Erwin Dijkstra is an external PhD student who researches the feasibility of discovering the ideas and values of persons in antiquity through analyzing the stories they told. More specifically, he tries to discover how people in those days thought about their natural environment by studying their myths, legends and folklore.

More information about Erwin Dijkstra

Current Research

Already in the ancient Near East, people found themselves facing changes in their environment. And their attitude vis-à-vis such developments, which could sometimes even be visible during the course of a single lifespan, can be interesting for us today. Not to find solutions for our current problems perse, but to acquire an alternative view on the world and human interaction in times of cold, hunger, flood, and fire. It is often assumed that we can discern such attitudes through surveying the stories that have come down to us from those times. In this research project, Erwin Dijkstra tries to establish the possibilities and limitations of this approach. He does so through comparing the role of forests in the myths, legends, and folklore from the largely deforested environments of Mesopotamia with those from the forested areas in the eastern Mediterranean

Past Activities as a Legal Scholar

Before becoming an external PhD student at the Humanities faculty, Erwin Dijkstra used to be a researcher and lecturer at the Leiden Law School. His research there focused on the possibilities offered by the Rechtsstaat to more adequately combat discrimination than is currently the case. This research project resulted in a number of articles in scholarly journals and the book Discrimination and the Foundation of Justice: Hate Speech, Affirmative Action, Institutional Opinions (The Hague: Eleven Publishing, 2023). Erwin Dijkstra remains determined, if his activities as an external PhD student allow for it, to keep contributing to this important area of research by continuing to write about ways to oppose discrimination more thoroughly through the law.

Award-winning Research and Teaching

In the past, both the research and the teaching of Erwin Dijkstra have received recognition. In 2019 he was the first runner-up at the Leiden University Thesis Awards, with his master thesis on the societal position of physically and mentally impaired persons in the Netherlands. That same year he was also the first runner-up at the Netherlands Institute for the Near East BA and MA Thesis Awards, with his master thesis on the role of forests in the myths, legends, and folklore of the ancient Near East. While he was still a lecturer, Erwin Dijkstra used to make extensive and personalized supervision as well as inclusivity the hallmarks of his teaching. This approach was rewarded with the JSVO-award for the best lecturer at the Leiden Law School in the academic year 2018-2019.

Diversity & Inclusivity

In his previous position at the Leiden Law School, Erwin Dijkstra was both a member of the Education Program Committee and the Workgroup Diversity and Inclusivity. In this period he was also active for the Access & Support Platform, a network of disability experts by experience, both staff and students, at Leiden University. In his current role as an external PhD student, he still aims to be committed to these important matters.

Activities