News
6pm on Zoom Register here
Join ISERP for a virtual celebration of the book, At The Center, with Casey Blake, Daniel H. Borus, and Howard Brick on November 12 at 6pm.
American Studies alumna Miya Matsumoto Lee '18 interviewed in Columbia College Today. Read article here.
The American Historical Association has recognized Valerie Paley's contribution to public history as Director of the Center for Women's History. Dr. Paley received the Association's 2020 Herbert Feis Award.
Civil Rights activist and Congressman John Lewis (1940-2020) spoke at an event sponsored by the Center for American Studies in December 2015.
The event with Rep. John Lewis at Columbia University's Casa Italiana was co-sponsored by the Double Discovery Center. A video of the event is available below, or by going to vimeo.
Roosevelt Montás answers five questions about his time as a Columbia student.
See the full conversation in Columbia College Today.
Sam Reider in Columbia College Today.
From grungy American dives to a State-Department-sponsored tour of Southeast Asia -- Sam Reider describes his journey as an American music ambassador and the accordion that altered his life's trajectory.
On January 29 at 6pm, the Center for Women's History will feature a conversation between Alice Kessler-Harris, Hilary Hallett, Lara Vapnek, and Valerie Paley on the lost feminist classic film Salomé of the Tenements. American Studies students are warmly encouraged to attend. Tickets are $15 in advance. Columbia students can obtain free tickets with discount code 1029.
In 1925, a silent film called Salome of the Tenements premiered at the Rialto Theater in Times Square. Ahead of its time, the movie featured a fascinating array of women both behind and in front of the camera. Based on the bestselling novel by Anzia Yezierska, it explored the world of immigrants on the Lower East Side and was inspired by the life of activist and feminist Rose Pastor Stokes. Sonya Levien wrote the screenplay, and Jetta Goudal played the lead role. Join our panel and explore the story behind this unique project that arrived at a time when women were claiming their place as consumers and creators of mass media.
The event is inspired by the book The Salomé Ensemble written by American Studies alumnus and member of the Board of Visitors Alan Robert Ginsberg.
Refreshments will be served.
Advanced tickets are recommended and can be purchased online from the New-York Historical Society. Columbia Students can use code 1029 after clicking "buy tickets" on New-York Historical Society purchasing page.
Book Launch Event
Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall, Journalism School
January 29, 2020 4:30 - 7:00 pm
Daniel Weiss, author of In that Time: Michael O'Donnell and the Tragic Era of Vietnam, and CEO and President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will present a lecture on January 29 at the Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall, Journalism School. Book signing and reception to follow.
Book Launch Event at The Forum
January 21, 2020 6:00 pm
Through a bracing look into undergraduate social life, sexual relationships, and campus power dynamics, Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan transform how we see and address the most misunderstood problem on college campuses: widespread sexual assault.
Panel discussion with coauthors Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan.
Welcome by Suzanne Goldberg, Executive Vice President for the Office of University Life
Book signing and reception will follow the panel discussion. Books available for purchase at this event through Book Culture. Kindly confirm your attendance by January 16.
Center for American Studies professor Maura Spiegel spoke on WNYC's show All of It with Alison Stewart about her recently published biography of Sidney Lumet, director of 12 Angry Men, Serpico, and Network, among many others. Listen to her full interview on the WNYC website
On February 18, 1965, an overflow crowd packed the Cambridge Union to witness a televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., America’s most influential conservative intellectual. The subject was “the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro.” Nicholas Buccola will revisit that historic debate and discuss its continuing relevance to this country's persistent racial divide.
Since its founding in 1959, the Guggenheim Museum, like many art institutions, has lacked a diverse curatorial staff. The museum has now made a key hire that could point toward further progress. Read the rest of the article on ARTnews.
In an article published by The Washington Post, Rebecca Kobrin addresses the impact the US made by closing their doors on Jewish refugees over 80 years ago, denying them the opportunity to start new lives. Kobrin compares the treatment and actions of the US back then to the developing situations just south of the border today.
The Center for American Studies is pleased to announce that Professor Andrew Delbanco has been named the 2019 recipient of the Lionel Trilling Award for his book, The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War. The honorees are selected annually by a committee of Columbia College students that recognize faculty members for their contributions to academia and publishing. In awarding the Lionel Trilling Book Award, the Committee chairs wrote that "Professor Andrew Delbanco’s book struck us as illuminating and engrossing, especially given the lingering vestiges of slavery that affect our current political climate. By synthesizing various sources, it not only offers a comprehensive analysis on the legacy of slavery, but also grapples with the moral and political complexity surrounding these issues.” The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 1, at 6 p.m. in Low Library. More information can be found here.