The Shifting Ground exhibition will be open through February 2024.
The end of history is never that. Empires rise and fall. Wars break out. Like a mighty river, history may change course, but on it flows. Human efforts to change the course of history — to dam rivers, mine resources, or seize territory — may alter the river’s banks, but they cannot stop time. This exhibition captures what history means in practice: what humans create, destroy, rebuild, and tell themselves about the process.
This exhibition also captures the shifting frameworks through which scholars approach past and present. Harvard’s humanists and social scientists, be they artists or anthropologists or architects, deploy different methods to explore reality and perception. Here we bring together examples of what the Davis Center has been doing for the past 75 years: We nurture creative scholars hungry to understand some small part of a large region. They work from the Danube to the Pacific, and from the North Pole to the Caspian Sea. Many undergraduate and graduate students — the beating heart of the Davis Center — come to us already convinced that their path is the same as ours. Others are drawn by powerful teachers and masterful mentors to reroute their inquiries. All are welcome to join us today and tomorrow as we continue exploring the history and humanity of Europe and Eurasia.
Accessibility
The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at 617-495-4037 or daviscenter@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance if possible. Please note that the Davis Center will make every effort to secure services but that services are subject to availability.
