Milla Piitulainen is a Master student in the Media Studies: Cultural Analysis and Literary Theory program at Leiden University, where she previously finished her BA in English Language and Culture. Her research interests revolve around the intertwinings of time(lessness) and space(lessness) in contemporary culture, especially rock music. She moved to the Netherlands from Finland in 2021 and spends her free time with arts and motorsports.
Giorgio Sebastiani is a Research Master student in Latin American Studies at Leiden University. He holds an MA degree in European and Extra-European Languages and Literatures from the University of Milan, specializing in Hispanic-American literatures. His current research focuses on the processes of territorialization produced by logistical and extractivist megaprojects. From September to December 2024, he conducted field research in Mexico as part of this research project. Additionally, due to his personal addiction to yerba mate, he has developed an academic interest in its connection to Argentine national identity.
Bart van Dieën is a Master student in Asian Studies at Leiden University, specializing in the political economy of East and Southeast Asia. He holds an MSc in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology with cum laude distinction, and previously conducted ethnographic research on a Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project in Vietnam. His current research examines how Vietnam exercises agency in collaborating with Chinese entities to align BRI projects with its own domestic political, economic, and social goals.
Steven Hoekstra is a Master student of Art History at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints. In June 2025, he will have earned his MA in Japanese Studies at Leiden University, spending one year in Kyoto, Japan, to conduct field work and experience Japanese culture firsthand. His current research focuses on reconstructing the design process of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, an early modern Japanese woodblock print artist. This study builds on his research as an intern at the Wereldmuseum Leiden as part of his MA in Art History. In his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, sailing, and bouldering.
Sonya Condro Lukitosari is a Research Master student of Asian Studies at Leiden University, with a focus on Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. Condro received her BA in History with a focus on Comparative Colonialism before getting her first MAEd in Education. Condro is Indonesian-American, having lived half her life in Indonesia, before moving to Western Australia and then Massachusetts, USA. With her paper, she merges her appreciation for Indonesian traditional music and arts with her interest in history and storytelling, which she argues transcends regionality.
Theocharis Tzimas is a Master student in Linguistics at Leiden University. He always had a thing for languages and history. After coming in contact with Linguistics during his BA in English Language and Literature at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he knew what career he wanted to pursue. His interests lie in Historical (Socio)Linguistics, Language Contact and Change, Digital Humanities and Communication of Science. In his limited free time, he enjoys reading, gaming, watching series and playing table tennis.
Myrthe den Boestert is a Master student in Modern European Philosophy (Leiden University) and Nanobiology (Technical University of Delft). She holds a BSc in Nanobiology and a BA in Philosophy as well. In her work she focuses on the intersection between these two fields, but she also is interested in existential ethics and the philosophy of daily life. Myrthe enjoys photography and music in her free time and is currently on the board of the Delft classical music association Krashna Musika.
Dana Bouwknegt is a Master student in Philosophy of Knowledge at Leiden University. She previously obtained a BA in Social Sciences at Amsterdam University College and an MA Media and Journalism from the Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is particularly interested in combining philosophical and social scientific approaches in her work. Her current research focuses on contributing to a more network-oriented understanding of social epistemological concepts like echo chambers and epistemic bubbles.
Berber Kommerij is a Research Master student in Arts, Literature and Media at Leiden University, holding a BA in Art History at Leiden University as well. She is interested in Netherlandish late medieval and early modern devotional art, literature, and material culture. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cycling, and watersports.
Beatrice Scali is a Master student in Asian Studies at Leiden University, specializing in East Asian Studies and the Chinese language. She holds a BA in International Studies (East Asia), also from Leiden University. During her one-year exchange in Taiwan, she developed a research interest in Taiwanese politics, LGBTQ+ and feminist activism, journalism, and their intersections. Her professional goal is to work as a journalist specializing in East Asian affairs.
Isa van Schaick is a Master student in International Relations with a specialization in Culture and Politics and pre-master student of German Language at Leiden University. She received her BSc in Political Science at Leiden as well. Her interests include anything related to the arts, the environment, the German language and society, politics, and a combination of all. Her current research interests are the cross section of (capitalist)culture and its effects on the environment, and German language, culture, and politics.
Christopher Schweitzer is a Master student in the International Relations: Global Political Economy program at Leiden University. He has a BA in Global and Comparative Philosophy from Leiden University. His research interests include environmental justice and philosophy, ethics in international conservation, and science in politics and society. He previously worked as a Wilderness Ranger for the US Forest Service and other positions in the fields of forestry, conservation, emergency response, and humanitarian aid for the last 20 years. He lives in North Brabant, Netherlands and enjoys gardening and hiking with his wife and two children.
Inge Versteeg is a Master student in Global and Comparative Philosophy. With this study, she is enriching her background in law with perspectives from different world philosophies. She holds an LLB from Utrecht University and a LLM in Administrative Law from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her current research focuses on embodiment, butoh, and phenomenology. In her free time, she likes to be outside, dance, write, and make theater.