This course approaches families as social arrangements shaped by broader forces and as arenas in which we make choices about our lives. As such, we will consider how family forms and relationships reflect wider systems of gender, race, class, sexuality, and state policy, as well as how they provide sites of resistance to dominant social norms. We will focus on contemporary studies of key aspects of family, such as: partnering and marriage, diversity of family forms and chosen family,\u2026\n
In this workshop-based class, students will explore and put to use the various, crucial components of poem writing, such as image, metaphor, line, form, aboutness, voice, sound, and, above all, emotional and intellectual endlessness and possibility. The balance, interconnectedness, and alliance that these parts achieve are the mark of a poem written with as much intention as instinct. Practicing different formal exercises and with observation of craft, students will write and turn in a poem\u2026\n
This course will consider the challenge of climate change and what to do about it. Students will be introduced to the basic science of climate change, including the radiation budget of the Earth, the carbon cycle, and the physics and chemistry of the oceans and atmosphere. We will look at reconstructions of climate change through Earth history to provide a context for thinking about present and future changes. We will take a critical look at climate models used to predict climate change in\u2026\n
This workshop is a forum for graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars to present and discuss methodological or empirical work in progress in an interdisciplinary setting. The workshop features a tour of Harvard's statistical innovations and applications with weekly stops in different fields and disciplines and includes occasional presentations by invited speakers. It is co-hosted by Harvard University's Department of Government and Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS).\u2026\n
This workshop is a forum for graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars to present and discuss methodological or empirical work in progress in an interdisciplinary setting. The workshop features a tour of Harvard's statistical innovations and applications with weekly stops in different fields and disciplines and includes occasional presentations by invited speakers. It is co-hosted by Harvard University's Department of Government and Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS).\u2026\n
The course provides a lively, in-depth introduction to fascism, its philosophical and political roots, its critique of liberal democracy and socialism, and the traces fascism has left on the contemporary cultural-political scene. It begins with readings from key fascist thinkers and theorists, before surveying a series of domains where artists, writers, architects, film-makers, and engineers sought to interpret and embody the \u201cfascist revolution\u201d not just in Italy but worldwide. Among the\u2026\n
Our understanding of the brain, mind, and behavior depends on the tools we use to observe them, so what can such tools tell us about these systems? This interdisciplinary course introduces the students to various tools utilized to better understand the logic behind, mechanism, application, strengths, and limitations of the major tools we use to evaluate neural structure and function, mental processes, and behavioral patterns. With a focus on tools, methods, and measures, the course will\u2026\n
This seminar will critically examine the history of global climate change negotiations from the perspective of economics, politics, law, history, and \u2013 of course \u2013 the relevant science. Assigned readings will be from the scholarly literature, as well as from the best grey literature (including government reports, such as from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and various national governments), and\u2026\n
What was childhood in twentieth-century state socialist societies, and what came next? How did the Soviet Union attempt to educate, discipline, and mobilize children\u2014and how did children variously inhabit, appropriate, or refuse those projects? This seminar explores childhood as a key site for the production of socialist subjectivity and state socialist governance, with particular attention to Soviet Ukraine. Drawing on childhood studies, Soviet history and anthropology, feminist theories of\u2026\n
This course examines the connected histories of psychedelic research and the modern understanding of trauma. To put it simply, psychedelic substrates such as LSD-25, psilocybin, and others have been used both to traumatize subjects (for military purposes, especially during the Cold War) and to treat trauma in veterans and other sufferers. Currently the United States is on the cusp of mainstreaming the use of psychedelics and related substances such as MDMA for the treatment of trauma, and\u2026\n
Can we govern scientific and technological innovations or do they govern us? This seminar explores the ways science and technology have inspired, limited, and enhanced political action. Beginning with the surge of federal funding for U.S. science and engineering during World War II, continuing through the developmentalist promises of post-war science, and into the current regulatory (and deregulatory) fights over AI, this class looks to the moral and political role of science and technology\u2026\n
There was a war or other violent conflict somewhere in the world in every single year of the 19th and 20th centuries. Some wars were short, others prolonged. Some were small in scope, others were global. Casualties of these wars ranged from tens of thousands to tens of millions. Perhaps because of the near-constancy of war, the pursuit of peace is likewise a consistent element of world history. What have the champions of peace sought? What did peace mean? Who was entitled to it? This course\u2026\n
This course is designed for intermediate photography students to explore the art of photography and bookmaking. Students will learn the principles of book binding, design, and image sequencing, all aimed at developing their personal photographic projects. Beyond building technical skills, this course will foster a space for constructive critiques and lectures that encourage students to see photo books not just as collections of images, but as powerful tools for intellectual exploration and\u2026\n
This course will explore the grounds for compassion, ethical commitment, and kinds of human self-restraint in light of an increasing appreciation for the value of animal life. The course will work through new adaptations of Buddhist attention and meditation techniques to elevate our affective connection with \u2014 and moral obligation to \u2014 our animal kin on planet Earth. This will entail close scrutiny of some amazing animal videos in class, as well as outdoor\u2026\n
Ever since the formal introduction of Indian and Chinese Buddhism in eighth century Tibet, the Tibetan acculurtaion and incultration of the various schools of thought created a very lively intellectual environment. This course seeks to tease out some of the major developments that took place from the eleventh to the nineteenth centuries.scholarship .
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