Radcliffe Quarterly—Winter 2004

Justice in America? Vicki Sanders Two Radcliffe fellows look behind the scenes at the American justice system and uncover deeply embedded systemic problems. Amy Bach RI ’04 investigates the consequences of incompetent legal professionals, while Nancy Crowe RI ’04 demonstrates how the race and sex of judges affect their decisions. Meet the Author: Junot Díaz RI ’04 Pat Harrison Junot Díaz ’04 continues his obsession with what has disappeared in his new project, “The Guilty Country,” a science-fiction novel he’s writing during his fellowship year. Read “Poor Abelard,” an excerpt from another book--a family novel--that he’s also writing this year. Excerpt from "Poor Abelard" Junot Diaz Exploring Unconscious Prejudice Deborah Blagg Exploratory seminars, such as Mahzarin Banaji’s on “Implicit Social Cognition and the Law,” help scholars from disparate backgrounds find common intellectual ground. Gender, Race, and Rights Julia Hanna A conference examining “Gender, Race, and Rights in African American Women’s History” highlighted the Schlesinger Library’s sixtieth anniversary celebration in October. Departments From the Dean Letters and Announcements Where Are the Students of Antiquity? Editors' Note Institute Should Recruit Fellows Who Tackle World Issues Quarterly's New Book Review Editor Quarterly Wins Award Institute Explorations Sisters Blumenthal Become Radcliffe Institute’s First Sibling Fellows Ann Fessler Fills in the Blanks of Women’s History with Her Traveling Installation Fellow Update Around the Institute Vagina Warriors Schlesinger Renovations Begin Cooks, Campers, and Other Recent Acquisitions Toward an Understanding of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases The Changing Lives of American Men New Books Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc BI '95 The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired by Francine Prose ’68, AM ’69 The Hazards of Good Breeding by Jessica Shattuck ‘94 A Potent Spell: Mother Love and the Power of Fear by Janna Malamud Smith '73 Quick Study Alumnae/i News NEWSmakers

RADCLIFFE QUARTERLY

Editor
Pat Harrison

Associate Editor
Kris O'Reilly

Public Relations/Publications Assistant
Ivelisse Estrada

Books Editor
Tanya Auger '92

Contributing Editors
Ruth E. C. Prince
Diane Sherlock ‘78

Editor Emerita
Aida Kabatznick Press '48

Print Design
plus design inc.

Director of Communications
Whitney T. Espich

Associate Dean for Advancement and Planning
Tamara Elliott Rogers '74

Winter 2004

Volume No. 89 / No. 1

The Radcliffe Quarterly (ISSN 0033-7528) is published four times a year by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Copyright 2004 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

The Radcliffe Quarterly is distributed free to alumnae/i, faculty, and fellows. For others, subscriptions are available with a gift of $25 per year ($35 foreign) to the Radcliffe Institute to Advanced Study at the address listed above.

Telephone: 617-495-8608

Fax: 617-496-0255

E-mail: quarterly@radcliffe.edu

Cover Image: Dora's Dance, #1, 2002, a painting by former Radcliffe fellow Beverly McIver RI '03. Courtesy of the Kent Gallery in New York City.