On the necessity of fieldwork during a pandemic I witnessed the Dutch lockdown from a distance because I was based in Namibia at the time for archival research, and was set to travel through southern Africa for the next couple of months. But no one can escape reality. Tycho van der Hoog • October 22, 2020
Journey of two novice PhD candidates amidst COVID-19 Starting a PhD is an exciting opportunity: meeting new colleagues, settling in your office and familiarizing yourself with your new environment. What we couldn’t have imagined, is that this ‘new environment’ would actually turn out to be the confinement at our own homes. Sarah Vandenbroucke and Kimia Heidary • October 22, 2020
Diversity and inclusion at Leiden University: Just ticking a box or the sincere desire to change? Almost six years ago I made the transition from a job in the judiciary to working at the law faculty of Leiden University. I soon became aware of a lack of visible diversity among the faculty staff, although the student population did seem to be reasonably diverse. Amir Ali Abadi • August 04, 2020
"Neither here nor there": About modern racism and how to engage with it in an academic community Since the death of George Floyd and the resulting global demonstrations, discussions about racism are again ever present. What tends to be left outside of the discussion is the variety of people affected by this particular discussion. Diana Natermann • July 30, 2020
Not everything is binary: My experiences as a genderqueer transgender at Leiden University The recent attention towards discrimination and institutional racism opened a discussion where I think all different kinds of minority voices can and should be heard. I am grateful to take a little bit of space in this discussion and I hope anyone who feels the need to speak up will do so. Margot Kersing • July 23, 2020
