A roadside sign asks for justice for George Floyd, whose killing by Minneapolis police set off protests worldwide. Photo by Jon Chase/Harvard staff photographerFacing the Denial of American Racism
The Radcliffe Institute hosted “Naming Racism,” a discussion focused on identifying the historic and ongoing social roots of racism denial, and strategies for raising awareness.
The artwork, "Love and Revolution," revolutionary graffiti at Saleh Selim Street on the island of Zamalek, Cairo, was photographed by Hossam el-Hamalawy on Oct. 23, 2011.Nonviolent Resistance Proves Potent Weapon
Radcliffe Professor Erica Chenoweth's research suggests that nonviolent civil resistance is far more successful in creating broad-based change than violent campaigns.
Clockwise from top left: Laurence Ralph, Monica Bell, and Brandon TerryMuch Bigger than the Police
“Policing, at present, is trapped in an intractable dilemma caused by the gap between a just society and the one we inhabit,” said Harvard political theorist Brandon Terry, leading off a Radcliffe Institute online conversation on American policing and protest.
An early celebration of Juneteenth in 1900 at Eastwoods Park in Austin, Texas. Credit: Grace Murray Stephenson/Austin History Center, PICA 05476‘Juneteenth is a day of reflection of how we as a country and as individuals continue to reckon with slavery’
In a Q&A, Radcliffe Dean and Harvard Law Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin spoke about the history of Juneteenth and its particular relevance more than 150 years later.
Racial Inequalities in COVID-19—The Impact on Black Communities
Medical News Today looks at the racialized impact that COVID-19 has on black communities in the United States, using expert opinions and rounding up the available evidence.
Durba Mitra wrote a book on the intersection of social norms, gender expectations, and sex in Indian culture. Photo by Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer"Indian Sex Life" and the Cultural Control of Women
Research and personal story frame Radcliffe Professor Durba Mitra’s new book.
Mary Ingraham Bunting (standing) speaks at the Radcliffe Institute. Photo by Charles M. HagenA "Messy Experiment"
A new book explores the early years of the Radcliffe Institute, once considered “a messy experiment” and now integral to Harvard’s intellectual life, tracing the lives of five of its first fellows.
Radcliffe Institute Announces 2020–2021 Fellowship Class
The incoming class includes a cartoonist developing a health care–themed comic book; an astronomer interrogating the mysteries of cosmic acceleration; and a poet whose new collection will elevate the experiences of black women.
Photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard staff writerSix Graduate and Professional Schools to Remain Online for Fall
Administrators’ concerns include the ongoing threat posed by the coronavirus and the possibility of additional quarantines
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs in the COVID-19 era. Photo credit RyanKing999An Economic Emergency
“A substantial share of those currently on temporary layoff are likely to become permanent job losers. We need to plan for this,” says Harvard economist Lawrence F. Katz.
A sign at a retailer tells customers they accept SNAP. Image source: jetcityimageIdeas for Flattening the Hunger Curve
“There is no question that COVID-19 will drive food insecurity into the mainstream,” says Harvard public health policy researcher Sara Bleich.
Byerly Hall detail. Photo by Thomas EarleRadcliffe Past and Present
At Radcliffe Day 2020, current and former deans discuss the Institute’s past and future.
A wall painting from the Arslantepe archaeological site in Eastern Anatolia (present-day Turkey) around 3,400 BC. Image courtesy of Max Planck-Harvard Research Center for the Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean and Missione Archeologica Italiana nell'Anatolia Orientale, Sapienza University of Rome. Photo by Roberto CeccaciFilling Gaps in Our Understanding of How Cities Began to Rise
Christina Warinner and an international team provide some of the earliest genetic glimpses of the movement and mingling of peoples in West Asia 8,500 years ago.
