Year: 2024

Why I changed my mind

A bronze statue of The Thinker, set against a Crimson background

I’ve had a lot of conversations with my peers at dinner and in class about religion. I grew up very Christian, but when I came to Harvard, I started questioning a lot of the beliefs I grew up with: Maybe what I believed to be true wasn’t exactly what I thought it was. Read more…

Harvard in the Political Spotlight: Faculty and Students Tackle ‘Why So Much Attention?’ at Intellectual Vitality Books Open, Gates Unbarred Event

books on a table at an event

Harvard has always drawn national interest, but last year presented an especially challenging and emotional time for our students, faculty, and staff. As the community found itself at the forefront of national political conversations, the College’s Intellectual Vitality Initiative sought to create a space for meaningful discussion through the insights of Harvard’s own faculty. As…

Books Open, Gates Unbarred: Pursuing Reconciliation After Ethnic Conflict

Why do people fight along ethnic lines? How do scholars explain and study ethnic conflict? As the world continues to be shaken by ongoing ethnic conflicts, the College’s Intellectual Vitality Initiative brought students together for the fourth Books Open, Gates Unbarred, for an evening of interdisciplinary conversation with Government professor Melani Cammett and Psychology professor…

Intellectual Vitality Really Is Vital. Here’s How To Do It Right.

A group of students and pedestrians walk towards a large, brick building

Dice rolling in Harvard Yard. A training featuring roommates fighting over fruit. A cascade of emails from administrators. These and other efforts — some serious, some not — are part of Harvard’s recent push for “intellectual vitality,” through which the University has sought to answer some of the criticisms of the past year. Read more…

Harvard Is Doing Discourse Wrong

Students walk near a grand, brick university building featuring tall, white columns and large windows

Picture this: A student government president resigns after public backlash to his recently uncovered anti-immigrant views. But deep down, he’s really just a thoughtful guy with an open mind. Read more on The Harvard Crimson…

Embrace Intellectual Vitality, Don’t Dismiss It

harvard yard

Harvard has a discourse problem. Just look at last year’s senior survey, which reported that only 36 percent of students felt comfortable expressing opposing views on controversial topics in courses. There’s no quick way to create a culture where students feel comfortable engaging in open, honest dialogue. But Harvard’s new intellectual vitality initiative is a good start….