Programme
Humanities Lab consists of four modules, a Bachelor Honours Class and a concluding project. You will cross academic boundaries and view the world through the lens of Humanities.
The central goal of the track is to expand your worldview beyond disciplinary borders and illustrate the benefits of looking at the world through a 'Humanities lens'. Above all, the track challenges you to use insights from the study of culture, language and history to analyse the problems of today.
Components
Humanities Lab is a flexible 30 EC programme that exists of six components (5 EC each) The programme starts with a mandatory introductory module and ends with the Capstone Project. In between, you will take two key modules, one advanced module and one Bachelor Honours Class.
Each module consists of 6 meetings and includes presentations, group discussions, guest lectures, and excursions. All Humanities Lab modules are held on Friday afternoons. Honours Classes, offered by the Honours Academy, take place throughout the year on various days and times. Courses are scheduled in both Leiden and The Hague
Mandatory, collective starting module for all BA2 students / starting students. Six lectures combined with tutorials, offering a general introduction to core concepts and themes in the humanities. Examples include questions such as: Are humanities
outclassed by the sciences? Is history coming to an end? How does meaning work? What is the purpose of novels, of art, or of thought experiments?
The Humanities Lab 101 Module is taught in the first semester of your second BA year. The lectures end with a final assignment, which gives you a lot of freedom to explore out-of-the-box options. Read the articles below for some examples:
Small interdisciplinary workgroups addressing questions of topical societal interest, using cross-disciplinary methods of approach. Topics include cultural memory, Dutch colonialism, museum studies, identity, food studies, and sociolinguistics.
You can pick and choose which modules you complete, and when you complete them, in accordance with what fits best with the rest of your schedule.
As part of the programme, you will complete one Bachelor Honours Class. These bring together students from different programmes across the university to work on interdisciplinary topics and to train specific academic skills. Topics range from mindfulness to cybersecurity, and from creative writing to negotiation and conflict management.
The Honours Class can be completed by students in their second or third bachelor year. View this page for more information on Bachelor Honours Classes.
Students work together in small teams on a research project of their own design, in which they focus on a question of topical interest for society or the world of science. Students present their findings at a closing conference with staff, stakeholders, and community members. The Capstone Project and the conference serve as the closing chapter of your Humanities Lab programme.
Read this article on the Capstone Conference to get an impression.
View the full programme in the prospectus
ProspectusTesting ground
Because honours education is a testing ground, you get to experience innovative education. You will take part in other teaching methods and examination methods than you may be used to. The classes are active and engaging and bring multiple perspectives together. Instead of only writing papers for assessment, you will dive in interdisciplinary group projects, write creative articles or make a podcast or documentary.
