Volume 4 Issue 2 | Hilary Term 2015 1

V O L U M E 4 I S S U E 2 | H I L A R Y T E R M 2 0 1 5

T H E C L A R E N D O N C H R O N I C L E

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Photo taken by May Chan

2 THE CLARENDON CHRONICLE | Newsletter of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association

Dear Scholars,With the inauguration of an ebullient new Council, a crowded calendar of inspiring events, and impossibly warm weather for spring, 2015 is off to a spectacular start. This edition of the Chronicle looks both forward and backward: forward to the upcoming seminar with former Clarendon Leigh A. Gardner (p. 8-9), as well as to the Global Scholars’ Symposium in May (p. 10-11), and backward to two highlights of Hilary term: the lightning talks with Rhodes scholars (p. 4) and our day escape to Bath in January (p. 6-7). Due to their thunderous success, both of these events will be reincarnated in Trinity—only this time the escape will be to the classic Cotswolds. This issue also features something that is timeless: Maya Catherine Popa’s hauntingly beautiful poetry (p. 5). Maya won the Clarendon for the MSt in Creative Writing in 2011, and is now back in New York City teaching, editing, and writing. The exciting events and extraordinary accomplishments will only expand in Trinity term. So take the plunge. Do something you haven’t thought about doing before. Take (global) action. And who knows—your achievements might be chronicled in the next issue (#puntotallyintended). Especially if you drop a line to clarendonchronicle@gmail.com.

Adventurously yours,Yin Yin Lu Editor in Chief

Donna Henderson Designer

Hila LevyEditor

Aaron WatanabeEditor

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

IN THIS ISSUE1. A Note from the Editor2. A Message from the President(s)3. Clarendon-Rhodes Lightning Talks4. Two Poems from Maya Popa5. Roman Revelry for Scholars in Bath6. Q&A with Leigh A. Gardner7. Scholars Taking Global Action

Yin Yin LuEditor in Chief

Volume 4 Issue 2 | Hilary Term 2015 3

A Message fromthe President(s)

Dear Scholars,What does it mean to be a Clarendon scholar? As your 2015 Clarendon Council, we have asked

ourselves this question numerous times. Unlike many other groups at Oxford, we Clarendons do

not define ourselves by a single building, nationality, or interest. Rather, we distinguish ourselves by our diversity and

determination to push boundaries, in the widest sense of the word. Every day, Clarendon scholars across the world help advance the frontiers

of knowledge, and in the process redefine what it means to be a Clarendon. With this basis, the Clarendon Scholars’ Association provides you with the unique opportunity to explore the full extent of what Oxford has to offer—and what you can offer in return. To encourage this exploration, your 2015 Clarendon Council seeks to create as many opportunities as possible for scholars to interact with each other, alumni, the wider Oxford community, and beyond. In Hilary Term, we were thrilled to see scholars reconnecting with each other after the winter break at our start of term reception at St John’s, swapping tales of the places they call home during the Lightning Talks with Rhodes House, and plumbing the wisdom of Lord Robert May during the Clarendon Lecture. Trinity Term promises more of the same. Among the events we’re most excited about are an opportunity to speak with Oxford University Press editors, a day escape to the classic Cotswolds, and, with the return of warm weather, the annual Garden Party. We have a number of people to thank for the progress we have made building the Clarendon community this past term. First, we cannot overstate our gratitude to the 2014 Council for their hard work. We owe an additional debt of thanks to the university’s office of Graduate Admissions and Funding as well as OUP for their continued support and guidance. We also greatly appreciate the efforts of the Chronicle team for producing this wonderful edition to keep Clarendons, past and present, up to date with what fellow scholars are doing. Last, but certainly not least, we want to thank you for the energy and enthusiasm that you bring to the community. We would like to invite everyone to answer the question of what it means to be a Clarendon—and to bring this personal definition to life. We look forward to organising many more wonderful events this upcoming term and cannot wait to see you at them.

