Three years ago, Associate Professor Alicia Schrikker published 'De vlinders van Boven-Digoel', in which she chronicled several stories about colonial life in present-day Indonesia. Now there is a translation, by Rianti Manullang, who is also an assistant professor at Universitas Indonesia and doing…

What is it like to teach at an international school, surrounded by different languages, cultures and educational traditions? The World Teachers Programme (WTP), a profile within the teacher training programme at ICLON Leiden University, offers students the opportunity to experience this.

We invite proposals for the conference entitled ‘Ruins and Memory in the Muslim World: Typologies and Motifs (622-1800 CE)’ to be held in Leiden between 14-16 September 2026.

To cover up their deportation plans which targeted Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, the Nazis re-opened schools. In her inaugural lecture, historian Sarah Cramsey demonstrates with examples how care was used ‘as a weapon’ during the Holocaust. She also stresses that care is a unifying cement in society…

How should we address our colonial heritage? And how digital and accessible are our collections? Outgoing State Secretary Fleur Gräper spoke with researchers and heritage specialists about this on 25 January.

Wouter Veenendaal, a political scientist at Leiden University, is an analyst for the Freedom House report. Freedom House is an American non-profit organisation dedicated to democracy, political freedom and human rights. In short, the report describes the degree of freedom and the state of democracy…

Minority governments only become an option when attempts to form a government collapse. PhD candidate Corné Smit explored why such governments have become rare in the Netherlands and what advantages they might offer. ‘Broad majority coalitions often fail to make substantial progress on key issues.’

Conference, Workshop

PhD defence

PhD defence

Lecture, Radical Spotlights Seminar

Lecture

Lecture, Research Seminar

Lecture

Lecture

Valedictory lecture

Inaugural lecture

LCN2 hosts seminars on the last Friday of each month.

Orange the World 2025

Myths abound about the Pilgrims, the group of religious refugees from England who set sail for America in 1620. Did they really live in peace with the indigenous peoples of America? In an international conference, historians from Leiden will seek to draw attention to the more negative effects of the…

Leiden University has had a diversity policy since 2014. The aim is to create a diverse and inclusive learning and working environment for all students and staff. Diversity Officer Aya Ezawa updates us on the process and the results. It’s now 2022, what has already changed?

...What does seem clear, though, is that there is a great deal of room for improvement in the process of out-of-home placement. The FSW's social and behavioural scientists give their views.

The University buildings are partially reopening to students. And first-years will be able to discover real-life Leiden or The Hague during the introduction weeks this summer. Vice-Rector Hester Bijl describes what will be possible once more at the ‘one-and-a-half-metre university’. ‘We want to provide…

This Summer Eduard Fosh Villaronga visited Shandong University. He writes about his stay at the second oldest university in China.

In his leaving interview, Martijn Ridderbos doesn’t have to think long when asked what he is most proud of. ‘Bringing people together; creating things together. Reducing the gap between researchers and the staff who support them because the latter are essential. We’ve achieved that and the seeds have…

Natalia Sobrino-Saeb, third-year student at Leiden University College The Hague, won the challenge by the Ignitor Fellowship Program held by the Nobel Peace Center for her essay on the threats to journalism in Mexico. On December 10th Natalia met the Committee of the Ignitor Fellowship in Oslo and attended…

Research and education at the intersection of law and technology is more important than ever. With its 40 years of experience, the eLaw department, founded in 1985, is ready for the future. Time to reflect on four decades of innovation.

University historian Willem Otterspeer is about to retire, and he will give his farewell lecture on 4 November. Although... it is really a farewell? He still plans to write another five books, using oceans of archive material. 'An archive should be like the surf breaking on the seashore: wonderful…

Students, first-time buyers, parents with stay-at-home children, migrants in need of a house; the problems in the housing market affect many layers within the society. The lack of housing is a growing problem. How does this affect our behaviour and the way we think about 'living' ? What are the consequences…

Lecture

My colleagues and I have been devastated to learn that our good colleague and friend Stefan Landsberger (born 1955) passed away unexpectedly, on 26 September 2024. Stefan had been a fixture of China Studies in the Netherlands, where he had been Associate Professor of contemporary Chinese History and…

Lecture

Lecture, Lunch Research Seminar

Brainstorm Session

Lecture

In the complex and challenging landscape of humanitarian operations, engaging with states and their governments is a critical aspect to humanitarian negotiations that demands careful consideration. This blog post interrogates the intricacies of this engagement, finding that there is an alignment between…

What happens if you are an academic forced to flee your home country and find yourself here in the Netherlands with practically nothing? The Hestia scheme offered by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) gives refugee scientists the opportunity to resume their academic career in the Netherlands. The scheme…

We are pleased to announce a call for papers for the upcoming workshop on the study of smart, sustainable, healthy, and diverse cities in modern-day Indonesia. The workshop aims to explore the future possibilities and challenges of metropolitan centers such as Jakarta, the newly built IKN Nusantara,…

A moment of reminiscence and to see what lies ahead. After having been Dean of Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) for six years, Judi Mesman takes the time to reflect.