Wouter Wagemakers is a specialist in Italian renaissance art and architecture, and lecturer at the Centre for the Arts in Society. At Leiden University, he teaches a survey course on European renaissance art and architecture, 1300-1550; and co-teaches seminars about Rome, the Global Renaissance, and…

I am a South African IR scholar whose research interest is questioning Western-centric narratives and making sense of international relations from the perspectives of the global South, particularly Africa. Before joining Leiden University in 2017, I was based at the University of Cape Town, where I…

I obtained my PhD in 1991 at the Leiden University after which I was appointed assistant professor at the Institute of Biology, Leiden University to study secondary plant metabolites in plants and their interactions with herbivores. I did spent a one-year postdoc at the University of Lille 1 (1994)…

During my PhD at KU Leuven (Belgium, 2000–2005), I explored evolutionary and ecological patterns in the wood anatomy of flowering plants. As a postdoctoral researcher (2005–2010), I expanded my focus to functional anatomy, allowing me to link wood anatomical traits to drought tolerance. This integrative…

Laura Bertens is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Onur Ada is a lecturer at International Studies.

Enes Sütütemiz is a lecturer at the Institute for Philosophy.

Ugur Derin is a researcher at the Institute for Area Studies.

Jesse Doornenbal is a lecturer at the Institute of Political Science and an external PhD candidate at the Institute of Philosophy.

Elizabeth den Hartog holds a post as associate professor at Leiden University (since 1986), teaching art and architecture until 1600. From 2001-2012 she was also director of the Castle Foundation Holland and Zeeland. Her main research interest is in medieval art and architecture, a subject on which…

Nargess Asghari is a PhD candidate at the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (HANDS!Lab).

Lecture, Studium Generale

Despite an eventful afternoon – with Students for Palestine occupying the Academy Building – political scientist Hélène Landemore gave her Cleveringa Lecture as planned on 26 November. She reflected on the protest and the importance of open debate, within the university and within a democracy.

Ksenia Fedorova is a university lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. Within the Modern and Contemporary cluster of LUCAS, she is affiliated with the Environmental Humanities sub-cluster.

Sarah Wolff is Professor in International Studies and Global Politics at Leiden University. Her research concentrates on EU-UK foreign and security cooperation, EU migration and asylum policies, EU-Middle East and North Africa, as well as EU’s policies on gender and religion abroad.

Dr. Gerlov van Engelenhoven is an assistant professor at Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS), teaching courses on postcolonial memory, law & culture, and cultural interaction. His most recent book is titled Postcolonial Memory in the Netherlands: Meaningful Voices, Meaningful Silences.…

I am a Professor at Leiden University, interested in the development of the human niche, with a research focus on Neanderthals and other (earlier) Eurasian hominins. Studying timescales of thousands to millions of years, prehistoric archaeology has the potential to provide a long-term perspective on…

Jan Frans van Dijkhuizen is Associate professor at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Elena Paskaleva is assistant professor in Critical Heritage Studies of Asia and Europe at Leiden University. Her current research focuses on the material culture of Central Asia, and in particular on the history and socio-political importance of Timurid architecture. She is the author of Silk Road Cities…

Krista A. Milne researches book history and medieval English and French literature at Leiden University.

It is with deep sorrow that we share the news that our dear colleague Andrea Evers passed away on Monday, 4 August 2025. Since 2013, Andrea had been affiliated with the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University as Professor of Health Psychology. She was an undeniable driving force…

As of 1 November 2025, Professor Luc Sels will assume the role of President of Leiden University’s Executive Board.

They confounded expectations and went to university anyway – as a woman of colour, a working-class student or refugee... Throughout the centuries the university has always welcomed pioneers. Students for whom going to university was not the obvious choice and who did not grow up in an academic environment.…

As of 1 August, Anika Bexkens has been appointed Professor of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Her research focuses on the optimal application of scientific knowledge in practice. ‘Scientists and practitioners often speak past each other.’

Leiden University has had a turbulent week. There have been protests inside and outside our buildings that have evoked reactions, and students and staff have felt unsafe. We want with this message to look back at the past week and look forward to the future. What happened and how do we now want to move…

Without academic freedom, we might not have antibiotics, nor a deep understanding of human behaviour. Literary criticism, climate models, and ecological restoration would be severely limited; just like ethical reflection on artificial intelligence, justice, trauma, parenting, faith and hope. All these…

‘We could share our knowledge more with others and apply it more widely,’ said Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board, while presenting the new Strategic Plan on the University’s 447th Dies Natalis. The new Strategic Plan therefore focuses on innovating and connecting, among disciplines and…

Prof.dr. Maurits S. Berger, LLM (1964) is a lawyer and Arabist. He is professor of Islam and the West and holds the Sultan of Oman Chair for Oriental Studies at Leiden University, and is a senior research associate with the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Hague. He has worked…

Rik van Gijn is professor by special appointment of ethnolinguistic vitality and diversity in the world at the Centre for Linguistics. His interests focus on the indigenous languages of South America, and in particular on the question of the historical development of the stunning linguistic diversity…