March 2022 - HGSA

Admitted Students Scheduling x Department Seminar Mar. 31

by Boniface, Annie

Hi all, Dan has asked me to distribute this recruitment schedule for admitted students. Their second day of meetings is tomorrow! Of special note is the seminar at 10 a.m. tomorrow. It would be great to have current students in attendance to facilitate discussion with admitted folks! Thanks so much, Annie -- Annie Boniface PhD Student, History Harvard University

2 years, 1 month

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Return of the Bagels

by Boniface, Annie

They're in the lounge <3 -- Annie Boniface PhD Student, History Harvard University

2 years, 1 month

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HGSA Book Sale Shift Signups

by Anderson, Clare

Dear fellow historians, Next week, on April 6-7, HGSA will be bringing back its annual book sale for the first time since 2019! For those who haven't experienced this before, the HGSA Book Sale is a wonderful pre-pandemic tradition where we take over the Great Space in Robinson Hall for two days and sell a bunch of books that professors and community members have donated over the previous year. Proceeds go to HGSA for programming, food, and so forth. It's a great chance to stock your shelves with books you've been wanting, at extremely reasonable prices! Since we haven't been able to run the book sale for a few years, we have a real bumper crop this time around. *To make the book sale run smoothly, we need volunteers to man the cash box. Any history grad student is welcome to sign up! For every 1-hour shift you work, you get a free book. You can sign up for shifts here <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wjwRtHzezKMtrMNvjUNtndl6TdeY1d5ZMbr…>. Looking forward to seeing you next week in the Great Space!* Best wishes, Clare Anderson and Sophia Horowitz, 2022 HGSA Book Sale Organizers -- ------------------------------ Clare Bradford Anderson PhD Candidate and Teaching Fellow, Department of History History Concentration Advisor, Kirkland House Harvard University Robinson Hall, 35 Quincy Street Cambridge, MA 02138

2 years, 1 month

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Happy Hour

by Alyass, Kenneth

There will be a happy hour today starting NOW! 5PM!!!! We got pizza, beer, other drinks, FUN, and…all your friends under one roof! Be there…or be square! -- Kenneth Alyass PhD Candidate Harvard University Department of History Graduate Fellow at the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History kalyass(a)g.harvard.edu https://scholar.harvard.edu/kennethalyass

2 years, 1 month

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MARCH MADNESS

by Boniface, Annie

Hello history friends and associates! Welcome to a truly magical time of year: NCAA's March Madness. Scroll to the bottom for directions on joining the Harvard History bracket tournament, *but before that*, please enjoy the following explanation of this time-honored tradition from our very own Cam Elliott: March Madness is Decadent and Depraved Sporting events are (and perhaps more particularly, betting on them is) built on ritual and superstition. College Basketball in this country is a lot like the professional game. Three pointers reign supreme, the court is the same size, and the referees never seem quite sure of what a travel is. The only real differences are they play 2 halves instead of 4 quarters, they have 6 extra seconds on the shot clock, the three point line is closer, only 5 personal fouls get you ejected, and the athletes are unpaid. Every year 68 teams get to go to the “Big Dance.” Our students actually have the chance to make the tournament, at least the ones that play basketball (although this year Yale is in instead). 32 of those teams won their conference (hence Yale); only about 8 of the conferences are good enough to expect much. The other 36 “bids” as they’re colloquially known are passed out to teams who, despite losing their conference tournament, are deemed good enough to play by a selection committee made up of sports journalists and other (non) luminaries. Teams are awarded a “seed” when they are named to the tournament ranging from 1 (the highest) to 16 (the lowest) and there are four of each seed. The other 4 teams have a play in and won’t amount to much. I remember reading an article some time that argued the reason why soccer hadn’t caught on in America—at least not as a spectator sport, god knows enough children play it—was because Americans love an underdog and in top flight soccer the better team almost always wins. March Madness is not like that. Well not really. It is single elimination so the better team certainly doesn’t always win. But there are a few rules. One seeds don’t lose to sixteen seeds, except that one glorious game where the Retrievers beat the Wahoos like they stole something. It wasn’t even close. There’s always supposed to be a 5-12 upset. Beyond that there is little to go by. The emergent “science” of Bracketology is little more than divination by sports shouting blowhards. Basketball, like many other sports, tracks so many statistics that the would be gambler has seemingly infinite resources at their disposal.when I was a kid there were 5, 6 stats tops. No matter how meticulous one is in their research, you will be proven wrong. No one has ever filled out a perfect bracket. You will not be the first. And there will always be miracles, a Cinderella run that busts everyone’s brackets like Davidson with Steph Curry or Butler or those aforementioned UMBC Retrievers. Fans live and die with their teams (figuratively and, in Sister Jean’s case at Chicago Loyola, maybe literally). For schools, it’s big business. Even a March madness appearance, much less success in the tournament, can increase applications and enrollment numbers. Then there’s merchandise and then deals. And now that American sports have made a full-throated investment in gambling, join us in part of the $9 billion+ wagered annually in the event. So partake in this strange American tradition and fill out a bracket. You pick teams you expect to win as they advance through cleverly and alliteratively named stages like the sweet sixteen, elite eight, and final four. Knowledge about the sport not required (and, in most cases, only a hindrance). *Now, some directions:* 1. follow this link to ESPN's tournament challenge site for the men's bracket https://fantasy.espn.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2022/en/group?redirec… and this link for the women's bracket https://fantasy.espn.com/tournament-challenge-bracket-women/2022/en/group?e… (you are encouraged to make brackets for both!) 2. click "create a bracket now" 3. create a free ESPN account (if you don't already have one) 4. make your picks! this is easier to do on a big screen 5. *join our group "History x Harvard x Hoops" - password: robinson* 6. watch the ~madness~ play out starting Thursday! **brackets can only be submitted before the round of 64 begins on Thursday** Bonus: the department is providing a Coop gift card and new history tote bag to the winners of our brackets! Here are some resources for those of us who have not experienced March Madness before: https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2022-03-14/what-march-ma… https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2022-03-13/march-madness-p… Please reach out with any questions! And good luck!! Annie Boniface Co-President, HGSA

