The interdisciplinary AI & Society minor of Leiden University brings together students and lecturers from a wide range of disciplines. Together they look at the impact of AI on society. Students are enthusiastic about this merging of worlds.

By means of a presentation, a panel discussion, and activities in the fresh air, the event themed ‘Environmental Humanities’, organised by the Honours College Humanities, managed to unite both people and disciplines. ‘There is a gap between humanities and sciences, but they are more alike than you might…

Leading scientists in the field of the ethics and philosophy of technology are currently revising time-honoured key philosophical concepts such as autonomy, justice and responsibility, as these concepts are being challenged as a result of new technological developments. They receive 17.9 million euros…

In the Spring semester of 2017, two courses will be offered by the Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies, Dr. Helmut Tauscher. One is oriented at the BA level (starting February 23), the other at the MA level (starting February 20).

Alumnus Nick Hortensius started volunteering at the Leiden International Film Festival (LIFF) in his student days. He has since grown with the festival to become head of programming. How does he look back on his student days? And what can we expect from the festival this year?

Mindfulness is all the rage. But what is mindfulness and is this popular form of medication completely harmless? Come to the workshop on 19 September by Chris Goto-Jones, Professor of Philosophy and mindfulness therapist, and find out for yourself.

Street theatre, drama, poetry and a lot of science: Leiden's Rapenburg was the backdrop for the fifth Night of Art and Knowledge on Saturday 16 September. Many University buildings - from the Observatory to the Hortus - opened their doors to artists, scientists and a public curious to know more.

Developing a digital guest lecture for high school students. Jan Sleutels was immediately enthusiastic when he got asked to do this. The end result? Together with his colleague Maarten Lamers, he created the guest lecture 'Thinking about Artificial Intelligence'.

Bastiaan Rijpkema has been appointed Professor by special appointment of the new chair Tolerance at the Faculty of Humanities with effect from 1 July 2021. The chair was established by Stichting Leerstoel Uytenbogaert.

In the online panel discussion of ESOF 2022 ‘The effect of the online world on adolescents’, together with Amy Orben, Professor Eveline Crone, Sterre van Riel, Professor Anne-Laura van Harmelen and Professor Jan Sleutels, Professor Ton Liefaard shared his research on adolescents and the online world…

At the Capstone Conference, Honours College students of the Humanities Lab presented their final projects. In small groups, they conducted research on relevant societal issues – gathering insights from a multitude of disciplines. ‘The aim is to learn as much as possible from each other.’

The D66 proposed bill on Ending Life with Dignity is inadequately substantiated and contains contradictions. This is the view expressed by Professor of Political Philosophy Paul Nieuwenburg in his inaugural lecture on 17 March.

‘It is recommended that the State assumes sovereign responsibilities to protect life, liberty and property of its citizens in the domain of cyberspace, despite the international character of cyberspace,’ says Roy van Keulen. He will defend his dissertation on digital force on Wednesday 9 May 2018.

The second instalment of the Humanities Lab - the three-year honours programme of the Humanities – has reached its conclusion. On 12 May, 11 groups of honours student presented their work in the Arsenaal building.

Biotechnological developments are moving fast. From genetically modified plant varieties we are now moving to cultured meat. These developments require moral interpretation - and they get it in the form of art. Lotte Pet wrote a dissertation about it.

Every year, Humanities students can nominate their favourite lecturer for the Humanities Education Award. Traditionally, the winner of the award will be announced at the start of the academic year. Who are 2017’s nominees and what inspires them to teach?

On 11 December 2015, the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies organized a seminar on

Christopher Green has won the Teaching Prize 2024. The assistant professor of Korea Studies was presented with the prize during the opening of the faculty year in the Hortus.

In her “Jews and Judaism” lecture class in Fall 2020, Dr. Sarah Cramsey’s students produced 7-minute long podcasts instead of final papers.

This doctoral project by artist and educator Luiz Zanotello engenders a postcolonial understanding of time, space and movement by means of artistic research methods. The project examines the contradictory effects of the abyssal line of thought within the tropics as a starting point.

The Leiden Lectures in Media | Art | Politics (MAP) is a series of talks organized by Pepita Hesselberth and Yasco Horsman. Speakers from various academic backgrounds and in different stages of their careers reflect on diverging ways in which technological and social changes challenge and transform…

In 2021 many of our students and staff won fantastic prizes and were awarded important research grants. This is our traditional review of these successes as the end of one year marks the beginning of another.

