In October, the Provincial Executive in Friesland reprimanded four civil servants who had signed an incendiary letter asking the government to adopt a more active climate policy. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, feels that the Executive made a mistake.

Angry politicians, angry journalists: the initiative of Forum for Democracy politician Gideon van Meijeren during which he secretly filmed a reporter portraying them as a ‘sewer rat’, caused a lot of anger. Where does all this commotion come from? Wouter Hins: ‘Calling a journalist a

Conference

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, who died on 5 december 2013, received an honorary doctorate from Leiden University in 1999. Mandela’s response was modest: ‘It is not a personal achievement. It is a tribute to all those who emerged from underground, from prison, from exile...’

The Lucia de Berk case or the suicide of Slobodan Praljak at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: certain trials keep popping up in media. In her dissertation, Tessa de Zeeuw examines the cultural appeal of such cases and analyses artistic responses. ‘Artworks sometimes have…

On 12 January 2018 Jorrit Rijpma, associate professor of the Europa Institute and Jean Monnet Professor, held the yearly Meijers lecture. In the well-attended lecture he spoke on the topics of his Jean Monnet Chair on Mobility and Security: the aftermath of the refugee crisis and the effects on free…

Within the scope of Leiden European City of Science, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) presented the quadrennial Lorentz Medal to Daan Frenkel in the Academy Building yesterday. The ceremony was in collaboration with the Lorentz Center and was attended by Robbert Dijkgraaf, Minister…

The introduction of a compulsory coronavirus entry pass in the workplace is currently being considered behind the scenes. Dutch Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge spoke about this at the press conference on Tuesday 2 November. But such a measure is not without problems.

Na de 7 oktober demonstraties schoffeerde Wilders burgemeester Halsema, door op X te roepen dat zij het land moet verlaten. Volgens experts overtreedt Wilders hiermee de gemaakte afspraken met de coalitiepartijen. Wim Voermans, hoogleraar Staatsrecht, hierover aan het woord in het Parool.

PhD candidate Lilo Nein investigates relations between texts and performances from the perspective of visual art.

On November 6th PhDArts Co-Director Dr. Janneke Wesseling has given a keynote presentation, entitled “On Methodology”, at the Symposium Conversations on Artistic Research in Porto (PRT).

How can artist PhD candidates research their own work? They need to be good at switching from maker to critical observer and their research has to have a solid theoretical basis. This is the premise of Professor Janneke Wesseling. The aesthetic value of their work also has to be up for discussion. Inaugural…

In an appeal case, an employee of a care organisation in Nijmegen who was shown the door because of her criticism about the coronavirus voiced on LinkedIn, has had her dismissal reviewed. The court in Arnhem ruled that the employee had crossed a line and that her employer was entitled to dismiss her…

An English-taught bachelor’s programme is a perfect way to prepare for the international job market! Starting in September 2017, two new English-taught bachelor’s programmes addressing topical issues, each from its own perspective, will be offered by Leiden University’s Faculty of Humanities.

The research presented in this thesis concerns one of the most important questions in software engineering of our time: how can we make sure that software is free from memory safety bugs?

Our mission: a positive impact. Our vision: community. By involving the world around us in our education and research we make a positive impact. We do this by applying Open Science.

What is written in law and what equality, inclusion and diversity mean in practice is not always the same. This was the focus of this year’s D&I symposium on 13 January. The plenary sessions were watched by hundreds of participants and there was a wide range of workshops covering different aspects of…

Sybille Lammes is leaving Warwick University in Britain to research digital culture in daily life at Leiden University. She will start as professor New Media and Digital Culture on September 1st 2017

The new book, ‘Njord in de Oorlog’ (Njord during the War), describes how the Leiden student rowing club was affected by the Second World War in a detailed series of personal stories. On Monday 16 November, Njord president Rosalie ten Wolde presented the first copy to Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the city of Batavia was supplied with produce by its hinterland, known as the Ommelanden. Bondan Kanumoyoso studied the history of the various ethnic groups that populated this area and in doing so has shed light on the structure of modern-day Indonesian society.…

Playgrounds often fail to accommodate children with autism, according to researchers Carolien Rieffe and colleagues. They have published an essay offering practical advice on how to make all children feel safe and welcome for Autism Week (Dutch) and World Autism Autism Awareness/ Acceptance Day on 2…

Depictions of Rembrandt, Michelangelo and many other artists are given a new dimension in an exhibition in the hall of the Oude UB at Leiden University. The exhibition - 'Multiple Images' - opens officially on 15 February. Artist Rudi Struik has given the slides of Leiden art historian Henri van de…

In Belgium, officially recognised religions receive financial support from the state. Partly as a result, there is no clearly implemented secularism (separation of church and state) though this is considered to be a guiding notion in modern constitutional theories. PhD candidate Alain Vannieuwenburg…

The premier LUCIS lecture series, running since 2021. Each year, two eminent scholars visit Leiden to deliver landmark lectures in Islamic and Middle East Studies. This forum for presenting and discussing cutting-edge research brings together researchers, students, and other interested participants…

How did the slave peculium function in the socio-legal context of the Roman Empire?

In this article, Sophie Vériter examines the EU’s unprecedented ban on Russian state media following the invasion of Ukraine, using securitisation theory

Chapter by Fabio Cristiano and Emilio Distretti for the volume The Aesthetics and Politics of the Online Self, edited by Donatella Della Ratta, Geert Lovink, Teresa Numerico, and Peter Sarram for Palgrave Macmillan.

Student cooperativeness underlies high quality teacher-student relationships, and has been positively associated with students’ school engagement. Fostering cooperative rather than oppositional student behavior might be especially helpful for protecting at-risk students against academic failure.

Older people are often approached from the perspective of their limitations when there is often much they still can and want to do. According to Professor Tineke Abma, art is a good way to continue to participate.

PhD defence

On November 30th Joost Grootens gave a lecture at the workshop ‘Data on Display: Visualisation as a form of argumentation in exhibitions’ organised by the Museumsakademie Joanneum, Graz (Austria)

The short documentary film was selected to the short film corner of the Cannes Film Festival.

The organisers of the big protest march against government policy, held on Sunday in Amsterdam, want to bring preliminary relief proceedings against the refusal to allow British conspiracy theorist David Icke to enter the Netherlands. Icke was due to give a speech at the meeting of the organisation…

Lecture

On 11 May the House of Representatives voted in favour of a law that will enable some sectors to reopen sooner than planned with the aid of test certificates. Political philosopher Josette Daemen is critical of the new legislation. ‘Just because we get used to measures doesn’t make them desirable.’

As of 1 August 2017, Damian Pargas is the new Leiden University Chair of the History and Culture of North America.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Madiba, honorary doctor of Leiden university, was one of the iconic politicians of the late twentieth century. Mandela has died at the age of 95. Analysis by Robert Ross, Professor in African history.

How can public organisations create societal added value? This theme was in the spotlight at the second Leiden Leadership Lunch, which was held on Friday 28 September. Students, academics and government professionals joined in the discussion.