Ana Paulina Lee Designated Antonio Candido Prize Winner for Best Book in the Humanities
The Antonio Candido Prize is awarded annually by the Latin American Studies Association.
Ana Paulina Lee, co-director of CSSD working group Geographies of Injustice, was recognized by the Brazil Section at the Latin American Studies Association with the Antonio Candido Prize for Best Book in the Humanities for her recent book Mandarin Brazil: Race, Representation, and Memory.
To read more about the Latin American Studies Association’s Awards, click here.
For more information on Lee’s book, click here.
Unpayable Debt’s “Valor y Cambio” Project Wins NALIP Media Trailblazer Award
Frances Negrón-Muntaner will be receiving this award in early December.
CSSD Executive Committee member and former Unpayable Debt working group co-director Frances Negrón-Muntaner received the National Association of Latino Independent Producers Media Trailblazer Award for her “Valor y Cambio” project. She will receive this award at NALIP’s Diverse Women in Media Forum 2019 on December 5.
Read more about “Valor y Cambio” at their official website here.
Vicky Murillo Featured in the New York Times
The article is entitled “In Argentina Elections, Leftists Savor Victory over Incumbent.”
Vicky Murillo, co-director of the Environmental Justice, Belief Systems, and Aesthetic Experiences in Latin America and the Carribean working group and Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Columbia University, was featured in a New York Times article analyzing the results of Argentina’s recent elections. In it, she shared her thoughts regarding the political calculations of former Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who recently ran for office as vice-president with Alberto Fernández at the top of the ticket.
Read the full article here.
Laura Charney Reports on Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Film Screening
The screening of Period: End of Sentence took place on September 26.
The Menstrual Health and Gender Justice Working Group hosted a film screening and critical panel on the Oscar-winning documentary, Period: End of Sentence. Grad fellow for the working group, Laura Charney, discusses the analysis and criticism of the ideas established in the film by the panelists and attendees in her latest blog post for RightsViews.
Charney writes, “Menstrual health research is often obstructed in shoddy statistics, lack of thorough qualitative data, and approaches to international development that favour implementing behavioural changes based on generalized surveys… They critiqued Period: End of Sentence on the basis of its reliance on unreliable research, perpetuation of harmful stereotypes, and iteration of a global north saviour complex.”
Read the full blog post here.
WCCLC Welcomes Jewelle Bickford
Women Creating Change Leadership Council (WCCLC) welcomes its newest member, Jewelle Bickford.
Women Creating Change Leadership Council (WCCLC) welcomes its newest member, Jewelle Bickford, Partner and Wealth and Fiduciary Advisor at Evercore Wealth Management. In addition to joining WCCLC, she is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the founder of Women and Foreign Policy, the Council's task force on the role of women in economic and political development in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
To learn more about WCCLC and its members, visit here.
Paige West Leads Essay Series Ruminating the Future of Anthropology
The essay series is entitled "From Reciprocity to Relationality: Anthropological Possibilities."
Paige West, CSSD Director and former co-director of the Pacific Climate Circuits and Reframing Gendered Violence working groups, led the publication of an essay series that brought together sixteen anthropologists to discuss the possible futures of the field of anthropology. Published on the Society for Cultural Anthropology, the essay series focused on analyzing the power dynamics of racism, elitism, sexism, and violence within the field historically and continuing into the present.
Read more about the essay series here, and her introduction here.
Anupama Rao Participates in the Columbia University Seminar on South Asia
The lecture, entitled “Marx in Maharashta? The Memoir of Dalit Communist,” took place on November 18.
This past week Geographies of Injustice working group co-director, Anupama Rao, delivered a lecture titled "Marx in Maharashta? The Memoir of Dalit Communist" as a part of the Columbia University Seminar on South Asia. Her talk focused on her soon to be published translation of the autobiography/biography of R.B. More (1903-1972), a Dalit trade unionist, labor organizer, and Ambedkarite.
Read more about her recent lecture here.
Paige West Delivers the Annual Contested Development Lecture at King's College London
The lecture, entitled “Commoning and Decannonizing Political Ecology: An Example from Melanesia and New York City,” took place on October 30th.
Last month, CSSD Director and former co-director of the Pacific Climate Circuits working group, Paige West delivered the annual Contested Development Lecture at King's College London as a part of their Human Geography Seminars. West’s talk, “Commoning and Decannonizing Political Ecology: An Example from Melanesia and New York City,” addresses the necessary transformations the field of Political Ecology must undergo to meet the demands of a changing world through the lens of a decade long collaborative project located in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
Read more about her recent lecture here.
