The city of Leiden has a unique combination of knowledge institutions. To ensure this knowledge flourishes and the city gains the maximum benefit from it, the Leiden City of Knowledge partnership was launched five years ago. A new partnership agreement will be signed on 11 November.

In the course of 2020 the Faculty of Archaeology was bolstered by some new staff members. Due to the coronavirus situation, sadly, this went for a large part unnoticed. In a series of interviews we are catching up, giving the floor to our new colleagues. We give the floor to Dr Martin Berger, who joined…

Two researchers from the Faculty of Archaeology have received a grant from the Museums, Collections and Society (MSC) interdisciplinary programme. This grant is for collection-based research. Jason Laffoon is using his grant for research into the origins of Central American turquoise, while Dr Marike…

Like spoken languages, sign languages evolve organically and do not always have the same origin. This produces different ways of communication and annotation. Manolis Fragkiadakis wrote his PhD thesis on this.

A new chair has been added to the partnership between Leiden University and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. Richard Barrett has been appointed Professor of Research in Creative Music (ACPA) as of 1 December 2020. 'For me it is important that music and academia are not placed in an ivory tower.'

With the childcare benefits scandal in the Netherlands, certain interests in society were hidden for long to politics and governance. With the farmers’ protests, on the other hand, the major economic and political interests at stake were hidden for long to society. In her inaugural lecture on 16 September,…

The Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) has appointed four Leiden professors as members. Petra Sijpesteijn, Vanessa Mak, Mariska Kret and Miranda van Eck have recently joined the KHMW.

Lecture

Assistant professor Rogier Creemers comments on CNN on the launch of the new artificial intelligence tool Sundance 2.0.

Would you like to do collection-oriented research, but do not have sufficient resources? Every year, the Museums, Collections and Society (MCS) research group makes several research scholarships available for this purpose. Researchers Elizabeth den Hartog and Marika Keblusek previously received an MCS…

For many years, he was active in various management positions at the LION and even after his retirement he is still very involved. Professor Jan Aarts leads the Leiden hub of the Quantum Delta NL growth fund and is now temporarily responsible for national educational activities. In this way, he is helping…

Who assembled the collections of museums? The answer to this question seems to point to men as collectors. Apart from for rare exceptions, female collectors hardly seem to exist. Yet there were indeed women collectors. For the project Museums, Collections and Society, researcher Holly O'Farrell will…

Is there a place for machine translation engines like Google Translate within the Faculty of Humanities? Associate professor Lettie Dorst’s new educational website aims to help students and teachers find an answer to this question. ‘The use of AI tools, such as Bing and ChatGPT, shouldn’t be seen as…

There are as good as no clear rules for the return of stolen art. This means that rather than in court, many cases are decided in the political arena instead. In her PhD research Evelien Campfens suggests how this could change. PhD defence on 11 November.

After a big two-day conference, the Growing Up Together in Society consortium has officially begun. Researchers from seven universities will spend the next decade looking at how young people grow up as engaged and resilient adults. Leiden psychologists explain how they will do so.

Sara Brandellero is a University Lecturer in Brazilian Literature and Culture at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS). Her teaching and research focus on Brazil, also in global perspective, especially in its connections with the Portuguese-speaking world, Europe and Latin America.…

Last week, Ajay Gandhi, Assistant Professor at the Leiden University College, wrote an article about how spider's webs can explain the dynamics of social beings.

Annelies Schulte Nordholt is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

I am a university lecturer in English-language literature and culture, specialising in the history and development of Gothic, Horror and Science Fiction, and recently also Noir, from about 1750-present. In my research I explore social and ethical questions relating to these genres.

Ksenia Fedorova is a university lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. Within the Modern and Contemporary cluster of LUCAS, she is affiliated with the Environmental Humanities sub-cluster.

Dr. Gerlov van Engelenhoven is an assistant professor at Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS), teaching courses on postcolonial memory, law & culture, and cultural interaction. His most recent book is titled Postcolonial Memory in the Netherlands: Meaningful Voices, Meaningful Silences.…

Liselore Tissen (Ph.D.) is a postdoctoral researcher at LUCAS and is affiliated with Delft University of Technology (Mechanical Engineering), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Netherlands Institute for Conservation+Art+Science. She is the task lead for ethics, digital research,…

Lotte van Dillen is professor of Social cognition and decision making at the unit of Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology of Leiden University, researcher and advisor at the Knowledge Center for Psychology and Economic Behavior (KCPEG) and a member of the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition…

Esther Edelmann is a University Lecturer in modern and contemporary literature. Her teaching and research activities focus on the intersections between literature and law, literature and political economy, and culture and environmental humanities. She teaches in literature programs, International Studies,…

What practical steps can we take to resolve cross-border claims to looted art and prevent illicit trafficking in cultural goods? That's what the European Parliament asked Leiden legal scholar Evelien Campfens. Her advice: develop a registration system, issue art with a ‘passport’ and set up a European…

The Netherlands returned 478 artefacts to Indonesia and Sri Lanka this week, on the advice of a Dutch committee. Rightly so, says Leiden professor Pieter ter Keurs from the Museums, Collections and Society interdisciplinary research programme. ‘But do make it clear why you are returning something.’

Taking responsibility concerning colonial heritage and restitution is a pressing issue for countries and museums worldwide. On 23 and 24 May, a Leiden University interdisciplinary symposium will explore new perspectives as a basis for policies. Organising professors Carsten Stahn and Pieter ter Keurs…

Book launch

Lecture, Food for Thought

Mark van Buchem is Professor of Neuroradiology.

Yiorgos Evgenios Douliakas is a lecturer at the Centre for the Arts in Society

Cornelis van Tilburg is an education and research assistant at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Suzanne C. Cannegieter is professor of Clinical Epidemiology, in particular Thrombosis and Haemostasis. She is staff member at both the department of Clinical Epidemiology and the section Thrombosis and Haemostasis of the department of Internal Medicine.

Gerard J. Blauw is professor in internal medicine and geriatrics and co-chair of the medical research profile Ageing of the Leiden University Medical Centre. Besides he is an internist geriatrician and director of the Bronovo Behandeladviescentrum Ouderengeneeskunde at the Haaglanden Medical Centre…

Edmund Frettingham is Assistant Professor in International Relations at Leiden University College. His primary research interests lie in security studies and religion in international politics, with particular focus on theories of security, approaches to the study of religion in international politics,…