Events

April 2026

Thu 2 April 2026

KITLV hybrid book talk | Taxation and governance in colonial Indonesia

figure-3-2-determining-taxable-age.960x0

Maarten Manse presents his new book, in which he discusses local improvisation, indigenous customs, and everyday negotiations as a central element of taxation methods in colonial Indonesia.

Thu 2 April 2026

IIAS lecture | Xi, Zhang and Asia

Dr Allard Wagemaker (PhD Leiden University; ex-brigadier-general Dutch Marine Corps) discusses Xi's recent elimination of his top leadership and the consequencer for a military option in Asia.

Thu 2 April 2026

Panel talk | Iran between war and tyranny: What comes next?

Scholars and experts explore the geopolitical dynamics of the conflict in Iran, state repression, protest movements and civil society, and the dilemmas facing those who advocate peace, democracy, and social justice in Iran. In The Hague.

Thu 2 April 2026

Lecture | When the rains came: A medieval moment in South Asia

The period ca. 850-1200 was marked by transformations in the histories of polity, culture, language, religious formation, and everyday life in South Asia. Whitney Cox (University of Chicago) proposes to take this Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) as a possibility for a new interpretation of this time and place. 

Tue 7 April 2026

KITLV documentary screening & panel discussion | Amplop demokrasi

flyer-ppi-film-screening-april-2026.480x0

The documentary Amplop Demokrasi (Democracy of Envelopes) follows the political cost of local elections (Pilkada) in Indonesia in 2024, from campaign spending and oligarchic influence to the broader consequences for corruption and environmental decision-making.

Tue 7 April 2026

Actualiteitencollege | Parallelle Werelden? Informatieoorlog in de Sahel

In het actualiteitencollege in Den Haag bespreekt afrikadeskundige Mirjam de Bruijn hoe sociale media in West- en Centraal Afrika worden gebruikt als politiek wapen. Beelden en berichten creëren een soort parallelle wereld, waarin propaganda en tegenstellingen het beeld bepalen.

Tue 7 April 2026

Lecture | Linguistic cues for Arabic authorship analysis

Hossam Ahmed explores the use of Machine Learning algorithms for extreme cases to verify the authorship of a document to a single author. 

Tue 7 April 2026

Lecture | Archaeology in the dealer’s archive

What can we learn about archaeology from dealers’ archives? Focusing on the Stendahl Art Galleries in Panama and Costa Rica during the 1950s, this talk argues for the potential of transforming the dealer archive into a vital site of historical reconstruction.

Tue 7 April 2026

RMO hybride lezing | Het graf van Kha en Meryt

Christian Greco (directeur Museo Egizio, Turijn) brengt het verhaal van de 120-jaar oude ontdekking van het graf van Kha en Meryt tot leven, een van de best bewaarde graven uit het Nieuwe Rijk. Daarnaast laat hij de nieuwe vondsten uit dit graf uit het Museo Egizio zien.

Wed 8 April 2026

Symposium | Japanse literatuur in vertaling

Experts en vertalers bespreken uitgebreid de uitdagingen bij het vertalen van Japanse literatuur en poëzie, de rol van gender in het vak en het werk van romancier Osamu Dazai, de meester van de ik-roman. 

Wed 8 April 2026

Seminar | Hybrid radicalisation: implications for research & preventing violent extremism

Christopher Kehlet Ebbrecht (Aarhus University, Denmark) discusses the "hybridisation" of radicalisation and reflects on the implications of the results of the study for research and violence prevention practice.

Wed 8 April 2026

Lecture | Mapping debt, displacement, and rentier urbanism in South Korea

Yoonai Han analyses debt as a tactic of rentier urbanism in low-rise residential neighbourhoods in Seoul, South Korea. She analyzes the consequences in the form of neighbourhood change and displacement.

Wed 8 April 2026

Panel discussion | Green colonialism

Scholars explore “Green colonialism”, which are environmental projects led by outside powers in regions that were once colonised. While these initiatives are often presented as efforts to protect nature, they can take land away from local communities, increase poverty, and weaken traditional ways of life. In The Hague. 

Wed 8 April 2026

Lecture | East Europe’s forgotten peasant revolution

Professor Jakub Beneš (University College London) reconsiders the period of world wars and focuses on East Europe. 

Thu 9 April 2026

Lecture | Humans as a legal technology

Ida Koivisto (University of Helsinki) talks about the emergence of "new humans" in European technology regulation and ethical discourses. This means that instead of natural persons, bureaucrats or civil servants, ‘humans’ are assigned legal assignments and power. 

