Musical instruments are multiple things: they are objects but also means of communication; they are technological and also deeply connected to embodiment through the player; and they leave certain cultural traces (Ricoeur 1975/1984). This research project explores how literary texts from the 19th century…

On 9 June 2020, Maral Darouei defended her thesis 'Managing a sustainable career in the contemporary world of work: Personal choices and contextual challenges'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. J.I. van der Rest.

In Dutch society’s discussions about remembering the colonial past, voice is often used as a metaphor for empowerment ('we must raise our voices'), whereas silence is often used as voice’s negative counterpart, signifying a loss or lack of power ('we will no longer be silenced'). Yet, silence is expressive:…

Doctoral research on recent developments in museological practices by “critical” curators, interventionist artists, and personnel initiatives, focusing on ‘queering’ as an entrance point to broader intersectional issues; resulting in a report on the ‘Queer Baseline’ (to be launched in 2020), a popular…

The Voices of Africa platform is ten years old and has just recently won the annual popularisation prize of the Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics (LOT). High time for a chat with Jenneke van der Wal, Maarten Mous and Nina van der Vlugt about the importance of the platform and plans for the…

Jifeng Liu defended his thesis on 2 February 2017

Alumni event, Arts and Culture

'The Routledge Handbook of Civil and Uncivil Society in Southeast Asia' explores the nature and implications of civil society across the region, engaging systematically with both theoretical approaches and empirical nuance for a systematic, comparative, and informative approach.

Should the law and norms applicable to armed conflict include a distinct category covering the transition from armed conflict to peace, jus post bellum, and if so what are its characteristics?

On 19 September 2023 Tabitha Speelman successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

In een uitzending van Pauw & De Wit geeft Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht en voorzitter van de Vereniging Thorbecke, zijn visie op het belang van de Thorbeckeprijs als symbool voor politieke welsprekendheid. De prijs komt voort uit een eerbetoon aan de grondlegger van het Nederlandse parlementaire…

How did Dutch refugee policies develop during a period in which consecutive coalition cabinets were responsible for these policies during refugee crises between 1913 en 2017 and what were the considerations that can explain this development?

Meer dan twee derde van alle ontheemden op de wereldwijd zijn geen vluchteling, maar zijn ontheemd in eigen land. Zij worden volgens deskundigen veel te weinig beschermd.

How was time understood during the colonial period by Tlaxcaltecan Naua communities? What is the relationship between time, spirituality and ritual in the present-day Naua community of Santa Catarina? What does this tell us about the strengths and values of Indigenous heritage and about the impact of…

The present monograph, spanning a wide range of world and local literatures represents a high academic standard of both literary criticism and philological analysis. By demonstrating her expertise as an Africanist conversant with the Arabic canon, Raia reveals how the narrative of Joseph has been re-narrated…

Landen om ons heen laten zien: als burgers mogen meedenken, komt er beweging in vastgelopen politieke discussies. Zou een dergelijke derde kamer ook de oplossing kunnen zijn voor Nederland, waar samenleving en overheid elkaar steeds verder uit het oog lijken te verliezen?

De rol van de Eerste Kamer is het toetsen van wetten op uitvoerbaarheid. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, zegt voor NPO Radio1 dat de Eerste Kamer nu te veel een politieke rol in plaats van een controlerende rol vervult.

On Tuesday 3 December 2024 Shuang Liu successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

If you follow the western media, you are likely to think of ‘Africa’ as the continent of origin of desperate migrants, a continent of hunger and disease and a breeding ground for international terrorism. But if you want to see the bigger picture, you should look no further than the African Studies scholars…

For decades, the trade in pocketbooks prescribing how to be a good Muslim flourished in East Africa, but in recent years the number of books in circulation has been declining. University lecturer Annachiara Raia is the recipient of an Impact Explorer grant to revive this tradition, in cooperation with…

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In 2016, Marcel Cobussen successfully applied for two trainee positions at ACPA, funded by the Humanities Research Traineeship Programme at Leiden University. One of the results, a multi-media essay 'In Search of the Public. Exploring Contemporary Performance Practices of Classical Music in The Netherlands'…

A brief review essay on some of the work that has been recently published in the emergent field of digital ethnography.

Op 30 oktober presenteerde de Commissie tot Revisie van het Reglement van Orde, onder voorzitterschap van Kees van der Staaij (SGP), haar bevindingen aan Kamervoorzitter Khadija Arib.

ACPA Professor of Auditory Culture and Music Philosophy Marcel Cobussen will give a lecture at the Gaudeamus Academy Workshop Weekend. The GMW Academy is a prelude to the contemporary music festival Gaudeamus Muziekweek, taking place from 7 to 11 september in diverse venues within the center of Utr…

On 12 April 2022 Alok Oak successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Mark Rutte: an exceptional politician whose time was up. What are the consequences of Rutte’s departure. Experts from Leiden University give their view on this political event.

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University lecturer Laurie Cosmo, having grown up in New York, came to the Hague from Rome, Italy, where she fell under the spell of the Kunstmuseum. ‘I loved the building even before I worked at Leiden University.’

Documenting and describing languages of the world.

Where in the model of contemporary art, which can be described as a hybrid and joint undertaking between artists, institutions, curators, theory and discursivity, is the actual 'object' of art located and generated? Where and by whom and in what configuration of positions is it produced? Who or what…

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The newly created European Law Unbound Society (ELU-S) held its inaugural conference on 25-26 September 2025, at the Charles University in Prague. Vincent Delhomme presented a paper and chaired a panel, both dealing with contemporary challenges in EU internal market law.

Are you interested in studying the Politicologie: Nationale en Internationale Politiek at Leiden University? There are some deadlines and procedures you should know about. We list them for you below.

Education at the Institute of Public Administration focuses on the broad study of public administration, including the semi-public sector, lobby organisations, civil society, and relevant private organisations.

This book provides an overview of critical scholarly reflections on the history of Dutch slavery and colonization, as well as how this translates into critical cultural practices.

Research on the global field of museums, heritage, commemoration, consumption and material culture

What is the history of plastic packaging in human society?

De menselijke geschiedenis strekt zich ver uit vóór de tijd waarin de mensen opschreven wat er zoal gebeurde.

Research on Inclusiveness and Diversity at the Faculty of Science at Leiden University