A study programme all about cities and their issues. Three years ago, the bachelor's programme Urban Studies was a newcomer in The Hague. By now, the first theses are being written. André Gerrits, programme director, talks about the programme’s success: 'The intake of first-years has increased from…

On the 30th of December, we received the sad message that our Kenyan colleague, Kennedy Kaminju Kariuki died on December 28, 2023 in the NW hospital in Nairobi at the age of 35 years from organ and heart failure. Kennedy was a PhD candidate at the CML, Leiden University.

On 21 April 2022, Cleveringa Professor Jan Grabowski visited Leiden. The theme of his visit was the role of law and historiography in shaping collective memories.

External PhD candidate Liselore Tissen has been appointed ambassador for Leiden City of Science. As the youngest member and the only non-professor in the network, she will be working to raise Leiden's prominence as a city of science.

Many humanities graduates find work in digital heritage, but a good pedagogical model to match education is lacking. University lecturers Karin de Wild and Peter Verhaar want to change this with a Comenius grant.

When are you (sexually) mature? A KNAW grant will enable associate professor Rafal Matuszewski to organise an interdisciplinary workshop on this question.

During her lecture, Professor Annelou van Gijn explored user-wear analysis and experimental archaeology, showing details about past human life.

On 30 June, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies of Leiden University (eLaw) will hold the annual Hans Franken Lecture. This year, the lecture will be held by Jan Kleijssen, the recently retired human rights director at the Council of Europe. The title of the lecture is: 'AI and Human Rights'…

What does it mean to be in a Dutch prison? What is true about the prejudices about being in jail? Criminologist Marieke Liem has released a podcast on Dutch national broadcaster NPO Radio 1: Hotel met tralies.

On 3 June, Annetje Ottow (chair) and Hester Bijl (rector magnificus) met the Humanities faculty. Although a physical introduction was preferred, this visit also had to be done digitally.

'Engaging With Everyday Sounds' is a rich and inspiring exploration of the role of sounds in everyday life, including their impact on human actions, emotions, and imagination. Marcel Cobussen intertwines sonic studies with philosophy, sound art, sociology and more to create an impressively lucid and…

We talk with Michiel van Elk, about his research into mapping what effects psychedelics have on the human brain and what this means for the possible clinical application of these drugs. The cognitive psychologist shares his findings with a sober view, bringing critics and fanatics closer together for…

On Friday morning, 18 October, Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl and Professor Remco Breuker welcomed Korea Foundation President Gheewan Kim.

World Heritage status comes at a cost to the local population’s human rights. PhD Candidate Sophie Starrenburg explains the drawbacks of poetic terms such as ‘the cultural heritage of mankind’.

From an academic study with local residents to a specially developed newspaper: humanities scholars contributed to Leiden European City of Science in various ways. In this video, they look back on a special year.

Human resources

When is the last time you made a fire? Not light a candle with a match, but an actual fire from scratch. Thousands of years ago, humans already made fire. Archaeologist Andrew Sorensen (Leiden University) explains when and how they did this.

PhD candidate Maia Casna was a guest on the new episode of the Wetenschappelijke Wezens podcast. In it, Maia discusses her research on urbanisation and respiratory diseases while uncovering the intricacies of studying the human past and bones.

Scientists have long assumed Neanderthals simply lost the evolutionary race against humans. But their disappearance may be a bit more complex. In Discover Magazine, Gerrit Dusseldorp sheds light on this illusive question.

Education, Organisation

Different groups of hominins probably learned from one another much earlier than was previously thought, and that knowledge was also distributed much further. A study by archaeologists at Leiden University on the use of fire shows that 400,000 years ago knowledge and skills must already have been exchanged…

Did you know that PhD candidates are also alumni of your alma mater? High time to put a PhD alumna and her research in the spotlight. Besides, this month our UNICEF Chair in Children’s Rights is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Being rejected always hurts, but so does having to reject someone. Social psychologists have discovered that at interviews to select suitable housemates students dehumanise candidates to make it easier to reject them. That may sound harsh but, according to the researchers, it is also logical.

