Dean Carol Becker's "The Gesture" on the CSSD blog
Read the full introduction to a panel that featured artists Ricardo Dominguez, Sama Alshaibi, Miya Masaoka, and Saidiya Hartman at CSSD’s What We CAN Do When There’s Nothing To Be Done conference.
Carol Becker, Dean of the School of the Arts at Columbia, gave the prelude to the roundtable discussion “Arts of Intervention” at the September 28, 2018 anniversary conference of the Center for the Study of Social Difference (CSSD), “What We Can Do When There’s Nothing To Be Done: Strategies for Change.”
The panel introduced by Dean Becker included the artists Ricardo Dominguez, Sama Alshaibi, Miya Masaoka, and Saidiya Hartman.
Click here to read the full text of her speech.
Women Creating Change Celebrates 5th Anniversary
The Women Creating Change program at the Center for the Study of Social Difference celebrated five momentous years on Thursday, September 27th at the Penn Club, NYC.
The Women Creating Change program at the Center for the Study of Social Difference celebrated five momentous years on Thursday, September 27th at the Penn Club, NYC. Speakers included President Lee C. Bollinger, A’Lelia Bundles, Rebecca Traister, Nina Berman, Aly Neel, Margo Jefferson. The focus of the event was on Telling Women’s Stories and Creating Change. The group discussed current events as well as stories of abuse and resistance.
Click here to read more.
Click here to view photos from the event.
Professor Mae Ngai featured in The Washington Post
Mae Ngai co-authored a piece in The Washington Post on how a proposed policy by the Trump administration might affect impoverished immigration populations.
Historian Mae Ngai joined with other three historians to co-author a piece for The Washington Post on how Trump administration policies may punish immigrants for making use of social services such as food stamps, Medicaid, CHIP, and energy assistance programs.
If approved, the new policy would effectively deter legal immigrants from using public benefits for which they are eligible, lest they later be denied a green card or be removed.
Professor Mae Ngai moderated the “Crossing Borders: Refugees, Migrants, Stateless Lives” panel at the CSSD anniversary symposium.
Click here to read the article.
Professor Frances Negrón-Muntaner speaks with NPR
Frances Negrón-Muntaner co-director of the working group Unpayable Debt and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, spoke with NPR One year after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico.
Frances Negrón-Muntaner co-director of the working group Unpayable Debt and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, spoke with NPR One year after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico.
As rebuilding efforts continue, they discuss how identity has changed on the island and explore questions of status, economic resilience and activism at the ground level.
Click here to listen to the interview.
A Student Response to What We CAN Do When There’s Nothing To Be Done
Mayte López, PhD student in Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures at The Graduate Center, CUNY, writes a response to the tenth anniversary symposium of the Center for the Study of Social Difference (CSSD).
Mayte López, Graduate Teaching Fellow in the PhD Program in Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures (LAILaC) at The Graduate Center, CUNY, writes a response to the CSSD tenth anniversary symposium “What We Can Do When There’s Nothing To Be Done,” for the Center for the Study of Social Difference (CSSD) online blog.
Lopez reflects on recent events and how the phrase “What we can do when there’s nothing to be done,” proposed by the Center for the Study of Social Difference (CSSD) during our 10th Year Anniversary Conference becomes even more meaningful in the current political climate.
Click here to read the full post.
Professor Frances Negrón-Muntaner publishes an article called "Our Fellow Americans" in Dissent Magazine
Co-director of CSSD working group Unpayable Debt questions terminology use in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Co-director of CSSD working group Unpayable Debt questions terminology use in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
Professor Frances Negrón-Muntaner, co-director of CSSD working group Unpayable Debt publishes an article, titled “Our Fellow Americans,” examining why calling Puerto Ricans “Americans” will not save them from the current challenges they face. Her article discusses the rhetorical explosion of the use of the phrase “our fellow Americans” to refer to Puerto Ricans in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and raises the question of why the sudden adoption of this phrase.
Click here to read the article.
Professor Bernard Harcourt Co-Signs Letter to the US Senate
Professor Bernard Harcourt joins over 2,400 law professors around the country opposing Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Professor Bernard Harcourt was one of 2,400 law professors to have signed on to a letter to the US Senate saying that Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh displayed a lack of judicial restraint at his Senate hearing.
