On the cover: Illustration by Taylor Callery

Letters

Cambridge 02138

Stimulus funds, meritocracy, enlarging history, and more

Silver Linings

President Bacow on the engaged upside to online teaching and learning

A Quartet of Crises

Educational, financial, political, and values issues challenge Harvard’s leaders—and the University community.

November-December 2020

On the cover: Illustration by Taylor Callery

Features

School Goes Remote

Students, faculty, and staff adjust to a changed landscape.

by Jacob Sweet

The Conservative

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat’s journey through American decadence and upheaval

by Lydialyle Gibson

Lorenzo Tañada

Brief life of a Philippine patriot: 1898-1992

by Christopher Capozzola

Controlling the Global Thermostat

Coming to terms with climate change’s relentless, long-term fallout

by Jonathan Shaw

RIGHT NOW Harvard research and ideas

Welfare’s Payback

Economic analysis of U.S. government spending shows that some social programs more than pay for themselves.

Lessons in Dementia’s Decline?

Dementia is decreasing in Europe and North America. Why not the rest of the world?

Detecting Breast Cancer Everywhere

A portable, simple testing technology promises accurate breast-cancer diagnosis and treatment in low- and middle-income countries.

John Harvard's Journal University news

Fraught Fall

A semester conducted in the shadow of the coronavirus

Mayra Rivera

How apocalyptic narratives help make sense of the modern world

Admissions Lawsuit: Round Two

The First Circuit Court of Appeals will rule on a much-watched lawsuit that could determine the future of affirmative action.

Timely Recovery

The endowment increases to $41.9 billion, and Harvard Management Company reports a 7.3 percent return on investments.

Yesterday’s News

Headlines from Harvard’s history

Brevia

Racial justice efforts, “Lowell?” House, and more

Overseers’ Overhaul

A consequential change in the composition of and elections for the Board of Overseers

History, Crowdsourced

Volunteer transcribers help make Harvard library documents accessible.

University Friendships—and Beyond

The Undergraduate considers friendships on and away from campus.

A Life in Tai Chi

The healing of Master Yon Lee

Montage Books, creative arts, performance and more

Finding Other Streets

Photographer Mark Erickson on the Vietnam he never knew

“To Break Our Own Rules”

Poet-critic Dan Chiasson and The Math Campers

In a Farmer’s Long Beard

Miriam Udel’s passion for children and Yiddish children’s literature

Family History

A German American scholar is unsettled by an ancestor’s secret.

Chapter & Verse

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Off the Shelf

Recent books with Harvard connections

Yearning for an Upswing

In search of optimism, a sweeping interpretation of American social history

Harvard Squared What to do in Boston, Cambridge and beyond

A Man and His Castle

Gothic surroundings, spiritualism, and science: Hammond Castle Museum’s eclectic appeal

Hip-Hop Art and French Innovators

Winter exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts

Urban Adventure Quest, Boston

Scavenger-hunting in historic Boston

Artful Gifts

Holiday gifts that support the arts

How We Eat Out Now

Independent restaurants struggle in the pandemic.

A New Twist on Home for the Holidays

Harvard Square venues offer warmth, cheer, and appetizing fare.

Almuni Harvardians far and wide

The Sports Critic

Louisa Thomas takes a different view.

The Aloian Memorial Scholars

Seniors who’ve enhanced Harvard House life

Alumni Interviewer Honors

The College Admissions Office’s 2020 Miller-Hunn Award winners

The 2020 HAA Award Winners

Six alumni are honored for significant volunteer service.

Election Results

The Alumni Association’s new elected directors