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…
Launching in Spring 2024, “Books Open, Gates Unbarred”, is a dinner and dialogue series so named as an allusion to the poem Seamus Heaney wrote for Harvard’s 350th anniversary. The series will consist of monthly dinners at the Faculty Club, where students will gather to hear two faculty discuss an issue of current concern and…
It’s clear Harvard faces big questions. Their answers are rarely as obvious. Read more on The Harvard Crimson…
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 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…
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…
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…
Three years ago, almost no Harvard students had heard of “intellectual vitality.” Now, they can’t escape it. Read more on the Harvard Crimson…
As we welcome the class of 2028, what do we know about handling difficult conversations and connecting with people with whom we might disagree? The College’s Intellectual Vitality initiatives guide us. Read more on the Harvard College News website….
Read the September-October issue of Harvard Magazine, featuring a variety of insightful articles including “Academic Freedom and Free Speech.”…
