Humanities Division
Gen Ed Course To Offer Oral Exam
In an unconventional twist on final exams, students in this semester’s English 156, “Crime and Horror in Victorian Literature and Culture” will find themselves conveying their academic insights not only through their word processors, but also face-to-face with teaching staff in an oral final exam.
FAS Waits For Dean’s Initiative
In the midst of last year’s financial crisis, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith assembled six “working groups” to establish top Faculty priorities.
Harvard To Acquire First Egyptology Professor in Decades
After years dedicated to shedding light on the work of the late Harvard Egyptology Professor George A. Reisner, Class of 1889, Peter D. Manuelian ’81 will become the first egyptology professor at Harvard since his predecessor’s death 68 years ago.
Hiring for Vacancy in EALC Dept. Remains Uncertain
The hiring of a new Chinese Language Program director for the upcoming academic year remains uncertain for the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, according to Department Chair Wilt Idema.
FAS Dean To Take Leave
Diana Sorensen, the divisional dean for the arts and humanities in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, will leave Harvard at the end of the academic year to take a year-long sabbatical.
English Department Adds Professors
The English department will welcome two new professors from Columbia University and grant tenure to one of its current associate professors.
Cuts Threaten Unique Post
Harvard Medieval Art History Professor Jeffrey F. Hamburger embarked on a crusade last week to save a rare professorship at King’s College London from being eliminated due to budget cuts.
Burt Recognized For Critique of Poetry
Stephen L. Burt, an associate professor of English, was named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism on Saturday.
Harvard History Professor Testifies in Proposition 8 Case
History Professor Nancy F. Cott testified on Tuesday in a federal case against California's Proposition 8—which currently restricts same-sex marriage within state borders—to provide an overview of the various marriage restrictions in American history.
Eminent Byzantinist Dies, Leaves Legacy of Open-Minded Scholarship
Ihor Ševčenko once said that some historians, in their compulsion to ponder the same questions repeatedly, were like mindless dogs who urinated on the same tree in a forest—leaving other trees unexplored for no specific reason. But according to one colleague, this metaphor—called Ševčenko's law—did not apply to Ševčenko himself, who never sought to follow just one trail, both as a historian and a man.
Jasper van Putten
Jasper van Putten discusses the intersection of art, geometry, and cartography in the works of Augustin Hirschvogel yesterday evening in the Barker Center.
Sandel Takes on ‘Right Thing’
Harvard Professor Michael J. Sandel challenged his audience to explore the moral dilemmas behind political controversies at a talk last night.
ARE WE HUMAN, OR...?
Jonathan Lear, professor at the University of Chicago, speaks about how “becoming human is not that easy” yesterday in Lowell Lecture Hall as part of this year’s Tanner Lecture series. The event attracted a wide range of audience members, including University President Drew G. Faust.