Thu 9 April 2026

KITLV hybrid seminar | Natural resource management crisis of the 1970s

aerial-of-badak-ngl-natural-gas-refinery-website.960x0

Farabi Fakih (Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta) looks at how different transnational pathways of American institutions determined policy opportunities and conditions for New Order actors and the emergence of transnational brokers. He focuses on the Indonesian oil sector in the mid-1970s.

Thu 9 April 2026

RMO quiz | Ken-Uw-Klassieken Pubquiz 2026

Test in de Tempelzaal je kennis over Griekse en Latijnse literatuur, klassieke mythologie, oude geschiedenis, antieke wijsbegeerte en archeologie.

Thu 9 April 2026

RMO docentenmiddag | Pallas 2

Tijdens deze middag vertelt Charles Hupperts over de herziening van Pallas en de rijke ontwikkelingsgeschiedenis van deze methode. Daarna volgen verschillende lezingen over onderwerpen die aansluiten bij lessen uit Pallas. 

Thu 9 April 2026

Lezing | Postmodernisme in de film: Hoe onze blik op de werkelijkheid verschuift

Dr. Peter Verstraten (universitair docent filmwetenschap) legt de voor en tegens van postmodernistische films (ca. 1960 – 2000) en hun vele stijlen en vormen naast elkaar.

Thu 9 April 2026

IIAS online book talk | The animist imagination in East Asian cinema

Pao-chen Tang (University of Sydney) explores how humans coexist with nonhuman forces onscreen.

Fri 10 April 2026

RMO lezingen | Wie zijn de Kelten?

Peter Schrijver (hoogleraar Keltologie) en Sasja van der Vaart-Verschoof (zelfstandig archeoloog onderzoeken wie de Kelten zijn op het gebied van mythes en taal.

Fri 10 April 2026

Online lezing | Luisteren naar Polyphemus

Justine McConnell (King’s College London) bespreekt schrijvers en kunstenaars die een nieuw, menselijker beeld hebben gecreëerd van Homerus’ cycloop Polyphemus. De nadruk ligt op het werk van romanschrijver Ralph Ellison, beeldend kunstenaar Romare Bearden en dichter Nikki Giovanni. 

Fri 10 April 2026

RMO lezingen | Xerxes' speedo

In vier korte lezingen vertelt een panel van experts over hun favoriete vorm van oudheidreceptie. Ze laten zien hoe wij verhalen uit de oudheid blijven vertellen, creatief aanpassen en soms ook volledig laten ontsporen.

Fri 10 April 2026

Alumni event | Celebrating 40 years of the Latin American Studies program at Leiden

Enjoy keynotes, round tables, panel sessions, and a reception and walking dinner in celebration of the 40-years existence of Leiden's Latin American Studies program (LAS).

Sat 11 April 2026

Symposium | Klank & kop

Wat doet ritme met het brein?  Hoogleraar muziekwetenschap Albert Clement, cognitief neurowetenschapper Fleur Bouwer en research software engineer Berit Janssen onderzoeken dit. 

Sat 11 April 2026

RMO lezing | Homeruslezing 2026

Coen Simons (hoofdredacteur Filosofie Magazine) verklaart met behulp van Plato, Erasmus en Kant waarom de jeugd van tegenwoordig steeds moreler wordt, maar ook steeds minder deugt. 

Sun 12 April 2026

RMO workshop | Kraak de Gallische code

Archeologen hebben een plaatje gevonden dat is gemaakt van lood, waar een Gallische tekst op staat. Je leert hoe je deze oude tekst kunt ontcijferen en daar een eigen vertaling van kunt maken.

Sun 12 April 2026

Wandeling | De Haagse spreukenroute

Prof.dr. Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade (emeritus hoogleraar socio-historische taalkunde van het Engels) vertelt over de verschillende spreuken, over Ingrids ontmoetingen met de sprekers van de talen, en over hoe de route tot stand kwam.

Sun 12 April 2026

RMO lezingenmiddag | One god, many voices

Dr. Benedetto Neola (Universiteit Leiden) en dr. Clelia Attanasio (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) vertellen over de context waarin het Christendom zich heeft weten te vestigen als dominante religieuze traditie in de westerse wereld tussen de 3e en 6e eeuw na Christus. In het Engels.

Sun 12 April 2026

RMO leesclub | Medusa in de spiegel

Letterkundige prof. dr. Jacqueline Klooster (Universiteit van Freiburg) laat lezers in een reeks persoonlijke verkenningen van mythologische figuren en hun moderne transformaties in een mythische spiegel kijken.

Mon 13 April 2026

RMO competitie | Benelux sprekerscompetitie

Leerlingen uit Nederland en Vlaanderen gaan de woordelijke strijd met elkaar aan. Sprekers uit de onder- en bovenbouw gaan in duo’s aan de slag met creatieve spreekopdrachten over heden en verleden.

