The contributions in this volume cover the period between roughly 1850 and 1950, focusing for the most part on Dutch science. We find out why the world-famous Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory lost its leading position in the 1930s, how research on hormones and vitamins was established in the Netherlands, and how the discipline of modern experimental physics was strongly influenced by practices in astronomy.

By the first half of the twentieth century, fundamental research had acquired an almost invi...

Many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan sell small wooden votive tablets (ema) which are meant to be left on a rack at the sanctuary. The reverse of these tablets offers space to send a self-written wish or personal thank you message to the enshrined deity or buddha. Their front usually has a pre-printed or hand-painted design that is indicative of the intended purpose.

In this book hundreds of contemporary ema designs for health-related purposes are reproduced and placed into thei...

"In Praise of Ambiguity" presents a discourse about the seriousness of play. Erasmus and Huizinga are its main characters, their books In Praise of Folly (1511) and Homo Ludens (1938) its main subject. It treats those books as contemporaries and asks what they still have to say to us. The main theme of both books is the contrast between two attitudes of life: the conviction that each subject has two or more sides as opposed to the certainty that there is always only one side to the matter. It...

Rembrandt is onlosmakelijk verbonden met de stad Leiden. Hij werd er geboren, ging er naar school en begon er zijn carrière als een van de grootste schilders in de Nederlandse geschiedenis. Eenzelfde verbondenheid is er tussen Rembrandt en de Universiteit Leiden. Hij schreef zich daar op 20 mei 1620 in als student letteren en deed dat, zoals uit deze publicatie zal blijken, in februari 1622 nog eens. Die inschrijving en herinschrijving worden in de Universiteitsbibliotheek bewaard, samen met...

'Edele wijse discrete lieve besundere,' zo luidde de aanvang van de brief die Willem van Oranje op 28 december 1574 vanuit Middelburg aan de Staten van Holland en Zeeland schreef. Hij deed er het voorstel in om een universiteit op te richten. Het zou het eerste archiefstuk worden van de Leidse universiteit. Aan die brief ontleende Willem Otterspeer de titel voor deze beknopte geschiedenis. Het is het verhaal van vier eeuwen, waarin de universiteit van Leiden de lotgevallen van Nederland deeld...

This is the story of four centuries during which Leiden University shared the fate of the Netherlands, and became representative of the most important advances in academic research. At the same time it is a declaration of adoration to one of Europe's most leading international universities.

On 28 December 1574, William of Orange wrote a letter to the States General of the provinces of Holland and Zeeland from the town of Middelburg. He came to the representatives with a proposal, a dream actu...

In deze essaybundel beantwoorden zowel gevestigde als nieuwe schrijvers de vraag: 'Heeft de teloorgang van het Christendom het (zelf)vertrouwen in de Europese cultuur ondermijnd?'

In 2014 schreef de stichting Werkelijkheid in Perspectief een essaywedstrijd uit waarin inzenders werd gevraagd hierop een antwoord te formuleren. In dit boek wordt een selectie van 12 van de 82 ingezonden essays gepubliceerd.

Met bijdragen van: Lodewijk Pessers, Hans Jansen, Govert Buijs en Herman Philipse.

Frits Bo...

The concept of ‘real legal certainty’ provides a much needed corrective to the general attention for legal certainty in this day and age. It emphasises relations between citizens, adds socio-legal insight, provides a ‘view from below,’ and thus leads to more realistic insights on how to build state institutions. The concept was introduced by Leiden University’s professor of Law and Governance in Developing countries Jan Michiel Otto, and can be considered a central pillar of his work.

Against the backdrop of an ever-increasing interest in ‘legal certainty’ in policy-making and academia, friends and colleagues of Jan Michiel Otto engage with the concept provide a wide variety of examples of its relevance. Drawing on case material from all over the world, they show how real legal certainty can be understood in a bottom-up manner and how it is relevant for building state institutions. They also show how the concept can gain in relevance by taking into account actors other than the state. In all, the edited volume is important reading for all whom share professor Otto’s interest in what it takes to bridge law in the books and law in action...

Heeft iedereen zich vergist die dacht dat in de Arabische wereld de tijd van autoritaire regimes eindelijk voorbij was? Of komt er geleidelijk, in de loop der jaren, toch hier en daar een stabiel systeem aan de macht waarin de burgers wat te zeggen hebben?

Van alle hoopvolle verwachtingen van de 'Arabische Lente' is nog weinig terechtgekomen. Jongeren stonden overal op tegen werkloosheid, corruptie en repressie. De Tunesische sterke man Ben Ali viel in januari 2011, zijn collega Mubarak enkel...

"World History - A Genealogy" charts the history of the discipline through twenty-five in-depth conversations with historians whose work has shaped the field of World History in various fundamental ways. These conversations, which took place over a period of twenty years in and around Leiden University for its World History journal "Itinerario", cover these historians' lives, their work, and their views of the Academy in general and the field of World History in particular. An extensive intro...