Julia Hillner

The dying humanities at Leiden University. Arabic has been taught at Leiden since 1586. Leiden holds the oldest continual chair of Arabic in Europe, established in 1613. Budget cuts from central government combined with faculty deficit (over 5million euros) will batter the humanities at Leiden University in the coming period. Important to note the details below are proposals yet to be ratified by the faculty board. Starting in 2026-27 academic year, my university, Leiden, end all bachelor degrees in African and Latin studies. Middle East Studies will also come to an end. This includes all specialisations of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, and Islamic Studies. Ancient Near Eastern Studies will have to substantially reduce their specialisations (tracks). Japan studies, China studies, Korea studies, South and South Asian studies will merge into Asian Studies. German, French, and Italian programmes will merge into European Languages and Cultures degree programme.