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Many students have difficulties to read and give meaning to algebraic formulas. In this study it is explored whether graphing formulas with pen and paper will improve students’ability to reason with algebraic formulas.

The present volume focuses on the political perceptions of the Hajj, its global religious appeal to Muslims, and the European struggle for influence and supremacy in the Muslim world in the age of pre-colonial and colonial empires.

With regard to governance, policies and law, many Muslims and Muslim countries recognise the possibility that Islam has something important to say about the way society is to be ordered, governed, and regulated.

Dating back more than 400 years, Leiden University has the oldest continuous chair of Arabic outside the Arabic-speaking world. Today the MENA region is studied at Leiden from before the coming of Islam up to today from a wide array of disciplines. And Arabic is studied within the diverse linguistic,…

Chaider Bamualim defended his thesis on 9 September 2015

Situated at the crossroads of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Spanish Philippines offer historians an intriguing middle ground of connected histories that raises fundamental new questions about conventional ethnic, regional and religious identities.

Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present

Large carnivores and humans, along with their livestock, have co-existed for thousands of years. However, human population growth and an increase in economic activities are modifying the landscape for large carnivores and their prey.

Associates of Leiden University Center for Intercultural Philosophy

An investigation into how racial stereotypes were created and used in the European Middle Ages.

Get the most out of your studies at Leiden University by taking part in our extracurricular activities.

This article investigates the causes and examines how differing public perceptions of the rule of law contribute to this trend.

Markus Altena Davidsen’s PhD dissertation is the first major study of Tolkien Religion. In it, he analyses the religion that is based on the stories by acclaimed British fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien. He also discusses how fiction itself can become religious. Davidsen will defend his dissertation on…

With what skills do Humanities students distinguish themselves on the labour market? How can we offer students insight into their personal profile? Can they train and monitor their skills and increase their chances on the labour market this way?

If students are to be taught from the viewpoint of several different disciplines, they should first have a firm foundation in one field. They will then be better able to benefit from interdisciplinary teaching than if the teaching combines knowledge and working methods from very different fields. This…

Publications from the Project 0100 team members.

Mayke Vereijken (ICLON) has been appointed Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA).

AstroEDU is one of the world's most inspiring education innovations, according to the experts at HundrED. It is a recognition for a place where educators can discover, review, change, and share astronomy- and space-related activities for primary and secondary education, and where they can have their…

In her dissertation, Xiao Ma takes education as a lens to reveal the dynamic relations of three groups of South Koreans – parents, students, and educational agencies – to nation-states of both the origin and arrival. Her study shows the temporality and ambivalence of population movements between two…

It is integral to many cluster members’ research to use Medieval and Early Modern Arts as a lens for studying the medieval and early modern periods at large:

This project investigates the full ecosystem of Middle Dutch prayerbooks in order to answer questions about their role in – and impact on – religion, culture, and society in the late medieval Low Countries.

The Leiden Ancient History specialization concentrates on the study of the economies, societies and cultures of the large empires of the Graeco-Roman world, starting with the empires of Alexander the Great and his successors. The appearance of these empires led to the development of an interaction network…

Every year, in the last month of the Islamic calendar, millions of Muslims from around the world come together in Mecca to perform the Hajj, the pilgrimage that all capable Muslims should perform at least once in their lives. In 2013, the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden organised the exhibition…

How is tradition constructed and belief made plausible in fiction-based religion?

Systematic investigations into religious precepts, worldly rules of law and legal practices in the Muslim world show clearly how these societies deal with justice and injustice. Sharia, the Islamic ‘legal system’, plays an important role in this context.

In the academic year 2018 - 2019, the Faculty of Humanities established the Educational Innovation Programme. In this way, the faculty wants to realise the ambitions from the educational vision of Leiden University in education. How is the programme currently doing? We talked to project manager Sanne…

Access to education for people from the lower socio-economic class has improved immensely in Europe from the 1950s onwards. Yet the Roma and Sinti were unable to reap benefits from this. PhD candidate Anita van der Hulst researched why so few Roma and Sinti went on to higher education. PhD defence on…

Leiden Professor Richard Griffiths received the Outstanding Educator Award for Innovation during the annual Coursera Partner Conference on 22 March. The conference was hosted by Leiden University in the World Forum in The Hague and was attended by 500 participants from more than a hundred leading universities.…

Interculturality, diversity and digital skills. These were themes on which lecturers shared their experiences during expert meetings on educational innovation. During each meeting, six instructors gave a short presentation on their respective projects. This was followed by a discussion in which they…

The Ancient Worlds Network brings together staff and graduate students in LIAS working on the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world.

On May 30 and 31, a workshop will take place at the Dutch Art Historical Institute in Florence (NIKI). This workshop aims to further our understanding of how late medieval societies reconciled the partially contradictory ideals and expectations of Ecclesia and Iustitia at a collective and individual…

How small steps can lead to big change: that was the theme of the Leiden Education Festival. Students and lecturers came to Scheltema on 9 May to share their experiences of educational innovation.

Meet Bart, Reza, Weiyan, James, Daphne and Yasmin.

A teacher perspective

A stretchy sheet over a bowl representing space, a marble on it's surface creating a dimple, deforming space. Simple classroom experiments like these are featured in new educational videos by AstroEDU. In the videos Leiden astronomers Maria Cristina Fortuna and Henk Hoekstra explain what we know of…

The Heritage and rights of indigenous peoples focuses on the living heritage of indigenous peoples and its safeguarding, connecting the past and the present in local communities.

The high number of students that we are used to in the West would never have been possible if Latin were still the language of instruction in our universities. In his PhD defence on 16 September, Bert van Pinxteren will argue that Africa could gain a lot from a similar language switch in secondary e…

We are extremely proud to have won the Excellent Aerospace Education Award of the NLF (Netherlands Aerospace Foundation) for 2017.

Research from weekly magazine Elsevier shows that both the Leiden bachelor Wiskunde as the master Mathematics are rated as the best educational programs of the Netherlands according to professors. The first place was achieved by up to 70% of the votes.

Ahead of the new Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF), the entire European academic world is calling upon Brussels to double the budget for education, research and innovation.

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?

Massive science communication projects should be based on strong and relevant science cases. They should engage with a large number of stakeholders, not only in research, academia, policy, funding and governance but also in less traditional communities, such as the arts field. This is the outcome of…

On 1 March 2020, Jos Schaeken will become the new Dean of the Honours Academy. He is taking over from Ton van Haaften, who is retiring after four years in the post. Here, both Deans give their views on their ambitions, continuity, and the role the students play.

How do early modern states organize effective rule in difficult conditions? EMStaD YEMEN focuses on a country that due to its geographical, religious and social complexities is now considered a failed state – Yemen.

But how do you do it? At the annual Education Showcase, lecturers at the Faculty of Humanities could talk to their colleagues about teaching methods and teaching. Plenty of tips were exchanged during the information fair, workshops and drinks. Five participants talk about they learned.

Three in four scientists depicted in primary school science textbooks are men, according to a recent study by Observatory scientist Pedro Russo. In an interview he explains how this might impact children's later careers.