Every month a member of the Institute for History tells about a book that inspired him or her. Afterwards, the pen is passed on to another colleague. This month dr. Meike de Goede tells about the book 'Between Tides' by Valentin Mudimbe. The novel, little known beyond the circles of Africanists and…

The application procedure is broken down into three parts.

During the two-year Politics, Culture and National Identities, 1789 to the Present programme you will learn from inspired academics and learn how to conduct quality research.

University ceremony

In November 2013, three PhD students started in Herman Paul’s VIDI project ‘The Scholarly Self: Character, Habit, and Virtue in the Humanities, 1860-1930’. In this newsletter they introduce themselves.

Monday 29 January, the annual meeting of Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Safety and Security (LDE CSS) took place at Wijnhaven. The conference started with pitches of projects financed via seed money of LDE CSS. Followed by interaction in small groups to formulate research and education topics for the…

Nederland heeft geen nationale bloem en daar wil het radioprogramma Vroege Vogels verandering in brengen. Verschillende experts van Universiteit Leiden zijn betrokken bij de verkiezing.

eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, is well represented at a number of activities in Leiden this week concerning Technology and Society!

Branda Katan is per 1 maart 2023 benoemd tot bijzonder hoogleraar Corporate Litigation aan de Universiteit Leiden. Deze leerstoel gaat uit van de Vereniging Corporate Litigation.

When you think of squatting, the picture that comes to mind is of young people occupying derelict buildings in big cities. Leiden also has a history of squatting, and that history is very diverse.

On 22 April the 5th edition of the book Introduction to Dutch Law (edited by Jeroen Chorus, Ewoud Hondius and Wim Voermans) was presented to dr. Geert Corstens, former president of the Dutch Supreme Court.

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Robbert Striekwold started his PhD project at LUCAS and Naturalis Biodiversity Center in March 2016. His PhD project is part of ‘A New History of Fishes; a long-term approach to fishes in science and culture, 1550-1880’, a project directed by Paul Smith.

Since graduating from Leiden Law School with master’s degrees in Jurisprudence & Philosophy of Law and Criminal Law, alumnus Allard Altena now works as a Public Prosecutor at the Dutch Public Prosecution Service. He says, ‘I leave work at the end of each day knowing I’ve done something useful.’

What did medieval scholars think of the books they read? In her inaugural lecture, Professor Mariken Teeuwen will talk about the texts they wrote in the margin.

If it was up to alumna and member of the Advisory Board Anne Marie van Rietschoten, philosophy and ethics would be part of the standard curriculum for a law degree. In our monthly flash interview with alumni, Anne Marie explains why she believes this is so important.

At the end of November, eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, welcomed leading international scholars with interdisciplinary backgrounds addressing how humans interact with robots and AI-driven technologies. The seminar entitled “Interacting with Robots and AI” built a…

Leiden University Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) launches the open online course Music & Society on Coursera to advance worldwide access to high-quality education. The course starts on January 9, 2017 and will be taught by Prof. dr. Marcel Cobussen and drs. Hafez Ismaili M’hamdi.

Esa Kasmir (21) is a third-year student in International Studies and is doing a minor in Philosophy. How does he cope with the present situation and how does he keep in touch with friends and family?

As a student, Ratna Lachmansingh wrote her thesis on horror films. Now she is the director of Leiden International Film Festival.

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on teaching at universities over the past two years. Through force of circumstances, lecturers have adapted much faster to a digital future. On 7 June Leiden Teachers Academy’s annual Education Festival (working language is English) will present insights on this ‘new n…

The Board of Leiden University has appointed Armin Cuyvers as a full professor of European Law, specifically EU Constitutional Law and Comparative Regional Integration, effective per 1 September 2021.

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And there you are. A couple of suitcases with you, in a new (unknown) country. You've arranged a room in advance. You know which university you're attending. But other than that ... Evert-Jan, master's student in Encyclopaedia and Philosophy of Law, studied at the Université Paris Panthéon-Assas in…

On Thursday 12 June 2013 , Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, gave the first Europa lecture entitled: 'Poland, the Netherlands and the European Union - Common Challenges'.

On February 8 the 443rd dies natalis will take place in the Pieterskerk in Leiden.

Çağlar Köseoğlu, MA student Literary Studies, has received the Fulbright Graduate Student Grant intended for students who want to study for a master’s degree or a PhD in the United States. He will do a one-year MA called Aesthetics and Politics at the California Institute of the Arts.

The "BRAVE NEW WORLD" conference is about how future technology will impact human life. On November 8-9 it is held in Leiden. Two of the invited speakers are researchers and lecturers of the Media Technology program.