The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies 40th Reunion

Five current and former executive officers, all wearing suits, stand next to each other, and one is holding a Weatherhead Center sign. — Left to right: Executive Officers James Clem (2001–2006) and Laurence Winnie (2007–2014), Executive Secretary Chester D. Haskell (1986–2000), Executive Officers Bruce V. Jackan (2014–2021) and George Soroka (2023–present). *Credit: Bethany Versoy*

By George Soroka

The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, which promotes the study of all major world regions exclusive of the United States and Canada, annually awards a two-year residential postdoctoral fellowship to 5–6 early-career social scientists. Known as Academy Scholars, these individuals are chosen through a highly competitive process—last year well over 500 completed applications were received—that focuses on identifying up-and-coming researchers who combine innovative methodological approaches to studying the world around us with a deep knowledge of, and appreciation for, the regional specificities of culture and language.

Three current and former Academy scholars all smile at someone speaking off camera. — Left to right: Current Senior Scholar Nicholas Harkness, former Academy Scholar Caroline E. Schuster (2012–2013 & 2013–2014), and current Academy Scholar Jamie Wong enjoying the closing remarks of the reunion in Tsai Auditorium. *Credit: Bethany Versoy*

Established by the renowned Harvard economist Henry Rosovsky and based on a generous gift solicited from Ira Kukin, The Harvard Academy selected its first class of fellows in 1985, welcoming them to campus in 1986. As of 2025, there are nearly 200 alumni of this program, many of them prominent social scientists teaching at the world’s most prestigious universities.

To mark the fortieth anniversary of The Harvard Academy’s founding, a reunion conference was held on April 3–5, 2025, marking the fourth such event in the Academy’s history. Bringing together former Academy Scholars, affiliates, and administrators, this occasion drew around 140 people to campus, a number far higher than was initially anticipated.

The reunion unfolded over the course of three days and was dubbed an “unconference” for its unconventional format. The event eschewed traditional panels and roundtables and instead honored the traditions of The Harvard Academy by focusing on an interdisciplinary and freewheeling “salon-style” format that replicated how current fellows present their academic work to one another and guests.

It began with an opening reception, complete with jazz quartet, held on Thursday evening at the Regattabar. The following day featured three thematic salon sessions held in CGIS South, capped off by a dinner in the ballroom of the Charles Hotel at which former executive officers regaled guests with the history of The Harvard Academy and personal anecdotes of their time there. Saturday kicked off with a recap of the previous day’s discussions and ended with a working lunch at which participants were asked to reflect on whether there was still a need for area studies in the age of big data and AI.

The three main themes animating this reunion were developed based on alumni preferences indicated in survey results from August of last year. These were: democracy and autocracy; globalization and localities; and material and nonmaterial drivers of social life. Although recent political events in the United States ensured a great deal of attention was paid to the first of these, all the topics generated lively discussion across not just disciplinary boundaries, but also generational cohorts.