Wishing you a very pleasant and academically fruitful Trinity Term,

Robert Brand (pictured right)

2015 President of the Clarendon Scholars’ AssociationAaron Watanabe (pictured left)

2015 Vice President

4 THE CLARENDON CHRONICLE | Newsletter of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association

Clarendon-Rhodes Lightning Talks: A Thunderous Hit!

In what will hopefully become a regular event, Rhodes and Clarendon scholars came together in mid-February for an evening of “lightning talks.” These events give a series of speakers, drawn from both communities, just a few minutes to deliver a brief presentation on a particular topic. To promote learning

about each other and coming down from the ivory tower, this year’s talks have been themed “What you don’t know about [XYZ].” Held at Rhodes House, the February session focused on the XYZ of “my country, culture, or nationality.” Over fifty scholars from the two communities were in attendance. After a bustling social hour, the global attendees introduced themselves to break the ice. Shortly thereafter, Clarendon Carlos Rios Ocampo of Colombia kicked off the short presentations, focusing on the diversity of the people, cultures, landscapes, and even fruits of his home country. Calla Glavin, a first-year American Rhodes Scholar, then discussed her family’s Macedonian heritage and what it means to her. Soufia Siddiqi, a Rhodes Scholar from Pakistan, led the audience through the intricate relationship between the people of Lahore and its canal, from both a historical perspective and her childhood memories. To close, former Rhodes Scholar and current Clarendon council member Hila Levy shared the nuances of Puerto Rico’s political status as an American territory and her experiences confronting geographical ignorance. The scholars in attendance had a myriad of fascinating questions for each speaker, prompting intimate political and social insights. The event was a great success in terms of both sharing and learning from a personal, rather than academic, perspective, and strengthened the relationship between the two global scholarship communities. The Clarendon Council will continue this series in Trinity term, with a lightning talk event in late May.

Hila Levy

Photo taken by Yin Yin Lu

Volume 4 Issue 2 | Hilary Term 2015 5

Maya C. Popa holds degrees from Oxford, New York University, and Barnard College. She was awarded a Clarendon Scholarship in 2011 for the MSt in Creative Writing. During her time as a Clarendon Scholar, she was the recipient of the Martin Starkie Prize from the Oxford Poetry Society as well as the Radcliffe Library Parallel Universe Competition. Her writing appears in Tin House, Poetry London, PN Review, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. For more information, visit www.mayacpopa.com.

PalimpsestFlower-bordered river where I fillet the hyacinths,

a Russian doll of places posing as one place.

Halogen meat a horse show in Florida

while another juliennes olives for appetizers.

A doll slipped in another till all dolls are dull:

versions of mewith whistles for lips

reciting asterisksin the periodic table.

Collage of the unconscious: white flowers, lost teeth,

scarecrow withan aureole of straw,

basilica for everyone’s best dresses.

I visit the public museum of clouds,

lithographs of skyposing as space.

Layers make monstersas shows the snapdragon.

Memory, you crooked thing I do to the page.

SashimiI served my loves’ sashimi heartson iceless beds of clean bamboo. Some were tasteless, others,spoiled at the oil-rig of our departure. There was the horse-mackerel bucking at the rice, as if another life were to await. The wheel-shrimp hugging his white station like a pillow, the koi promising to love each grain.I knew the knife-work it had taken to get here, the hands, my hands, unfolding origami nerves, widening fields between modest fish lungs.I could smell blood on the stone floor, heard a bell that signaled the startof an auction. I plucked and plucked at another urchin’s stitchesas my own heart shivered on the scale.

Two Poems from Maya Popa Photo courtesy of www.mayacpopa.com

6 THE CLARENDON CHRONICLE | Newsletter of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association

Photos taken by Johanna Koehler

Volume 4 Issue 2 | Hilary Term 2015 7

Roman Revelry for Scholars in Bath

On a sunny Saturday in January, forty Clarendon and Rhodes Scholars took

a day away from their studies to explore the ancient city of Bath.