Mon 13 April 2026

Lecture | The Bank van Lening (1746) en Bank Courant (1752) in Batavia: Did empire  reate a financial revolution in Asia?

Catia Antunes talks about the Bank van Lening (created in 1746 as part of an institutional reform that tried to justify the Dutch empire in Asia) as the first modern bank in Asia that provided relatively affordable loans. She also disccuses the incorporation of the Bank Courant into the Bank van Lening. 

Tue 14 April 2026

Seminar |  Art, science and global imagination in the first Islamic description of the New World

Sinem Casale (Kunsthistorisches Institut, Florence) explores illustrated and painted books known as the Tarih-i Hind-i Garbi  (History of the West Indies), the first non-indigenous and non-European history of the Americas. She discusses early modern travel and colonization from the perspective of the non colonizer.

Tue 14 April 2026

Hybrid lecture | Visuality of deaf people in contemporary times

Ana Regina Campello (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) explores the role of visuality in the education, identity formation, and social interaction of deaf people. 

Tue 14 April 2026

Artist talk | Tales of resistance: Allegory & myth

Hong Kong–born artist Kacey Wong shares his insights into the aesthetics of protest and reflect on his experience of exile in Taiwan. He discusses how visual language is shaped under authoritarian pressure, censorship, and political displacement, and how art becomes a tool to resist erasure and encourage civic courage. In The Hague.

Tue 14 April 2026

Seminar | Water governance

Mark Squillace (University of Colorado) discusses water governance and (in)justice in the face of increasingly global challenges.

Tue 14 April 2026

ASCL seminar | The politics of green hydrogen in the Global South: Insights from Africa and Latin America

Tomás Ariztía (Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile) and Eric Cezne (ASCL) present two perspectives on the emerging geographies, politics, and lived experiences of green hydrogen across the Global South.

Tue 14 April 2026

Knowledge session | China’s hydrogen ambitions and clean energy competition

ckn-chinas-hydrogen-ambitions-and-clean-energy-competition-1-768x527

Gadi Rothenberg (University of Amsterdam and Tsinghua University) examines the current state of China’s clean energy and hydrogen technologies. He discusses how competitive Chinese solutions are and what these developments mean for the Netherlands.

Tue 14 April 2026

Seminar | Effective public risk communication: Raising awareness without causing fear

Prof. Lasse Lindekilde (Aarhus University) addresses the question: How can government institutions communicate effectively to the public about the risk from terrorism, war, pandemics etc. without causing undue fear in the population? In The Hague.

Tue 14 April 2026

Lecture | Connecting Dutch colonial sources with AI

Johan Visser introduces the research platform dutchtatlanticsources.com. DAS is a digital humanities project that brings together early modern sources on the Dutch Atlantic world.

Tue 14 April 2026

RMO live-opname | Veelstemmige oudheid

In deze live-opname voor de podcast 'Verleden Verteld', praten conservatoren Daniel Soliman en Suzan van de Velde met host Timo Epping over de veelstemmige oudheid in het museum.

Tue 14 April 2026 - Fri 17 April 2026

Conference | European human behaviour & evolution association

1bad56-b8bc6712d09e4c4cbd99181dbabfd4c8-mv2

Different speakers explore the meaning of AI developments for research on behavioural sciences, anthropology, archaeology, sociology, linguistics, medicine, and more. 

Tue 14 April 2026

Hybrid roundtable | Populism and nationalism: What's the difference?

Sarah de Lange, André Gerrits and Steven Denney discuss the ideal-type differences and similarities between populism and nationalism and the connection between the two in Dutch and East Asian politics. 

Wed 15 April 2026

WML bijeenkomst | Imagine peace: Silencing & humanitaire hulp Sudan

In een panel richten we ons op de menselijke impact van de oorlog in Sudan en onderzoeken we waarom de wereld zo beperkt reageert en wat hiervan de gevolgen zijn. Afsluiting met een publiek gesprek en spoken word.

Wed 15 April 2026

RMO avondsymposium | Legendarische vrouwen in de Griekse literatuur

Ineke Sluiter (Universiteit Leiden) en Irene de Jong (Universiteit van Amsterdam) wekken de stemmen van vrouwen uit de Griekse literatuur van de Oudheid tot leven en vertellen over Penelope en Tomyris.

Wed 15 April 2026

Lecture | National language and feminist activism in Republican China

Coraline Jortay (French Centre for Scientific Research) discusses the 1924 Congress for the Advancement of Education. She focuses on feminist activists' influence on debates about the unification of language in China from the late Qing into the early People's Republic of China period.

