faculty members in an open, supportive setting. Speakers include Leiden University PhD candidates in arts, history, area studies, linguistics, philosophy, and related fields.

The symposium does not follow a specific theme, as it aims to offer any of us a platform to present work at any stage – from developed papers to emerging ideas or questions you are struggling with. Each speaker will have up to 15 minutes to present their topic, followed by a 15-minute Q&A.

Registration
Programme

The programme for the day is as follows: 

10:00 

Introduction 

10:15 

Pichayapat Naisupap (LUIH): Global Entanglements in the Dutch East India Company’s Knowledge and Management of Elephants in Early Modern Ceylon   

10:45 

Dominique Loviscach (LUCL): Working towards a grammar of Mararit   

11:15 

Coffee break 

11:30 

Nainunis Aulia Izza (LIAS): Visualizing the Non-Deity: A Stylistic Study of Dynamic and Demonic Figures in Padang Lawas   

12:00 

Chris Flinterman (LUCAS): Reviving the world of 1920s Berlin through the authenticity effect   

12:30 

Lunch 

13:30 

Rebecca Nicastri (LUIP): Mullā Ṣadrā and ‘ālam al-mithāl: The role of the intermediate level within the hierarchy of reality   

14:30 

Arie Elsenaar (LUCL): The Dutch smoes   

15:00 

Youssef Cherif (LIAS): Pan-Arabism after Pan-Arabism: Legitimacy, Discourse, and Regional Identity in Tunisia and Libya   

15:30 

Coffee break 

16:00 

Tony van der Togt (LUIH): Changing Russian strategic narratives towards Europe in the Putin era   

16:30 

Jing Zhao (LUCL): From Acoustic Signal to Social Judgment: How Native Mandarin Listeners Perceive and Evaluate Human and AI-Generated Voices   

17:00 

Borrel 

We also warmly invite faculty members to attend and offer their valuable insights. PhD and thesis supervisors are encouraged to share this call with their PhD candidates and to support their participants. RMA students are also welcome to attend. This event is a great opportunity to engage with vibrant new research and contribute to ongoing academic discussions.

We look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be an engaging and inspiring event.

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