Leiden Humanities

YouTube video by Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities Avond van de Talen 2025 (Evening of Languages 2025) at Leiden University

Leiden was buzzing on the Evening of Languages

With a sold-out programme, a buzzing atmosphere and over thirty activities, the event showcased how rich, surprising, and unifying language can be.

youtu.be/TAc4x5mZV2Y

Faculty Teaching Award for Mike Schmidli

Assistant professor Mike Schmidli has won the 2025 Faculty Teaching Award. The Committee praised his commitment to not only informing students well, but also helping them develop into well-rounded individuals.
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Ancient Greek spelling mistakes shed new light on language development If you had something important to write down in ancient times, you would usually write in Greek in the eastern Mediterranean. University lecturer Joanne Stolk has been awarded an ERC grant to explore ...

Ancient Greek spelling mistakes shed new light on language development

University lecturer Joanne Stolk has been awarded an ERC grant to explore the kinds of spelling mistakes and improvements that were made in ancient times.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Spinoza Prize for historian Judith Pollman Judith Pollmann, Professor of Early Modern Dutch History, has been awarded the Spinoza Prize. ‘An unbelievable honour.’

🎉Historian @judithpollmann.bsky.social received the #SpinozaPrize from NWO for her research on how people dealt with change in the past and how these affected both personal and collective identities.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

‘Eldest sons held the power in ancient Egypt’ For decades it was thought that the family system of the ancient Egyptians was very similar to our own. However, PhD candidate Steffie van Gompel explains that the reality is somewhat different. ‘In E...

For decades it was thought that the family system of the ancient Egyptians was very similar to our own. However, PhD candidate Steffie van Gompel explains that the reality is somewhat different.
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Students from Leiden University

🎉Célébrons le français: Symposium: 130 Years of French Language and Culture in Leiden

📍23 May 2025, 14:00 - 17:00, Waalse kerk, Leiden. This event is in Dutch and French. Register via: www.universiteitleiden.nl/agenda/2025/...

Jenneke van der Wal | Ammodo Science Award 2025 Jenneke van der Wal is one of the laureates of the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research 2025. Read more about her research Credits Production company:…

🏆Jenneke van der Wal wins Ammodo Science Award: ‘Especially unstudied languages contribute to theory building’

Read the interview with Jenneke: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025... and watch the video: vimeo.com/1078359474

Flags at United Nations

80 years after the end of the Second World War, the History and International Studies section and the Cold War Research Network are organising a roundtable discussion with Matthew Broad, Maxine David, Laurien Crump, Daniel Schade, Vineet Thakur and Jue Wang. www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/20...

From singer to French teacher: ‘I kept wondering what a university study would be like’ After a successful career as a singer, Esmee Schoones started studying French a few years ago. It resulted in a national award for her thesis on musical arrangements of Verlaine's poems and a job teac...

After a successful career as a singer, Esmee Schoones started studying French a few years ago. It resulted in a national award of Platform Frans for her thesis on musical arrangements of Paul Verlaine's poems and a job teaching French.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Resistance against the Dutch and German Occupiers: Indonesian Students in Leiden On the eve of World War II, Leiden was home to the largest Indonesian student community in the Netherlands. Many of these students joined the resistance against the German occupation, and later some f...

PhD candidate Sander van der Horst collaborated with Henna Goudzand to write about anti-colonial student resistance in Leiden in the recently published anthology 'Wereldsteden van de Lage Landen. Stadsgeschiedenis van Nederland en België.'

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Speaking Korean contest: ‘Actually, I don't dare to do this at all’ In a well-filled Telders Auditorium, university learners of Korean competed with each other to see who speaks Korean the best.

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

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Jamel Buhari: ‘Queer migration is intertwined with other reasons for leaving’ Those who apply for asylum at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) are often asked about their main reason for migration. This process puts asylum seekers in a specific category, while the...

With his research on queer migration, PhD candidate Jamel Buhari shows how complex the reality is. Read more about it!

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

How do our language rules come about? 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 ru...

Many of the language rules we use today were formulated in the 17th and 18th centuries. PhD candidate Eline Lismont investigated in a dual track at the universities of Leiden and Brussels what made some become a success while others were quickly forgotten.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Wreck in the Wadden Sea: ‘Objects tell the story’ More than 40 years ago, a wrecked merchant ship was found in the Wadden Sea. PhD student Geke Burger looked at this archaeological find from a historical perspective.

⛵Wreck in the Wadden Sea: ‘Objects tell the story’

More than 40 years ago, a wrecked merchant ship was found in the Wadden Sea. PhD student Geke Burger looked at this archaeological find from a historical perspective.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

10 maart: Universiteit Leiden start estafettestaking tegen bezuinigingen Medewerkers van de Universiteit Leiden trappen maandag 10 maart de estafettestaking af van de Nederlandse universiteiten tegen de kabinetsbezuinigingen.

On 10 March, staff from Leiden University are kicking off the Dutch universities’ staggered strike against the government cuts.

Besides teach-outs at schools or city lectures at the Waalse Kerk, a strike action will be organised at the Garenmarkt in Leiden.

Hundred-year-old causes of death mapped: ‘The past is the laboratory of the present’ If it is up to university lecturer Evelien Walhout, in a year's time we will know exactly what people from Haarlem and Zwolle died of a century ago. Together with colleagues from other universities, s...

If it is up to university lecturer Evelien Walhout, in a year's time we will know exactly what people from Haarlem and Zwolle died of a century ago. Together with colleagues from other universities, she started a platform where causes of death are recorded. www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Actualiteitencollege 6 march: Democracy under pressure? Lessons from South Korea

Join the lecture by professor @remcobreuker.bsky.social Breuker, organised by @leidenglobal.bsky.social together with Studium Generale and @geopolitieknu.bsky.social

Info: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/20...

