Humanities Division
‘Standing at the Intersection’: The Medical Humanities’ Struggle for Footing at Harvard
In the last decade, universities across the country have expanded their medical humanities programs. But at Harvard, professors and students point to a need for formalized curricula and greater cross-field faculty hiring.
Course-Specific AI Chatbots Piloted in 2 Expos 20 Courses
Two professors teaching Expository Writing 20, a required first-year class run by Harvard’s Writing Program, have piloted the limited use of artificial intelligence chatbots in the curriculum.
Students, Faculty Call for Urban Studies Secondary Field at Harvard
A group of undergraduates and faculty are calling on Harvard to establish a secondary field in urban studies, citing widespread interest in the field among students.
A Report Suggested Big Changes to the Arts & Humanities. The Division’s New Dean Is Taking It Slow.
Harvard’s Arts and Humanities division will centralize its administrative services and develop new introductory courses, Sean D. Kelly announced on Tuesday in his email as the division’s new dean.
Philosophy Professor Sean Kelly To Serve as Next Arts and Humanities Dean
Philosophy professor Sean D. Kelly will serve as the next Arts and Humanities dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra announced Wednesday morning.
As Many Mourn the ‘Death of the Humanities,’ Harvard Profs. Say It’s Not That Simple
To many, the humanities appear incongruent with a university increasingly focused on preparation for professional life, instead existing primarily for their own sake. But many professors in the Arts & Humanities division say that’s exactly how it should be.
Harvard Says It Wants to Boost Interdisciplinary Research. Its Professors Have Questions.
“Interdisciplinarity” has become something of a buzzword among Harvard professors. But in interviews with The Crimson, seven professors from the Arts and Humanities division said that the term, as it is popularly used, may raise more questions than it does answers.
Arts and Humanities Faculty Say Next Dean Must Combat Declining Interest in the Division
With the search for the next Arts and Humanities dean underway, faculty said they want to be included in conversations about any divisional restructuring that takes place under the next dean.
Hoekstra Likely to Pick Arts and Humanities, Science Deans In ‘Next Few Months’
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra hopes to select two new divisional deans — in Science and in Arts and Humanities — within “the next few months,” she said in a Wednesday interview.
Ten Stories That Shaped 2023
In 2023, Harvard had a tumultuous year. Claudine Gay’s first semester ended amid a leadership crisis as she came under fire for her response to tensions on a campus divided by the Israel-Hamas war and faced allegations of plagiarism. Harvard’s legacy and donor preferences in admissions also faced national scrutiny following the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling striking down the University’s affirmative action policy. Across campus, scandal after scandal hit parts of the University. Here, The Crimson looks back at the 10 stories that shaped 2023 at Harvard.
Michael Pollan Talks Future of Psychedelics Research at Harvard Mahindra Humanities Center
Author Michael K. Pollan, a Harvard lecturer in English and professor of the practice in non-fiction, spoke about the future of research into the societal and cultural aspects of psychedelics during a Mahindra Humanities Center talk on Wednesday.
Dean of Arts and Humanities Robin Kelsey To Step Down At End of Academic Year
Robin E. Kelsey, Harvard’s dean of Arts and Humanities, will step down from his post at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, according to a Monday afternoon email to divisional faculty from Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra obtained by The Crimson.
Author Alma Guillermoprieto Talks Language and Cultural Identity at Harvard Writers Speak Conversation
Authors Alma Guillermoprieto and Valeria Luiselli discussed cultural identity, language, and portrayals of violence in literature and journalism at a Thursday speaker event hosted by the Harvard Mahindra Humanities Center.
Harvard Offers Kurdish Language Course for First Time in University History
Harvard offered its first Kurdish Language course in the University’s history this fall after students from Kurdish-speaking backgrounds pushed for its creation.
A Proposal to Merge Harvard’s Small Language Programs Has Fallen Flat. What’s Next for the Humanities?
An internal document and interviews with professors and Arts and Humanities Dean Robin E. Kelsey suggest new directions for Harvard’s humanities. But a proposal that would combine four language programs has faced resistance from some faculty.
Novelist Nadifa Mohamed Discusses Identity and Personal Narratives in Writers Speak Event
Somali novelist Nadifa Mohamed discussed her latest novel “The Fortune Men” at a Tuesday lecture in Sever Hall.
Who the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Want as Harvard’s Most Powerful Dean
As Claudine Gay prepares to move from her station in University Hall to the president’s office across Harvard Yard, one of her most important tasks will be to select her own successor as the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. With the search now in motion, several FAS professors spoke with The Crimson about their hopes for the successor to Harvard’s most powerful dean.
Ruth Ozeki Discusses Buddhism’s Impact on Her Writing at Writers Speak Event
Award-winning author Ruth Ozeki discussed her works of fiction, writing techniques, and the different elements of Buddhism that inspire her style on Thursday evening.
Margaret Atwood Discusses Her New Book ‘Old Babes in the Wood’ at Harvard Sanders Theatre Event
Two-time Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood spoke to a packed crowd of fans in Sanders Theatre on her newly published short story collection “Old Babes in the Wood” Thursday.
Elif Batuman ’99 Talks ‘The Idiot’ and Writing Process at Humanities Event
Hundreds gathered in Emerson Hall Thursday to hear American author Elif Batuman ’99, an award-winning novelist whose Pulitzer Prize-finalist novel "The Idiot" was based off her experience as a freshman at Harvard.
Following Harvard Report on ‘Unsustainable’ Faculty Workload, FAS Dean Gay Solicits Professors’ Feedback
After a report found that Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences faces an “increasing and unsustainable” amount of non-research work, the school is holding discussions to collect feedback on the report’s recommendations.
'An Open Secret’: Harvard Graduate Students Decry Harassment, Neglect from Faculty
In the wake of the Comaroff controversy, graduate students say power-based abuse by faculty pervades advising relations.
Seventy-Three Students Awarded 2022 Hoopes Prize
Seventy-three students undergraduates learned Thursday that they had won the Hoopes Prize, an award that recognizes outstanding scholarly work each year.
Harvard FAS Dean to Release Plans on Implementing Tenure Process Changes
Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Claudine Gay said in an interview last Wednesday she hopes to release plans in the coming weeks on how to implement recommendations issued last fall by a committee that reviewed Harvard's tenure process.
Shelly Lowe
Harvard University Native American Program Executive Director Shelly C. Lowe was nominated by President Joe Biden Tuesday to serve as Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities. If confirmed, she will be the first Native American to serve in the role.