The NWO has awarded Sara Polak a Rubicon grant. In September, she will start a 12-month period of research at the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture at Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany.

Sara Polak, PhD researcher and lecturer at LUCAS, has won a Fulbright scholarship to work on her research on Franklin D. Roosevelt at Yale University from September 2014 till February 2015.

Leiden University will confer an honorary doctorate on astrophysicist Sara Seager for her work on exoplanets.

Dr Sara Brandellero, Assistant Professor in Brazilian Studies (LUCAS), was invited by the State University of São Paulo (UNESP/Araraquara) and the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCAR) as visiting professor for the week of 8-12 June 2015.

Following China and Italy, it appears that the United States is becoming the next epicentre of the coronacrisis. Can the US handle this crisis? Is president Trump dealing with the situation correctly? We asked Leiden America expert Sara Polak.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro called the COVID-19 disease “a minor illness”. With more than 200.000 confirmed corona cases today (May 18) however, Brazil is quickly becoming one of the world’s emerging coronavirus hot spots. How long can Bolsonaro continue to downplay the corona crisis? We asked…

A flood of news reports, push notifications and even extra news broadcasts: on Wednesday, the world was shocked by the storming of the Capitol in Washington. Americanist Sara Polak discusses the events.

Congratulations to Sara de Wit and Miriam Waltz, who have just won a Leiden University Global Seed Fund. Their proposed project entails 'Climate Talks' to foster equitable exchange between indigenous knowledge systems and climate science.

On 25 September, lights throughout Leiden will be turned off for the Seeing Stars event. What makes the urban night so special? We asked university lecturer Sara Brandellero, who researches cities, night and migration.

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…

In the middle of doing research for her master’s thesis, Sara Kalf (24) was hit by a car and got seriously injured. After a long period of rehabilitation and hard work, this week she can finally add her signature to the wall of the Academy Building’s ‘Sweat Room’.

Orange the World 2025

Political games have existed throughout history, but what is the role of 'play' in the way the American political world has developed? University lecturer Sara Polak has received an ERC Starting Grant to investigate this.

The Leiden University Network for Health in Africa (LUNHA) aims to shift the focus of global health to be more about justice, fairness, and inclusion.

This article aims to provide a coherent foundation for empirical studies of interpersonal discussion on risk.

Global health governance is at a crossroads. As the world reckons with the existential threat of planetary crises (climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution), international policy frameworks struggle to keep pace with a rapidly changing landscape in global health and public health.

WORLDING AMERICA researches how ‘play’ has been a key force in the past and present process of creating America as a coherent and hegemonic ‘world,’ from 1503 to the present.

On 8 February 2024 Leiden University celebrated its 449th anniversary.

Just published: Nederlands internationaal privaatrecht Special issue: Private international law and finance

How was FDR's image constructed—by himself and others—as such a powerful icon in American memory?

This dissertation studies the construction of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a cultural icon in American memory, particularly by FDR himself.

This book considers the porous relationship between legality and illegality in Brazil, a country that presages political and societal changes in hitherto unprecedented dimensions.

Arts and culture

Lecture

In 2024, many of our students and staff won great prizes and secured important research grants.

In this first ever podcast from LUCIS, hosts Yasmin Ismail & Sara Bolghiran explore what it means to imagine Muslim futures. Over 6 episodes we explore questions around what it means to imagine, the politics of imagination and what it would mean to engage with Muslims from the perspective of futures…

Democracy in Action is a Horizon Europe-funded initiative exploring how grassroots movements, cultural spaces, and digital innovations can strengthen democratic participation. With a special focus on youth, women, ethnic minorities and night culture, we bring together researchers, grassroots movements,…

This article investigates which factors most influence individuals’ decisions to engage in conversations about risk.

This study looks at population response to government containment strategies during initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in four high-trust Northern European countries–Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden–with special emphasis on expressions of governmental trust.

This article explores crisis communication research clusters in the literature, examining overlaps and intersections among diverse fields.

In this article, Wout Broekema, Wouter Jong, and Sara Perlstein explore the design and assessment of crisis inquiries from a learning perspective.

Memory and Identity is one of the six research themes of the LUCAS Modern and Contemporary cluster.

The research group on governance of crises studies phenomena, dynamics and actors related to crisis governance. The Leiden University Crisis Research Center (CRC) is part of this Research Group.