The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) aims to demonstrate its relevance to society by means of high-quality research, excellent education and various outreach activities. A few highlights:

The one-year master's programme in Philosophy at Leiden University integrates historical and systematic approaches in philosophy. It offers advanced training in philosophical methodologies and skills, as well as a sophisticated knowledge of traditional and recent philosophical developments.

In the Global Conflict in the Modern Era specialisation of International Relations you will explore the security measures that have been instituted locally, regionally and globally in the modern world.

The specialisation Global Order in Historical Perspective of the master’s in International Relations at Leiden University focuses on examining the historical processes and practices in the making of global order.

Conspiracy theories are of all times, and the government should never dismiss them as a fantasy of fools. Certainly not now, when it turned out that authorities made a conspiracy themselves with a journalist threatened with murder. Which proves that the truth is always more insane than you could have…

Prof. Vriesendorp and prof. Wessels have been recognized in the 2020 Lawdragon list of 500 Leading Global Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyers. Prof. Haentjens has been recognized in the 2020 Lawdragon Leading Global Restructuring Advisors & Consultants guide.

On 21 March, the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam hosted a debate evening on the data ‘hunger’ of the distrustful government, partly in response to publications by Dutch newspaper NRC on the undercover investigation into mosque attendance at the behest of the NCTV (National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and…

Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) in Leiden is a unique interdisciplinary master’s programme, considering topics of freedom, justice and citizenship in the 21st century. Watch this video to learn more about the programme!

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Having flirted with Egyptology and Italian, Dieuwertje Kuijpers found her true calling in the Master’s in European Union Studies. She is now a freelance journalist specialising in politics, security and defence. But she is also at home writing columns for ThePostOnline and hard-hitting articles for…

Leiden students are producing ‘College Tour, the podcast!’ with TV presenter Twan Huys. In next to no time, they have to find top journalists and prepare hard-hitting interviews. We take a look behind the scenes.

In 2018, the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), born out of activism, exists for forty years. The institute celebrated this on 28 June in the Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden. In the morning, proud directors and researchers looked back and forth. After this several experts discussed the current environmental…

Alumnus Stan van Haasteren went to Northern Ireland in 1995 as a freelance journalist with a guitar strapped to his back and recently wrote a book about his experiences in Belfast. ‘The big difference with then is that today there is no more violence. But it's still a divided city.’

‘If we all possessed just an ounce of Cleveringa, then all would be well in the world,’ said Professor Leo Lucassen. In the Cleveringa debate on the line between free speech and threatening speech he called for ‘more guts’. He is not the only one who thinks this is badly needed if the debate at the…

It’s impossible to avoid, even in the Netherlands: the US will soon be going to the polls. Where does it come from, this fascination with US elections? PhD candidate Bram Eenink explains.

Chemistry, which is what Hans Klis studied in Leiden, is not what one might expect of a general journalist. ‘I’m a late bloomer,’ he says, despite having spent four years as America correspondent and written a book on notorious school shootings by the tender age of 34.

Freemasons, young circus artistes, people at a clothes swap and many more. Seven young anthropologists spent a year exploring Leiden as city photographers. They published their photos in Leidsch Dagblad each week. An exhibition at Oude UB shows the fruits of their labour.

A group of early career scientists have written a code of ethics through an initiative of the World Economic Forum. Chemist and co-author Sander van Kasteren explains its importance: ‘We want to show that we scientists have our own inherent morals too, and that we too are part of society.’

Medical research is often exaggerated in the news. Medical journalists are not the only ones guilty of such sloppiness; results are also often exaggerated in academic press releases. This was the conclusion of a study by researchers from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University,…

Dutch newspaper Trouw investigated the tax position of multinational Cargill. Their conclusion? Cargill appears not to pay taxes over their profits. Trouw asked Jan van de Streek, Professor of Tax Law, and PhD candidate Josephine van der Have for an explanation. Prior to this, Van der Have had also…

Maurits Berger worked as a lawyer in Amsterdam and as a journalist and researcher in Egypt and Syria. Since 2008, he has been a Professor of Islam in Leiden. Now he finally gets to do what he really wants: bringing his social knowledge and experience with Islam to the academic world. His call to the…

Sara Polak, American Studies expert and University Lecturer investigates how American presidents deal with the media and how new, social media influence our collective memory and the political game. ‘Social media algorithms influence us and our political choices in ways we do not foresee’, Polak say…

Explosions at people’s homes, gangland killings and online threats: if you follow the news, it may seem as though threat levels in the Netherlands are rising. But is that really true? Researchers from Leiden University investigated this and have presented their results in the Dreigingsmonitor (Threat…

Professor Wim Willems of the Centre for Modern Urban Studies (MUS), together with Anne van Mourik, is researching the life of Ru Paré, the woman who saved 52 Jewish children during World War II.

