Senior fellows receive a one-year appointment at Brown University through the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Fellows are encouraged to lead student study groups each semester and throughout the year to attend student/faculty discussions, visit courses, host public events, and mentor undergraduate and graduate students through office hours. Recent fellows include Menaka Guruswamy, senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India, former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, former Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, writer ZZ Packer and Jim Yong Kim, former president of the World Bank.

Study Groups

Senior Fellow study groups provide an opportunity for students to delve deeply into policy and international affairs topics and apply theory and research to real-world challenges.

They are open to undergraduates and graduate students from all concentrations. The study groups are designed to be accessible to students across different fields and to avoid infringing on students’ coursework. Fellows often invite guest speakers to address specific topics. Background reading is usually assigned for each session but is kept to a minimum. The group size is kept small to promote student participation and conversation, and participating students are expected to attend all five meetings.

Current Study Groups

The Revenge of Geopolitics

Led by: Edward Luce ’90
This study group will examine the challenges of a more perilous global era, focusing on the future of the West, U.S. democracy, the risk of war, U.S.-China decoupling, and insights from the original Cold War.

Human Rights and Technology

Led by: Malika Saada Saar ’92
This study group will explore the emerging and complex intersection between human rights and advancements in technology. Students will reckon with, and critically analyze, the racial justice, gender equity and human rights implications of technology.