Commentary

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

view of the backside of Winthrop House and flags

Harvard Retains Winthrop Name

Committee undecided on whether owning slaves merits denaming

by Max J. Krupnick

Illustration of Lewis and Clark Expedition artifacts at Peabody Museum

Yesterday’s News

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Cambridge 02138

Correspondence about caregiving, football, feminism, free speech, and more

The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial at sunset, with stone sculptures, commemorative plaques, and flags among bare trees.

“The World Right Now Cannot Afford Indifference”

Lawrence S. Bacow represents Harvard at the Auschwitz Liberation Observance.

by Lawrence S. Bacow

Jimmy Carter and James Agee ’32

Why this “sovereign prince of the English language” touched the president’s heart

by Lincoln Caplan

Cambridge 02138

Correspondence about housing affordability, athletes’ success, antisemitism, teaching reading, and more

Bronze weight shaped as a bust of an empress, featuring intricate details and a hook for hanging.

Western Civ.

An archaeologist/curator/hands-on humanist, and an artifact from the era of typewritten term papers

by Primus VI

Barbara Lawrence seated, wearing a textured blouse, in a portrait from the late 1930s.

Barbara Lawrence

Brief life of an intrepid mammalogist: 1909-1997

by Jonathan Shaw

Illustration of a career consultant reading from a paper while seated on a statue pedestal, with a long line of students waiting nearby.

Yesterday’s News

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

Category Errors

Skirmishing about what it means to protest

President Alan M. Garber sitting in historic Holyoke Chair during his installation

President Garber’s Quiet Installation

A private ceremony celebrated Garber’s appointment as president.

by Jonathan Shaw