Prof.dr. Gert Oostindie

Professor

“What I find to be really good of the program and its staff as a whole is the combination of expertise in global history writ large and the various specializations in regions (Asian, African, Atlantic), periods (ranging from pre-modern via early modern to post-Second World War and contemporary) and themes (slavery, economic networks, migration and ethnicity, and so on). Both for teaching and research, the proximity of world-class libraries (in Leiden) and archives (in Leiden and the Hague) is absolutely fantastic.”

Public debates

"The least any professor of History can do beyond simply teaching students the methods, contents and ethics of the discipline is to help them reflect on why all of this might be helpful for understanding not simply the past, but also the present. As a frequent contributor to the mass media I feel historians have something substantial to add to public debates and in my teaching I do attempt to stimulate my students to think about this, and to develop the requisite skills."

Comparative history

"My research requires me to reflect not simply on Dutch colonialism and what the subsequent decolonisation meant in the many places around the globe where Dutch colonialism left an imprint, but equally on the impact of this history including the postcolonial migrations in the wake of decolonisation on the Netherlands itself. None of this can be properly understood if we only look at the Dutch case, hence the need for comparative history. For me, this is where all my research and writing is all about, and this is what I try to get across to my students as well: find out for yourself how this history continues to have a huge impact, today."

Michiel van Groesen

University Lecturer

"The Colonial and Global History track offers you the opportunity to discover the world at Leiden University. This track concerns the global circulation of people, goods, values and ideas during the early-modern and modern times. This MA allows you to study the past from 1500 to today. It is a diachronic programme and students are actively encouraged to make connections between the past and the present, colonial legacies and the globalized world we live in today. During the courses, we combine a global approach with the information that is available locally, so we will introduce you to heritage institutions in the Netherlands. In this programme, primarily sources play a key role and we also encourage you to go to the National Archives in The Hague for example."