Krista A. Milne researches book history and medieval English and French literature at Leiden University.

It is crucial that Leiden University reflects on its colonial history. These were the words of Cleveringa Professor Gert Oostindie in his inaugural lecture on 24 November. ‘As a university community, we must dare to hold up a mirror to ourselves and, where possible and necessary, also take concrete…

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran have been welcomed by critics of the regime but have also prompted intense concern. They’ve triggered a dangerous domino effect across the region and beyond. Leiden experts share their insights on the potential consequences.

In traditional style, 2025 was ushered in at our faculty with the Meijers Lecture followed by the New Year's Reception. On Thursday 16 January 2025, the Meijers Lecture took place in the Lorentz Lecture Hall where the Meijers Prizes and the Van Wersch Springplank Prize were also awarded. At the New…

Immigration and naturalisation policies are an important theme in the upcoming Dutch elections. The Netherlands should be mindful of its immigration narrative, says PhD candidate Hannah Bliersbach, as this greatly influences the relationship between ‘new’ citizens and their new home country.

Using enslaved people as servants, becoming an administrator in the Dutch West India Company or making uniforms for the colonial army. Many people from Leiden played a role in colonialism and slavery. Historians are conducting preliminary research and finding striking examples.

The Schengen countries officially abolished border controls, but checks actually still exist. Maartje van der Woude has written a book about these veiled border controls: ‘The danger is that Schengen will have lots of borders, just not visible ones.’

Adriaan Bedner is Professor of Law and Society in Indonesia at the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Society. He is also Head of Department of the Van Vollenhoven Institute and honorary fellow of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV).

Nira Wickramasinghe is Professor of Modern South Asian Studies at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies.

I am a specialist in Spanish history of the 19th and 20th centuries. I also conducted extensive research into the construction of regional identities in France, Spain and Germany between 1890 and 1940. At present, I mainly publish about nationalization processes in a comparative perspective. I focus…

Gerrit Dusseldorp is an expert on the behaviour of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers both in Northwest Europe and South Africa.

Alwin Kloekhorst is professor of Anatolian Linguistics within the Comparative Indo-European Linguistics section at LUCL. His research focuses of the Indo-European language of Ancient Anatolia (Hittite, Luwian, Lydian, Lycian, Carian, etc.) and the genealogical position of this Anatolian branch within…

Alan M. Sears is a lecturer and the academic coordinator of the Advanced LL.M. in Law and Digital Technologies. He has been affiliated with eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies since April 2018.

Mariëlle Bruning is a Professor of Child Law at Leiden Law School.

Prof.dr. Maurits S. Berger, LLM (1964) is a lawyer and Arabist. He is professor of Islam and the West and holds the Sultan of Oman Chair for Oriental Studies at Leiden University, and is a senior research associate with the Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Hague. He has worked…

Luuk de Ligt is a professor at the Institute for History.

Alexander Geurds is Dean and Professor at the Faculty of Archaeology.

Afshin Ellian is Professor of Jurisprudence.

Bart Barendregt is a Professor of Anthropology of Digital Diversity at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology of Leiden University. He is the Principal Investigator of the NWO-VICI project One Among Zeroes |0100|.

I specialize in modern Japanese history, with particular expertise in Japanse imperialism and the social and cultural history of the 1920s-1940s.

Eastern and Southern European countries struggle with ‘brain drain’ as skilled workers move to other EU Member States. Could restricting free movement be a legitimate and lawful way to address this trend? Researcher Martijn van den Brink will investigate the issue.

Despite an eventful afternoon – with Students for Palestine occupying the Academy Building – political scientist Hélène Landemore gave her Cleveringa Lecture as planned on 26 November. She reflected on the protest and the importance of open debate, within the university and within a democracy.

PhD defence

Graphic Novels and Comics have developed from pulp status to an entirely self-contained medium. This form of storytelling is not limited to stories of superheroes but has been used, molded and reshaped to display historical events, classic stories and autobiographical memoirs. But where should you begin…

Dozens of Dutch nationals are being held in detention facilities in Northeast Syria or have been transferred to Iraq, risking torture or the death penalty. PhD candidate Ida Asscher says the Netherlands should repatriate them. 'States must comply with international law, even in difficult situations.…

Within the scope of innovating and connecting – the theme of our new Strategic Plan – I paid a visit to Brussels last week. It is important to give Leiden University a face in Brussels and to show our expertise, on Africa for instance.

Jeffrey Fynn-Paul is a university lecturer at the Institute for History.

Roos van Oosten is an assistant professor in Medieval and Urban Archaeology at Leiden University. She has a broad research interest reflected in numerous publications on diverse topics: sanitation management, the textile industry, cemeteries and burial practices, historical cooking, ceramics and environmental…