An international team of astronomers has revealed the first 'chemical profile' of an exoplanet's atmosphere. The team, including Leiden astronomer Yamila Miguel and provenda Amy Louca, made the profile using so-called Early Release Science data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The results have been…

Lecture

Imaging and Imagining Palestine is the first comprehensive study of photography during the British Mandate period (1918–1948).

Migration is the talk of the town. On the whole, however, the current situation is seen as resulting from unique political upheavals. Such a-historical interpretations ignore the fact that migration is a fundamental phenomenon in human societies from the beginning and plays a crucial role in the cultural,…

Clear English Pronunciation provides students with the tools to effectively communicate in English without centring solely on native-speaker pronunciation models.

Inspired by a critical reconsideration of current monolithic approaches to the study of Greek religion, this book argues that ancient Greeks displayed a disquieting capacity to validate two (or more) dissonant, if not contradictory, representations of the divine world in a complementary rather than…

To make successful communication possible, people need much more than their knowledge of the language system.

Investigating the relations between Tupi Indigenous Knowledge, Museum Collections and the Dutch Colonization of Brazil

The Leiden HANDS!Lab for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies hosts research activities in the area of sign language linguistics and Deaf studies, with a focus on Africa. In addition to various research projects, we have our Deaf studies lecture Series in International Sign and offer various regular and…

Humanities alumni end up in exciting and diverse places! Read their personal stories about work, choices, and opportunities. Discover how their academic background shaped their journey, and explore the wide range of possibilities a Humanities degree can offer.

Exploring the language of the lower classes in the nineteenth century

Our research is done at two different locations.

On the 13th of November, Yifei Bi successfully defended her doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Yifei on this achievement.

In late medieval and early modern times, books, as well as the people who produced and read (or listened to) them, moved between regions, social circles, and languages with relative ease. Yet, in the multilingual Low Countries, francophone literature was both internationally mobile and firmly rooted…

This open access book investigates the transnationally connected history of Arab Christian communities in Palestine during the British Mandate (1918-1948) through the lens of the birth of cultural diplomacy.

This research cluster aims to analyse and interpret the formation and transmission of Graeco-Roman culture by exploring the relationships between cultural products (texts, objects, practices) and their societal and historical contexts.

In Voices on Birchbark Jos Schaeken explores the major role that writing on birchbark – an ephemeral, even ‘throw-away’ form of correspondence and administration – played in the vibrant medieval merchant city of Novgorod and other cities in the Russian Northwest.

Leiden University offers several programmes and courses on Central Asia. There are bachelor and master programmes and there is also the possibility of doing your PhD in Leiden.

On the 10th of January, Astrid van Winden successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Astrid on this achievement!

We are proud to announce that the 1st Volume of INTER-SECTION is now available.

While phenomenology and Yogacara Buddhism are both known for their investigations of consciousness, there exists a core tension between them: phenomenology affirms the existence of essence, whereas Yogacara Buddhism argues that everything is empty of essence (svabhava). How is constructive cultural…

This engagingly written textbook provides a unique 'hands-on' introduction to sociolinguistics, which equips readers with the tools to start their own sociolinguistic research project.

Do you want to discover a language and culture that is completely different from the Netherlands? In the Bachelor's programme Middle Eastern Studies you will study the connections between the different cultures in the Middle-East in the past and present. You will be able to choose from the languages…

Ti amo Italia! Immerse yourself in the country of Michelangelo, Dante and Prada. Study one of the most popular languages in the world and discover why Italy has filled an exemplary role for so many centuries and still does. As a graduate of the Bachelor's programme Italian Language and Culture you will…

We are a community of researchers from diverse backgrounds who explore becoming and being human, in relation to the world around us and other living beings.

PhD defence

Many of the language rules we use today were formulated in the 17th and 18th centuries. In a dual track at the universities of Leiden and Brussels, PhD candidate Eline Lismont investigated why some rules became successful while other rules were quickly forgotten.

This summer, the Universe is closer than ever. With the online astronomy summer programme Space in Your Living Room!, the Leiden Observatory brings astronauts and Leiden astronomers to the homes of children all across Europe.

Russia correspondent Eva Hartog took a Master’s in Political Philosophy in Leiden in 2011. This former editor-in-chief of The Moscow Times sees this short period as a new chapter in her life. And she is once again contemplating her future now she can no longer ask the big questions in Russia.

This year, the International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) attended the first days of the 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Professor Steven Truxal was invited to address the 15th European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) Forum of Directors General in Paris on 6 December 2022.

The International Institute of Air and Space Law is very proud to announce that Judge Peter Tomka has accepted the position of chairman of its International Advisory Board. During the Board meeting on 15 November 2017, Judge Tomka officially succeeded Professor Laurens Jan Brinkhorst as chairman of…

How do galaxies form? That is what astronomer Mariska Kriek will be researching in the coming years. She received an NWO Vici grant of 1.5 million euros to study galaxies in the early universe. ‘This research uses new and unprecedented observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). These allow…

Lecture