Commentary

In-depth perspectives and critical analysis from faculty, editors, and readers on public affairs, higher education, and Harvard’s evolving mission.

Harvard football player runs with the ball, pursued by opposing players on the field.

Harvard Football: Villanova 52, Harvard 7

The Crimson’s inaugural playoff appearance is nasty, brutish, and short.

by Dick Friedman

A letter from the editor: an MIT vision of its educational future

A letter from the editor: an MIT vision of its educational future

William Deresiewicz (left) and his host, Mahindra Humanities Center director Homi K. Bhabha

William Deresiewicz tackles “Twenty Questions” at Harvard

At Harvard, the Ivy League critic faces faculty and student interlocutors.

by Olivia Munk

James Watkins ’16 participates in an individual wrestling competition in Mongolia.

A Harvard undergraduate reflects on traveling and working in Mongolia

An undergraduate travels and works in Mongolia

by James Watkins

During Ramadan in Tunis, an undergraduate observes, the mood is celebratory and marked by a spirit of generosity. The photograph shows the audience dancing during a late-night traditional concert held at the Roman amphitheater in Carthage, Tunis.

A Harvard undergraduate recounts fasting during Ramadan in Tunis

Experiencing the ways religious observance affects daily life in another country

by Aman Rizvi

Taonga Leslie ’15 with a professional dancer in Buenos Aires, generally considered the birthplace of tango

A Harvard student experiences Argentina during an economic crisis

A Harvard undergraduate experiences Argentina during an economic crisis.

by Taonga Leslie

A new Harvard graduate contemplates second-guessing and seeking one's passion

On second-guessing and seeking one’s passion

by Noah B. Pisner

President Drew Faust on the importance of libraries

A letter from President Faust

Harvard vies with Stanford

A letter from the editor: the Harvard-Stanford competition grows more intense.

Letters on social science, diversity, harpsichords, divestment, hemlocks,…more

Social science, diversity, harpsichords, divestment, hemlocks, and more

Detainees sleep in a holding cell at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility on Wednesday, June 18, 2014, in Brownsville, Texas. The CPB provided media tours that day of two locations in Brownsville and Nogales, Arizona, that have been central to processing the more than 47,000 unaccompanied children who have entered the country illegally since last October 1.

A Harvard human-rights expert on Central American child immigrants

A human-rights expert on Central American child immigrants

by Jacqueline Bhabha