Buying chocolates as a sign of love, getting the best deals on Black Friday and putting on a spooky costume for Halloween. In recent years, these holidays and traditions have taken off in the Netherlands, even though they originated on the other side of the ocean. Why are we so excited about American…

Conference, Annual Conference of the Flemish-Dutch Society for Early Modern History

University Lecturer in History and International Studies Andrew Gawthorpe discusses on The Conversation the newly signed US-Ukraine economic partnership agreement.

Conference, Symposium

The new cabinet has finally taken office. Six of its members studied in Leiden, once again making the University a key supplier to the cabinet. Who are these alumni?

The Dutch Ministry of Finance says that new rules have significantly reduced tax avoidance via 'transit country' the Netherlands. Jan Vleggeert, Professor of Tax Law, has voiced his reservations about this claim in the media.

Lecture

Lecture, Seminar

Associate professor Rens Tacoma has won the 2021 Research Prize for Historical Sciences. The prize is awarded annually by the Italy Studies Working Group for the best scholarly publication in the field of Italy Studies in Dutch or Flemish academia.

Festival, Study trip Greek and Roman History 2026

Flitsinterview met alumnus Kees van der Staaij: ik ben en blijf een jurist in hart en nieren

If a forged Vermeer or Rembrandt is discovered, it is world news. Yet tracing fakes has long been a low priority in art history. University lecturer Anna Tummers will receive an ERC grant of almost two million euros to change that.

Alumna Lauren Antonides has won the Roggeveen Prize for her thesis on the regional identity of Zeelandic Flanders. She will receive a sum of 1,000 euros.

Conference, Book presentation

The stadtholder’s court in the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands has long been underestimated. Real courts and the associated court culture were to be found elsewhere in Europe. PhD candidate Quinten Somsen is trying to reverse this image. ‘The stadtholder’s court was actually very lively.’

Conference, L*CeSAR Masterclass

Lecture

The House of Representatives in the Netherlands has requested advice from the Council of State about combining membership of the House of Representatives with holding a post in the cabinet. Geerten Boogaard sees this as a sign that the Netherlands is moving towards a constitutional court.

History student Lydia Boer has won the Uitgeverij Verloren/Johan de Witt incentive prize. She receives the prize for her bachelor’s thesis The marriage between Johan de Witt and Wendela Bicker: a political affair?

Professor of Contemporary History Wim van den Doel has won the 2024 Boerhaave Biography Prize. Van den Doel receives the prize for his book 'Snouck: Het volkomen geleerdenleven van Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje'.

Conference

As University historian, Pieter Slaman researches the University’s past, but he’s equally interested in its present. ‘It’s useful to be familiar with issues from the past. Not to be rooted in the past because some developments from history are things you definitely don’t want to repeat.’

Introducing prof. Scott Nelson, the Legum Professor of the Social Sciences at William and Mary, and on the spring exchange at the University of Leiden.

Associate professor Eric Storm discusses the return of imperial ambitions in global politics on The Conversation. He argues that leaders like Putin, Xi, and Trump challenge the post-WWII international order.

Nowadays they can cause the fall of ministers, but once upon a time receipts were a new phenomenon. Associate Professor Robert Stein is to receive a grant from NIAS to map their origins.

After a detour via the ANWB in Munich, alumna Manon Schouten works as a history teacher at two schools. ‘It's so rewarding to see the material resonate with students.’

Lecture, CHEI Seminar

Conference, L*CeSAR Research Workshop

This is the final lecture in the lecture series Humanity in the Automated State. This lecture is featuring Professor Natali Helberger (University of Amsterdam) and will take place on 26 May 2026, 15.30-16.45. It's followed by a reception from 16.45-17.45. Professor Helberger will present…

‘All the groceries, but not a fig for young workers’, read a banner during the occupation of Ahold’s headquarters in 1981. ‘For a long time, young workers were not taken seriously, but they managed to put themselves on the map’, says historian Rosa Kösters.

Lecture

A successful series of lectures on interior design, a symposium on four-poster beds and a new series of study afternoons on the horizon. University lecturer Alexander Dencher knows how to hold the attention of a growing audience. How does he do it? And what makes the history of interior design so fa…