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The Heart of Knowledge is a virtual home for scholar and writer Kaitlin Smith’s multifaceted work on the heart and history of knowledge.

Questions running throughout this Substack include:

… how does knowledge get made and why does that matter?
… what are the meanings of thinking, learning, and education?
… what ought to be the relationship between knowledge and action?

For a more in-depth overview of the vision and contents of this Substack, see the About page and for a more extended discussion, see Why I’m Probing the Heart of Knowledge.

Kaitlin Smith is a scholar, transformational educator, and consultant completing a Ph.D at Harvard in History of Science and African American Studies. She helps students, organizations, and everyday people transform through humanistic inquiry and introspection. Learn more on the About page.

The Heart of Knowledge is divided into five sections that offer:
(1) a behind-the-scenes look at my process of developing historical research;
(2) reflections on my experience developing autobiographical writing as a historian; (3) extended public-facing essays and interviews; (4) newsletters conveying general updates about my work; (5) study guides and annotated bibliographies for readers interested in taking deeper dives into particular scholarly subjects. Learn more on the About page.

Here are a few pieces that you might consider reading first:

• Why I’m Probing the Heart of Knowledge

• Saving Higher Education Isn’t Enough: Field Notes on Dismantling White Supremacy from a Black Studies Scholar

• The Will Not to Care: Becoming a Bad Woman in Work and Everyday Life

• First Person // January 2026 : on dreams, learning from exemplary works, and “doing it for the plot”