For thousands of years, Bath’s hot springs have attracted the curious from around the world, producing a city with over 5,000 listed buildings and a rich confluence of geology, history, and architecture.

Scholars began their visit with a guided tour. Stops included the Circus and the Royal Crescent, two of the most beautiful streets in Europe lined with 18th-century townhouses. In the afternoon, scholars sampled Bath’s museums,

strolled across the picturesque Pulteney Bridge, and indulged in some shopping.

Clarendon Councillor Johanna Koehler organised the trip. A first-year DPhil student in Geography and the Environment, Johanna works on issues regarding water security in Kenya. Her background in water science made her particularly excited for this opportunity to guide fellow scholars through the reconstructed

Roman Baths.“Everyone had a great

time,” said Clarendon Scholars’ Association President Robert Brand. “The trip gave scholars a wonderful chance to relax and get to know one another.”

Clarendons will have another opportunity to explore picturesque England with a trip to the Cotswolds villages in June.

Aaron Watanabe

Not many females work in economic history, but this remarkable woman has become a force of the discipline in her

own right. Leigh Gardner joined Oxford after her undergraduate studies at New York University, earning an MPhil in Economic and Social History in 2006 and a DPhil in History (Economic History) in 2009 as a Clarendon scholar. Her research on fiscal policy in British colonial Africa won the Economic History Society’s Dissertation Prize in 2011. She is currently Assistant Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and editor of the Economic History of Developing Regions journal. Her research focuses on the fiscal history of the British Empire, especially Africa, and the colonial foundations of Africa’s economic performance.

Q: Where are you now in your career and what did you do after graduation?

A: After finishing my DPhil my first job was as Lecturer in Economic History in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town. After a very challenging but fulfilling year there I moved to the British Museum, where I joined a research project on African monetary history. I started in my current position, as Assistant Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics, in August 2011.

Q: How did the Clarendon Fund help you?

A: The Clarendon Fund was crucial in helping me stay on to do the DPhil. I had arrived in Oxford not intending to go on to do a doctorate, but then found I loved research too much to stop at 30,000 words!

8 THE CLARENDON CHRONICLE | Newsletter of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association

Q&A with Leigh A. Gardner: A Clarendon Alumna at the Forefront of African Economic History

Leigh Gardner

Volume 4 Issue 2 | Hilary Term 2015 9

Q&A with Leigh A. Gardner: A Clarendon Alumna at the Forefront of African Economic History

Q: What got you interested in your current research?

A: My MPhil dissertation was actually on a completely different subject—medieval Britain. But I was interested more broadly in the development of fiscal institutions, which led me to colonial taxation.

Q: Where do you see African economic history going in the next decade?

A: African economic history has enjoyed a renaissance over the past decade, particularly in terms of quantitative research. This work has set out a basic foundation for comparisons between Africa and other regions as well as within Africa. There is still a long way to go, however, and I think the next decade will see new sources of data coming into use, either from non-governmental sources (e.g., a recent project using missionary records) or government sources that have been neglected (e.g., local governments). Hopefully these will be paired with continued archival work to keep the research rooted to the study of history. It has been exciting to watch new people—sometimes established economic historians—become interested in Africa for the first time. Let’s hope it continues!

Q: What was the most memorable part of Oxford life?

A: A difficult question! There were so many. One would be the sense of being looked after in a college. I came to Oxford from a very large urban institution (NYU) where students remained to some extent anonymous. In my first term at Oxford, I was ill for a week and the porter sent the nurse to check on me. Another memorable experience was working in Duke Humfrey’s Library in my first two years, actually getting to look at medieval texts. That was exciting.

Q: What is the most memorable part of your academic life so far?

A: Another difficult one. Surviving my first term teaching? (Joking!) In all seriousness, there is something great about working with people who all love what they do and maintain their enthusiasm for it. That is probably my favourite part of the job.

Q: As a successful woman in academia, what advice would you give other aspiring female academics?

