Dear Reader,
This spring, our board of editors was privileged to read many works
of historical scholarship by members of our institution. Each semester, we gain insight into the diverse range of topics that our peers have chosen to study; each semester, choosing which papers to publish is a challenging process. However, we strive to publish the very best historical contributions of undergraduates at Harvard with objectivity and rigor. Every paper is reviewed anonymously, scrutinized to the highest
standard, and debated by the board before it is voted upon for selection.
This edition of Tempus contains two papers. Our first paper, “Women’s Emancipation in East Germany: Beyond Economic Independence,” was written by Gaby Pesantez ’24. It tells the story of the difficulties that women faced on the course to emancipation in the socialist German Democratic Republic – an argument constructed through comparing the goals of the Republic’s feminist legal provisions with oral testimonies provided by women living in East Germany.
Our second paper is titled “‘Land Yes, Airplanes No’: The 2001-2002 Atenco Protests and Popular Democracy in Mexico,” written by Kendrick Foster ’22. This paper investigates the relationship between indigenous groups and the Vincente Fox presidential administration, explored through analysis of Fox’s decision to accede back the native land he had planned on using to construct an airport in Mexico City.
Our board hopes that this edition serves as a reminder of the extraordinary possibilities of student scholarship, even while working within the confines of a semester-long class. As we look to the upcoming semester, we pledge to continue to facilitate the advancement of historical scholarship within the student body, and to remain committed, as always, to the rigorous and serious study of the humanities.
Sincerely,
The Editors