In the fight for a liveable planet, we desperately need a fairer distribution of wealth and equal rights for all, argues anthropology professor Marja Spierenburg. ‘That will also generate broad-based support for sustainable development.’

What are the genes and molecular mechanisms involved in bacteria-mediated plant drought tolerance?

Read on these pages all about the history of Leiden University, the oldest university in the Netherlands. The Academia Lugduna Batava was founded in 1575 and its motto is: Libertatis Praesidium ('Bastion of Freedom').

This project investigates the role of art in the public and academic debate on biosolar energy

The Risk and Regulation Lab from organises events and workshops in Leiden and The Hague. On this page you can read reports of the events that already took place.

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Bioactive Molecules research theme is to identify new plant bioactive molecules, and unravel their mechanisms of action in plant development or health, and the regulatory networks and (bio)synthetic pathways required for their production.

LOTS 2024 will take place between 7-10 July 2024 in Leiden, the Netherlands. The number of places is limited. After you send in your application, you will hear if you are selected to join LOTS in May. The fee for participants will be 100 euros to cover the costs for accommodation and food.

Biodiversity is under pressure worldwide, but is essential for our health, food security and well-being. What is the influence of human actions on ecosystems? Can we provide biodiversity-inclusive solutions for our key societal challenges? These questions are central to the Biodiversity research the…

CADS Sustainability and Digitalization researchers participate in LIMITS conference

You can do a degree in Artificial Intelligence at Leiden University, but its role is also increasing in other degree programmes.

Democratic citizenship refers to the capacity and willingness of citizens to actively influence the functioning of state institutions. While considered a vital correlate of democratization and the rule of law, its largely western-oriented literature rarely studies the forms of democratic citizenship…

Social science research helps us understand human behaviour and social structures. These are determined by various factors, which makes the research complex and increases the likelihood of drawing the wrong conclusions. The choice of research method and analysis is therefore extremely important. It…

The whole world gets raw materials from Latin America, but at the expense of nature. Håvar Solheim researches the role of organised crime in this environmental crime and Soledad Valdivia researches sustainable urban initiatives in Latin America. What do these university lecturers think the future of…

A multiple isotope approach to human-animal dynamics in the Lesser Antilles across the historical divide

PhD defence

This programme starts from the idea that cultural discourse is one of the main engines of intellectual history and the history of ideas.

The researchers and students at the Department of Archaeological Heritage and Society at the Faculty of Archaeology study the role of the past in modern societies. They want to find out more about the relationships between the past and the present, and the role that heritage plays.

Our library contains around 23,000 books, journals and historical documents under the care of a specialized librarian.

How does the vision of problems and solutions from

How the systematic destruction of valuables created value in Bronze Age Europe, c. 2300-500 BC

Announcement of a new publication by Janneke Verheijen, lecturer at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology.

Erik de Maaker, B. Ramila, Maaike Feitsma, Mayke Groffen, Ellen Haeser, Rachel Lee, M. Karthika, Leonie Sterenborg and Sanne van den Dungen

Promotor: G.R. de Snoo Co-promotor: C.J.M. Musters

What are interactive effects of human pressures on aquatic communities?

Dr. Doris M. Jacobs, Lead Scientist at Unilever R&D, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence, and Environment, vol.16. Edited by Noriyuki Shirai.

'Communal Dining in in the Roman West' explores why the practice of privately sponsored communal dining gained popularity in certain parts of the Western Roman Empire for almost 300 years.

Green infrastrucuture (GI) like urban farm and green roofs could provide many beneficial functions in cities. These include for example food production, flood prevention or increasing biodiversity. MultiGreen project aims at developing an integrated modelling tool to support…

The findings in this thesis improve the understanding of 1) the relationship between exposure characteristics and toxicity of ENPs, 2) the joint toxic action of ENP mixtures and the comparison to metal salt mixtures, 3) how NOM affects the individual and joint toxicity of ENPs, 4) the extent of trophic…

This paper will address how digital affordances (Grasseni and Walter 2014) of the interactive documentary are an epistemological tool that shapes and fosters comparative reflections in collaborative ethnographic projects. To do so, I will analyse the process of planning and coding an i-doc (interactive…

Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems continue to decline in Europe, which has serious consequences for human welfare. These are findings of a report that was formally approved by delegates from 127 governments during a UN plenary in Medellin, Colombia. Leiden researcher Alexander van Oudenhoven was one…

Economic Anthropologist Erik Bähre talks on the Dutch News Radio Channel BNR about the effects of the Russia-Ukraine grain agreement for African countries.

Lecture, LUCIS What's New?! Series

What was the relationship between women and modern media in different parts of Asia in the 20th century? Under what historical and social conditions did women achieve prominence in popular music in Asia?

A dental anthropological approach to foodways, health and disease, and crafting in the pre-Columbian Caribbean.

Intergenerational transmission refers to the complex and dynamic process with which values, ideas and behaviors are transmitted across generations. We are specifically interested in the intergenerational transmission of behaviors and beliefs that might result in harm to the individuals involved or society…

Links to related organisations, institutes, journals and archives.

LUCSoR has chairs in Comparative Religion, Islam in the West, Christianity, and Judaism. Main areas of expertise include ancient Mesopotamian religions, the Enlightenment, Islam in the West, and new spiritual movements.

Publications from the Project 0100 team members.

The Graduate School of Social and Behavioural Sciences has the responsibility for all PhD candidates in the field of social and behavioural sciences. The School's themes are anthropology, education and child studies, political science, psychology and science and technology studies..

Western thought has often dismissed shadows as fictional, but what if fictions reveal original truths?

The International Course on Water Use and Management in Cagayan Valley The Philippines (2011-2015)

If you want to continue your academic education, the logical next step after obtaining your bachelor’s degree is to follow a master’s. You can do so in a university inside or outside the Netherlands, including several options right here at Leiden University!

In this minor programme, students will become familiar with the nature and scope of violence; the ways in which it impacts public order, and the ways in which society can respond to and, ultimately, prevent violence.

Depending on the research area you are charged with bench fees or not.

The material and intellectual presence of Egypt is at the heart of Western culture, religion and art from Antiquity to the present. This volume aims to provide a long term and interdisciplinary perspective on Egypt and its mnemohistory, taking theories on objects and their agency as its main point of…

This chapter introduces interactive documentaries (also known as i-docs) in digital and audiovisual anthropology. Interactive documentaries allow an audience to actively engage with an interface in order to experience the content. For example, opening Miranda Dahlin’s Exiliados: Mexican Asylum in El…