Fall 2012

This conference on Jewish Internationalism is hosted by the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and the Department of History.

Marion Fourcade will discuss the concept of terroir—a French expression that captures the correspondence between the physical and human features of a place, and the character of its agricultural products.

Theory and Practice explores critical debates in the history of the interaction between political philosophy and grassroots militancy.

Please note: Registration is now full Jacques Rancière will deliver the Eugene J. Sheffer Distingished Lecture, followed by a roundtable discussion with Phil Watts (French, Columbia), Patricia Dailey (English, Columbia), and James Swenson (French, Rutgers).

2012 marks the 300th anniversary of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s birth and the 250th anniversary of his Social Contract.  This conference is intended to celebrate these milestones.

This international conference is dedicated to the memory of Miriam Hansen and her seminal work in film history and film theory.

Partha Chatterjee and Ira Katznelson discuss their recently published edited volume, Anxieties of Democracy: Tocquevillean Reflections on India and the United States.

This two-day symposium is organized in collaboration with Columbia Golobal Centers-Europe at Reid Hall, Paris.  It will feature fillmakers Constantine Giannaris and Syllas Tzoumerkas, as well as global labor historian Marcel van der Linden, economist Jacques Delpy, and Historian and Heyman Center Director Mark Mazower.  For more information, please visit the Reid Hall web page.  

Please note: Registration is now closed. Inequality in the U.S. is now larger than ever before in American history. With 50% of national income going to top 10% income earners and 75% of national wealth going to top 10% wealth holders, inequality is approaching the record levels observed in Europe from 1900-1910. Does inequality in America have a distinctive meritocratic character (American exceptionalism), or is the New World simply becoming like Old Europe?

This conference marks the centenary of Moses Finley's birth.

Alison Bechdel, the author of Fun Home, is interviewed by Jared Gardner about her new graphic memoir, Are You My Mother?.

A staged reading of Tennis in Nablus, written by playwright and poet Ismail Khalidi. This “tragipoliticomedy” was nominated for a Suzi Bass Award for Best New Play and awarded the Quest for Peace Award from the Kennedy Center.

Terrence Holt and Chris Adrian are both physicians and award-winning fiction writers.  In this event, they read from their work and discuss, among other topics, the nature of narratives told at the intersection of medicine and literature.

In the face of sudden and unexpected changes, collapsing regimes, or vanishing ways of life, we are often amazed by the great number of men and women, intimately linked to these changes, who forget a substantial part of their history and modify the meaning of their pasts.

The Annual History and Theory Lecture will feature Martin Jay.

This event is postponed due to weather. A collection of Columbia professors will convene to remember the life and scholarship of Eric Hobsbawm.

Due to Hurricane Sandy, this event has been canceled. In this performative reading, artist and author Eleanor Antin presents chapters from her new coming-of-age memoir, Conversations with Stalin.

The 2012-13 Women Poets at Barnard Series begins with two prize winning poets reading from their work, co-sponsored with the Barnard Center for Research on Women and the Heyman Center for the Humanities.

Join leading feminist thinkers for a debriefing on the role of gender and sexuality in the recent political season.

This talk will chart the rise of the algorithm as the backbone of rationality in post-World War II America, in contrast to earlier concepts of both reason and rules.

Human political authority, kingship, enters biblical Israel’s polity, heretofore governed exclusively by God, in I Samuel 7:15-8:22. This dramatic passage is discussed as biblical political thought.

The Fall 2012 Lionel Trilling Seminar will feature Darryl Pinckney on "Intellectual Women."

“Free Market, Free Press? The Political Economy of News Reporting in the Anglo-American World since 1688” brings together a distinguished group of historians and media scholars to chart the evolution of the news business in two of the most important media markets: the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture will feature W.J.T. Mitchell on "Seeing Madness: Insanity, Media, and Visual Culture."

The Panel Discussion on Triangulating Property Rights seeks to advance alternative solutions for governing essential resources such as food, water, and shelter, drawing on theory, legal, and empirical research.

John McCormick’s lecture will open the celebrations on the quincentennial of The Prince at Columbia University.

This Heyman Center Faculty Workshop on Subaltern Urbanism explores the "the urban" as a historic and contemporary form of life.

Andrew Preston, Senior Lecturer in American History and author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith (Knopf, 2012), will speak on "Religion in American War and Diplomacy: A History."

“Why Remember Guantánamo?” will bring together an international group of diverse scholars and stakeholders to launch the Guantánamo Public Memory Project’s traveling exhibit.