To learn more about Paige West’s work in Papua New Guinea, read about the June 2019 Voices on the Ground: Human Rights Defenders Workshop here.
Lila Abu-Lughod Gives B.N. Ganguli Memorial Lecture
The lecture, entitled “Gender, Violence, Security,” took place on November 1.
This past week Lila Abu-Lughod delivered the twenty-first B.N. Ganguli Memorial Lecture, a series instituted in memory of economist Professor B.N. Ganguli. The lecture, entitled “Gender, Violence, Security,” took place at the Center for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi.
Lila Abu-Lughod is co-director of Religion and the Global Reframing of Gender Violence, and of Reframing Gendered Violence. She is also a member of CSSD’s current Executive Committee.
Read more about her recent lecture here.
Macarena Gómez-Barris Featured on Democracy Now
The Queer Theory co-director discusses the recent protests in Chile.
Macarena Gómez-Barris, co-director of the Queer Theory working group, founder and director of the Global South Center, and chairperson of Social Science and Cultural Studies at the Pratt Institute, appeared twice on Democracy Now on October 28 to discuss the recent protests in Chile.
Over a million Chileans have taken to the streets to demonstrate against social inequality, the increasingly high cost of living, and continued privatization. The protests, which started October 19, are the largest in the country since the fall of its military dictatorship in 1990.
Watch the first video here, and the second here.
Street Named After Madam C. J. Walker and A’Lelia Walker in Harlem
WCCLC member A’Lelia Bundles is the biographer of the two civil rights champions.
This summer, 136th Street in Harlem was unveiled as Madam C.J. Walker and A’Lelia Walker Way. The two Walkers are the great-(great-)grandmothers of A’Lelia Bundles, their biographer, who is also a member of the Women Creating Change Leadership Council, as well as a Columbia University Trustee.
Bundles has released a book on Madam C.J. Walker under the title On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker. C.J. Walker was a self-made millionaire who developed hair products specifically for black hair. Bundles is currently working on a book of Walker’s daughter, A’Lelia Walker, who was an activist during the Harlem Renaissance.
On Twitter, Bundles writes, “It still is sinking in that thousands will pass this Harlem street sign each year. If even just a few are curious enough to google @MadamCJWalker & A'Lelia Walker aka @JoyGoddessHarlm our work will be worth it.”
Read an interview with Bundles on the occasion of the street unveiling here.
A’Lelia Bundles Featured in Essence Magazine
The WCCLC member is releasing a haircare line with Sephora to celebrate the trailblazing work of her great-great-grandmother Madam C.J. Walker.
A’Lelia Bundles, part of the Women Creating Change Leadership Council, is featured in Essence discussing the work of her great-grandmother, an activist, and great-great-grandmother, a self-made millionaire who developed hair products specifically for Black hair. In collaboration with Bundles, Sephora is now releasing its new Madam C.J. Walker line.
Last year, Bundles participated in the WCCLC fifth-year anniversary celebration. She is currently working on her fifth book, a biography of her great-grandmother entitled The Joy Goddess of Harlem: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance. She has also written On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, on her great-great-grandmother, A’Lelia Walker’s mother C.J. Walker.
Read the full Essence interview with A’Lelia Bundles on “the Walker legacy of sisterhood and philanthropy, and its current impact on the natural hair movement taking place today.”
Janice Ellig and Melissa Fisher Speak on ‘Corporate Feminisms’ Panel
The event, which took place in the spring semester, was organized by Women Creating Change.
A round table entitled Corporate Feminisms and Its Discontents took place on March 13, 2019 to discuss the persistent gender and racial disparities in the higher echelons of the corporate sector despite significant gains in recent years. Two members of the Women Creating Change Leadership Council participated in the event: Janice Ellig and Melissa Fisher.
Read more about the event on the CSSD blog here.
Watch the Video for the ‘#MeToo: One Year After Christine Blasey Ford’ Panel
The event, organized by Women Creating Change, was moderated by WCCLC member Davia Temin.
On October 9, Women Creating Change, along with CSSD, hosted an event entitled #MeToo: One Year After Christine Blasey Ford—the almost two-hour-long panel discussion is now available for viewing on YouTube.
The event was moderated by Women Creating Change Leadership Council member Davia Temin. It featured multiple contributors to the recent volume Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement, as well as Columbia Law Professor Olatunde Johnson.