Wed 15 April 2026

IIAS lecture | Alexandra David-Neel and the reawakening of Buddhism

The writings of Alexandra David-Neel (1868–1969) shaped global perceptions of Tibetan Buddhism, often emphasising occult practices and magical phenomena. Dr Samuel Thévoz (University of Vienna) rethinks the influence of Buddhist modernism in her life, focusing on her transformative stay in Sikkim in the 1910s.

Thu 16 April 2026

Lezing | Heen en weer tussen hoop en cynisme

Dr. Robin van den Akker (Erasmus School of Philosophy) verkent de verschuiving naar het metamodernisme (ca. 2000- nu) en hoe dit zichtbaar wordt in kunst en cultuur.

Thu 16 April 2026

Workshop | Historical pragmatics and letter-writing practices

Experts and younger researchers of historical pragmatics share their challenges, practices, and ideas on how to deal with the challenges of applying a pragmatic lens to historical letters.

Thu 16 April 2026

Symposium | To rise from the ashes

dmitrii-zhodzishskii-5aehoqrb2qk-unsplash

The Dutch Symposium of the Ancient Near East discusses the continuous response, adaptation and (re)emergence of societies throughout time in ancient West Asia.

Thu 16 April 2026

Lecture | Sacrifice and social imaginary in Hellenistic Kos

Péter Kató (Eötvös Loránd University Budapest) explores sacrificial prescriptions from priests addressed to various groups within the local population, in order to maintain established social hierarchies. 

Thu 16 April 2026

Workshop | Historical pragmatics and letter-writing practices

Letter-writing has been a rich source for historical pragmatic analysis in the past decades. However, many pragmatic models need careful consideration when applied to historical data. Different speakers explore how pragmatic frameworks might be changed to better fit historical data.

Thu 16 April 2026

RMO lezing | Constantinopel en water

Dr. Mariëtte Verhoeven (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen) onderzoekt hoe water op verschillende manieren bepalend was voor de identiteit van Constantinopel.

Thu 16 April 2026

IIAS lecture | Controlling Measles outbreak in Southeast Asia

monnais-image-credits-dr-chham-samnang-0

Laurence Monnais (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) reflects on the current outbreak of Measles using a Southeast Asianist perspective and history as prevention. 

Thu 16 April 2026

WML performance lecture | Undesirables

Artist filmmaker Sabine Groenewegen shares from her ongoing research on the Dutch colonial plantocracy.She shows resistance to racial capitalism despite attempts to suppress it. In Amsterdam. 

Fri 17 April 2026

NINO hybrid lecture | Identity and Connectivity at the Oryx District

Oryx District was once a thriving town in the middle of Egypt. Several tombs found there show individuals who did not look like Egyptians. Dr Anna-Latifa Mourad-Cizek (The University of Chicago) explores who  those people were and who else lived in there.

Fri 17 April 2026

Lecture | the British government's colonial bureaucratic practices in southern Africa

In this Sociolinguistics & Discourse Studies Series, Susan Fitzmaurice (University of Sheffield) discusses the British government's communicative practice in colonial bureaucracy at the turn of the twentieth century in southern Africa. 

Fri 17 April 2026

Lecture | Modal strategies in Hittite

dr-theresa-maria-roth-markus-farnung-107-von-10

In this Comparative Indo-European Linguistics (CIEL) Seminar, Theresa Maria Roth (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) shares her early considerations for a systematic study of modal strategies in Hittite.

Fri 17 April 2026

Book talk | France, you love it but you leave it

Olivier Esteves (Lille University) presents his book 'France you love it but you leave'. The book discusses the silent and largely unacknowledged flight abroad of French Muslim. It focuses on their motivations, their experiences in France and abroad, and their sense of Frenchness, torn between gratitude and bitterness.

Fri 17 April 2026

Lecture | Household dominium and enslavement in the seventeenth-century Dutch empire

In this Research Seminar Medieval and Early Modern History lecture, Timo McGregor talks about ownership and slavery in the Dutch empire of the 17th century. 

Fri 17 April 2026

RMO boekpresentatie | The Poet and the Underworld

boekpresentatie-amaranth-feuth-800x450p-600x338

Amaranth Feuth vertelt over de manier waarop eigentijdse literatuur bekende Griekse en Latijnse teksten in herinnering brengt en op subtiele wijze bijstuurt vanuit het hedendaagse perspectief van diversiteit.

Sat 18 April 2026

RMO workshop | Fanfictie schrijven over de oudheid

Julia Neugarten (Radboud Universiteit) geeft een korte inleiding op fanfictie (verhalen waarin fans bestaande verhalen herschrijven), waarna bezoekers zelf fanfictie over de oudheid schrijven.