From predicting Alzheimer’s to the growth of organisms: psychologist Marjolein Fokkema’s algorithms can be used in many disciplines. They also provide inspiration for her songs, theatre shows and life lessons. What drives this rocking researcher?

The ERC consolidator project "Food Citizens? Collective food procurement in European cities: solidarity and diversity, skills and scale" will organise a winter school on visual and collaborative methods in anthropological research at Leiden University’s Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development…

Research on quantum computers and Islamic charities: two Leiden researchers have received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council.

During the event 'Fout?' by De Jonge Akademie, Ellen de Bruijn held a lecture about the social context of making mistakes and the psychological elements of learning from it.

The editorial board of the Leiden Elective Academic Periodical (LEAP) is proud to announce the release of the third edition , titled “Sense(s)”!

JSixty researchers have received a grant of approximately 50,000 Euros during round 3 of the NWO Open Competition SSH-XS pilot programme. Two of them are working at FGGA: Jolien van Breen and Honorata Mazepus. The sixty researchers received the grant to start working on a promising concept or an innovative…

Dr. Andrew Littlejohn has been awarded a Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. The fellowship provides funds for early-career scholars to write and publish significant monographs that will impact the development of anthropology.

The New Scholar, an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal at the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University, is launching its first issue, and how? With a double issue!

Anke Smits and Lucien van Beek have been awarded a Praesidium Libertatis Grant this year. Smits is an assistant professor at the LUMC and Van Beek at the Faculty of Humanities. They each receive a sum of 75,000 euros from the Leiden University Fund (LUF).

Stress and overwork are massive problems today, but relatively little is known about stress factors in the past. With a look at the deep history of stress, Sarah Schrader hopes to get a better understanding of the human stress experience. Her project application received an NWO XS grant.

Geert de Snoo is making the transition from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology to the management of KNAW. Starting 1 October, the professor of Environmental Biology will begin his role as Director of Research Policy in a new, consensus-based management team.

During the last couple of months, Leiden University has conducted many constructive discussions with the University Council and many other experts and groups from the academic community. Based on their input, the Executive board has decided to create a preliminary policy regarding our ties to Israeli…

Research

The Humanities Faculty Teaching Award has been won by Olja Karmanova. The Russian lecturer was presented with the award during the opening of the faculty year.

The Humanities Faculty welcomes Thea Hilhorst as a professor. Due to the cooperation between the universities in Leiden, The Hague and Rotterdam, she will be appointed professor at Leiden University in addition to her current position as a professor in Rotterdam. Hilhorst discusses her field and this…

Research

Pyrotechnology – the manipulation and control of fire – is one of the defining characteristics of humanity, and has impacted nearly every technology that we used in the past and study archaeologically in the present. Our PhD researcher Femke Reidsma joined EXARC's podcast for May’s #FinallyFriday to…

During the final event of the PRE-Class Rechtsgeleerdheid, secondary school pupils organised a mock trial on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on society. Together with the audience, they explored the possibilities and pitfalls of AI. ‘They all did a wonderful job.’

The University of Oslo and Leiden University have joined forces to organise a Tutorial on Robots and Society: Ethical, Legal, and Technical Perspectives on Integrating Robots in the Home and Healthcare Systems and Services at the IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communica…

In order to stop a whole range of diseases or disorders at their source, you would have to be able to switch certain genes on or off. Sebastian Pomplun wants to develop substances that can do this very precisely. For example, he wants to disrupt cancer processes and make cells produce an important missing…

University lecturer Tazuko van Berkel is one of this year's laureates of the Ammodo Science Award. The award includes a sum of 350,000 euros that she can use as she wishes to explore new avenues in basic scientific research.

The fact that scientists are increasingly better able to access molecular cell and tissue data also brings with it a new challenge: how can scientists find the information they need for research among the vast amount of data available?

Research

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…

Archaeologist Jason Laffoon was awarded an NWO Vidi grant for an innovative investigation into ancient migrations in the western Caribbean. The innovative character of this research project lies in the wide-scale application of isotope analysis and isotope mapping. ‘We aim at further developing methods…