The use of fire can tell us a lot about human evolution. Archaeologist Femke Reidsma has developed a more accurate technique to identify how our ancestors used fire. Existing archaeological studies will need to be revised. Reidsma’s study was published in Nature Scientific Reports on 2 November.

From the very beginning, the Islam has known an oral tradition. It was only two hundred years ago that Muslims starting writing about the history of Islam, on rocks or other hard materials. Arabic epigraphy (study of inscriptions) turns out to be an essential tool in historical genealogy research. Abdullah…

Prof. Louise D’Arcens (Macquarie University, Sydney) will lead a workshop on 'Transhistorical Emotions and Medievalism’ on 11 January 2023 at the University of Groningen. D’Arcens, affiliated with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, studies which emotions…

A temporary position of Senior Researcher in Medieval Studies is available at the Department of Conservation, Archaeology, and History, University of Oslo. The successful candidate will become a member of the project team and will be linked to MINiTEXTS’ Sub-project 3 (The Christian Norm & Liturgical…

Two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Medieval Studies are available at the Department of Conservation, Archaeology, and History, University of Oslo. The positions are associated with the project “Minuscule Texts: Marginalized Voices in Early Medieval Latin Culture (c. 700–c.1000)”, funded by the…

The American Academy of Research Historians of Medieval Spain (AARHMS) is organizing a panel at the 2023 International Medieval Congress in Leeds entitled "Relics and Reliquaries in Iberia, c. 1000-1400: Stories, Places, and Identities". Papers on any topic regarding the cult of saints, their material…

A temporary position of Senior Researcher (SKO 1109) in Medieval Studies is available at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo. The position will be linked to the ERC Advanced Grant project 101018645 MINiTEXTS “Minuscule Texts: Marginalized Voices in Early Medieval…

The European Diploma in Medieval Studies (DEEM) invites students to apply to their programme, which takes place at the Norwegian Institute in Rome, with options for partial online attendance. The DEEM provides advanced academic training for students and scholars specialising in Medieval Studies, including…

Faculty of Archaeology opened its doors to welcome over 100 archaeology and living archaeology enthusiasts from all over the Netherlands

October and November not only bring a number of proud Political Science graduates, it is also the season to determine who wrote the best bachelor’s thesis. For 2021-2022, fifteen theses were nominated. During the various graduation ceremonies the two final winners were announced: Essi Maria Teresia…

2021, again, sees a rich harvest of bachelor theses in Political Science. Students have been tackling fascinating subjects—ranging from European solidarity in the COVID-19 crisis to the representation of women in democratically elected parliaments—and crowning their research projects with interesting,…

OB associations are loose groups of young, massive stars. They constitute the last stage of the massive starformation process, and the context in which new stars are formed.

Local settlement system and social structure in the roman period at Oss (the Netherlands).

Today’s socio-economic challenges aren’t new. In the centuries after the retreat of the Roman state people with different backgrounds and with different ways of life somehow managed to build and maintain a complex economic system in northern Gaul that would produce the ruling dynasties of Europe. By…

This project seeks to integrate scientific research and practical knowledge in the study of the mechanisms that make dialogue an effective tool for communication, teaching, and thinking.

The eighth issue of the JLGC explores the diverse and interdisciplinary research on our multifaceted relationship with animals which is currently taking place, re-examining the relationship between humans and animals, and the definitions involved.

This seminal volume covers the entire global history of urbanization since the rise of cities in Mesopotamia in the 6th millennium BC. Leiden historians Wim Blockmans, Leonard Blussé, Luuk de Ligt and Leo Lucassen contributed survey and thematic chapters.

A project aimed at understanding the complicated process of religious transformation in one of the centres of the early Muslim world.

The research programme of the Prehistoric Farming Group (European Prehistory) has several research projects. The largest and longest in terms of continuity is the Maaskant project directed by prof. dr. Harry Fokkens.

The combination of global questions and a wide range of local sources characterizes the Leiden University Institute for History.

The project concerns the nature, the usages and functions of pictographic systems in relation to writing in societies with (restricted) literacy.

Leiden University offers ambitious students a world-class environment in which to reach their full potential.

Leiden University offers ambitious students a world-class environment in which to reach their full potential.