Sat 18 April 2026

WML film screenings and panel discussions | Restitution through artistic collaboration

The project responds to the Dutch government’s 2023 announcement of its intention to return artefacts taken from Indonesia. Explore how film and collaboration can reshape narratives around restitution—embracing and what could happen when these objects return. In Amsterdam.

Sat 18 April 2026

Concert | Swing’in spring with the Practicum Musicae Orkest!

 the Practicum Musicae Orchestra leads you through the warm soundscapes of Debussy and Fauré.

Sun 19 April 2026

WML evenement | Meer tijd voor Papoea

Een middag vol film, gesprek en smaak, waarin tijd en de hedendaagse realiteit van West-Papua centraal staan. Verschillende activiteiten focussen op verdieping, ontmoeting en nieuwe perspectieven. 

Sun 19 April 2026

Wereldwandeling | Sporen van de Slavernij in Leiden

Aan de hand van deze wandeling door de straten van de historische binnenstad van Leiden, leer je meer over de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse slavenhandel en slavernij, lopend langs gebouwen waar handelaren, tot slaafgemaakten, en voorvechters voor de afschaffing van slavernij woonden.

Sun 19 April 2026

RMO evenement | Romeinen in het museum

Op de laatste dag van de Week van de Klassieken presenteren de Romeinse re-enactors van Legio Secunda Augusta demonstraties en een modeshow om de oudheid dichterbij te brengen.

Sun 19 April 2026

NINO slotmiddag | Veelstemmige oudheid

Verschillende sprekers presenteren studies waarin verschillende identiteiten in de Levant en de relatie tussen tekst en archeologie van het derde tot en met her eerste millennium v.Chr. voorkomen.

Mon 20 April 2026

Workshop | Materiality and historical research

PhD-candidates present short presentation on a single object, or group of objects, that can demonstrate the importance of materiality in historical research. This can include clothing, jewellery, documents, paintings, etc. 

Mon 20 April 2026

Talk | Irradiated imaginations and anti-nuclear solidarities

Fabienne Rachmadiev (University of Amsterdam) discusses the intertwined histories of nuclear infrastructures, colonialism, and resistance. She focusses on the Northern Kazakh steppe around Semey, which the Soviet Union used for its nuclear programme between 1948 and 1991, causing long-lasting effects of pollution and radiation. 

Tue 21 April 2026

ASCL seminar | Histories of Afroglobal politics of conflict in the 19th Century

Dr. Kerem Duymus (University of Leipzig) examines the interactions between the Ottoman and Borno Empires during the second half of the nineteenth century. These interactions intersected with the global ambitions of merchants and rulers from the area and created a space of AfroGlobal political interactions.

Wed 22 April 2026

RMO lecture | Byvanck-lecture 2026

Naoíse Mac Sweeney (University of Vienna) talks about Greek cities in Cilicia (South East Turkey). They are considered settlements founded from the 8th century BC by migrants who brought their own culture and identity with them. 

Thu 23 April 2026 - Fri 24 April 2026

Conferentie | Neerlandistiekdagen

Studenten maken kennis met lopend onderzoek en actueel onderwijs binnen de neerlandistiek via workshops en lezingen, onder andere over straattaal. Ook wordt gevraagd hoe de neerlandistiek van de toekomst eruitziet.

Thu 23 April 2026

RMO rondleiding | Verhaal op zaal

De wetenschappers achter de tijdelijke tentoonstelling Discovering Ancient Egypt vertellen over hun onderzoek en de fascinerende verhalen achter de objecten in de tentoonstelling.

Thu 23 April 2026

Lezing | Van posthuman-isme naar post-humanisme

Drs. Jasmijn Leeuwenkamp (Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis) stelt dat het posthumanisme (ca. 1980 – nu) aantoont dat mensen altijd al onderdeel zijn geweest van grotere netwerken.

Thu 23 April 2026

Online book talk | Repression and resistance on the Russian internet

Françoise Daucé and Francesca Musiani talk about their new book 'Digital Authoritarianism in the Making: Repression and Resistance on the Russian Internet'. In it, they discuss the rise of authoritarianism and its domination of the Russian digital space. 

Fri 24 April 2026

WML artist talk | Rogue agents of history

Larissa Sansour en Søren Lind gaan in gesprek met curator Nat Muller over de eerste solotentoonstelling in Nederland van de bekroonde Palestijnse kunstenaar Larissa Sansour. In Amsterdam.

Fri 24 April 2026

Neerlandistiekdagen | Neerlandistiek: de toekomst!

Deze dag is speciaal voor docenten uit het vo, hbo en wo, onderzoekers en andere vakgenoten binnen de neerlandistiek. Centraal staat de vraag hoe de neerlandistiek van de toekomst eruitziet.

