Nation & World

All Nation & World

  • Looking at what the election will mean to education policy

    Hosted by the Graduate School of Education, Harvard experts look at the election’s impact on politics and policies that affect young people, families, schools, and communities.

    Education panel.
  • Dust is starting to settle after election, yet the way forward is unclear

    The Gazette turns once again to scholars and analysts across in the University to get their views of what happened and what comes next.

    People gather along 16th street in front of the White House.
  • After a hard election, the real work begins

    Harvard University scholars, analysts, and affiliates take a look at what the election tells us about the prospects for greater unity and progress, and offer suggestions and predictions about where the new administration will, and should, go.

    Kamala Harris, Harris, President-elect Joe Biden.
  • Could a divided government be what the voters want?

    Top political strategists spoke at two Harvard events, analyzing the results of the 2020 election.

    Group of speakers on Zoom.
  • The problems (and promise) of polling

    It seems political polls may have again missed the mark, but a range of Harvard experts warn the truth is much more complicated.

    Election Day results showing up on big screen.
  • Hard lessons from a tough election

    The Gazette asked scholars and analysts across the University to reflect on lessons learned in the 2020 election.

    Voting site.
  • Legal experts shake their heads at GOP election suits

    Legal experts say not to expect President Trump’s election suits to be successful, but they could prove useful to him in other ways.

    Election staff packing ballots.
  • An electorate that wanted to be heard

    Kennedy School panelists gathered online for a conversation on the issues and consequences of the presidential election, which they lauded as orderly and successful.

    Zoom shot of speakers.
  • Recalling another strange, historic election

    Harvard historians and scholars look at the 1872 presidential election that saw feminist Victoria Woodhull and abolitionist Frederick Douglass on the same ticket.

    Victoria Woodhull and Frederick Douglass.
  • Why isn’t the right more afraid of COVID-19?

    Don’t they know how contagious this virus is? Analysts discuss why some people ignore or reject the medical experts and science of COVID.

    A crowd at a Trump rally.
  • Thinking through unforeseeable election fallout

    An online gathering of university officials took place last week to exchange ideas on how to prepare for Election Day.

    Students voting.
  • How might the election change the nation’s place on world stage?

    Analysts assess how a Biden presidency could reshape U.S. relations, impact the nation’s intelligence community, and prompt a nuclear recalibration by North Korea, Iran, and Russia.

    Former Vice President Joe Biden and President Trump.
  • Lessons for leadership in a riven nation

    Former governor Deval Patrick and scholars from various fields wrestle with ways to launch change.

    Deval Patrick.
  • A fraught season for health care

    With Election Day approaching and the coronavirus pandemic surging, Benjamin Sommers discusses how shifting political winds might affect health care.

    Medical reports and a computer.
  • What to keep

    Professors Ana Lucia Araujo of Howard University and Mame-Fatou Niang of Carnegie Mellon University discussed movements to remove or rebrand public memorials commemorating historical figures associated with slavery and colonialism during “Race and Remembrance in Contemporary Europe,” presented by the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies.

    Robert Milligan Statue.
  • Pope may support same-sex unions, but that doesn’t mean the Vatican does

    On Wednesday, Pope Francis’ support for the creation of same-sex civil union laws sent shockwaves through the Catholic Church. The comments, made in the recently released documentary “Francesco,” represent a major break with official church teaching and left many wondering if a change in papal doctrine might be on the horizon.

    Pope Francis.
  • Salvaging another piece of Black history

    A group of marine archaeologists, known as Diving with a Purpose, explore slave ship artifacts, bringing the untold stories they represent to light.

    Albert José Jones.
  • Debate tips for Biden and Trump

    A trio of Harvard experts assessed the candidates debate performances, and offered suggestions.

    Donald Trump and Joseph Biden.
  • Parachuting into a pandemic after historic spacewalk

    Jessica Meir spoke to the Gazette about the head-spinning year, which included being part of history’s first all-female spacewalk

    Jessica Meir spacewalk
  • How do you get environmentalists to actually vote?

    Nathaniel Stinnett of the Environmental Voter Project offered advice on how to get environmentalists to the polls.

    I voted sticker on leaves.
  • Do justices really set aside personal beliefs? Nope, legal scholar says

    Michael Klarman, an expert in constitutional law and constitutional history at Harvard Law School, discusses President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

    Amy Coney Barrett.
  • Will young voters decide the election?

    Young voters, those 18 to 29, will line up for next month’s presidential election in record numbers, further advancing the generational shift of political power taking place in America, according to pollsters, academics, and on-the-ground organizers.

    Young woman wearing face mask holding I voted today sticker.
  • Bending technology toward the light

    The Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project, which recognizes responsible technology, will honor Google, Thorn, and the International Society for Stem Cell Research for representing TAPP’s goal.

    Ash Carter.
  • Exploring the North’s long history of slavery, scientific racism

    “The Enduring Legacy of Slavery and Racism in the North” examined the role of slavery in the North through the 19th century and the influence of Agassiz and scientific racism.

    Zoom screen with James W.C. Pennington, Frederick Douglass, and William Wells Brown.
  • Battle for LGBTQ rights amid the pandemic

    As part of Worldwide Week at Harvard, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs hosted “Rethinking Resistance Politics in Troubling Times: Transnational Queer Solidarity During COVID-19,” an online panel discussing recent work examining the international situation.

    Sarah Hegazi during protests in Canada.
  • A day of reckoning

    We ask members of the Harvard community: “Is this the end of Columbus Day and how can America best replace it?”

    Beheaded Columbus Statue.
  • Reimagining rights

    A report released by researchers at Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights offers 80 recommendations for reimagining Americans’ rights and responsibilities.

    Citizen ceremony.
  • American voters don’t hate ambitious women, after all

    Upending conventional wisdom, new political science research finds that voters aren’t automatically put off by ambitious women candidates.

    Kamala Harris.
  • Forcing the UN to do right by Haitian cholera victims

    Beatrice Lindstrom, clinical instructor in the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, talks about the complaint the clinic and two human rights organizations filed against the United Nations for its response to introducing cholera to Haiti.

    Beatrice Lindstrom.
  • When COVID and the election collided

    Hospitalization, a shift in campaign messaging, and carrying on: Harvard faculty members and others discuss what may be ahead as President Trump’s COVID-19 battle ripples across America.

    President Trump.