Leiden University Libraries holds an internationally unique collection of unofficial poetry from China. Produced outside the System over the last fifty years or so, this poetry is hugely influential yet hard to find beyond the informal networks through which it travels. To address this paradox, the…

Lecture, Ancient History Research Seminar

In cities like Leeds, Seoul and Malmö, a museum park is a place for unintentional creativity, unsolicited interventions and unorganised sport. Dutch cities could learn a lot from this. In De Architect, Sander Hölsgens describes how skaters are making public spaces more inclusive.

Construction work at Casal Lumbroso, on the outskirts of Rome, led to the discovery of a fossilised elephant tusk, and soon after, the remains of a 400,000-year-old elephant. A newly published study, led by Enza Spinapolice and Francesca Alhaique uncovered traces showing that early humans had scavenged…

Discover how skateboarding transforms cities by reading anthropologist Sander Hölsgens' research. Learn about his two new books exploring skateboarding as a sensory experience and powerful learning tool within areas as diverse as therapy, care, parenting and education.

For years, Leiden anthropologists are doing fieldwork among the Agta, a hunter-gatherer group of the Northern Philippines. A new government road, which will cut through the Sierra Madre, recently attracted international press attention.

Nederlandse gepromoveerden voelen zich onvoldoende voorbereid op een baan. In een nieuw onderzoek ontwikkelen Leidse promovendi nu alvast hun competenties met behulp van een zelfevaluatietool, persoonlijke coaching en groepsinterventie. Doe mee met dit onderzoek en Empower your PhD.

Plants are vital resources throughout human history, but we know little about how they were used and valued prior to agriculture. Sandrine Gallois, an ethnoecologist working in the ERC-funded HARVEST project, has developed an interdisciplinary approach, combining anthropology and botany to explore how…

The Food Citizens? team is preparing to welcome ten international PhD and Masters students in January in Leiden.

Sander Hölsgens is Assistant Professor, anthropologist and the editor of Gamer.nl. In NRC he talks about his favourite moments in the online game The Elder Scrolls Online. Despite a mediocre start in 2014, the computer game based on the Elder Scrolls series now has an active community of millions of…

On 14 and 15 November, the LUCIS Annual Conference takes place in Leiden. Scholars from diverse backgrounds will come together to share their research on all branches of Shiʿi Islam.

The silenced paradoxes of urban renewal.

Congratulations to David Fontijn, who has been recognized by the University with the title of full Professor of the Archaeology of Early Europe.

New finds demonstrate that Neandertals were the first in Europe to make standardised and specialised bone tools – which are still in use today. These firndings are reported by Leiden reseachers together with an international team of archaeologists in the PNAS journal (Proceedings National Academy of…

Buried beneath a Suffolk forest, archaeologists have uncovered the earliest known human-made fire. A fire that was sparked 400,000 years ago. This stunning UK discovery may rewrite our evolutionary story, potentially pushing fire-making back by more than 350,000 years.

Twenty-two of the 150 newly elected members of the Dutch House of Representatives studied at Leiden University or did their PhD research here. But who are they and which degrees are most popular?

The Board of Leiden University has authorized the Faculty of Archaeology to appoint Prof. dr. Jean-Jacques Hublin as professor of palaeoanthropology. From May 15th onward Professor Hublin's part-time position is funded by the Spinoza-budget of professor Wil Roebroeks.

Unfortunately we have to postpone the workshop with Ben Spatz due to the Corona-virus.

Lecture, Research Seminar Medieval and Early Modern History

How can innovative collective action methods restore biodiversity in socio-ecological lifescapes across livestock-dominated regions?

The Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance, and Development and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies organised the Van Vollenhoven Lecture 2013.

Lecture, Annual Leiden Terra Incognita Lecture

On Saturday 7 December, Leiden professor of Observational Astrophysics Ignas Snellen received the Hans Sigrist Prize from the University of Bern. The prize was awarded to him for his groundbreaking research on planets outside our own solar system.

The latest episode of the ‘Betrouwbare Bronnen’ political podcast is devoted to the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP). One of the speakers is Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl, who talks about the importance and future of this internationally renowned Leiden knowledge centre.