Tue 28 April 2026

Middagprogramma | Giant robots, big ideas

Wetenschappers op het gebied van Japanse animatie, film- en literatuurwetenschap en cultuurgeschiedenis onderzoeken hoe 'giant robots' diepere vragen weerspiegelen over technologie, kunstmatige intelligentie, oorlog en de relatie tussen mens en machine.

Wed 29 April 2026

Lecture | Bijutsu: The key issue of contemporary Japanese art

Kiyoko Mitsuyama-Wdowiak (SOAS, University of London) explores why contemporary Japanese art used to be seen as an imitation of Western art and why it has turned into a fascinating subject since the late 1980s.

Wed 29 April 2026

Conference | Materiality and historical research

The Leiden University Greek and Roman History Research Team organises a workshop of short presentations about a single object, or group of objects, that can demonstrate the importance of materiality in historical research.

Thu 30 April 2026

NINO studentensymposium | Rediscovering Ancient Egypt

Sprekers van de opleidingen Oude Nabije Oosten Studies (BA) en Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA) presenteren hun lopend onderzoek in verband met de Egyptische en Nubische collecties van het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.

Thu 30 April 2026

Lezing | Auschwitz et après: Kampliteratuur van Charlotte Delbo

Charlotte Delbo's driedelige 'Auschwitz et après' bleven binnen de kampliteratuur altijd onderbelicht vanwege hun experimentele karakter.  nnelies Schulte Nordholt en Tommy van Avermaete nemen een aantal tekstfragmenten van Delbo onder de loep, om te begrijpen wat haar proza zo bijzonder maakt.

Thu 30 April 2026

Online lecture | Tribulation and refuge after the Syrian revolution

Basit Kareem Iqbal (McMaster University) discusses how religious imaginations animate giving against the backdrop of war and displacement. When "God grants relief," how do humans find refuge in what is lost? 

Thu 30 April 2026

Lezing | Ken onszelve

karl-raymund-catabas-6yfgucylgmi-unsplash

Filosofen Savriël Dillingh en Floris Schleicher onderzoeken wat het betekent om jezelf te kennen en wat de grenzen daarvan zijn. 

May 2026

Sun 3 May 2026

Filosofiemiddag | Het ideaal van het goede

Onder begeleiding van filosoof en docent Werner van Rossum worden ideeën en idealen over het Goede bediscussieerd.

Sun 3 May 2026

Concert | Lustrum spring concert Sempre Crescendo

With soloists Albert Jan de Boer, Sander de Jong, and Sara Corbey, and pianists Yiyuan Chen and Javier Hombria Hernández, student music organisation Sempre Crescendo  promises to be an impressive performance. The orchestra and the Madrigaal and Padrigaal choirs will also perform various pieces.

Thu 7 May 2026

RMO lezing | Een middeleeuwse bestseller

Emilie van Opstall (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) verzorgt de jaarlijkse Zenobia-lezing. Ze vertelt over het Boek van Sindbad de Filosoof / Zeven Wijzen van Rome, een raamvertelling die vanaf de middeleeuwen tot de vroegmoderne tijd erg populair was.

Thu 7 May 2026

Seminar | Water movements

Maud Rijks focuses on the historical roots and underlying structures of water movements and solidarity netoworks, to better understand their increasing presence, and expanding roles.

Thu 7 May 2026

Joint talk | Art talk by Matthew Rampley and Vera Wolff

Matthew Rampley examines recent debates over socialist globalism in art.  Vera Wolff situates the highly controversial exhibition 'Zeitgenössische Kunst seit 1939' within a broader field of contemporary projects in global art history and Cold War history of knowledge. 

Fri 8 May 2026

Symposium | Flitsen uit de historie van de belastingheffing

Verschillende sprekers reflecteren op de geschiedenis van belastingheffing in Nederland. 

Tue 12 May 2026 - Wed 13 May 2026

WML workshop | Indigenous futures: Towards policy on ancestral remains in the Netherlands

New theory and policy input on the framework of repatriation and handling of ancestral remains in the Netherlands is discussed, centring the perspectives of Indigenous and formerly colonised peoples.

Tue 12 May 2026

Lecture | Intergenerational mobility among enslaved people in plantation hierarchies in colonial Suriname

Enid Holweg explores how the roles and social positions of enslaved people on plantations in 18th and 19th century Suriname changed over the course of their lifetimes. She also researches whether access to skilled or higher-status positions was concentrated within particular families and passed down through generations.

Wed 13 May 2026

Lunch lecture | Transformations in global climate finance: Understanding emerging institutional approaches

This talk focuses on the reasons that have driven the emergence of global climate finance institutions from the dimensions of governance, operations, issue area, and control.

