Humanities, Institute for Area Studies

The Classics and Ancient Civilizations (Research) master's at Leiden University covers the entire range of present-day research on the civilisations of Greece and Rome, Egypt and the Ancient Near East.

Cody Bahir defended his thesis on 1 June 2017.

This dissertation is a study of the view of the Neoplatonist Proclus (Athens, 411-485) on to what extent and how the changing and unreliable world of sense perception can itself be an object of scientific knowledge.

This Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives bachelor's programme is unique in that it offers comparative perspectives from around the world that will enable you to be part of the next generation of thinkers, someone studying and shaping philosophy for a globalised 21st century.

Assesses the importance of Merleau-Ponty to current and ongoing concerns in contemporary philosophy.

Study Information, Online Experience

New Approaches to the Study of Textual Material from the Early Pharaonic to the Late Antique Period

Study Information

This master programme introduces the student to the philosophical issues on the intersection of law, politics, and policy. This master’s programme is meant for students who wish to combine an MA in Law,Political Science, Public Administration, or an adjacent discipline with an MA in Philosophy Law,…

If you want to maintain a valid penal system, you have to continue to ask the big questions on punishment. Why do we punish people? What is permissible for the government and what is not? Philosopher of Law Jeroen ten Voorde examines these kinds of questions and keeps his academic colleagues and the…

The Centre is the proud home of several research programmes.

The Institute for Philosophy at Leiden University is host to the NWO programme,

Why does the past elicit this intense activity in the present? What does the past mean for the present, and what does it do to it? A WAR OF WORDS will engage this complex of Chinese claims to Manchu-Korean ancient history, South Korean reactions, public discourse and cultural expression in both states,…

How can party bans be justified? Which parties were banned in post-war Europe – and why? Do militant democracy instruments work? Is an international militant democracy concept in the making?

The wealth of shoes, sandals and other footwear from ancient Egypt is poorly understood due to lack of research. This is remarkable, because from the very beginning of Egypt’s long history footwear served practical as well as more spiritual purposes.

The Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Arabia aims to promote research on the ancient languages and cultures of Arabia, and to disseminate this knowledge to the broader public.

Who is Economic Man? Every economic paradigm presupposes an anthropology, a theory of human nature. This project explores the anthropologies presupposed and produced by ancient Greek economic texts, and the specific knowledge forms that shape these anthropologies.

Patterns of paleomobility in the Caribbean were studied through an inter-disciplinary approach using a combination of archaeological, osteological, mortuary, and isotopic data.

Fokelien Kootstra defended her thesis on 23 April 2019

This project investigates ancient water management of streams, springs and runoffs on the archaeological site of Monte Albán, Mexico, as a means to contribute with different stakeholders in the development of sustainable solutions to water problems today such as floods and scarcity.

This subproject of 'From Homo Economicus to Political Animal' analyzes Greek economic thinking of the Hellenistic period.

This monograph by dr. Kim Beerden compares Greek divination to divinatory practices in Neo-Assyrian Mesopotamia and Republican Rome.

This subproject of 'From Homo Economicus to Political Animal' analyzes Greek economic thinking in late 5th- and 4th-century philosophical circles.

After years of being housed in the Matthias de Vrieshof 4 building alongside the Witte Singel, the Institute for Philosphy will move to the Reuvensplaats 3-4 in August.

The MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations covers one year and can be studied in four tracks: Classics is one of them. While diving into the literary, cultural and intellectual worlds of Greece and Rome, you will be involved in current research, and stimulated to reflect on the significance of Classics…

This dissertation offers a reconstruction of the propositional contents of the writings of Karl Popper, Leo Strauss, and Hannah Arendt while bringing these into discussion with their performative meanings, such as polemical forms of reasoning, analogical and metaphorical uses of language, and hidden…

The Classics Research Master, a specialization of the Classics and Ancient Civilizations programme at Leiden University, gives you the opportunity to study the Greek and Roman world with a focus on Greek and Latin language and literature.

The Classics Master, a specialization of the Classics and Ancient Civilizations program at Leiden University, gives you the opportunity to study the Greek and Roman world with a focus on Greek and Latin language and literature.

Material Crossovers

A comprehensive analysis of Nietzsche's conception of conflict and the way in which relations of struggle condition the organisation of complex systems (with a specific focus on the human psyche and the body politic).

Experience, Narrative, and Criticism in Ancient Greece pursues a new approach to ancient Greek narrative beyond the taxonomies of structuralist narratologies.

Starting September 1st, philosopher Douglas Berger will be professor of Comparative Philosophy at the Leiden Institute for Philosophy. His appointment marks a new direction for research and education in philosophy at Leiden University.

On 1 September, Susanna Lindberg will start as Professor of Continental Philosophy at Leiden University. Lindberg will teach and research in the areas of continental philosophy and the relationship between technology and humanity.

Slavoj Žižek is one of the most prominent public intellectuals of the left. His central claim holds that “today, it is more crucial than ever to continue to question the very foundations of capitalism as a global system”.

For three millennia, carved sculptures were ubiquitous among ancient peoples in the Americas. Sculpted in stone, metal or wood, they developed into the well-known totem poles, colossal Olmec heads, royal Maya stelae and golden Inca statues.

This thesis investigates Søren Kierkegaard’s place in Martin Heidegger’s first Freiburg period lecture courses.

Nature and History, Towards a Hermeneutic Philospohy of Historiography of Science

In this dissertation, the types of context Dutch speakers need to interpret the poly-interpretable word ergens ‘somewhere/anywhere’ are studied.

This research project focuses on the thoughts of ethnicity and political orthodoxy in Medieval China by investigating Wang Tong’s works.

Philosophy has an important contribution to make to society, says Professor of Practical Philosophy Glen Newey. You need people who can think clearly, certainly in positions of power and authority. Newey stresses that “there will always be a place for philosophy”. An introduction to the practically…

Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) in Leiden is a unique interdisciplinary master’s programme, considering topics of freedom, justice and citizenship in the 21st century. Watch this video to learn more about the programme!

Learn the newest research from the researchers who discover them.

From 1 September 2014, Glen Newey takes up the post of Professor of Practical Philosophy in Leiden University’s Institute for Philosophy.

This publication of the School of Advanced Study of the University of London is one of the outcomes of the Landscapes of Early Roman Colonization project and the Colonial Rural Networks project (NWO, Dr. T.D. Stek). The volume, edited by Tesse Stek and prof. Gert-Jan Burgers of the Free University Amsterdam,…