By Arianne Edwards (Lynch '27); Photo by Jess Alvarenga
Meet journalist and author Mara Kardas-Nelson, who joins the Boston College Journalism Program this fall as an adjunct faculty member. Her course Telling International Stories will run in the fall.
With a portfolio of award-winning work and a critically acclaimed book on microfinance, We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky, Kardas-Nelson brings various expertise and insights to her new post.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in journalism, and what experiences have shaped your passion?
A: In high school, I was drawn to journalism because I loved writing and served as the editor of my school's newspaper. However, I shifted my focus in college to the HIV epidemic, a significant crisis in my hometown. My interest in policy and advocacy led me to move to South Africa after college, where I worked as a reporter in Cape Town. I find investigative journalism particularly compelling because it allows you to explore larger questions and delve into topics that require deeper examination. I was always interested in the world and the lenses through which I could see it. That's what makes a journalist.
Q: What challenges have you faced in reporting on sensitive topics, such as global health or human rights, and how did you overcome them?
A: Every story has an ethical question. You're asking about people's lives in someone's living room, which involves a level of intrusion. It's important to recognize that journalism is an intimate profession, and I always feel the need to be sensitive and ensure the person is comfortable with my questions.
That said, it’s fascinating how open people can be, especially when reporting on underreported areas. People are eager to share their stories and invite you in. At our core, humans are social and interested in sharing. It’s crucial to be mindful of your position and try to empathize with others. An informed consent approach helps them understand the ramifications of their story being published in a national magazine.
It's a delicate dance, recognizing your privilege as a reporter while fulfilling your role to bring stories to light. Journalists must amplify the voices of those who don’t have the opportunity to do so.
Q: Given this, what role do you think journalists should play in addressing these social issues and advocating for change?
A: Often, the answer given by capital "J" journalists is about being completely objective. Our job is to tell stories without trying to influence their meaning. However, most journalists, whether at small trade publications or bigger papers like the Globe or the Times, got into this work to make the world better and bring unexposed stories to life. I can’t think of a journalist not motivated to highlight marginalized stories. Your job is to ask, "What's not out there?"
The stories I write about focus on people at the edges of power, including those who influence policymakers and those who are never seen. These stories are essential to understanding how our world works. I recognize that change can be slow. We have fewer journalists and media houses but more information than ever. My motivation is to understand how power affects marginalized people, but I also need to be realistic about potential change.
When I wrote my book about microfinance, I hoped it would change how people think about high-priced loans meant to combat poverty. I have no illusions about sudden changes in the sector, as change often happens slowly and unexpectedly. Stories and narratives can impact change years later in ways we don’t anticipate. The old-school idea of writing a story that leads to immediate legislative action is less common today due to the overwhelming amount of information and other global issues.
Q: Speaking of microfinance, I wanted to know how you got interested in the topic.
A: When I graduated college in 2008, microfinance was considered the anti-poverty intervention of choice. The idea was that if you give a poor person a loan, they can use it to create a small business and lift their family out of poverty. In 2006, Muhammad Yunus, credited with founding microfinance, received the Nobel Peace Prize, making it very much in the news. When I moved to Sierra Leone less than a decade later, I met people taking out microfinance loans and heard about individuals going to jail for not being able to pay off their debt. This raised the question: How is it possible that something intended to alleviate poverty is leading to incarceration?
In the decade between 2008 and my move to West Africa, microfinance had gone quiet in the news. It had shifted from being the anti-poverty intervention of choice to being absent from the Western narrative, despite its presence in the daily lives of people in Sierra Leone. I wanted to understand how this happened—why we stopped hearing about it while its repercussions were still very much alive in poorer countries. My driving questions were about why people were ending up in jail for these debts and what other impacts this high-priced debt had.
Q: And then, to wrap up, you're going to be a faculty member at BC. Congrats! What do you hope to contribute to the BC community, and what do you hope to learn from the experience?
A: Yeah, I’m so excited! I really love teaching and am thrilled to be with young journalists. I always feel like I learn as much as I teach. My classes will be very seminar-based, focused on learning together and driven by questions rather than answers. I’m excited to see what the students bring to the class, read texts together, and share our work.
Journalism can be isolating, with a lot of time spent in front of a computer. It’s exciting to do this in a community. I’m also eager to work with other faculty at BC, which has an amazing journalism department with people from rich and varied backgrounds. Teaching is such a blessing, and I’m super psyched to be part of the community.