Wed 13 May 2026

Book talk | Israeli-Turkish relations at the end of the Cold War: The geopolitics of denying the Armenian Genocide

Eldad Ben Aharon traces Israel’s diplomatic maneuvering through key geopolitical events and places them within broader regional and global shifts. He challenges the common idea that credits American Jewish organisations and Turkish Jews with shaping Ankara–Jerusalem relations and influencing Washington’s policies. 

Wed 13 May 2026

Lezing | Een historische en etymologische blik op co-spraak gebaren en tekens

Emily Shaw (University of Gallaudet) presenteert etymologisch onderzoek naar Amerikaanse Gebarentaal (ASL) en Franse Gebarentaal (LSF). Ze focust op hoe gebaren zijn overgedragen, getransformeerd en hergeïnterpreteerd over generaties en nationale contexten heen.

Sun 17 May 2026

Wereldwandeling | Sporen van de Slavernij in Leiden

Aan de hand van deze wandeling door de straten van de historische binnenstad van Leiden, leer je meer over de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse slavenhandel en slavernij, lopend langs gebouwen waar handelaren, tot slaafgemaakten, en voorvechters voor de afschaffing van slavernij woonden.

Tue 19 May 2026

Hybrid lecture | Kremlin's control and suppression strategies between 2000 – 2021

A sentiment analysis tool is used to trace Russia's evolution from overt repression to media manipulation under Putin, exploring how state-sponsored disinformation campaigns are used to influence public opinion, legitimise violence, and suppress dissent.  

Tue 19 May 2026

Lecture | Mind tools, language and the origins of AI

Stephen C. Levinson (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics) explores how mind tools (devices that strengthen our cognition) work psychologically.

Wed 20 May 2026

ASCL seminar | South-South divergence before the Green Revolution

a-beam-view-of-a-laung-zat-or-paddy-boat-photograph-by-j.-jackson

According to historical income estimates, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa were more or less on similar levels in the 1960s. In 2020, per capita incomes in Southeast Asia were roughly three times higher than in Tropical Africa. Ewout Frankema (Wageningen University) tries to make sense of this dramatic difference.

Thu 21 May 2026

Lecture | What language-specific ‘first aid kits’ can tell us about bilingualism

When we speak in another language, we often adapt sounds of that language and assimilate it to familiar sounds from our first language. In this talk, Tim Lamérises discuss phonological repair strategies in bilingualism.

Thu 21 May 2026 - Fri 22 May 2026

Conference | The EU as a guardian of digital fairness and sustainable consumption

alexandre-lallemand-pcs3mol14sk-unsplash

In a keynote speech, a roundtable and a panel, speakers discuss EU consumer protection, integration of environmental protection in EU legislation, and the protection of personal data.

Thu 21 May 2026

Lezing | Leidse bespiegelingen - Filosofie en sport; spel, lichaam en politiek

Sportfilosofen Aldo Houterman en Sandra Meeuwsen reflecteren op hoe sport een onverwacht venster vormt op fundamentele vragen over mens en samenleving.

Fri 22 May 2026

Alumni event | Celebrating 40 years of the Dutch Studies programme

Enjoy a review of 40 years of Dutch Studies by (former) staff members, a Dutch Studies quiz, an alumni panel, and drinks afterwards to celebrate 40 years since the BA Nederlandkunde/Dutch Studies was established in Leiden.

Tue 26 May 2026

Hybride lezing | Experiences of migration, a pedagogy of fiction

prof.dr. Odile Heynders houdt een lezing over haar boek 'Experiences of Migration, A Pedagogy of Fiction'. Ze onderzoekt hoe fictieve verhalen over migratie bijdragen aan een specifieke vorm van kennis.

Tue 26 May 2026

Seminar | Water worlds

Ifor Duncan (Utrecht University) challenges the traditional foundations and methods of thinking about human-water relations and discusses the deep histories of water.

Wed 27 May 2026 - Thu 28 May 2026

Conference | NEXT GEN: The Hague Security Conference

After the second world war, the post-war international order seemed to be moving towards greater co-operation, stronger rules-based international order, and deepening economic interdependence. In recent years, however, hope of a more stable world order faded. Experts and emerging thinkers and practitioners discuss sharp analyses and fresh perspectives.

Fri 29 May 2026

Lezing | Ierland in de 21e eeuw

Literatuurwetenschapper Amaranth Feuth bespreekt hoe Ierse schrijfster Sally Rooney het beroemdste echtpaar uit de Ierse literatuur, de Blooms uit James Joyces Ulysses, weergeeft in haar recente roman Intermezzo.

