The head of MCS is also Director of the Leiden-based LDE Centre for Global Heritage and Development, President of LeidenGlobal, and staff member of the Heritage and Museums department of the Faculty of Archaeology. Joint activities are being developed at the interface between heritage and museum stu…

Book Presentation | Studium Generale Lecture

Study information, Workshop

At LUCL, researchers aim to understand, describe, and preserve the linguistic diversity of the indigenous Americas.

Corporeality, intimately bound to the notion of space, to the diffuse border that connects, entangles, and fuses an inside and an outside, is understood in this book as a space which puts the individual at stake as a war machine that, in its fight for a form of life, redefines political territories.

On 24 January 2026, the Advanced MSc International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) hosted its Annual Reconnect & Gala, bringing together alumni from across the world, current students, and faculty. The event celebrated shared values, connection, and purpose, focusing on ‘The great shifts in international…

Whilst resisting abhorrent Russian aggression, Ukraine has made a clear choice for a future in Europe. With an association agreement already in place, and Ukraine being a candidate for EU membership, Ukrainian lawyers need to be trained in EU law and Ukrainian Law Schools need to develop the capacity…

The vision of the Business & Law Research Network (BLRN) is that company and insolvency law should facilitate and ignite societal collaboration and cooperation, to serve economic development and societal interests. Law should therefore be closely aligned with socio-economic developments, which requires…

How can we best protect cultural heritage in times of war? In an interview with LeidenGlobal, cultural heritage law specialist Evelien Campfens talks about her current research project on cultural heritage protection in Ukraine for the European Parliament (EP).

Arts and culture, Studium Generale

The specialisation Museum Studies focuses on the art museum and places it in an artistic, cultural, social and political context. Our courses, taught by art historians and museum experts, reflect on the latest academic debates and the latest insights from the working field.

‘Rembrandt was a stubborn, socially inept shopaholic.’ In his lifetime the Dutch master became embroiled in over 20 legal disputes. Emeritus Professor of Private Law Bob Wessels has written a book about Rembrandt’s legal and financial dealings.

The Global Transformations and Governance Challenges Programme hosts a range of international academic gatherings, including the GTGC Conference, the GIG-ARTS Conference in 2024, and the first edition of the Just Peace Festival in 2025.

An academic program is only as successful as its graduates

The Leiden Centre for Continental Philosophy (LCCP) is a research community based at the Institute for Philosophy at Leiden University. LCCP is envisaged as an open space for stimulating discussion, critical debate and inventive co-operation in the local and international philosophical community. We…

Elizabeth Stuart is one the most misrepresented – and underestimated – figures of the seventeenth century. Daughter of James VI & I, she was married to Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1613 – they were crowned King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, only to be deposed and exiled to the Dutch Republic in…

Isabelle Duyvesteyn, Professor of International Studies and Global History at the Institute of History and member of the advisory board of Leiden University’s Centre for International Relations (LUCIR) is widely regarded as an expert on civil wars and conflicts. Her new book, Rebels and Conflict Escalation,…

Rembrandt experts have been puzzling over this painting from 1626 for years. The work may have been commissioned by someone from University circles and may depict a judgment. It can be seen at Gravensteen, a building that served as a prison between 1463 and 1955. This historical building later became…

Africa needs a narrative that is consistent with the developments that are taking place all around the continent. In these developments, talented youth, creative tech hubs, and leapfrogging play a big role. We need to invest accordingly.

The specialisations Art History and Museum Studies both engage in critical perspectives and in current practices and the development of a professional network. The specialisation Art History puts emphasis on the analysis of art works within a museal and curatorial context. Our courses, taught by art…

This book underscores the interplay between religion and politics (local and global) in the production, escalation, management, mitigation, and resolution of conflict.

The production of history is a process of power. This is particularly relevant in Africa, where during both the colonial and the post-colonial era history has been written by hegemonic regimes. This historiography has in turn (re-)produced structures of domination, social exclusion and division.…

This lecture will be hosted on Thursday, 21 May 2026 at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm.

In Dutch society’s discussions about remembering the colonial past, voice is often used as a metaphor for empowerment ('we must raise our voices'), whereas silence is often used as voice’s negative counterpart, signifying a loss or lack of power ('we will no longer be silenced'). Yet, silence is expressive:…

Mazatec chants and ancient Mesoamerican pictography

The bachelor's programmes at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, based in the city of international cooperation and politics – The Hague – prepare you for a future in governance, leadership, and diplomacy. In the administrative heart of the Netherlands, you will learn to tackle the challenges…

The bachelor's programmes at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, based in the city of international cooperation and politics – The Hague – prepare you for a future in governance, leadership, and diplomacy. In the administrative heart of the Netherlands, you will learn to tackle the challenges…

Thalia Hoffman is a visual artist and researcher working in film, video, performance, and public interventions in the area she lives in, east of the Mediterranean. In 2020 she graduated from the Leiden University PhDArts programme, with the thesis Guava, a conceptual platform for art-actions.

On 10 november 2021, Carmel van Niekerk-Jacobs defended the thesis 'Realising the right to reproduce with assistance in South Africa'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. J.J. Sloth-Nielsen and Prof. T. Liefaard.

Another successful edition (the fourth!) of the Leiden Alumni in Brussels event took place on 23 February. With a fully booked registration list, it already promised to be a great success in advance. The event took place at the Baker McKenzie location right in the centre of Brussels. As the area was…

Students at Leiden University College (LUC) gain an understanding of journalism ‘from the inside out’ through innovative teaching methods in the courses Multimedia Journalism, Investigative Journalism and Gender, Media and Conflict. By simulating the actual daily tasks of journalists, they are exposed…

Dr Cátia Antunes, lecturer in economic and social history, Leiden University Institute for History, and Dr Stijn Bussels, who will come to Leiden in 2012-2013 to join the Leiden University Institute for Cultural Disciplines, have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant for their excellent proposals. The…

Henk Borgdorff to visit the UK and Germany to speak about research in and through the arts.

Understanding the complexities of world affairs requires an ability to think critically and to draw insights from a variety of perspectives, sources, and analytic frames. Leiden University’s Master of Arts in International Relations addresses these needs through distinctive humanities-based training…

On Friday the 6th of September 2024, members of the Leiden University Medical Anthropology Network convened in the African Studies Center to discuss Global Health Interventions.

‘A Muslim and a Jew in the house of God.’ This is how historian Nadia Bouras introduced her recent conversation with colleague Sara Polak in Leiden’s Hooglandse Kerk. They discussed the rising tensions since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. ‘Dare to ask each other questions.’