Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Leiden University

✨🎓 This week we're introducing the new Programme Committee members!

💬 ''Hi, I’m Mischa! It’s important to me that student concerns are heard and taken seriously when decisions are being made about our education, and I’m honoured to be the third-year representative this year! I take pride in my ability to mediate between different perspectives and communicate feedback constructively, and I hope to offer you a safe channel to express your concerns about our course and receive support and answers in return. I am happy to take on the responsibility of ensuring that your input reaches the right place and that your voice is a part of the conversation about CADS’ future. Feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns, or simply if you need support!'' 🍀

🎓 Last week, we had a delegation from in Bhutan at CADS!

🏅This was made possible thanks to an Erasmus ICM exchange grant which we won in 2024.

🧑🏻‍🎓 From left to right: Chencho Dorji (RTC), Jelle JP Wouters (RTC), Thinley Dema (LU/RTC), Erik de Maaker (LU) and Theo Poumpalov (LU).

🌻 Spring 2026, this same grant will allow CADS to host two students from RTC for their semester abroad. In addition, the grant enables Leiden faculty and a PhD student to spend time at RTC.

Not sure about your next step for your master’s?

Join our speed date session at 15:00 in the Living Lab (1B.01) and get the answers you need!

FIELDWORK FRIDAY

Cristina Grasseni, Professor of Cultural Anthropology:
"A sui generis picture from ‘the field’: this is Adele, a so-called ‘research participant’ co-presenting my book The Heritage Arena. Reinventing Cheese in the Italian Alps (2017) with me, sitting next to her, at the Royal Anthropological Institute in London, in 2021. Adele Arrigoni attended the workshop with her mum, a cheese entrepreneur, co-presented, and generously offered the cheese-tasting workshop. This is an example of how, in longitudinal ethnography, multiple generations become involved in research, with the same anthropologist. It reminds us of how our interlocutors can speak multiple languages, read our books, and are concerned by the same questions that draw us to the field. Adele has given her permission and reads in copy."

The photo is courtesy of Hanine Habig of the RAI.

FIELDWORK FRIDAY

Assistant Professor John Boy used to do research on urban religion. He took this photo of an empty display case outside a Brooklyn church one night in 2013.

🎙️ Podcast with Jasmijn Rana in ‘Everyday Runners’

Episodes 40 and 42 of the podcast Everyday Runners by Andy Fuller and Reading Sideways Press, feature a conversation with Jasmijn Rana, our Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology and Sociology of Development. Inspired by Jasmijn’s article, “Gendered Enskilment: Becoming Women Through Recreational Running”, the two forty-five-minute episodes Jasmijn and Andy reflect on their personal experiences as runners, the dynamics of interactions with fellow runners, and the social exchanges that occur at races.
Their conversation spans a wide range of topics, such as the digital fitness tracking Strava, productivity, attire, Islamophobia, and neoliberal influences.

EDR #40: How Do We Move Our Bodies in Social-Cultural Worlds?
EDR #42: I Think People Love Sifan Hassan Despite the Fact That She’s Muslim.

🔗 to the episodes in bio

Andrew Littlejohn, Assistant professor

"I read the book Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness some time ago now. But it has revolutionized how I think about many things we see as uniquely or particularly "human," from consciousness to creativity, musicality, and improvisation. Recommended for those who want their foundational assumptions shaken."

FIELDWORK FRIDAY

Sander Hölsgens, Assistant professor: "In the mid-2010s, I conducted research among the Wangsimni Skate Crew in Seoul. One of the crew members, Kim Youngjoon, founded a clothing brand — Candlroute. These two pictures are from a photo series for the brand's social media channels. On one of the photographs, you see Youngjoon take a photo of Katsuya Nakazawa, a Japanese skater well-known for his stylistic tricks and light-hearted YouTube channel. On the other image, you see me — trying to pose for the camera. During this moment, I felt what I always knew: I'm more of a filmer than a model. 😅"

Photo 1: Photo by Youngjoon Kim
Photo 2: Youngjoon Kim and Katsuya Nakazawa during a photo shoot. Still taken from 'VCR' by Sander Holsgens (2017)

Etienne Bourel, PostDoc.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​"I recently (re-)discovered how anthropology and science fiction may encounter and enrich each other. A great way to reconsider the various ways time is passing, social possibilities, and our commonalities."