Six programmes in the Faculty of Humanities have been awarded the designation 'top programme' by the Keuzegids. These are the bachelor’s in German Language and Culture, Greek and Latin Language and Culture, Latin American Studies, Ancient Near East Studies, Religious Studies and Russian Studies.

Due to technological and societal developments, we are being flooded with more information than our brains can process. How does this affect our decision-making, both as individuals and as a society? And can we learn to make better choices? This is what Lotte van Dillen will explore with her profess…

Lecture

As of 1 May 2025, Professor Kartica van der Zon has been appointed professor by special appointment of Family Law, Law of Persons and Juvenile Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Groningen.

Sense Jan van der Molen is vanaf 1 maart de nieuwe wetenschappelijk directeur van het Leiden Instituut voor Onderzoek in de Natuurkunde.

In ancient times, the desert in the Udhruh region in Jordan was transformed into a green oasis. An intricate network of underground water channels was part of an ancient system of water management, storing water and preventing loss through evaporation. Archaeologist Mark Driessen found a new way to…

In the course of 2020 the Faculty of Archaeology was bolstered by some new staff members. Due to the coronavirus situation, sadly, this went for a large part unnoticed. In a series of interviews we are catching up, giving the floor to our new colleagues. We kick off with Dr Tuna Kalayci, who joined…

Dr. Joanita Vroom (Near Eastern and Mediterranean archaeology) has been invited to join the prestigious French POMEDOR Project as co-applicant and regional coordinator for Greece and Turkey. The POMEDOR Project focusses on the interaction between population, pottery and food in the Medieval Eastern…

Pastoralist Societies, Rock Art and Literacy in Jordan’s Black Desert (200 BC to 800 AD)

Bullying, abuse or a difficult divorce: many young people struggle with mental health problems after traumatic experiences. But why do some suffer much more than others? This is the question that Hannah Dorsman is exploring within the THRIVE project.

Hoe kijken Nederlandse bedrijven naar online prijsdiscriminatie? Kimia Heidary, Bart Custers, Helen Pluut en Jean-Pierre van der Rest schreven hier een artikel over.

For hundreds of years, children in Ancient Egypt learned to read using The Satire of the Trades, a text in which a father gives advice to his son through descriptions of different professions. PhD candidate Judith Jurjens investigated how this worked in practice.

Alisa van de Haar is one of three humanities scholars to win a KNAW Early Career Award this year. The university lecturer of Ancient French Literature is receiving the award for her innovative research on multilingualism and migration. 'It would be nice to use this to set up a project with students.…

Inaugural lecture

Marike van Aerde was at the brink of traveling to India for fieldwork when that country closed its borders, three weeks ago. Only a few days later, Leiden University followed suit in temporarily banning all fieldwork trips. With her research team scattered across different continents, she does her best…

During the 2019 Reuvensdagen, PhD candidate Femke Lippok was awarded the prestigious W.A. van Es-prize for her research master’s thesis The Pyre and the Grave, written in 2017. The jury lauded Femke for her pioneering work and making use of big data analysis, while adding an admirably expansive and…

Flitsinterview met alumnus Kees van der Staaij: ik ben en blijf een jurist in hart en nieren

PhD defence

He presented his PhD research entitled “Kick-starting drug development; translational systems pharmacology using innovative zebrafish experiments and advanced computational modelling”. During his presentation, Rob highlighted the advancements he made in using zebrafish as model in system pharmacolog…

Lecture

The aim of ANCIENT CHARM was to develop neutron-imaging techniques and the associated equipment, and help establish neutron imaging as a mainstream archaeological analytical technique. In particular, one of the goals was a new imaging technique which called neutron resonant capture imaging combined…

New Approaches to Understanding the Eastern Mediterranean during Byzantine and Ottoman Times

PhD defence

The bachelor programmes German Language and Culture, Classics, Dutch Language and Culture, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Religious studies and Linguistics have received the predicate top rated programme from the Keuzegids.

Olivier Nieuwenhuyse, member of the Faculty of Archaeology, was successful in receiving a grant from the Bijvanck Foundation for a first campaign of work at Tell Begum, northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan). A small international team directed by Olivier Nieuwenhuyse in a joint effort with the Directorate…

An unexpected phenomenon in a merger of a cluster of galaxies. An international team of astronomers led by Francesco de Gasperin has witnessed a gas tail of a galaxy, that slowly extinguished, but then lightened up again

How has progress been made on diversity and inclusion at Leiden University over the past decade? Attendees reflected on this at the D&I Symposium 2024: Untold Stories. And in the workshops, students and staff discussed the next steps toward a more inclusive community.

The Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO) annually awards the best theses on the Ancient Near East. The 2018 award went to archaeology student Giacomo Fontana for his MA thesis on automatic detection and extraction of Omani burial monuments in satellite images.

The Leiden Archaeology social media team presents its first documentary on one of our faculty's research projects. A team led by Bleda Düring, Victor Klinkenberg, and Maria Hadjigavriel explores the Cypriot Chalcolithic period in Palloures, Cyprus.

Three programmes at the Faculty of Humanities have been awarded medals by EW and ResearchNed. The bachelor’s in German Language and Culture took gold, and the bachelor's in Ancient Near Eastern Studies and the master's in Middle Eastern Studies each earned a bronze medal.

Systematic aerial surveys carried out in Jordan’s Eastern Badia region since 1998 and about 10 years of simplified satellite image analysis have led to the discovery of multiple prehistoric sites, according to archaeologist Peter Akkermans. The Jordan Times interviewed him about the new insights.

The seminar is dedicated to the work-in-progress of Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy staff and doctoral students. The paper is sent in advance and discussed in the meeting. The seminar is open to all.

Alumna Simay Çetin received the award for her Master thesis: ‘Interpreting Culture through Embodied Practice: An anthropological study of sexuality among Dutch Women with Turkish Migrant backgrounds.’ Nova, Marta, Iris and Emma were awarded for their Fieldwork NL report.

The Faculty of Humanities offers an inspiring international working environment with room for diversity and innovation to staff and students from home and abroad.

Lecture, Research Seminar

Evenement

Emeritus professor Joke Bouwstra (LACDR) will receive this year's Dr Saal van Zwanenberg Ereprijs: a tribute to her years of fundamental research on the skin and the transport of drugs through the skin. This is the first time the prize has gone to a woman.

Astronomers have captured a new deep field of Pandora's Cluster (Abell 2744) with the James Webb Space Telescope. The images show never-before-seen details. The results are described in four scientific papers. Leiden astronomers Marijn Franx and Mariska Kriek collaborated on the study. 'This opens a…

Lecture

Lecture

Valedictory lecture