Nation & World

All Nation & World

  • Admissions lawsuit enters second week

    Harvard officials continue to take the stand in the second week of a trial in U.S. Federal District Court. The case challenges the University’s admissions process and the right to consider race as one factor among many when considering applicants for admission as discriminatory to Asian American applicants.

    Harvard University
  • Uncovering the economics of foot-binding

    A recent study is suggesting that the real underpinnings of foot-binding may have been economic.

    Melissa Brown
  • Judges and their toughest cases

    At Harvard Law School Library, a panel drew lessons from a new book containing firsthand accounts of the some of the hardest cases in judges’ careers.

    Charles Fried.
  • A minority turns on the light

    In an interview, Alejandro de la Fuente, Robert Woods Bliss Professor of Latin American History and Economics, professor of African and African American studies, and director of the Afro-Latin American Research Institute, talks about his organization and the emerging Afro-Latin American social movement.

    Alejandro de la Fuente.
  • Pelosi sees Democrats retaking House

    At the moment, the question isn’t whether Democrats are going to retake the U.S. House in the midterm elections, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said at Harvard Kennedy School. The question is how big the margin will be.

    Nancy Pelosi at Harvard's IOP.
  • Turn voting into a celebration, not a chore

    A Harvard panel examined statistics to highlight how low voter turnout remains a stubborn challenge to American democracy, while also suggesting possible solutions.

    Archon Fung of Harvard
  • Champions of the press

    New Yorker investigative reporter Jane Mayer and former New York Times editor Jill Abramson will deliver the 29th Theodore H. White Lecture at Harvard Kennedy School Tuesday evening.

    Jill Abramson and Jane Mayer
  • Harvard supporters set to testify in admissions trial

    Harvard students and alumni who will testify in support of Harvard in the admissions trial plan to highlight the wide-ranging benefits of the University’s efforts to create a diverse campus community.

    Massachusetts Hall, Harvard
  • Straight to the heart of the story

    NPR reporter Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, who gave the Rama S. Mehta Lecture at the Radcliffe Institute, talked about seeking the untold narratives of African women.

    Ofeibea Quist-Arcton and Marco Werman (left)
  • Harvard admissions trial begins today

    As Harvard prepares to defend its admissions policies in U.S. District Court in Boston Oct. 15, the University’s new president delivered an unambiguous message: “The College’s admissions process does not discriminate against anybody.”

    Overviews of Harvard Yard Memorial Church, Memorial Hall and Widener Library.
  • A troubled, but perhaps stronger, Europe

    A panel of foreign policy analysts assesses the deeply strained relationship between the U.S. and Europe and consider what the future holds.

  • The upper-class tool kit

    Upper-class parents have tools to help their children succeed in a changing world and improve their social status, advantages not readily available to poorer families, according to a panel at a Harvard conference.

  • A summer of service to cities

    Through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, student fellows this summer helped mayors around the nation to improve the lives of residents.

    Storefront in Laredo, Texas.
  • Kerrey: Let’s re-emphasize critical thinking

    Let’s re-emphasize critical thinking, Bob Kerrey, former U.S. senator and current Minerva chairman tells HILT conference.

  • Matters of life or death

    Students learn lessons with Law School Professor Carol Steiker, who teaches “Capital Punishment in America” in the fall and a clinic in the spring. Her students represent death row prisoners by working as interns with law firms, NGOs, and governmental agencies.

  • Hundreds of experts, scholars back Harvard in admissions suit

    More than 500 social scientists, 16 statisticians and economists, numerous Asian American organizations, Harvard student and alumni groups and coalitions, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed briefs in support of the University’s admissions policies on Thursday.

    Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library
  • Letter opposes possible EPA shift

    Almost 100 faculty and leaders from Harvard and its affiliated teaching hospitals are asking the EPA in a letter to withdraw its proposal to increase “transparency” in the science that underlies regulations, saying the rule would harm human health.

  • President Bacow goes to Washington

    During one of his first public events as the University’s 29th leader, Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow signaled he will be a steadfast advocate for public service and higher education.

    Larry Bacow.
  • Mayoral initiative heads for year two

    The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which is housed at the Ash Center, is a collaboration among Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Now entering its second year, the program helps mayors govern more creatively and effectively.

    The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative mayors program.
  • Are there holes in the Constitution?

    Legal and political analysts across Harvard discuss some of the constitutional questions raised by the Trump administration’s actions, and the possible scope of a president’s power.

    Constitution of America,
  • Military, veterans study at Harvard

    The Warrior-Scholar Project at Harvard aims to ease military veterans’ transition to college life.

    Warrior-Scholar Project.
  • A full-time job fighting hate

    The ADL’s Evan Bernstein believes hate can be countered with a better understanding of the connected world in which we live.

  • Harvard ramps up focus on Europe

    A new academic program at the Kennedy School trains resources on an old and sometimes forgotten friend to the United States: Europe.

    Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, Donald Trump, and Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit.
  • ‘From nowhere to somewhere’

    After surviving the slaughter in Darfur, Guy Josif Adam finds his way to Harvard Extension School with dreams of harnessing his education to transform Darfur and the wider turbulent region.

    Guy Adam
  • Impact of Justice Kennedy’s retirement examined

    Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the country’s top court Wednesday. Kennedy has long been a crucial swing vote on key Supreme Court decisions, and his replacement…

  • The global glory of soccer

    With the World Cup underway, the Gazette interviewed Mariano Siskind, professor of Romance languages and literatures and comparative literature, about the world’s biggest sports event, the humanity of the biggest soccer stars, and the meaning of soccer.

  • The worries over U.S. intelligence

    After nearly six decades in U.S. intelligence, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper talks candidly about what he saw and learned protecting the country, and why he’s felt compelled in a new book to speak out about President Trump and the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

  • Harvard’s Glaeser welcomes global shift to cities

    City of Boston official Brian Golden joined Professor Edward Glaeser at the Ed Portal for a discussion focused on the future of cities.

  • Local teachers get an education in addressing hard questions

    To help give local educators the capacity to bring thoughtful ideas back to their communities, two students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education recently offered a program on race and equity in education.

  • Speaking up, reaching out

    Lawyer and then-professor of law at Ambo University, Zelalem Kibret first visited a jailed politician in Ethiopia’s infamous Kaliti Prison in 2012, hoping to raise awareness about people arrested for challenging the status quo. In 2014, Zelalem found himself behind bars for speaking up.