Radcliffe Institute Awards 2020 Fay Prize for Outstanding Theses
Alejandro Ruben Quintana, Chinmay Sonawane, and Adele Woodmansee recognized for their exceptional undergraduate work in the classics, integrative biology, and social anthropology, respectively
A single N95 face mask along with several prescription painkillers. Image credit skhowardEclipsed by Virus, Addiction Still Shadows the Land
"COVID-19 detrimentally impacts people with addiction and people in pain, making vulnerable people even more vulnerable," says sociologist Liz Chiarello.
For four years, Jordan Villegas '20 participated in the Radcliffe Research Program. He is pictured here at his parents' home in Cicero, N.Y. Photo courtesy of Jordan VillegasBirth of a Sleuth
Harvard College senior Jordan Villegas hears the call of the archives as a Radcliffe Institute researcher.
Voters observe social distancing guidelines as they wait in line to cast ballots in the presidential primary election in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 7, 2020. Image source: AP Photo/Morry Gash FileHealth of Democracy Faces Daunting Test
Historian Liette Gidlow RI '20 speaks on the tension between in-person voting and public health as American states scramble to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daniel P. Carpenter is the Director of Social Sciences at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Photo by Soumyaa MazumderHarvard Government Professor Carpenter Calls for Federal Job Guarantee in White Paper
Daniel Carpenter calls for the US government to adopt a number of public policy measures to redress economic losses suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A deserted 23rd Street, in Manhattan's Flatiron District. Credit: Alex PotemkinHow to Build a Better World
Esra Akcan RI '20, a professor in Cornell's Department of Architecture, answers questions as part of a series on the wide-ranging effects of COVID-19.
Photo by Orbon AlljaThe Fraught Promise of Digital Remedies
As the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust many of our activities into cyberspace, Fran Berman RI ’20 discusses the need for comprehensive privacy protections, better security standards, and a national discussion about when surveillance is acceptable.
Photo source UnsplashIn Prisons, a Looming Coronavirus Crisis
Harvard experts, including Radcliffe's Tomiko Brown-Nagin and Kaia Stern, warn of rapid spread amid crowded conditions and large numbers of older inmates with chronic conditions.
Mary T. Bassett and Khalil Gibran MuhammadThe Pandemic's Unequal Toll
The Radcliffe Institute hosted an online discussion with Mary T. Bassett and Khalil Gibran Muhammad about the disproportionate toll of COVID-19 on poorer Americans and communities of color.
Radcliffe fellows Edo Berger, Daniel M. Callahan, Corey Rayburn Yung, Liette Gidlow, Margot E. Fassler, and Ayodele Casel. Courtesy of Daniel M. CallahanA Fellowship Interrupted—but Still Vibrant
The Institute’s 53 fellows vacated their offices in Byerly Hall in March, but their work continues in an unofficial capacity—via Zoom, like so many other activities during quarantine.
Photo credit Jonnica Hill/UnsplashCOVID-19 Targets Communities of Color
Camara Jones RI '20 and other Harvard specialists say the pandemic exacerbates longstanding inequities in American society.
"As a scholar of law, inequality, and the long Civil Rights movement, I am deeply interested in issues related to slavery and its legacy," said Tomiko Brown-Nagin, who will lead the committee. Photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff PhotographerA Renewed Focus on Slavery
A new University-wide initiative deepening the exploration of Harvard’s historical ties to enslavement is difficult but vital work, says the program chair, Radcliffe Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin.
From the "Papers of Pin Pin T'an Liu," who earned a master's degree from Radcliffe in 1938: an undated photograph that includes her grandfather, Chang Yin T'ang (seated on left). Courtesy of Schlesinger LibraryDiversifying Schlesinger’s Records
The Library continues to broaden its collections with a focus on materials pertaining to Asian American women.
In this illustration, the "Radcliffe Wave" data is overlaid on an image of the Milky Way galaxy. Image from the WorldWide Telescope, courtesy of Alyssa GoodmanThe Giant in Our Stars
Interconnected stellar nurseries, named the Radcliffe Wave, form the largest gaseous structure ever observed in the Milky Way galaxy.