Research & Ideas
Discover Harvard research, scholarship, and ideas shaping the world—from science and technology to policy, education, and the humanities.
Öberg to Lead Harvard Faculty Recruitment and Retention
The astrochemist will become senior vice provost for faculty affairs this summer.
Musician and professor Braxton Shelley
A gospel scholar shapes music theory.
by Jacob Sweet
Humanities and democratic discourse belong together
Active citizens are humanists.
by Doris Sommer
Secretaries’ role in history of information
From a huge new book on the history of information, an excerpt on the role of secretaries
Why Petitioning is Vital for Democracies
Petitioning campaigns are a vital complement to democratic voting.
An intellectual history of the Cold War era
In a new book, Louis Menand probes the cultural currents of postwar America.
Peabody Museum Discovers Possible Slave Remains in Its Collections
“We must begin to confront the reality of a past in which academic curiosity and opportunity overwhelmed humanity,” Harvard president Lawrence Bacow wrote.
Fast-spreading coronavirus variants raise concerns
Despite vaccines, Harvard scientists warn, more-transmissible variants make COVID-19 harder to control.
Asset bubbles and credit growth precede financial crises.
Contrary to expert belief, some financial crises can be predicted—and perhaps averted.
Harvard Portrait: Cassandra Albinson
A curator takes a fresh look at portraits of aristocratic European women.
Paul Farmer on the West Africa Ebola Epidemic
The 2014 epidemic was rooted in centuries of exploitation and war, Paul Farmer argues.