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Read about protecting heritage, the LDE traineeship and the importance of international postdocs in the summer edition of the LDE Magazine.

On Thursday, November 20, 2025, the Leiden Jewish Studies Network celebrated the launch of the book Still Lives: Jewish Photography in Nazi Germany (The University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025) co-authored by Ofer Ashkenazi (Jerusalem), Sarah Wobick-Segev (Hamburg), Shira Miron (Basel) and Rebekka Grossmann…

Without scientific knowledge, we won’t be able to tackle the grand challenges of the 21st century: climate change, energy transition, social inequality and coronavirus, for example. Professor by Special Appointment of the Social Value of Science Laurens Hessels is therefore calling for more transdisciplinary…

There are still things we can learn from the Ancient Greeks. How they managed to make sure that innovations were accepted, for example. A group of classics scholars, led by Leiden, will be carrying out research on this question funded by the largest ever NWO subsidy.

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The skin has recently gained attention within body studies for its many specific cultural and social associations, in addition to its biology. This project aims to examine the different layers of meaning and the functions invested in the skin in ancient Greece: how did ancient Greek literary and medical…

In this dissertation I argue that the proto-daoist text the Zhuangzi and the ethical relation of Levinas are fruitful resources to reconsider the self-other relation in comparative philosophy.

Chenyu Cheng defended her thesis on 6 April 2017.

D.P. Kok defended his thesis on 10 October 2017

An online course to teach our international students their first words in Dutch, American presidents in Leiden and how Neanderthals made the very first glue: view a selection of our most read English news in the past year.

The red carpet treatment of expats, terrorism studies and women professors who took over the Senate Chamber. These are the best read articles of 2018.

The Leiden University Green Office is pleased to announce the details of its Spring Event, which will consist of a poetry reading and a clotheswap!

Masterclasses, network meetings and coaching cafés: the Alumni Office was offering a whole range of activities every month for the University’s alumni. Until coronavirus broke out, that is. The Leiden Alumni Webinars mean that alumni can still meet and share their knowledge with interesting speakers.…

Leiden University was present for the second time at the second Leiden Pride on Saturday.

Particularly during this time of social distancing and remote learning, it is important to carry on meeting new people – even if you don’t always feel like it after another day staring at your screen, says Wessel van Dam. In his role as assessor at the Honours Academy, Wessel represents the interests…

In this study an attempt has been made to describe the degree in which the new objectives of the school subjects Greek and Latin, as formulated at the theoretical level by institutes as curriculum planning committees, are are incorporated by the teachers in their actual teaching practice.

Teaching reading comprehension in secondary education

If there’s one place at the University where it doesn’t matter where you come from, it’s De Kattekop. This, the University nursery, celebrates its 40th birthday in September. Its history reflects developments at the University. Parents are full of praise for it.

Native women are invisible in Mexican society. This is the conclusion Barbara Ortiz draws in her dissertation. PhD defence on 23 February.

Can judges be impartial if they are a member of a political party? In PowNed podcast ‘Op z'n Kop!’, Andreas Kinneging, Professor of Philosophy of Law, questions what he sees as an outdated system.

In 2016, Leiden University hosts the monthly meetings of the Music and Cultural Analysis reading group.

At the recent UN summit in Geneva, representatives from more than 180 countries failed to reach a global plastics agreement. Esther Kentin, a lecturer at Leiden Law School, spoke to media outlets on the issue: ‘Human health is at stake.’

This research will investigate which aspects of On the sublime received attention in the intellectual milieu of the seventeenth century and how the sublime found its way in the political and artistic discourse of that time. Thus I aim to shed light on the role of art in politics and society in this…

Op vrijdag 16 februari wordt het boek "Woodcuts as Reading Guides: How Images Shaped Knowledge Transmission in Medical-Astrological Books in Dutch (1500-1550)", geschreven door Andrea van Leerdam, bij de KB gepresenteerd. De presentatie is gratis en voor iedereen toegankelijk. Wel is het nodig om te…

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A clear, unambiguous definition of an extraparliamentary cabinet still seems to be missing in the political arena of The Hague. Caroline van der Plas, Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) party leader, wants to discuss this issue with the party chairs of the Dutch coalition parties. Wim Voermans, Professor…

Leiden University actively promotes diversity and inclusion. In the online magazine Diversity and Inclusion you can read all about the symposium, the exhibition and what the University is doing to make sure that all students and staff feel welcome at our University.

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Leiden University's Pre-University College is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The programme introduced hundreds of secondary school pupils to science and the university. We asked those involved how PRE became so popular: ‘The students are the reason it still exists today.’

The oldest forms of literature and law originate from Mesopotamia (3000 BC until AD 70), as do important discoveries in science and technology. All these developments were recorded in cuneiform texts on clay tablets. There is still a lot to learn from the study of cuneiform texts, says Professor of…

The Russian threat to Europe, pro-Palestine protests, the passing of psychologist Andrea Evers and speculations on extraterrestrial life. These were among our most popular articles of the year.

Young people are more likely to find long texts unappealing to read, particularly with all the digital distractions. To improve young people’s reading skills, Elise Swart and Hannah De Mulder are starting an innovative study to make reading fun again.

This conference explores how reading experiences were shaped both by producers and users of vernacular books. By adopting an international and interdisciplinary perspective (combining book history, literary history, art history, religious studies, and history of knowledge) it aims to contribute to the…

An international team of astronomers including Leiden scientists publishes the image of a young star with a surrounding dust disk that is still being fed from its surroundings. The phenomenon around the star SU Aur may explain why so many exoplanets are not neatly aligned with their star. The European…

How do colonialism and historical slavery continue to impact the university today? And what should happen next? Students and staff discussed these questions on 11 March.

What can opera tell us about societies in the past and present? Leiden honours students went looking for an answer, together with students from the Dutch National Opera Academy. A final concert was, of course, part of the repertoire.

This dissertation focuses on the question how text and paratext contribute to the way that text in a network-like environment is clearly bordered and at the same time can easily be linked to other texts.

Pieter Omtzigt, a strong contender in the polls for the Dutch general elections with his New Social Contract party (NSC), has said he would prefer to remain in parliament as party leader. He is not saying who the NSC candidate for prime minister might be and will only reveal this after the elections.…

At the recent UN summit in Geneva, representatives from more than 180 countries failed to reach a global plastics agreement. Esther Kentin, a lecturer at Leiden Law School, spoke to media outlets on the issue: ‘Human health is at stake.’

A recent ruling by the Dutch Council of State indicates that asylum seekers may no longer be sent back to Italy. The Council of State increasingly concludes that the countries at Europe's southern and eastern external borders expose migrants to degrading treatment. This in particular is a reason for…

In November, the Dutch will elect a new parliament. Not all eligible citizens will go out and vote, however. How can this be explained, and how big of a problem is it? International research into voter turnout can shed new light on this issue – and offer possible solutions.