SSEALS is a new colloquium initiative stitching together three core concerns that animate scholars and researchers in the humanities and social science: space/detours, time/absence and people/encounters. The colloquium hosts external guest speakers alongside scholars from within the Leiden University community whose works deliberate on and within these themes. We assemble thrice a semester in a variety of formats; these include lectures followed by Q&A sessions, invited panels and roundtable discussions. We conclude with drinks and snacks for attendees.