The age-old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover” is a good directive in general life, but Elias Diwan PO ’28 argues we can leave that judgement to the door when it comes to actual books. Book covers have become a site for formulation and homogenization, Diwan believes that we shouldn’t leave the cover at the door.
Author: Elias Diwan
OPINION: Seminars should be tech-free spaces
We have all seen the sneaky side of Google, summary sheets open mid-class and ChatGPT flooding browsers. Is this what we imagined when we decided to pursue a liberal arts education? The temptation of the internet open to us in each class seems too great to resist, but we can resist it. Elias Diwan PO ’25 argues that we should elevate the quality of our classes by leaving our computers at home and actually doing the reading and taking the risks necessary to engage deeply in our classes.
OPINION: Contemporary art must put individual before identity
As contemporary art shifts its focus from form to identity, does it still challenge the viewer, or has it become a closed loop of self-referential politics? Elias Diwan PO ’25 argues that contemporary art’s fixation on representation has turned inclusion into a substitute for communication, sidelining quality and meaningful engagement with the work itself.