Week van de Klassieken 2025 - Rijksmuseum van Oudheden Het overzicht van alle activiteiten vanuit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden tijdens de Week van de Klassieken, van 6 t/m 16 maart 2025.

During the Week of the Classics at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, the theme is Law and Justice.

There is a varied program! Our tip: attend one of the lectures by Renske Janssen, Jürgen Zangenberg, Bert van den Berg, Christoph Pieper, Tazuko Angela van Berkel or Ilan Peled.

Now also in Indonesia: The butterflies of Boven-Digoel Three years ago, associate professor Alicia Schrikker published De vlinders van Boven-Digoel, in which she chronicled several stories about colonial life in present-day Indonesia. Now there is a trans...

Three years ago, associate professor Alicia Schrikker published De vlinders van Boven-Digoel, about the colonial life in Indonesia. Now, Rianti Manullang, assistant professor at Universitas Indonesia and PhD candidate at LUCAS, has translated the book. www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

International Mother Language Day: Mother Languages in Motion HERLING invites you to celebrate the UNESCO's Silver Jubilee of International Mother Language Day. During the event three impressive paintings of New Zealand forest trees by local artist Corien de Kle...

Celebrate International Mother Language Day on the 21st of February. The event organised by HERLING (The Research Lab for the Study of Heritage Languages of the Netherlands) will consist various talks and presentations about Mother Languages in Motion.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/20...

JEDI Fund 2025 On this page you will find more information about the selected projects of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Fund for 2025.

From an Open Mic event for disabled and neurodivergent individuals to a podcast about Africa and Latin American, the JEDI Fund this year again honored several projects that contribute to diversity and inclusion.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/dossiers/...

Punishment or refuge? ‘Women sometimes aimed to be convicted’ Over a thousand women ended up in a State workhouse between 1886 and 1934. This was a place for vagrants, beggars and drunkards: people who were said to be too lazy to work. Who were these women who w...

Over a thousand women ended up in a State workhouse between 1886 and 1934. This was a place for vagrants, beggars and drunkards: people who were said to be too lazy to work. Who were these women who were sent there? PhD candidate Marian Weevers found out.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Healthcare and the Dutch East India Company: Two centuries of arrogance and challenges The Dutch East India Company (VOC) took healthcare seriously, albeit mainly for business reasons. Former GP Ton Zwaard’s PhD research reveals that although healthcare in Asia was well organised, the V...

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) took healthcare seriously, albeit mainly for business reasons. Former GP Ton Zwaard’s PhD research at the Faculty of Humanities reveals that although healthcare in Asia was well organised, the VOC faced persistent problems for two centuries.

College Tour, de podcast! Podcast · Twan Huys & MA Journalistiek en Nieuwe Media · Welkom terug in de collegezaal! In samenwerking met masterstudenten Journalistiek en Nieuwe Media van de Universiteit Leiden interviewt Twan ...

🎧Listen to the first season of College Tour, the podcast! created by master students of Journalism and New Media and journalist Twan Huys. In this new series of podcasts, Twan Huys talks to high-profile and inspiring international journalists including Eliot Higgins! open.spotify.com/show/5b9u3Iz...

Photo of Susan in the garden of Hortus Botanicus

💡Chairperson Susan van Grol: We need to be critical but realistic

After 14 years of chairing the Faculty Council, Professor Jan Sleutels is handing over the baton. Student Susan van Grol takes over the chairmanship. Time for an introduction to Susan: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Keyhole surgery on old books leads to discovery of medieval fragments An endoscopic camera was used to record images of reused medieval fragments on the inside of book bindings from the 16th and 17th centuries. The unique images were made as part of the project ‘FragmEn...

An endoscopic camera was used to record images of reused medieval fragments on the inside of book bindings from 1500-1700. The research is part of the project: ‘FragmEndoscopy' by senior university lecturer Thijs Porck and student assistant Iris van Kuijk. www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

Esther Op de Beek and Stijn Bussels begin as New Education and Scientific Directors of LUCAS: 'Communication with Staff is Paramount' The LUCAS Institute has both a new Scientific Director and a new Education Director. Stijn Bussels and Esther Op de Beek both commenced their new roles at the start of the academic year.

Esther Op de Beek and Stijn Bussels begin as New Education and Scientific Directors of the LUCAS Institute of the Faculty of Humanities: 'Communication with Staff is Paramount'

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2024...

Household Slavery: 'An Overlooked Method of Enslaving People' When discussing enslavement, attention often focuses on Africans forcibly shipped to South America. Researcher Timo McGregor's new Veni research sheds light on a lesser-known method, whereby indigenou...

When discussing enslavement, attention often focuses on Africans forcibly shipped to South America. Timo McGregor's new Veni research sheds light on a lesser-known method, whereby indigenous populations were enslaved through the households of colonisers.

www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2024...

Photo of Beatrice the Graaf speaking on stage of the Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden.

Professor Beatrice de Graaf held the 53rd Huizinga Lecture on Thursday 12 December. In front of a sold-out Stadsgehoorzaal, she spoke about how history can be used in times of crisis to give meaning to the situation.

Read more: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2024...

Photo of the opening's presentation

A visitor trying out a VR set

Visitor trying out the film set

Demonstration of the digital lab

The new Humanities Hub in the Huizinga Building of #UniversityLeiden is officially opened. It comprises labs with digital facilities for students and researchers, who are also at hand to help use these digital research tools. The labs include an AI Lab, a film studio and a podcast studio.