I keep them at my desk to remind me of the students with whom I’ve established a connection. It’s nice to have tangible things to remind you of people and places, of experiences.”

— Steven David, Professor, Political Science

Steven David, a professor of international relations, has items on his desk that reflect his global interests. Some are souvenirs from students who have traveled internationally and others are keepsakes from his own trips.

Clockwise from lower left: a set of “hear no evil” monkeys from East Africa, where he researched Chinese and Israeli aid to East African nations on a Watson Fellowship in 1972-1973; a wooden elephant a student brought from India; a pair of lions a student brought from China—the one on the left swallows problems, while the one on the right keeps them from returning; three interlocked vessels a student brought from East Africa; a globe made in India of special material; a painting a student brought from a Hopkins intersession trip to Cuba during Castro’s reign; a souvenir from an alumni trip to Alaska, where David gave a talk on challenges to American foreign policy. Background: a print from Menton, a campus of France’s Sciences Po, where David taught an intersession course on the Arab-Israeli conflict about five years ago. Foreground: an item from a student who had studied at Sciences Po.