{"id":25668,"date":"2025-10-30T13:33:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/?post_type=story&p=25668"},"modified":"2025-10-30T13:35:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:35:21","slug":"enloe-the-truth-is-hard-but-must-always-be-pursued","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/30\/enloe-the-truth-is-hard-but-must-always-be-pursued\/","title":{"rendered":"Enloe: The truth is hard, but must always be pursued"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Cynthia Enloe, dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt, took the stage at Tilton Hall, waved off the audience\u2019s applause, and declared:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay. The whole point of this event is this hoodie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enloe turned away from the audience to display on the back of her hoodie a printed list of descriptions for \u201cthe truth,\u201d beginning with \u201cThe truth is hard\u201d and ending with \u201cThe truth is more important now than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The longtime professor and researcher<\/a> then dived into what was her final scheduled lecture, \u201cFeminist Curiosity is for These Dark Times.\u201d It was a fitting coda to a professional lifetime of truth-seeking, and was followed by a parade of well-wishers, colleagues past and present, and appreciative former students who greeted her with bouquets and hugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Watch the Full Lecture<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve learned so much from activists, because they keep thinking. They keep analyzing. You have to keep thinking so that you can make your next action, make your next alliance.<\/p>Cynthia Enloe<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\"Cynthia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was an undergraduate here, I understood, and many students I knew understood, that you were a giant of this faculty.<\/p>President David Fithian \u201987<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Cynthia<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Cynthia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In these dark times, globally, nationally, in Worcester, Mass., taking our cues from you around collegiality, feminist generosity, and feminist curiosity toward our students and each other is really the way we can have the Cynthia Enloe legacy live on.<\/p>Professor Ellen Foley<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Cynthia<\/figure>
\n

Curiosity is not passive. Curiosity is discomforting. Curiosity unsettles. Curiosity is part of being engaged in the world.<\/p>Cynthia Enloe<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I think about the skeptics of liberal arts degrees and think, \u2018If they could just take a class with Professor Enloe, they\u2019d walk away and understand why liberal arts is so important to address the issues we\u2019re facing today, and the issues we face throughout life.\u2019<\/p>Roy DiNicola \u201990, chair of the Clark Board of Trustees,
on taking a class with Cynthia Enloe as a Clark sophomore in 1987<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If the truth doesn\u2019t feel hard, then you don\u2019t have the truth. If it doesn\u2019t feel hard to find, it\u2019s not the truth. If it doesn\u2019t make you uncomfortable, you\u2019re probably not there yet.<\/p>Cynthia Enloe<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\"Cynthia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCuriosity is not passive,\u201d Professor Emerita Cynthia Enloe told a crowd of well-wishers, colleagues, and former students during her last scheduled lecture at Clark. \u201cCuriosity is part of being engaged with the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":25676,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"var(--clarku-color-deeper-red)","story_headerImg":25676,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[223,245,239],"displayed_author":[498],"featured":[494],"topic":[150],"class_list":["post-25668","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clark-community","category-social-sciences","category-worcester-world","displayed_author-clark-news-staff","featured-secondary","topic-faculty"],"yoast_head":"\nEnloe: The truth is hard, but must always be pursued | ClarkU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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