Leiden scholars are increasingly recognizing that heritage is not something fixed or given but something that people actively make, debate, and at times reject. Heritage is all around us: not only in historical monuments and museum collections, but in languages, archives, landscapes, digital heritage, memories, and everyday cultural practices.

The profile area opts for a ‘decentered’ approach to heritage. Rather than proceeding from a fixed definition of what heritage constitutes, we foreground the many ways in which people globally and locally, across a broad variety of contexts, define what heritage is for them and ask ourselves, whose perspectives have been overlooked?

We adopt a radically interdisciplinary perspective, proceeding from the Humanities, Social Sciences, Law and Archeology, connecting scholars, students, communities and other stakeholders from around the globe. We aim to expand the expertise of art historians, archaeologists, legal scholars and social anthropologists, as well as that of scholars from many other disciplines engaging with heritage in their work.  

Building an interdisciplinary community

In the short term, we seek to build a vibrant interdisciplinary community through networking events, workshops, and collaborative activities that help identify shared research interests and educational opportunities. In the longer term, the theme aims to develop innovative interdisciplinary research projects, attract external funding, and position Leiden University as a leading center for heritage research.

Moving beyond rigid ideas of what heritage is, we are inviting you to engage in the conversation, and explore together how different people create, experience, pass as well as reject heritage, while recognizing that the past can hold many perspectives. With that in mind, the theme embraces a broader understanding of heritage. Most importantly, we believe that heritage can shape how we respond to contemporary social issues such as climate change, migration, digital transformations, and social inclusion.

Build new connections and join Teams

If your work in any way relates to heritage, or if you are curious about building new connections, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us on our dedicated Teams channel. Together we can explore how heritage can contribute to a more inclusive understanding of our shared world and address the challenges of today and tomorrow.