Harcourt was quoted in a number of venues, including the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, commenting on the letter, stating that Brett Kavanaugh "did not display the impartiality and judicial temperament requisite to sit on the highest court of our land."
Professor Bernard Harcourt moderated the “Facing the Present, Imagining the Future” panel at the Center for the Study of Social Difference anniversary symposium.
Premilla Nadasen elected next President of the NWSA
CSSD co-director of Social Justice After the Welfare State and Faculty Fellow of Geographies of Injustice, Premilla Nadasen, was elected next President of the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA).
Premilla Nadasen, Faculty Fellow with Geographies of Injustice and a co-director of Social Justice After the Welfare State, was elected next President of the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA).
As President of the NWSA Governing Council, Dr. Nadasen will take office in November 2018 and serve for two years. The NWSA Governing Council serves as the Board of Directors for the organization and meets twice annually: in June and November.
Established in 1977, the National Women's Studies Association has as one of its primary objectives promoting and supporting the production and dissemination of knowledge about women and gender through teaching, learning, research and service in academic and other settings.
Jennifer Hirsch Featured in Teen Vogue
Reframing Gendered Violence co-director Jennifer Hirsch featured in an article in Teen Vogue discussing study on sexual education and its impact on how some college students practice consent.
A study by Reframing Gendered Violence co-director Jennifer Hirsch exploring the difference between how many straight, cisgender students are taught to give and get consent through a college-mandated "Yes Means Yes" training course is featured in an article on Teen Vogue.
The study titled “Social Dimensions of Sexual Consent Among Cisgender Heterosexual College Students: Insights From Ethnographic Research” reveals a social gray area — one in which young people are having consensual sex, but don't necessarily practice it in the way they were taught.
Click here to read the article.
Click here to read the study by Hirsch and her co-authors.
LIVESTREAM: MENSTRUATION IS HAVING ITS MOMENT – HOW CAN SCHOLARS ENGAGE?
New CSSD Working Group, Menstrual Health & Gender Justice holds launch panel September 20, 2018 .
The first event from the new CSSD Working Group on Menstrual Health and Gender Justice brought together experts on menstrual health – established and emerging scholars as well as practitioners. While research on menstruation is not new, the current momentum creates new opportunities.
The event was facilitated by CSSD Menstrual Health & Gender Justice Working Group Director, Inga Winkler. Speakers included Nancy Reame of Columbia University Medical Center; Chris Bobel, Associate Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston; Norma Swenson, Founder of Our Bodies, Ourselves; Trisha Maharaj, Graduate Student in Human Rights Studies at Columbia University; Sylvia Wong of the United Nations Population Fund.
To watch the livestream video of the event, click here.
For more information about the event, click here.
Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group Launches with Expert Panel
The Center for the Study of Social Difference and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights sponsored the launch of a new CSSD working group: Menstrual Health and Gender Justice.
On September 20, 2018, the Center for the Study Social Difference and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights sponsored the launch of a new CSSD working group: Menstrual Health and Gender Justice.
Inga Winkler, the director of the new working group, led five panelists and experts in the field in discussing the methods, opportunities, and risks involved in generating sustainable, evidence-based outcomes and in challenging common misconceptions of menstruation.
Panelists provided insights into how the working group can address and engage with the recent surge in public interest surrounding menstruation in their research.
Click here to read more.
Rachel Adams Reviews Three New Memoirs
Rachel Adams, co-director of the Precision Medicine working group, has reviewed three memoirs on illness and recovery.
Rachel Adams, co-director of the Precision Medicine working group and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, has reviewed three new memoirs on illness and recovery in an article entitled, “Who is Sick and Who is Well.” It appeared in the publication Public Books and was commissioned by Nicholas Dames.
The full article can be read here.
Andreas Huyssen Interviewed in Politika
Andreas Huyssen, faculty fellow of the working group Women Mobilizing Memory, spoke with Politika about memory studies.
Andreas Huyssen, faculty fellow of the working group Women Mobilizing Memory and Villard Professor Emeritus of German and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, was interviewed in Politika for an article entitled “State of the art in memory studies.” In the interview Huyssen discusses the present debate on memory and how the field of memory studies has evolved. The impact that digital technologies and social media has had on the field is addressed as well.
