Human Ecology of Health
Walking the cobble-stone streets of a Bolivian village, I witnessed how a new clinic in a medically underserved area hadn’t made much of an impact. I was visiting...
View ArticleThe Perfect Invitation
Hearing Lucille Clifton’s poem “won’t you celebrate with me” at a celebration of her work is the Humanities Moment that offered both comfort and a model for how...
View ArticleAbu’s Afsanas
My Abu (‘father’ in Urdu) is my favorite storyteller … I grew up with stories of his childhood in India and later in his life: he and his...
View ArticleFinding the “Truth” in Music
In June 2017, I found myself in a cramped, sweltering apartment in New York’s East Village. I was there with three high-school students to interview William Millan, founder...
View ArticleA Few Lines of Poetry Might Be All We Need…
I remember seeing the images on the television, in newspapers, and in magazines. It was such an epic event. The Berlin Wall was coming down, something I never...
View Article“For the Sake of a Cloud”
While taking Latin in high school, I became fascinated by the story of the Trojan War. I loved the interconnected perspectives of soldiers, royalty, deities, and ordinary people....
View ArticleOrigin Stories: Or, Making Sense of Surprises in the Family Tree
My Humanities Moment happened when my husband and I received the results of the genetic testing kits we’d ordered. The stories that my husband’s DNA told matched up...
View ArticleA Scientist Appreciates the Humanities
During college I was on my way to becoming a scientist when I decided to get my education license on the side. During my student teaching internship, I...
View ArticleMeeting the Last Man on Planet Earth Who Could Speak Latin
A single question changed the course of my life. When I first began studying Latin in 1996, it was a dead language, no doubt about it. It was...
View ArticleA Timeless Description
I feel robbed that I did not get the opportunity to ask my Great Uncle Burl what it was like to train in North Africa or share stories...
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