Paul Farmer
On February 4, The Harvard Crimson broke the news of an open letter, signed by 38 faculty members, in support of John Comaroff. This prominent professor of anthropology and African studies had been placed on unpaid administrative leave two weeks earlier following a university investigation that had found him responsible for violating sexual harassment and other professional conduct policies. Another open letter had been published the day before in The Chronicle of Higher Education, with 55 more names of higher education faculty and others from around the world supporting Comaroff’s assertion that the accusations were all just a result of a single, misunderstood incident.
In the face of climate disaster, a continuing pandemic, and endless global conflict, it’s difficult to be optimistic about the future. Researchers in psychology have marked a sharp upswing in “eco-anxiety” among young people. Surveys show that most people in the U.S. believe life will get worse over the next 30 years. None of this is surprising. The future isn’t shaping up to be something many people look forward to.
This article was originally published at The Conversation and has been republished under Creative Commons.
The chimpanzees of the Rekambo community in Gabon, West Africa, never fail to surprise. For a start, they are known to kill and eat tortoises, which sets them apart from any other community of chimpanzees. Now they have been seen displaying another unique behavior—one which has never been seen before despite many years of painstaking research.
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