Studies on the Disappearance of the Amphora Phenomenon

Browse the latest articles and issues of Inter-Section.

Through our research, we work towards a fundamental understanding of the world and people around us. We use that knowledge to make the world a safe, healthy, sustainable, prosperous and just place.

The master’s programme in Book and Digital Media Studies introduces you to the history of the written and printed word, and to theories and practices of publishing as well as digital textual media.

The MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations at Leiden University covers the entire range of present-day research on the civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria and Palestine, Greece and the Roman Empire. In chronological terms, the program covers thousands of years, from the early origins…

The MA Arts and Culture at Leiden University offers two specialisations: Art History and Museum Studies.

The PhD programme of the Institute for Philosophy is embedded in the Graduate School of Humanities. The Institute for Philosophy is an active research unit with a strong international reputation. It provides a stimulating environment for post-graduate research in the field of philosophy.

History is being taught at Leiden University since the days of Justus Lipsius [1547-1606]. In 1860, following the appointment of Robert Fruin as Leiden professor of Dutch History, modern historical investigation started in the Netherlands.

Academic staff and students blog about their research and teaching.

Hans van den Berg, CEO of Tata Steel NL, is in the eye of the storm. He continues to believe in connection, debate and knowledge that will make green steel possible.

For a long time, even many researchers thought that guide dogs were a relatively modern invention. An accidental encounter with archival material showed university lecturer Krista Milne that guide dogs helped their blind owners as far back as the Middle Ages. Milne now has received an NWO XS grant to…

The Republic of Indonesia celebrated its 75th Independence Day on 17 August 2020. As a gift to celebrate this, on the initiative of a group of Leiden alumni*), a biography will be written of Leiden and Indonesian scholar Hoesein Djajadiningrat.

Two researchers at Leiden University who have recently received their doctorates have been awarded Rubicon grants to carry out research abroad. Both will be going to the US. one to conduct research on the spread of tumours and and the other to study nuclear fusion.

Persian stories with beautiful miniatures, letters on papyrus from Egyptian traders and medicinal manuscripts translated from Greek and edited in Arabic. Studium Generale organizes a lecture series on the world-famous manuscripts from the Middle East collection of Leiden University Libraries (UBL).…

Joanita Vroom, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Archaeology, has received a DANS Klein DataProject (KDP) bursary for her project entitled ‘Data Atlas of Byzantine and Ottoman material culture: archiving Medieval and Post-Medieval archaeological fieldwork data from the Eastern Mediterranean (600…

NVIC welcomes Ahmed Hassan, a PhD candidate at Indiana University as a guest researcher.

The IGTM workshop "Rules, Regulations, and Regimes in Medieval Religion" (21 June 2023) for graduate students and junior scholars, in which early career scholars have the opportunity to discuss their research with peers and senior referents in an informal setting, takes the 800th anniversary of the…

Lecture

Joanita Vroom, Professor Archaeology of Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia at the Faculty of Archaeology, has again received a DANS Klein DataProject (KDP) bursary for her project entitled ‘Data Atlas of Byzantine and Ottoman Material Culture: Archiving Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeological Fieldwork…

On the 7th and 8th of November, Radboud University and Utrecht University are jointly organising a masterclass for (Re)MA students and PhD candidates on the life and times of those lay people dependent on monasteries.

Can zebrafish provide a fast, sensitive in vivo vertebrate model for identifying novel mechanisms of Ewing sarcoma progression and for development of new anticancer compounds in a time- and cost-effective manner?

To address the relevance of Christianity to the ideological negotiations with the officially established authority, this research will be conducted by asking how the history enthusiasts negotiate the Christianity-related ideology through reconstructing the Christian past and reproducing religious histories…

The project re-examines the role of the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox missionaries in the cultural and social developments of the Middle East and their interactions with the indigenous communities, from the nineteenth century until today. It seeks to discover and retrace such ‘entangled histories’…

The Faculty of Science adopted an action plan Diversity and Inclusiveness in 2015. In this action plan, the Faculty commits to a number of actions to further improve diversity and inclusion for staff and students, such as more female full professors at the faculty, and encourages initiatives that foster…

Under what circumstances is politicization more likely to occur than others, and what impact does politicization have on government legitimacy and performance?