Welcome back!

After a three month summer vacation, welcome back returning IHP students, and welcome to all new students!

I will take this opportunity to shill for contributors to the blog - anyone from the IHP section - students, professors, etc. - can contribute content - thoughts on the news, information about side projects, questions about methodology, reports (like Fiona Ziegler's excellent contribution from January), other topics - there aren't really too many restrictions on what can appear here! And there is no set schedule - if you have a one-off piece, we'd be happy to have it. Or if you would like to start a column, that is great as well! Contact me at jaci.eisenberg(a)graduateinstitute.ch and I will arrange for blog posting access.

One more thing: I came across an interesting article in Harper's magazine the other day by Mark Slouka ("Dehumanized: when math and science rule the school", September 2009) on the overemphasis on math and science in American higher education, to the detriment of the humanities. While the debate could go on for ages as to whether history is more social science or included within the humanities, his take on the ramification of favoring fields of study whose output is easier to turn into a professional field (say a math major becoming an accountant) than those where it is more difficult (like literature, history, or political science) is worth a read. You can access the link here, although to read the complete article you will need a login. If anyone is interested I would be more than happy to lend them my copy.

See you in class!