June 2026

Wed 3 June 2026 - Fri 5 June 2026

Conference | Staging the heroine

birmingham-museums-trust-equyek1ti6s-unsplash

Different speakers talk about the construction and performance of female heroism in literature, the visual arts and theatre between 1350 and 1800.

Mon 8 June 2026

Lecture | The Biblical covenant and its afterlife

Robert Kawashima (University of Florida) and Stephen C. Russell (City University of New York) explore the significance of the Mosaic covenant and the influence that the biblical idea of the covenant had on early-modern political theory.

Mon 8 June 2026

NINO hybrid lecture | The Achaemenid Persian empire and world history

Prof. Dr Miguel John Versluys gives the Sancisi-Weerdenburg Lecture and suggests the adoption of an Afro-Eurasian perspective on the idea of universalism around 500 BCE.

Wed 10 June 2026

Conference | Humanities and International Relations Graduate Conference 2026

This conference centers on the theme 'Reimagining international relations: Humanities and multidisciplinarity as key approaches'. In The Hague.

Wed 10 June 2026

Hybride lezing | Geletterdheidsontwikkeling voor dove/slechthorende kinderen in de vroege jaren

Rachel Chomba (Universiteit van Zambia) onderzoekt de geletterdheidsontwikkeling van doof en slechthorende kinderen in de vroege jaren vanuit een taal-eerst en visueel gefundeerd perspectief. 

Fri 12 June 2026

Symposium | Humanities PhD Symposium 2026

PhD candidates from across the humanities share and discuss their ongoing research with peers and faculty members in an open, supportive setting.

Mon 15 June 2026

Oratie | Archeology of Middle America

hill-country-camera-cimx-xjgzju-unsplash

Alexander Geurds discusses how we can develop an archaeology of Middle America.

Fri 19 June 2026

Study trip | Explore the Roman past of the Netherlands

Discober the Roman life near the limes in the modern province of Utrecht. Highlights of the trip include a visit to the Roman fort and Museum Hoge Woerd and a canal tour in a replica of a Roman ship.

Sun 21 June 2026

Wereldwandeling | Sporen van de Slavernij in Leiden

Aan de hand van deze wandeling door de straten van de historische binnenstad van Leiden, leer je meer over de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse slavenhandel en slavernij, lopend langs gebouwen waar handelaren, tot slaafgemaakten, en voorvechters voor de afschaffing van slavernij woonden.

Tue 23 June 2026

WML international symposium | Pacific Arts Association

Ttiled 'Oceanic Blazing Forms: Memory, Place-making and Imagination', this symposium rethinks global art histories through the growing intellectual space of the Wereldmuseum. It challenges the structures and assumptions of both art history and anthropology through new approaches to material culture. 

Fri 26 June 2026

KITLV hybrid festival | Celebration 175 years KITLV !

The Institute's researchers creatively show their work, and the works produced by Atelier KITLV will be exhibited and explained. There will also be dance and spoken word. At the UBL, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and other objects from the KITLV Collection are highlighted.

Tue 30 June 2026

Conference | The Hague threat intelligence exchange

Speakers explore the landscape of cyber threats and encourage collaboration between private sector threat intelligence, government, and academia. In The Hague.

July 2026

Wed 1 July 2026 - Fri 3 July 2026

Conference | The prayer book as object and practice, 1300–1800

Different researchers explore the broader network of prayer books across late medieval and early modern Europe. They focus on the material book, its texts and images, devotions inspired by these texts and images, producers of the books, and the communities to which they belong. 

Thu 2 July 2026

KITLV symposium | Caribbean Studies: Past, present, and future of the field

foto-hoefte-rosemarijn-uva-2025-07-23-11-23-58-utc-website.960x0

Rosemarijn Hoefte retires from her roles as senior researcher and member of the management team at KITLV. She reflects on the past, present, and future of the field of Caribbean studies.

Sun 5 July 2026 - Tue 7 July 2026

Conference | Crimmigration in an Age of Authoritarian Drift

Criminal law and immigration are increasingly linked, known as "crimmigration." This trend has grown with the rise of authoritarian and far-right politics. The conference examines how migration has become central to nationalist agendas.

Sun 5 July 2026 - Tue 7 July 2026

Conference | Crimmigration in an age of authoritarian drift

The fusion of criminal law and immigration enforcement (crimmigration) has intensified globally. Different speakers explore how crimmigration works as a tool of governance and political performance in democratic, hybrid, and authoritarian settings.

Fri 10 July 2026

Symposium | History of sign language: Emergence, transmission, and change

Researchers, students, and international professionals promote the exchange of research and experiences. They also reflect on sign languages from a broad historical perspective, discussing their early records, sociolinguistic development, and current uses. 