Conference, Workshop

When combined and used by specific people located in time and place, words can express something more than, different from, or even the opposite of their dictionary meanings.

The special issue on “Quo Vadis, Pragmatics?” is the result of a lively discussion among members of the editorial board of the Journal of Pragmatics triggered by the most recent revision of the journal's scope statement. The 11 contributions that make up this special issue cover a rich suite of themes,…

Semantics and pragmatics are united in the study of linguistic meaning.

This dissertation is about Bayesian learning from data. How can humans and computers learn from data?

This book is about what happens when two people meet. Its main aim is to present an account of intersubjectivity.

In this article, Adriana Cerdeira and Dovile Rimkute explore how certain dynamics shape banks' behaviour.

Historical Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and society in its historical dimension. This is the first textbook to introduce this vibrant field, based on examples and case studies taken from a variety of languages.

This book addresses the definition of history and how people are influenced by it.

When researching languages in historical context, our goal is to understand the nature of linguistic variation in the past, and explain the extent to which the socio-cultural context of bygone times contributed to shaping linguistic variation and change.

This thesis investigates the historical development of Japanese pitch accent.

The aim of this study is to specify the strategic function of stance adverbs when qualifying a standpoint in an argumentative discussion.

This book addresses the definition of history and how people are influenced by it.

Travel back in time and learn about how the University has changed over the centuries.

Osteoarchaeology is a rich field for reconstructing past lives in that it can provide details on sex, age-at-death, stature, and pathology in conjunction with the cultural, social, and economic aspects of the person’s environment and burial conditions. While osteoarchaeological research is common in…

The study of language in change.

The topic of Historical Linguistics and Philology at LUCL is language change in its broadest sense.

On 7 November 2018, Catherine Harwood defended her thesis 'Navigating Between Principle and Pragmatism: The Roles and Functions of Atrocity-Related United Nations Commissions of Inquiry in the International Legal Order'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. L.J. Van den Herik and Prof.…

How did institutions and structures operate throughout the Muslim world from the earliest history of Islam into the early modern period?

Memory, Imagination, and Mimetics in Contemporary Composition and Historical Performance

The current study focuses on Walpole’s social network and the language as contained in the letters of the network members.

On 2 Juni 2021, Maarten Manse defended his thesis 'Promise, Pretence and Pragmatism: Governance and Taxation in Colonial Indonesia, 1870-1940'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. R. Arendsen.

Lecture, Sociolinguistics & Discourse Studies Series

What is the origin of educational ideas, e.g., the idea that intervention in infancy has long-lasting effects on development.

How and to what extent the historic house (re-)constructs identity through image-making in China.

Philosophical pragmatism has found more and more applications. But thus far it has not been applied to political crisis management. Political scientist Martin Bartenberger linked these two together and discovered that pragmatism, or the lack thereof, can help to explain how governments and public agencies…

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.

Are you thinking about studying Global Order in Historical Perspective? Learn more and watch the introduction video.

We’re delighted to announce our plenary speakers.

Historical geo data are gaining in importance. Provided that they are exactly geo referenced, they can be stored into a GIS and thus be combined with all kinds of maps (topographical, pedological, etc.) and datasets. This makes it possible to analyze historical developments in space and time on a detailed…

Johannes Boer's research intends to question the way explicit knowledge is applied in order to restore and perform music from the past with the intention to get as close as possible to its original meaning.

Through extensive archaeological and documentary research, this study aims to provide a detailed analysis of the maritime cultural landscape of St. Eustatius over the past four centuries. It focuses on bridging the gap between the marine and terrestrial worlds and demonstrates that in order to truly…

In this project the already developed parcel based historical GIS (HISGIS) for the Dutch province of Friesland (Frisia) will be extended with a series of crucial datasets and map layers.

This book, edited by Joost Augusteijn, Constant Hijzen and Mark Leon de Vries, explores how democratic regimes have dealt with anti-democratic forces in society, from the late nineteenth to the early twenty-first century.

Rather than finger-wagging, the Netherlands has opted for pragmatism when it comes to human rights. That is what Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok said in a lecture in the Academy Building on Human Rights Day on 10 December 2019.

The map application includes information from old and new buildings archaeological projects. This makes it possible to investigate whether water facilities (wells, cisterns) and waste facilities (cesspits, sewers) were the privilege of Leiden’s wealthy elite in the late 16th and 17th centuries or whether…

In this paper for Defence Strategic Communications, Alastair Reed and Jennifer Dowling seek to show the importance of historical narratives to propaganda by identifying and exploring five ways in which such narratives are exploited to reinforce the extremists' 'competitive system of meaning'.

Chinese materia medica (CMM), comprising a diverse array of natural substances from plants, animals, and minerals, has been integral to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) throughout history. This study investigates the dynamic evolution of CMM, noting shifts in species for improved therapeutic effects…

This paper explores whether multilateral surveillance and policy coordination under the ES was based on a path-changing or a path-dependent mechanism

How did the life course, with all its biological, social and cultural aspects, influence the lives, writings, and art of the inhabitants of early medieval England?

The role of mayors is changing from one where they are typically ‘security bosses’ within their own municipalities, to ‘super networkers’ who are increasingly engaged at regional and national levels. This is the opinion of Ruth Prins, programme director of the bachelor’s progamme in Security Studies…

On December 5th, Matthias Pache succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Matthias on this great result.

PhD defence

Which fungi live in Leiden University’s historic buildings and collections, and how can their impact on heritage and human health be understood and managed?