Just behind the entry gate of Angkor Wat, known as Gopura 4 West, through which every year millions of tourists enter the most iconic temple of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, ground-penetrating radar surveys revealed a set of masonry structures: six ‘tower’ bases in geometrical alignment, possibly…

PhD defence

In May 2022 Lennart Kruijer succesfully defended his PhD, which he wrote as a member of the VICI Project ‘Innovating Objects’, led by prof. Miguel John Versluys. So succesfully, in fact, that he was awarded the Cum Laude honors. Just a short time later he was awarded a grant and a fellowship to further…

Associate professor Eric Storm’s book on nationalism has been reviewed in two Spanish newspapers. Three newspaper published interviews with Storm.

Lecture, Tuesday Talk

Conference

This year's London Hellenic Prize is awarded to Caroline Vout for her excellent study of representations of the human body in sculpture, Exposed: The Greek and Roman Body.

Through the Byvanck Fund, Classical Mediterranean archaeologist Tymon de Haas has received a grant of €6,350 for his research on the ecological impact of Roman expansion. He will use this grant to investigate the traces of one of the oldest and best-preserved Roman cadastres, situated in the former…

How did nineteenth-century non-Anglophone translators and authors creatively engage with the poem Beowulf?

Panel discussion

How do you ensure that students still learn anything when they can have AI write an entire thesis in a matter of minutes? Staff members from the Faculty of Humanities discussed this and other questions during a special AI symposium. ‘Writing and independent thinking are crucial, especially in our fi…

Professor Miguel John Versluys of Leiden University has been recognised with the esteemed Humboldt Research Award, a testament to his groundbreaking work in global archaeology, reception-studies and the deep history of globalisation. The award, granted by the Alexander von Humbold-Stiftung, celebrates…

The book: Hegemony and World Order: Reimagining Power in Global Politics will be published this week. Jan Aart Scholte: 'We hope that students, lecturers and policy makers will start to think differently because of this book'

Conference, workshop

Ady Roxburgh has been awarded a two-year grant to continue his research into the choices behind the composition of Roman, copper-alloy artefacts. The Estonian Research Council has awarded him a fully funded Mobilitas Pluss postdoctoral grant. The Evaluation Committee decided to fund the first 5 applications…

Postdoc Intigam Mamedov comments in The Conversation on the recent peace talks between Russia and the USA regarding the war in Ukraine.

For the past 2 years, Dr Letty ten Harkel has been jointly running an excavation project of a suspected Roman villa site on the Balearic island of Mallorca with colleagues Dr Antoni Puig Palerm and Ritchie Kolvers, MA. The project was recently awarded a LUF Chastelain-Nobach fund to explore the extend…

In a well-filled Telders Auditorium, university learners of Korean competed with each other to see who speaks Korean the best.

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.

In an article for The Conversation, University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe comments on the recent elections in the United States and what they mean for President Donald Trump’s position.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe provided commentary in several media outlets on the situation in Venezuela.

The White House has recently released its national security strategy. University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains in The Conversation what we can learn from the document.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains on France 24 how alleged fraud in Minnesota is being used by Trump as an argument to target Somalis.

In an article for East Asia Forum, University Lecturer Vincent Chang sheds light on China’s ambition to globalise its pantheon of national heroes.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe commented on the BBC regarding Donald Trump’s plans to exclude South Africa from the G20.

In an article for The Conversation, university lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains how the shooting of nurse Alex Pretti has affected the pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The archaeologists have been working from home three weeks now. Remotely, through Teams, we meet up with Miguel John Versluys’ research team, to see how they continue working in times of corona.

From cities that sometimes deviate from national foreign policy to the direct influence of geopolitics on local developments, PhD candidate Pieter Jeroense, director of VNG International, examined seventy years of the internationalisation of Dutch municipalities and observed notable trends.

Sometimes fascination can lead to in-depth research. Such is the case with Wahyu Widodo, who came across the Islamic Walikutuban ritual in Java in 2019, on which he subsequently wrote his PhD dissertation. Widodo: ‘Besides community, it also breeds political loyalty’

Generative AI presents journalists with new options for image use but also raises ethical questions.

Lecture, China Seminar

Professor Sjef Barbiers is leaving his job as scientific director of LUCL for the position of scientific director of the Institute for the Dutch Language (INT) from 1 September.

Associate professor Salvador Santino Regilme spoke in various media outlets about the tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

In the Digital Humanities Lab, students and staff can make use of various technical facilities. PhD student Caeso tells us more about his experiences with the printer in the Maker Space.

Lecture

PhD defence

Dozens of Dutch nationals are being held in detention facilities in Northeast Syria or have been transferred to Iraq, risking torture or the death penalty. PhD candidate Ida Asscher believes the Netherlands should repatriate them. 'States must comply with international law, even in difficult situati…

The prestigious Praemium Erasmianum Dissertation Prize is annually awarded to the five best dissertations published in the year before in the fields of Humanities, Social sciences and Law. During a festive ceremony in Utrecht Lennart Kruijer received the award from the hands of professor Bas ter Haar…

The ancient Roman province of Lusitania, more or less contemporary Portugal, has been the focus of a joint research project by Leiden University, Évora University and the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome. The research project has now been provided with a new boost by a large Regato grant managed…

The lecture halls in the Lipsius were full of curious secondary school students in January. During a special profile selection afternoon, they were introduced to the faculty and language studies. ‘I had no idea that Hebrew and Arabic were similar.’

Conference, Workshop