Ideas

During the heyday of the social movements of the 1960s, Martin Luther King’s citation of the abolitionist Theodore Parker’s—“the arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice”—served as an inspirational and aspirational text. Even as events called into question that belief in the inevitability of progress, some things did seem to be permanent advancements.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. It has created a refugee crisis, the scale of which has not been seen since World War II in Europe. The toll of civilian casualties is in the thousands, with countless others missing, injured, trapped, or lacking in essential medicines, food, and water.

Fernando Brancoli is a social scientist studying far-right Brazilian politics. Currently, his research is interested in Bolsonarismo, a term used to describe the non-cohesive coalitions orbiting President Jair Bolsonaro, as both a domestic phenomenon and one with international connections.

Adriana Petryna, past Member (2003–04) and Visitor (2006) in the School of Social Science, has authored Horizon Work: At the Edges of Knowledge in an Age of Runaway Climate Change, offering a new perspective on the current climate crisis. 

In this Scholar Spotlight we feature three former scholars: Michael Hanchard (Social Science), Jo Nelson (Mathematics), and Tracy Slatyer (Natural Sciences). They explain how and why the environment at IAS nourishes independent thinkers and prompts scholars to ask questions that push the boundaries of knowledge.

James D. Wolfensohn Professor Didier Fassin and past Distinguished Visiting Professor Axel Honneth (2018–19) are the editors of Crisis Under Critique: How People Assess, Transform, and Respond to Critical Situations.

For Frankfurter Allgemeine, Novina Göhlsdorf interviews James D. Wolfensohn Professor Didier Fassin about conspiracy theories and public health.

Pandemic Exposures: Economy and Society in the Time of Coronavirus, a collection of essays on the COVID-19 pandemic and its reverberations, edited by James D. Wolfensohn Professor Didier Fassin and Visiting Professor Marion Fourcade (2019-20).

This Scholar Spotlight features Jacob Gates Foster, who shares his passion for the Institute and his motivation for pursuing social science research. After spending time at IAS, meeting new colleagues, and attending seminars, Jacob is tackling new ideas and exploring different frameworks for his research.

Sonja van Wichelen is focused on bioscience governance and global inequality—a particularly important topic to understand in the midst of a pandemic. She talks about her father’s inspiration and her hope for a more equitable society.