Nolan Moderates Panel at Symposium on Narrative Journalism
Rachel Nolan, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, moderated an October 4, 2019 panel as part of a conference hosted by the Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University and the Columbia School of Journalism on “Uncertain States: Narrative Journalism and Its Limits.”
The symposium explored the possibilities and constraints of narrative journalism as it is practiced today. Participants reflected on issues central to narrative journalism including choices of tone and structure, selection of themes, front stories, arguments, or central characters, and how to portray situations that don’t lend themselves to tidy conclusions.
Nolan moderated a panel on “Character” that featured Matthew Shaer, Suzy Hansen, and Lizzie Presser. Other panels at the symposium focused on topics including “Intervention” and “Ambivalence.” Nolan organized and co-hosted the symposium with Brian Goldstone.
Rachel Nolan is a historian of modern Latin America. Her research focuses on political violence, Central American civil wars, childhood and the family, historical memory, and U.S.-Latin American relations. She is currently completing a book manuscript on the history of international adoption from Guatemala. Her research has been funded by the Social Science Research Council, Fulbright, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the ACLS/Mellon Foundation. Dr. Nolan holds a B.A. in History and Literature from Harvard University and a doctorate in Latin American and Caribbean History from New York University. Her dissertation won a Dean’s Outstanding Dissertation Award and NYU’s Outstanding Dissertation Award for the Humanities.