Limited opening hours Ascension Day and Whitsun Day
Due to Ascension Day and Whitsun Day the WSD buildings will have limited opening hours.
News and events
Lecture Forum Antiquum May 31st: Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Regime Change
On Thursday the 31st of May professor Christopher Pelling (Oxford University) will hold the last Forum Antiquum lecture of this term. His lecture "Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Regime Change" is also part of the conference "Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Augustan Rome". Afterwards there is a reception at the Faculty Club. Everyone is welcome to attend!
International symposium Implicit and Non-Institutional Religion and beyond
The symposium is held on the 20th of april on the occasion of the retirement of Prof. M.B. ter Borg.
27 April: Texts in Context: A Reflection About the Hermeneutics of Buddhist Texts
Buddhist Studies Lecture by Prof. Francesco Sferra, University of Naples, L'Orientale, Italy.
“Against the ‘zeitgeist’: The Holland I encountered when I came back.”
Alumna Religious Studies Froukje Santing (1956) returned to the Netherlands in 1999 after spending 17 years in Turkey, working as a correspondent for the Dutch daily newspaper NCR Handelsblad . Upon her return, she found a country that had changed under the influence of the 9/11 attacks and the murder in 2004, by a Muslim raised in Holland, of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, and she felt more and more estranged from her homeland.
Monday 19 March 2012: The Last Gentleman: The Huichang Persecution of Buddhism as a Stimulus to the Spread
By Prof. T.H. Barrett: One very early reference in literary materials to printing in China is a fundraising appeal from the poet Sikong Tu for the reprinting of the Vinaya in Luoyang.
Friday 27 April 2012: Texts in Context: A Reflection About the Hermeneutics of Buddhist Texts
Prof. Francesco Sferra: Early Buddhists adopted a number of strategies for the composition of their canonical texts
16 March: next Seminar Eastern Christianity
The Spring 2012 programme of the Seminar Eastern Christianity offers several lectures on the Near East. Drinks will be served afterwards.
6 and 7 February 2012 International Conference Archeology, Architecture and Liturgy
On monday 6 and tuesday 7 february 2012 the International Conference "Archaeology, Architecture and Liturgy. The Synagogue of Horvat Kur in the Context of Ancient Galilean Synagogues" will take place in The Spectrum Zaal in Plexus Complex and in the famous Temple Court of the Rijksmuseum. The general convenor is Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zangenberg, Leiden Institute for Religious studies. Participation in the conference is free, a contribution of 5 Euro is kindly asked as admission to the public lecture. Persons who wish to attend the symposium are kindly requested to make reservation beforehand.
3 October: Siege of Leiden
Due to Siege of Leiden (het Leidens ontzet) the WSD complex will be closed on Monday October 3d. No keys will be issued during this day.
9/11 has had strong influence on research
The attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington changed the world. But what effect did they have on academic research? Maurits Berger, Professor of Islam in the Contemporary West, looks back on 10 years of 9/11.
2-day Introduction Programme in August 2012
In this 2-day programme, Leiden students will act as guides and they will show you around Leiden. You will receive a short general introduction to the university, your own faculty, student facilities and the city of Leiden. During these 2 days with varied social activities you will meet many other international students.
Limited opening hours WSD-buildings during summer
During to the summer period, the WSD buildings will have limited opening hours.
Thursday June 30: The Short forms in Near Eastern Sapiential Literature
Round-Table June 30th, 2011 9h30-16h: “The Short forms in Near Eastern Sapiential Literature: Gnomai, Monostichs, Sayings, Proverbs, Riddles.”
Conference 'The Root Causes of Terrorism: A Religious Studies Perspective', Leiden 18-19 May 2011
Most of today's terrorism is motivated by religious claims, or takes place in religiously affected places. Is religion the main cause of terrorism, or does terrorism still arise because of leaders who brainwash and coach future terrorists so that they kill under the banner of religion?
Symposium: Eastern Christianity in Context | 21 May 2011
Following up on the Symposia held in Leiden in 2004 and in Oxford in 2006, a third Joint Graduate Studies Symposium dedicated to Eastern Christianity in Context will be held at Leiden University on Saturday 21 May 2011.
Lecture on Problematic of Chosenness, Prof. dr. Reuven Firestone, tuesday 24th of may 2011
Prof. dr. Reuven Firestone gives a lecture on the problematic of chosenness in monotheist religions.
New Basis for Cooperation Humanities with Bucharest University
On Monday, April 11, the next step was taken in the ongoing fruitful cooperation between the Leiden University Institute for Religious Studies and the Religious Studies Program „Texts and Traditions“ at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of Bucharest University.
Michal Marciak receives Polish Science award
Michal Marciak, a PhD student of LUIRS, has been awarded a prestigious stipend, START by the Foundation for Polish Science.
May 9-13: Course pre-islamic Arabic language and culture
From May 9 to 13, an intensive course on pre-Islamic language and culture will be offered by Michael Macdonald (Oxford University). The course provides insight into the genesis of Arabic language and culture.
