As the spring semester was coming to an end, a dozen Clark University graduate students embarked on a field trip to conduct research for two non-government organizations in Haiti. In mere hours, they moved from one of the richest nations in the world to one that is acknowledged as the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. The…
“Not since the end of the Second World War have there been so many refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers,” said Ban Ki-moon in his speech at the recent opening the 69th UN General Assembly. At a three-day workshop at Clark University, participants explored ways of drawing out, preserving and sharing refugee narratives. The International Development, Community…
If Rip Van Winkle awoke from a 99-year nap he would discover a world that had vastly changed in all areas except one: education. A lone teacher imparting academic lessons to a classroom of students remains the familiar, comfortable model that has persisted for generations. But is it still effective? Eric Schwarz, the co-founder and…
In her new book, “Sex, Politics, and Putin: Political Legitimacy in Russia,” Clark University Political Science Professor Valerie Sperling explores the ways in which “politicians and political activists in Russia use masculinity, femininity, and homophobia to bolster their legitimacy and to undermine their opponents.” While researching the Russian president as both a man and a…
The legacy of slavery might be discussed widely in the Caribbean, but here in the United States we struggle with how to teach the past to our children. So noted Raphael Rogers ’94, assistant professor of education at Clark University, in his Nov. 13 Higgins School lecture, “Slavery on their Minds: Representing the ‘Peculiar Institution’…
The fact that fewer than fifteen percent of eligible voters showed up for the 2014 primary elections indicates that primary elections do not matter to very many citizens. However, Clark University associate professor of Political Science Robert Boatright contends that congressional primary elections matter—a lot. He explains their importance, and dispels claims and myths about…
Clark University History Professor Janette Greenwood has teamed up with retired teacher and Charlton historian Frank Morrill to research the identities of some early Worcester residents—people of color—pictured in rare photographs that date back to the turn of the last century. The photos are those of the late William Bullard, of Worcester, a photographer…
Natasha Tretheway’s newest collection of poems, titled “Thrall,” enthralled an audience in Clark University’s Atwood Hall on Nov. 4, as she delved into matters of race, family, history, and the moving target that is our evolving perceptions of all three. Tretheway’s appearance was part of the African American Intellectual Culture Series and the Higgins School…
You know those holiday-dinner movie scenes, where aging parents and their grown children serve up bitter resentments or long-held hostilities? Good drama, maybe, but merely an escape from reality for most adults, thankfully. A new poll finds that, as the so-called millennials move into their 30s, most are enjoying strong, positive relationships with their parents,…
The Hervey Ross ’50, L.H.D. ’07 Oratorical Contest was designed specifically for Clark University LEEP Fellows to describe their summer projects. But presenter Katherine Liptak ’15 asserted right away that her talk would not pile on the details of the summer internship she spent in Cape Town, South Africa, but rather she would unpeel the process…
