A platform to research memory and culture in the Muslim world. This programme explores the ways modern memory studies methodologies can be applied to pre-modern Muslim societies to reveal the uses of the past and senses of tradition in diverse contexts of Muslim thought.

One of the most intriguing papyri discovered and published in recent years is the so called

The eighth issue of the JLGC explores the diverse and interdisciplinary research on our multifaceted relationship with animals which is currently taking place, re-examining the relationship between humans and animals, and the definitions involved.

The Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (LUCIS) and the Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation will join hands in promoting the understanding of Arabic culture. Generous support from Mr. Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain enables LUCIS to invite a visiting professor in Arabic culture…

The NYU Abu Dhabi Humanities Research Fellowship for the Study of the Arab World (HRF) invites early-career scholars who wish to contribute to the vibrant research culture of NYUAD’s Saadiyat campus to apply for a residential postdoctoral fellowship, starting September 2026.

Shifting the Compass: Pluricontinental Connections in Dutch Colonial and Postcolonial Literature

The article offers a comparative systematic literature review of the principles, norms, and strategies associated with Security by Design and Privacy by Design

When it comes to literature, people mostly talk about what characters see or hear. Rarely is it about what they smell. That’s a shame, thinks university lecturer Jan van Dijkhuizen. He has been awarded an Open Competition grant from NWO to expand academic knowledge about scent in literature, and to…

The second and final volume of this co-authored study has just been published by J.B. Metzler. This second monograph explores the history of the concept of barbarism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Why would someone choose to learn a language like Arabic? For Wessam Semida, teacher at the Academic Language Centre (ATC), the answer goes far beyond grammar and vocabulary. 'It really opens your perspective on life,' she explains. 'Language is a key to understanding people, cultures, and different…

Barbarism: from the 18th century to the present.

You can find an overview of events organized by the Platform for Post-Colonial Readings below.

From experimental essays to comfort reads, and from manga to court literature in verse: Japanese literature has it all.

In this research project Nizar Rohana analyzes and reflects on taqsīm recordings by two leading figures of ‘ūd playing who were pillars of modern Arabic music, namely the Egyptians Muḥammad al-Qaṣabjī (1898-1964) and Riyāḍ al-Sunbāṭī (1906-1981).

Five years after the Arab Spring it seems as if the only sign of success is in Tunisia. But is that really the case? The Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (LUCIS) is organising a panel discussion on this topic on Friday 12 February.

De lichtheid van literatuur: Engagement in de multiculturele samenleving (The Lightness of Literature: Engagement in the Multicultural Society) is a plea for the social relevance of literature. The book delves into an age-old debate about literature and social engagement, which has recently been reinvigorated…

Water damage, old restorations and copper corrosion in some illustrations. De Materia Medica has been through a lot over the centuries. The manuscript dates from 1083 AD and is one of the oldest illustrated Arabic manuscripts in the world. Due to intensive use, De Materia Medica was no longer in good…

On the 31 March 2022 Mr. Taufiq Hanafi successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

A workshop (Cairo, Egypt, 14-15 September 2018) organized by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo with support from “DICIS” / Digital Cinema Studies https://www.digitalcinemastudies.com/

The interplay between literature and law is what Frans-Willem Korsten wants to address as a brand-new professor of Literature, Culture and Law. That means doing research, but certainly also teaching. 'The Hague is of crucial importance for the humanities.'

To truly understand Dutch literature, we have to look beyond borders. At least, that is the view of Sander Bax. From 1 August, he will be Professor of Contemporary Dutch Literature and Culture in a Transnational Dynamic.

As part of the NWO-funded research project ‘The Multilingual Dynamics of the Literary Culture of Medieval Flanders, c. 1200- c. 1500’, we invite proposals for 20 minute papers addressing any aspect of medieval literature and literary culture. We welcome proposals from scholars at all career stages—and…

Using a corpus of textual, literary, and other evidence to shed new light on the age at which medieval women gave birth.

Wenxin Wang defended her thesis on 26 October 2016

This research tries to create a coherent comprehension of misfit, enhance conceptual knowledge, highlight prevalent knowledge.

This article explores crisis communication research clusters in the literature, examining overlaps and intersections among diverse fields.

Form and Function in Greek Grammar. Linguistic Contributions to the Study of Greek Literature is a new book, written by Albert Rijksbaron. Rijksbaron is internationally known as one of the leading scholars of the Ancient Greek language, whose work has exerted a strong and lasting influence on the scholarly…

This fall, LUCIS will have the pleasure of welcoming Professor Emeritus Geert Jan van Gelder to Leiden. He is the second Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation Visiting Professor in Arabic Culture at Leiden University.

Middle East Studies Lecture

As Professor of Literature, Culture and Law, Frans Willem Korsten explores the interplay between literature and law. These are two disciplines that most people wouldn’t immediately connect, but Korsten can see a lot of common ground between them. ‘A fictional story can have a huge impact on law.’

A mixed qualitative/quantitative approach to medieval disability aids using both literary and artistic sources.

Every semester, LUCIS invites a scholar to Leiden to provide a lecture series on a topic of their choice. With these lectures, we aim to present state-of-the-art research in Islamic studies to the Leiden academic community and beyond, and to offer students and junior researchers the opportunity to get…

What does it mean to perceive smell? This question fascinated poets and playwrights of the early modern period (ca. 1500–1700): their work abounds in references to and evocations of smell sensation and of specific scents. POEM maps the ways in which early modern writers put the language of smell – or…