A: I’m not sure this is only relevant to aspiring female academics, but I think my two pieces of advice would be:

1. To take (informed) risks in the job market and in publishing—even if it means you’ll fail sometimes.2. Don’t give up. This can be a tough career choice but it is also incredibly rewarding if you love what you’re doing.

Leigh will be sharing her experiences with the Clarendon community on 4th May at her alma mater, Jesus College in a talk entitled “Journey Without Maps: Exploring ‘Forgotten Corners‘ of African Economic History.“

Phacha Phanomvan

10 THE CLARENDON CHRONICLE | Newsletter of the Clarendon Scholars’ Association

Postgraduate scholarship programmes like the Clarendon have long

attracted bright students to British universities and offered them communities in which to grow as scholars and leaders. In 2008, Gates scholars at Cambridge decided to bring these students together to discuss the world’s most pressing challenges in the first Global Scholars’ Symposium (GSS). The GSS has since become an annual event including students from

nine different scholarships and over fifty different home countries, who gather each May to learn how to transform their studies into substantive social impact.

Many Clarendons have become involved in the Global Scholars community, including Ti Xu, a DPhil student in Magnetic Resonance Physics at Lincoln College. He was drawn from Westfield, New Jersey to Oxford because of the university’s new 7 Tesla Full Body MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) system.

At Oxford, Ti discovered more than just state of the art technology. His interest in extending his research to address broader challenges in contemporary society led him to the Global Scholars community. As he puts it, “The hallmark of a Global Scholars student is someone who genuinely wishes to create change, someone who engages and is responsive.” Such students are also diverse, representing a range of countries, disciplines, universities, and qualities as emphasised by the

Scholars Taking Global Action: Introducing the Global Scholars Action Network

scholarship programmes—such as leadership for the Rhodes, ambassadorial qualities for the Marshall, and academic merit for the Clarendon.

The desire to turn a British postgraduate degree into having a positive social impact is clearly visible in the design of the GSS. The symposium emphasises developing dialogue between scholars and encouraging the development of plans for action. It includes a mix of open forums, small group discussions, panel debates, and keynote speakers who can help delegates think about the challenges of instituting change. Past outside speakers have included the Dalai Lama and former Rhodes Scholar Wes Moore, a best-selling author and self-described “youth advocate.”

Last year, the popularity of the GSS led to the creation of the Global Scholars Action Network (GSAN) to encourage dialogue and action among participants year-round. Ti has served on GSAN’s Executive Committee during the 2014-15

Photo of Ti Xu

taken by Robert Brand

Volume 4 Issue 2 | Hilary Term 2015 11

academic year and helped shape the new organisation, alongside Madeline Weeks (Gates), Brittany Partridge (Marshall), Menuka Udugama (Commonwealth), and Jenny Tran (Rhodes). “In contrast to the talks-oriented program of the Symposium, our events are designed to be smaller in capacity, more hands-on, and specific in the problems that are addressed,” he explains. “We hope this encourages closer dialogue amongst the students and leads to concrete outcomes.”

GSAN offers a diverse slate of events. In March, it organised a “Dinner and Dialogue” evening about chocolate, in which participants learned about its production (from seed to bean to bar), discussed the social issues it raises, and, of course, indulged in a sensory selection of samples. GSAN’s next event in May will be a documentary screening in London coordinated with Pardada Pardadi, a nonprofit organisation that promotes girls’ education. The GSS will also take place in

May at the Cambridge Union Society from the 21st to the 24th; this year’s theme is “Building Impact: Listen, Learn, Act.” For the first time, the Symposium is open to all postgraduate students in the UK—not just those on scholarship schemes.

All Dinner and Dialogue photos taken by Madeline Weeks

With the end of the academic year approaching, the current GSS and GSAN boards will be concluding their tenure. They will be recruiting new members soon and hope to see a strong representation of Clarendon scholars among their ranks.

Aaron Watanabe

Volume 4 Issue 1 – Michaelmas Term 2014 12Clarendon Scholars’ Association 2015