Humanities & Arts

Explore the intellectual and creative pursuits within philosophy, history, literature, and the fine arts at Harvard.

Harvard Professor Michael Sandel Wins Philosophy’s Berggruen Prize

The creator of the popular ‘Justice’ course receives a $1 million award.

by Lydialyle Gibson

English and the humanities in decline?

A new lament about the status of English critiques the Harvard department's new curriculum.

Who Was Lincoln, Really?

Honoring the two-hundredth anniversary of his birth, Lincoln scholars attempt to cut through myth and legend to reveal the real man.

Does Thinking Make It So?

In The Cure Within, historian of science Anne Harrington explores the medical history of the mind-body connection.

by Erin O’Donnell

Itinerant Scholar

The interests of Berkman Center fellow Lewis Hyde include Thoreau; writing poetry; and intellectual property in the digital age—and he manages to draw connections between them.

Slavery’s Sway

Interdisciplinary economist Nathan Nunn explores the problem of African underdevelopment by drawing on—and unearthing—historical data about slavery.

by Paul Gleason

The Seductions of Snooping

Historian of science Kristie Macrakis's book on spying techniques used by communist East Germany's secret police.

by Elizabeth Gudrais

Maxim Gorky

Brief life of a great enigma, the Russian author and political propagandist born Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov: 1868-1936...

by Donald Fanger

Home of the Humanities

At a serene Harvard outpost, scholars find fertile ground for Byzantine, pre-Columbian, and landscape studies...

by Elizabeth Gudrais

The Slave Rebellion in New York City

Historian Jill Lepore explores the lives of slaves during an alleged eighteenth century uprising

by Jonathan Shaw

Who Built the Pyramids?

Not slaves. Archaeologist Mark Lehner, digging deeper, discovers a city of privileged workers.

by Jonathan Shaw