The full interview can be read here.
Gayatri Spivak Featured in the New York Times
Gayatri Spivak, co-director of the working group The Rural-Urban Interface, published an article entitled “Who Is Afraid of Shahidul Alam?” in which she speaks about the photojournalist’s imprisonment.
Gayatri Spivak, co-director of the working group The Rural-Urban Interface: Gender and Poverty in Ghana and Kenya, Statistics and Stories, and University Professor at Columbia, was featured in the New York Times with an article entitled, “Who Is Afraid of Shahidul Alam?” In the article she talks about the imprisonment of the Bangladeshi photojournalist and the country’s drift towards autocracy.
In addition, she recently delivered the Jean-Paul Sartre Memorial Lecture, “How Can we use Marx Today?” at the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna, India.
Farah Jasmine Griffin Speaks about Aretha Franklin’s Legacy
Farah Jasmine Griffin, co-director of the working group Toward an Intellectual History of Black Women, spoke with DemocracyNow! and The Nation about Aretha Franklin’s legacy.
Farah Jasmine Griffin, co-director or working group Toward an Intellectual History of Black Women and William B. Ransford Professor of English & Comparative Literature, spoke with DemocracyNow! And The Nation about Aretha Franklin’s role in the history of music and her involvement in fighting for Angela Davis’s freedom in 1970.
A’Lelia Bundles Featured in book Journeys: An American Story
Women Creating Change Leadership Council member A’Lelia Bundles writes about immigration and American greatness in Journeys: An American Story.
A’lelia Bundles, member of the Women Creating Change Leadership Council and vice chair of the Columbia Board of Trustees, is one 72 individuals to be featured in the book, Journeys: An American Story. The book is a collection of essays about immigration and American greatness. It tells the stories of the people who came to this country and made it what it is today.
A full summary of the book can be found here.
Andreas Huyssen Interviewed on Memory Studies in Politika
Andreas Hyussen, faculty fellow with the Women Mobilizing Memory Group and Villard Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, was interviewed by Patrick Esser for Politika.
Andreas Hyussen, faculty fellow with the Women Mobilizing Memory Group and Villard Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, was interviewed by Patrick Esser for Politika. In the interview he talks broadly about memory studies, touching on how the past and the present become entangled in his work.
In addition he discusses how incorporating the arts and humanities into memory culture can make for an interconnected world. The work done on postmemory by fellow working group member Marianne Hirsch is also a topic of conversation.
The full interview can be read here.
Lila Abu-Lughod Reviews New Books on Palestinian Diaspora
Lila Abu-Lughod, co-director of CSSD working group Religion and the Global Framing of Gender Violence, shares her thoughts on two new books in the publication Public Books.
Lila Abu-Lughod, Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science and co-director of CSSD working group Religion and the Global Framing of Gender Violence, has shared a piece in the publication Public Books. In her contribution she reviews two books about being part of the Palestinian Diaspora. The piece is entitled, “Moods of Betrayal in the Story of Palestine,” and reviews the work of two Palestinian authors, Reja-e Busailah and Hala Alyan.
The full review of both books can be read here.
Professor Inga Winkler Speaks at UN Event on Menstrual Health
Menstrual Health and Gender Justice working group director Inga Winkler speaks on individual experiences with menstruation around the globe.
Inga Winkler, director of the CSSD working group Menstrual Health and Gender Justice, spoke at a UN panel discussion hosted by Simavi and WSSCC on July 11th. In her talk Dr. Winkler addressed the many ways people are affected by menstruation as well as how menstruation impacts sustainable development goals.
During the panel she stressed the importance of including women and girls of diverse backgrounds in the conversation in order to truly understand how culture and religion affect menstrual practices. A full recap of the talk can be read here.
Frances Negron-Muntaner Speaks with El Diario
Frances Negron-Muntaner, co-director of the working group Unpayable Debt, spoke with El Diario about their donation of photographic archives to Columbia.
Frances Negron-Muntaner, co-director of the working group Unpayable Debt and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, spoke with El Diario about the photographic archive that they recently donated to Columbia Libraries. The full interview can be read here.
She was also featured on The Takeaway, where she spoke with film critic Rafer Guzman about the film Sicario: Day of the Soldado. The full episode can be listened to here.