‘Dutch politics are changing, but they also are characterised by stability; that tension fascinates me.’ Sarah de Lange studies, among other things, the Dutch party system, and specifically how the rise of extremist parties influences democracy. She will start as a professor in Leiden in mid-October…

Chip war export restrictions for ASML are most likely in conflict with the Word Trade Organisation’s regulations, claims Anna-Alexandra Marhold. China will certainly contest them.

LACDR members Anne-Grete Märtson and Willem Jespers have each received a Veni grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

The Leiden University College (LUC) education team behind The Learning Mindset (TLM) has received 800,000 euro’s during the Dutch Higher Education Award Ceremony 2022. The LUC team was second behind Universteit Twente. The prize was awarded during the annual Comenius Festival of the Comenius Network.…

Karwan Fatah-Black and Lauren Lauret are co-authors of Geketend voor Hollands Glorie (The Chains of Holland’s Glory) that studies the political and economic connections between South Holland and slavery. The findings of this research will be presented with Dr. Joris van den Tol (Radboud University)…

In the 60s and 70s, Black Power groups were also active in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is what PhD candidate Debby Esmeé de Vlugt has discovered.

Five projects with a lead applicant from Leiden will receive an Open Science Fund grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Leiden University is awarding an honorary doctorate to virologist Marc van Ranst. Van Ranst has been one of the main advisers of the Belgian government during the Covid pandemic. German Arabist Beatrice Gründler will also receive an honorary doctorate for her work in the field of Oriental Manuscript…

Now that war is once again raging in Europe, the question of when you need to stand up against injustice has become more relevant than ever. In his Cleveringa lecture on 24 November historian Gert Oostindie will discuss why colonial domination was not regarded as an issue in Leiden for a long time.

Rob Jetten presented his very first cabinet on Monday 23 February. Three members have ties with Leiden University.

The Mapping Slavery project will place markers that tell the story of Leiden’s slavery past. Why is this important and what does it mean for today’s society? Before the markers are placed, a panel came together on 24 March to discuss the slavery past of not only the city but the University too.

Webinar with Q&A

Guided city walk

Lecture, Histories Connected: Work-in-Progress

Guided city walk

Guided city walk

Who was professionally involved in language between 1550 and 1650? And what were the financial returns of this language sector? Assistant Professor Alisa van de Haar has received an ERC Starting Grant to map out the situation in Northwest Europe between 1550 and 1650.

Conference

Debate

Lecture, Global Histories of Knowledge Seminar

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…

The fight against insurgents, guerrillas and resistance movements is an ‘incredibly unpopular’ topic with experts and military personnel, says Professor by Special Appointment of Military History Thijs Brocades Zaalberg in his inaugural lecture. He warns that ignoring these forms of irregular warfare…

Pichayapat Naisupap recently joined the Institute for History as PhD candidate. Below, he introduces himself.

Ward Hoskens started ten years ago as an intern at one of Leiden's most iconic buildings: the Pieterskerk. Now he is doing his PhD on the question of how the function of this 'church that is no longer a church' changed over recent centuries.

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.…

Lecture, Research Seminar Medieval and Early Modern History

Lecture, Booklaunch - CoGloSS | Oosters Genootschap | Leiden University Press

A number of young researchers recently took part in a knowledge mission to Indonesia, aiming to build a lasting relationship with the country. How did they find the trip, what did they do, and how are they creating new connections with scientists in Indonesia?

Over the past few months, students and staff from the Faculty of Humanities have produced many wonderful podcasts - perfect for listening during a long walk or while preparing the Christmas dinner.

Márcia Gonçalves joined Institute for History recently as Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow and specialises in the history of modern European colonialism (19th-20th Centuries). Below she introduces herself!

Despite being prohibited by law since 1971, race discrimination continues to exist in the Netherlands. Why is this?

The Dutch asylum application centre in Ter Apel is overburdened, an issue that is currently a prominent feature in the Dutch media. In podcast De Verbranders, PhD students Neske Baerwaldt and Wiebe Ruijtenberg engage in dialogue, and use different angles to examine themes related to migration, borders…

Western countries still tend to view Africa as the periphery, says anthropologist Mayke Kaag. In her inaugural lecture, she calls for a shift in perspective: to see Africa as a mirror of global developments.

Timo McGregor recently joined the Institute for History as a NWO-Veni research fellow. His research explores legal and political thought in early modern European empires, with a particular focus on mobility, political belonging, and enslavement. Below he introduces himself.

The LUMC has become the first institution in the Netherlands to treat a patient with an autoimmune disease using CAR T-cell therapy.

Researchers and clinicians at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) are about to begin a milestone clinical study. It will be the first time a stem cell gene therapy developed in the Netherlands is used in a clinic. The therapy will be used to treat children with SCID, a rare disorder where children…

Alumnus Robert van Asten has been an MP for D66 since 2025. He studied Tax Law at Leiden University from 1997 to 2005. After a career in that field, he switched to local politics and later national politics.

The Van Vollenhoven Institute is organising a year-long public lecture series entitled 'Reconsidering the Socio-Legal Gaze'. The lecture series aims to spark critical debates about the visions of justice and positions of power that inform Law and Society scholarship at Leiden and beyond.

Leiden researchers Fenneke Sysling and Joris van der Voet will be admitted to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences’ The Young Academy.

The past few days we interviewed several of our researchers about their various studies during Dutch Bio Science Week. They answered questions such as what impact their research has on our future and with whom they have established valuable collaborations.

Hybrid Book Talk | SSEALS

Lecture, Economic and Social History Brown Bag Seminar

When you think of political philosophy, you think of Immanuel Kant, Georg Hegel and Johann Fichte. Both philosophers are considered great representatives of German idealism. University lecturer in Continental Philosophy Marie Louise Krogh has received a Veni subsidy to delve deeper into the German idealists…

Walter Gam Nkwi is lecturer at the Institute for History, University of Leiden since 1 September 2019. He also lectures at the Den Haag campus. Walter introduces himself below.