The increasing Technological opportunities of Virtual Reality (VR) increasingly resemble the real world (and more). In Japan VR holidays are very popular and VR porn is emerging.

Leiden University's Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) and the Montesquieu Institute are jointly launching the ‘Academie voor de Rechtsstaat’ (Academy for the Rule of Law). With this initiative, they intend to offer a course providing in-depth knowledge and insight into the basic principles of the…

The Hay Festival brings readers and writers together to share stories and ideas in sustainable events around the world. The festivals inspire, examine and entertain, inviting participants to imagine the world as it is and as it might be.

The government’s intention to be more transparent following the childcare benefits scandal is long overdue according to Annemarie Drahmann, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law. One of the problems behind the benefits scandal was the lack of openness of the authorities. The government…

Government leaders have been searching for words to condemn the actions of Belarus which intercepted a passenger aircraft flying from Athens to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, having a fighter plane divert it to Minsk.

Aleydis Nissen, one of our colleagues from Belgium, created a feature article with photos for Knack magazine (Roularta Media Group). The Pascal Decroos Fund sponsored this article.

Throughout the year, the organisation 'Voedsel Anders' organizes an events series that showcase various local food initiatives in Dutch cities.

In 2007, a spy from the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) planted a destructive computer virus at an Iranian nuclear site, halting the Iranian nuclear weapons programme. Dutch newspaper ‘de Volkskrant’ has revealed that the AIVD kept the crucial role of the Dutch spy a secret from…

Understandably, coronavirus is often viewed from a medical perspective. However, researchers in the social sciences and humanities possess a great deal of expertise that could improve our understanding of the virus outbreak and its impact on society. A new portal is consolidating this knowledge.

Eight students who enrolled in the LUC Multimedia Journalism course worked an entire block on their online productions, which had to include at least three of five possible media forms: text, audio, video, photo and infographics.

Indonesian newspaper Pikiran Rakyat has published a series of seven articles about Leiden entitled ‘Two impressive weeks in Leiden.’ The articles were inspired by the symposium ‘The Role of Women in Sustainable Development in Indonesia,’ which took place in Leiden from 23 May to 3 June 2017.

‘Dutch municipalities’ backroom meetings a massive breach of the law’ was the main headline of Dutch newspaper De Stentor on 24 June 2022. According to investigative journalist Gep Leeflang, Dutch municipalities continuously break the law by holding their municipal council meetings behind closed doors.…

On 27 November 2019, David de Boer defended his PhD dissertation 'Religious Persecution and Transnational Compassion in the Dutch Vernacular Press 1655-1745'. For his research, he analysed several hundred pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals published primarily in the seventeenth-century Netherlands,…

The European Commission has started an investigation into possible illegal state aid from the Netherlands to Nike. It is high time that agreements between Tax Authorities and multinationals are made public, says Associate Professor in Tax Law Jan Vleggeert.

On 17 May 2018, a delegation of LUC students from all different majors, coordinated by Dr. Joris Larik, participated in the Roosevelt Awards Laureates Dialogue Event at Nieuwspoort in The Hague (‘Roosevelt in The Hague 2018’).

The Dutch Data Protection Authority is concerned about the way in which businesses in the hospitality sector are registering contact details of customers.

Maria Vasile and Cristina Grasseni have presented the results of Maria’s ethnography in Turin.

Yvonne Erkens, Associate Professor at the Department of Labour Law and Social Security co-organised a symposium entitled ‘Misdirected allegations of breaches of research integrity’ with Frits Rosendaal (LUMC) and Ivan Oransky (Retraction Watch) at the World Conference on Research Integrity. The conference,…

Health psychologist Andrea Evers has been invited by several Dutch and international media to talk about the coronavirus and the measures taken by the government with regard to public health.

Dr Gianclaudio Malgieri, Associate Professor of Law at eLaw, will receive the AI Policy Leaders Academia Award from CAIDP Europe (Center for AI and Digital Policy Europe) alongside Professor Alessandro Mantelero from the Politecnico di Torino. The award is 'for their collective call on EU policymakers…

John Boy will be an Urban Citizen Fellow for the next academic year with his research project Urban Citizenship and Emerging Critical Technical Practices in Amsterdam. He will research the question: What critical technical practices are technologists in Amsterdam experimenting with, and how they can…

On Thursday 15 February 2018, the Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law welcomed Roel Janssen, financial and economic journalist and writer, for the fifteenth Hazelhoff Guest Lecture.

LUCIS affiliated members are researchers outside Leiden University who are actively involved in the study of Islam and/or Muslim societies and who regularly participate in LUCIS activities. LUCIS affiliate membership offers possibilities to cooperate with LUCIS as well as network opportunities. Contact…