2 years, 1 month

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No Happy Hour Tonight

by Alyass, Kenneth

Dear all, Just a quick reminder that we will not be hosting our weekly happy hour tonight nor will we be having it next week because of spring break. But do keep an eye on your inbox because a few people will be organizing non-HGSA sponsored social events for those who are sticking around in town during the week! Have a great weekend and a safe break! Best, Ken -- Kenneth Alyass PhD Candidate Harvard University Department of History Graduate Fellow at the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History kalyass(a)g.harvard.edu https://scholar.harvard.edu/kennethalyass

2 years, 1 month

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~bagels~

by Boniface, Annie

are in the lounge!

2 years, 1 month

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Statement on History dept reform + testimonials for Tuesday’s townhall

by Ciavarella, Charlotte

Dear fellow history students, As we plan for our next town hall, a continuation of the departmental discussion on sexual harrassment and the break down of trust within the department, we are welcoming the history community to share ideas for how our department can be a safer place for students. These issues are hard to talk about, and many of us are scared of retaliation. As a result, we are opening up our *google form* <https://forms.gle/uoERMV81EtgFvbFE9> through which graduate students can submit* anonymous testimonies or comments* that they wish to share at the town hall but are hesitant to do so on their own or under their own name. We are particularly welcoming of comments on experiences of harassment in the department. We will have graduate student volunteers read them at the town hall on your behalf. As with the last town hall, only the creators of this document will have access to the testimonials and/or comments and they will all be deleted after the town hall. We are also welcoming suggestions and edits on the google doc where we are currently drafting *a letter of demands to present to the faculty* <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f_Z4NTOTEEqWo1NI3Zsh2i1ApUTVgWwNiVLd9cc…> . Thank you for your help, The History for Real Recourse Collective

2 years, 2 months

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pizza and drinks and a COUCH oh my

by Boniface, Annie

Happy hour is taking place today at 5 p.m. in the grad lounge! As always, there will be pizza and assorted beverages! Now, some of you may think to yourselves, "I have so much work to do, and I've never been to one of these lil shindigs. Why start now?" The answer: the lounge is now the proud home of a sectional couch. Come to happy hour to recline and admire this local wonder. (But don't recline too hard; historians aren't known for their furniture assembly expertise.) Hope to see you there! -- Annie Boniface PhD Student, History Harvard University

2 years, 2 months

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Friday afternoon check-in, re: town hall

by Boniface, Annie

Hi all! Please see the attached message from last week's town hall organizers: *Hi all - we know the last few weeks have been deeply exhausting and difficult for a lot of members of our community in different ways. A lot of the planning around the town hall was spontaneous and fast, to capitalize on the moment. This Friday before happy hour (around 4), we want to pause, take a deep breath, and have a chance to talk together face to face in the grad lounge to check in on everyone. Hope to see you there.* -- Annie Boniface PhD Student, History Harvard University

2 years, 2 months

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2024

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HGSA March 2022