It is with great sadness that Leiden University has learned of the death of Professor Cees Fasseur (11 December 1938–13 March 2016)

An interesting Ottoman History podcast that deals with the slave trade and the African Diaspora in Ottoman Izmir.

From 3 to 5 September 2025, the project Governing and Building the City will organize the conference 'Good Governance and the Built Environment of Late Medieval Cities (ca. 1200–1600)' at KBR in Brussels. The deadline for the call for papers is 7 April.

The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (AIBL), one of the five academies that make up the Institut de France, has elected professor Petra Sijpesteijn as foreign corresponding member (correspondant étranger), to fill the seat of the renowned Egyptologist Edda Bresciani.

On Thursday 5 April, Leiden University had the honour to receive Professor Jurian Langer within the framework of the European Union Seminar Series, jointly organized by the master’s programme in International Relations, the Institute for History and the Europa Institute at the Leiden Law School.

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations World Conference on Women (Mexico City, 1975), a process that led to the creation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). The Global Transformations and Governance Challenges Programme organised a roundtable to reflect on…

Wednesday morning, the faculty was teeming with newly arrived international students, who will be starting their master’s programme or exchange programme next week. Over 150 students took part in the Introduction Morning of the Faculty of Humanities.

Rowie Stolk, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law has been admitted as a visiting researcher to UCLA School of Law (University of California, Los Angeles) where she will stay during the first semester 2019 – 2020.

De uitnodiging staat ter discussie vanwege Bosmans controversiële uitspraken over het slavernijverleden. Bosman is echter in de hoedanigheid van voorzitter van de Tweede Kamer uitgenodigd en niet als PVV’er. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, spreekt over dit onderwerp in het Parool.

Stefano Bellucci has been nominated member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the next European Network in Universal and Global History (ENIUGH) Conference.

On 13 February 2025, the student-led initiative EU Talks?! hosted the first panel discussion of the academic year 2024/2025 titled “America First, Europe Alone? - The Union’s Future Under Trump’s Leadership.” With Trump’s second inauguration, the event focused on the EU’s security challenges and future…

From now on, you can go for a walk through Leiden’s scientific history and at the same time across the historic city center itself. Master students Lotte Koemans and Mandy Meijer have developed an audio tour which takes you past all six wall formulas in the inner city of Leiden.

A MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is a free online course available for anyone to enroll. The Orpheus Institute announces its first MOOC on Artistic Research in Music, which will offer an introduction to the most relevant research tools, techniques and methodologies as well as the key concepts of…

The winter season is almost here and so is the end of our exhibition More-than-Planet. From 1 November, you can only visit us with exclusive guided tours. During this tour, you will visit one of our historical telescopes and we will take you through the More-than-Planet exhibition.

On Tuesday 13 February 2018, the Europa Institute had the honour of receiving HE Ditmir Bushati, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania. He delivered a speech in the Academy Building in the framework of the European Union Seminar Series, jointly organized by the master’s programme in International…

Nadine Akkerman released her new book Invisible Agents in July 2018. View the reviews on BBC History and Telegraph UK. Keith Simpson added it to his summer reading list recommendations.

Of the 150 elected representatives, 24 studied or conducted their PhD research in Leiden. Who are they and which degrees are most popular among these MPs?

The History Days are coming to Leiden for their anniversary edition! The History Days in Leiden on 27, 28 and 29 August 2026 bring together everyone who works with the past professionally: teachers, students, employees of archives, museums and other heritage institutions, independent entrepreneurs,…

The Rijksmuseum welcomes international, independent research proposals which open new perspectives on the museum’s collection, its history and activities. The programme enables highly talented candidates to base part of their research at the Rijksmuseum, and offers access to the museum’s expertise,…

Lecture, Peace Histories Seminar Series

In the Humans of Humanities series, we will do a portrait of one of our researchers, staff members or students, every other week.

The war between Ukraine and Russia is playing out not just on the battlefield but also on the geopolitical playing field of gas. Conflicts at the start of this century about this energy source were, says PhD candidate Ilia Barboutev, a precursor to today’s war.

Lecture, LIMS seminar

For a while, it was uncertain whether prominent American politician Nancy Pelosi would travel to Taiwan. But last Tuesday, she did visit – much to the displeasure of China. Asia expert Casper Wits explains why China reacted so strongly and what the consequences of the visit may be.