Episode 3: The Unnaming

Who writes Harvard’s history, and who gets to be included? In this episode of The Annex, host Matteo Wong dives into the a controversy in which hundreds of alumnae have accused the University of erasing women’s and Radcliffe’s contributions to Harvard by renaming — or “un-naming” — the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

What is The Annex?

In 2020, Harvard University rebranded the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study as the “Harvard Radcliffe Institute” — a change which many saw as the latest incident in a centuries-long history of the men-dominated University subordinating the legacy of Radcliffe College, the long-time women’s college at Harvard. Radcliffe College started as a small institute labeled “The Harvard Annex,” and many fear it, and the status of women at the University, has been returned to the status of an appendage.

The Annex is a podcast from Fifteen Minutes, The Harvard Crimson’s magazine, exploring why so often the histories of higher education appear “womanless,” and that of Harvard appears “Radcliffe-less.” With dozens of interviews with alumnae, professors, and more, and covering over 100 years of women’s struggles at, for, and against the University, host Matteo Wong asks: Who has the power to write Harvard’s history, and how is that changing?