Daniel Block

About Daniel

(updated 6/2018) Daniel Block is a 2016 graduate of Swarthmore College, where he majored in political science and history.  One of eight students to receive their degrees with highest honors, Daniel was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was the recipient of the school’s Ivy Award.  A native of Armonk, New York, Daniel has a longstanding interest in politics and policy.  He has interned and volunteered for several elected officials, including U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.  Daniel also has a passion for journalism. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Swarthmore’s print and online student newspaper, where he managed a staff of fifty students and won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and Associated Collegiate Press.  He worked as an editorial intern at  The American Prospect and as a staff writer for  The Philadelphia Inquirer during the summers of 2015 and 2016, respectively. While working for  The Prospect , Daniel wrote for the website, conducted research, and managed the magazine’s Twitter presence. As an intern at  The Inquirer , he published over twenty articles on topics ranging from Donald Trump rallies to school taxes.  At Swarthmore, Daniel worked as a research assistant to several professors, studying political development, the ethics of war, and how globalization has shaped insurgencies. He also conducted independent research into the history of U.S. state constitutions, resulting in an essay that received Swarthmore’s 2015 Judith Polgar Ruchkin Prize, given to the best paper on politics or public policy.  Daniel later presented his findings at the Northeastern Political Science Association’s 2015 conference.  During his Luce year, Daniel worked for  The Caravan , India’s first and only publication devoted to narrative journalism.  Daniel was involved in both editorial and reporting projects, and he helped write the magazine’s first formal style guide. He recently published a long-form cover story for  The Caravan on the Sikh diaspora—specifically Canadian political leader Jagmeet Singh and the community’s relationship with Punjab. He also wrote an article for  Foreign Policy about India’s healthcare system and the medical tourism industry. Daniel aspires to merge his interest in academia and journalism, attuned to both scholarly research and the broader world.  He plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative politics and writing about his findings as a freelance journalist.