Applied History Project

The mission of Harvard’s Applied History Project is to revitalize applied history by promoting the production and use of historical reasoning to clarify public and private challenges and choices. Founded by Professors Graham Allison and Niall Ferguson in 2016, the Applied History Project builds upon the foundation laid by Professors Ernest May and Richard Neustadt in the 1980s, reflected in their book Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision Makers. 

Advancing its mission, the Project sponsors the Applied History Working Group of faculty members across Harvard University to organize discussions with scholars and practitioners; supports historians and policymakers in producing Applied History; develops courses in Applied History; funds the Ernest May Fellowships in History and Policy for pre- and post-doctoral students; and holds Applied History Events open to the Harvard Community and the public. Harvard’s project is one of the leaders among a rapidly expanding network of universities and think tanks that are furthering the discipline of Applied History by clarifying predicaments and choices to inform better decisions.

The Project gratefully acknowledges the Stanton Foundation's generous support for its Applied History endeavors. 

Quote of the Week 

“The very concept of history implies the scholar and the reader. Without a generation of civilized people to study history, to preserve records, to absorb its lessons and relate to our own problems, history, too, would lose its meaning.” – George F. Kennan, WNET TV program, “US Soviet Relations, the first 50 years,” April 17, 1984

(More Quotes ») 

Article of the Week 

“Without Books We Will Be Barbarians” – Niall Ferguson, The Free Press, October 10, 2025.

As literacy rates in America decline, Ferguson declares a “civilizational crisis” because history teaches that reading and writing are essential in functional societies. By tracing the evolution of writing from as early as ancient Mesopotamia, Ferguson categorizes writing’s virtues, such as helping “us understand our purpose” (as in epic literature and religious books). Despite the high stakes of neglecting such a crucial skillset, Ferguson is pessimistic: ubiquitous emojis and the growing practice of dictation to AI chatbots will be poor substitutes for traditional writing.