January-February 2004 > The Alumni

News from Harvard@Home

Harvard@Home, the University-wide initiative for putting learning on-line, offers several new programs for 2004. They include:

*Diana L. Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, introducing a major Hindu god in "Manifestations of Shiva." The program has video of Eck’s course "Hindu Myth, Image, and Pilgrimage" and an interview with Eck, acting director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. For details, visit http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/mos.html.

*Florence professor of government Gary King exploring possible solutions for polling problems in "Improving Survey Research." King describes "anchoring vignettes"—descriptions of hypothetical people or situations that researchers can use to correct survey responses that people from different backgrounds may interpret in different ways. For details, visit http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/vsr.html.

*"A New American Empire?" featuring a presentation by Stephen Peter Rosen, Kaneb professor of national security and military affairs. Rosen, also director of the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, discusses whether the United States should use its military predominance to regulate interstate relations and to create domestic governments in other countries. For details, visit http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/nae.html.

Harvard@Home provides desktop access to lectures, speeches, presentations, performances, and other events. The Web-based project offers more than 30 edited programs on topics in the arts, the sciences, current affairs, history, literature, and math. Programs, which range from 45 minutes to three hours in length, are free and available to the public. For more information, visit http://athome.harvard.edu.