Harrison Reiman

Harrison Reiman is an American author, journalist, and public historian known for interdisciplinary studies of urban memory, migration, and archive theory. His work spans narrative nonfiction, investigative reporting, and curatorial projects that intersect with institutions, civic archives, and cultural centers. Reiman's writing and projects have engaged a wide range of organizations and figures in North America and Europe.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago, Reiman spent his childhood amid Midwestern cultural institutions and municipal archives, later studying at University of Chicago and the London School of Economics before completing graduate work at Columbia University. He trained under scholars associated with the New York Public Library, the British Library, and the Library of Congress, and participated in fellowships at the Harvard University center for urban history and the Max Planck Institute for social anthropology. During his studies he collaborated with curators from the Museum of Modern Art and researchers at the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.

Career

Reiman began his career as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and later joined the staff of the New Yorker as a fact-checker and feature writer. He has held editorial roles at the Atlantic (magazine) and contributed investigative pieces to the New York Times, the Guardian, and Le Monde. Reiman served as consultant to the Smithsonian Institution and advised exhibitions at the American Museum of Natural History and the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has taught seminars affiliated with New York University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the King's College London. His curatorial and archival work involved partnerships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Getty Research Institute, and the Tate Modern.

Notable works and contributions

Reiman's book The Borderline Archive combined reportage and archival analysis, drawing on collections at the National Archives and Records Administration, the International Criminal Court, and the United Nations archives; it was discussed in forums hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Council on Foreign Relations. Cities of Memory, his comparative study of urban displacement, cited projects at the European Humanities Research Centre, the Asia Society, and the Inter-American Development Bank. He produced long-form investigations into transit policy in collaboration with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and urban planning departments in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Mexico City. Reiman also curated digital archives for the Smithsonian Institution and worked with the Digital Public Library of America and the Internet Archive on preservation initiatives.

His journalism prompted policy discussions with officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and municipal leaders from Detroit, Barcelona, and Berlin. He contributed essays to collections published by the Penguin Group, Harvard University Press, and the Princeton University Press, and participated in symposia at the Brooklyn Museum and the European Cultural Foundation.

Awards and recognition

Reiman received the Bancroft Prize for The Borderline Archive and was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his work at the intersection of reporting and archival practice. He has been honored with fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation and received prizes from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the Soros Justice Advocacy program. His investigative features have been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and winners of the National Magazine Awards and the George Polk Awards.

Personal life

Reiman lives in Brooklyn and maintains residences in Chicago and London. He has served on advisory boards for the Open Society Foundations, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and volunteers with archival outreach programs linked to the American Civil Liberties Union and the International Rescue Committee. He is married and has collaborated with partners who hold positions at the Columbia Journalism School and the Royal College of Art.

Category:1984 births Category:American writers Category:American journalists