A Refuge for Scholars: Contemporary Challenges in Historical Perspective

The History Working Group is a Member-led initiative that mobilized in early 2017 in response to President Trump’s executive orders banning travel and immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The group produced a series of articles for the Institute Letter and an exhibition documenting how the Institute for Advanced Study responded to similar challenges in the past, finding its ethos as a place of refuge and active engagement with the world. In this public lecture, held at the Institute on November 3, 2017, the group highlighted their work and discussed the importance of the Institute's role in the world today.