De informatie over dit programma is beschikbaar in de volgende talen:

• English

What sets this specialisation of the Master in History apart from other specialisations? The answer lies in the choice of topics and in the approach to research. Leiden University has a high level of expertise in migration research, and it is an important research area, covered by more than 65 academics – the history of international migration webpage gives an overview. You can benefit from this expertise.

Studying the specialisation Migration and Global Interdependence, you will cover a large variety of subjects, a large time span, and a broad geographical area. Topics are very divers, like:

• the consequences of the Dutch presence in the Dutch East Indies
• the choice of baby names by mixed couples
• changes in fashion and home decoration under the influence of migrants
• civil society and trade networks in the Early Modern Period
• the creation of the European Union

These are just a few examples. The topics frequently are at the centre of political and public debate: globalisation, integration and migration, urban rioting, or the economic crisis. It needs a keen historical awareness to pose the right questions for research: How new is globalisation? How does the current migration differ from that in the past? How does the economic crisis of today compare to that of the 1930s or the 1980s? You will focus on how institutional frameworks both were changed by, and shaped a world that became increasingly more interconnected.

Research plan

You will get the chance to develop your own research plan. The staff encourage you to be creative and innovative. For your research, you will make use of various sources such as diaries, newspapers, parliamentary papers, population registers, interviews, novels, photo’s and films, and business archives. Like our current students do, you will build on theories that have been developed within sociology, anthropology, politics and economics, and produce work that is probably interdisciplinary and shows awareness of differences according to class, gender, ethnicity and religion.

Economic History

If you choose to focus on Economic History, you will study the origins of economic wealth, income and profit, by analyzing the causes of economic growth and the effects (beneficial or disadvantageous) of economic institutions. Economic historians apply concepts and models from economic theory and attempt to underpin their arguments with quantitative evidence. In Leiden, specific attention is given to the economic history of Europe (and the European Union), including the Netherlands, but also the economic history of East- and Southeast Asia and of the United States. However, the Leiden Faculty of Humanities has many specialists on the economy of other regions, who all offer courses that can be included in the curriculum of Economic History.

Themes and debates that attract much attention these days and that we include in our courses are:

• the rise of the west (why did the Industrial Revolution take place in England and not in China?)
• globalisation (to which extent was the world economy altered by international flows of goods, capital, information and people?)
• economic policy (did governments do smart things to improve their economy?)
• the welfare state (how and why did countries introduce social security arrangements and what were the economic effects of these systems?)
• different types of capitalism (which criteria can we use to distinguish between different types of economies, and how viable and resilient are these models?)
• economic cooperation (how do trade blocs develop and which effects do they have on the world economy?)

Staff

The history of migration and integration as part of social, cultural and economic history since 1600 is taught by migration experts: Leo Lucassen, Chris Quispel and Marlou Schrover. Early modern history of cities, cultures and trade networks is taught by Thera Wijsenbeek, Manon van der Heijden, and Catia Antunes. Economic history is taught by Richard Griffiths, Thomas Lindblad, and Jeroen Touwen.