Category: Writings

Read “The Gathering Silence” in Anthroposphere

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Why is climate change so hard to write about?

Half a century ago, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring catalyzed the budding environmental movement. Since then, most environmental communicators, particularly those dealing with climate change, have followed the rhetorical model of Silent Spring. 

But Silent Spring is a terrible model for talking about climate change. In my essay for Anthroposphere: The Oxford Climate Review, I explain why that is—and what might be necessary to change the way we talk about climate change.

Available in print for purchase on Anthroposphere’s web site, and now available online at this link.

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Cover of Anthroposphere, Fall 2018 Issue. Courtesy Oxford Climate Society.

Many thanks to the editors from The Oxford Climate Society at Oxford University for making this article possible.

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Read “The Refugee Crisis Then”

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Two years ago, I and five other Princeton journalism students had the opportunity to report on the refugee crisis in Greece. My main project—an investigation into Greek language education for refugees—was never published. Since then, recent NYTimes and WashPost reporting has revealed the situation has only become worse at the Athenian and island camps we visited.

I share my old project now as a historical document and as a call to action. While America seethes in intra-political turmoil, there are bigger things happening all over the world.

(For more reporting on this issue, check out NYTimes’ latest piece on Moria: https://www.nytimes.com/…/europe/greece-lesbos-moria-refuge…)

Read “Seven sci-fi models for the Space Force” on Medium

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On August 9, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the U.S. will proceed with President Trump’s plan to create the United States Space Force, the sixth branch of the U.S. military. As you might guess, the announcement was met with controversy.

It’s a good thing that we have so many sci-fi stories that have considered the possibility of the militarization of space. In this blog post, I look at seven sci-fi stories with different takes on what a real-life Space Force might entail.

Read the story here. 

 

 

 

 

Read “The elusive star of Vergina” on Medium

On By HarrisonIn News, Travel, Writings1 Comment

Last June, I had the opportunity to visit Vergina, a small village in Northern Greece that is home to the tomb of Philip II, Alexander the Great’s father. It was a tremendous experience, full of the power and splendor of ancient Macedonia. In terms of the difficulty in navigating Greece’s public transit options, however, it amounted to a modern odyssey. The perfect exp

To read my travelogue of my visit to Vergina, full of awe, frustration, and some witty observations, check it out on Medium:

“The elusive star of Vergina: To visit the tomb of Alexander the Great’s father, a modern odyssey”

More summer travel memoirs forthcoming on Medium. If you’re looking for a hint—next up will be along the lines of “Coming into the country with ‘Coming into the Country’.”

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Photo of fields of Vergina by Harrison Blackman.

Two ‘Solo’–themed posts now on Medium

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In honor of the theatrical release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, I’ve posted two relevant blog posts on Medium.

The first is “Other ‘Star Wars’ stories yet to be told,” a humor article detailing speculative treatments of other potential Star Wars spinoff films.

The second is my review of Solo: A Star Wars Story: “With ‘Solo,’ Star Wars rediscovers its offbeat sense of humor.” In this post, I explain how Solo follows a Star Wars tradition of placing tropes from the cultural zeitgeist through the warped mirror of the Star Wars universe.

As always, thanks for reading!

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Featured photo by Mohdammed Ali on Unsplash.

Earth science history exhibition featured at Princeton Research Day on May 10, 2018

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On May 10, 2018, I had the pleasure of presenting a poster entitled “Rocks all the way down: The earthshaking history of Princeton mineralogy” at the 3rd annual Princeton Research Day event.

Charting the history of Princeton mineral and earth science from the early American republic to today, “Rocks all the way down” showcases how mineralogy both formed the foundation and ongoing continuity of earth science at Princeton. And given Princeton’s place in several scientific revolutions over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, it is a fundamentally important story that explains how and why we came to better understand the natural world.

The effort is part of a project funded by the Princeton University Department of Geosciences, to be eventually published in article form.

At “PRD,” it was wonderful to connect with so many members of the Princeton community in discussing the University’s rich history in the earth sciences.

You can view the poster below; featured photo is courtesy of Georgette Chalker.

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