Marianne Hirsch and Ayşe Gül Altınay Discuss Women Mobilizing Memory Book Launch
Marianne Hirsch and Ayşe Gül Altınay present Women Mobilizing Memory working group’s eponymous book, Women Mobilizing Memory: Stories of Feminist Co-Resistance at the 2019 Mnemonics Summer School.
Marianne Hirsch (professor of English, comparative literature, and gender studies at Columbia University) and Ayşe Gül Altınay (professor of cultural anthropology and director of the Gender and Women’s Studies Center of Excellence at Sabancı University) discussed the working group, Women Mobilizing Memory, eponymous book, Women Mobilizing Memory: Stories of Feminist Co-Resistance, at the 2019 Mnemonics Summer School Lecture Series, Memory and Activism. To see their full presentation, check out this video.
Call for Menstrual Health Project Staff Associate Applications
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Menstrual Health Project
Staff Associate
The Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) is hiring a Staff Associate with primary responsibility for supporting the Menstrual Health Project.
Project Description:
Countries around the world are developing legislative and policy frameworks on menstrual hygiene and health covering different aspects such as menstrual hygiene, de-taxing menstrual products, menstrual leave, or ensuring provision of menstrual products to specific population groups. The project seeks to review policy developments to assess how far-reaching and comprehensive they are, which populations they target, and whether policies translate into budgets and implementation measures to achieve their stated objectives. This review will be informed by human rights principles to assess whether processes are participatory, whether policies reach marginalized groups and individuals, and whether governments are accountable to their policy commitments.
Job Responsibilities:
Conduct research to prepare a global overview of policy developments; participate in research trips and conduct interviews online and in person; draft all minutes, reports, and publications pertaining to the project; draft project documentation for dissemination and outreach such as policy briefs and infographics. (60%)
Liaise with the Technical Advisory Group, staff at the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, partners in India, Kenya, Senegal and other countries, and other partners; design and convene the country workshops and Technical Advisory Group meetings for the project (10%)
Coordinate and plan different phases of the project (5%)
Draft IRB protocol for the ethical clearance of the project (5%)
Provide other research and programmatic support to ISHR as needed (20%)
Minimum Qualifications:
BA in international affairs, human rights, development, global studies or similar field
A minimum of two years of experience (an MA can substitute for professional experience)
Excellent drafting, communication, and organizational skills
Experience conducting interviews
Capacity to synthesize large amounts of information
Experience working / traveling in the Global South (in particular South Asia, East and Western Africa)
Preferred Qualifications:
Advanced degree in human rights, development, public policy or similar field
Prior experience in the field of menstrual health and/or human rights
Prior experience in conducting policy-related research and developing policy-briefs
Knowledge of languages other than English (in particular French)
To apply, please submit your CV; cover letter detailing relevant experience and interest in menstrual health, human rights and policy analysis; writing sample ideally focused on policy analysis (max. 20 pages); and list of two references to the job posting on Columbia University’s Recruitment of Academic Personnel System (RAPS). Application review begins on Oct. 1, 2019.
Call for Geographies of Injustice Internship Applications
Application review will begin on December 1, 2019.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Geographies of Injustice
Institute Moreira Salles, Rio de Janeiro
Summer 2020 Internship Program
The Geographies of Injustice working group seeks 2-3 interns from Columbia and Barnard College with advanced language skills in Portuguese to work with the team at the Institute Moreira Salles in the creation of a geographical history of the favelas.
Project Description:
Interns will work with a multidisciplinary team, consisting of different institutions (private, public and non-governmental organizations) to develop a methodology that involves interviews with residents or visitors of the above mentioned locations. The goal is for residents and visitors to relate individual and collective stories that tell narratives around cultural histories with a focus on music and identity. (For example, the project aims to gather interviews from an elderly composer of sertanejo music from Northeastern Brazil, a young funk musician, an evangelical woman pianist, and a recently arrived immigrant living in the favela who was a musician in his country. Other such projects will follow.)
After the interview stage, the project team will develop content proposals for a series of podcasts to be produced in the Moreira Salles Institute studios and made available on the institutions' networks.
From the point of view of the Moreira Salles Institute, the project is expected to be carried out by a team with interdisciplinary experience, especially intern trainees, in the key areas of the project, namely “Social Action” and “Radio Batuta.”
It is worth mentioning that this is a work in process, which allows possible redefinition of the project and new paths of exploration to emerge from the practice.
Qualifications:
Advanced language skills in speaking and reading Portuguese is a must.
No prior knowledge of geo-referencing is required but knowledge of digital mapping skills and college-level research experience are a plus.
Interest in, or prior experience with, the production and editing of textual and image content, and in developing methodologies concerning fieldwork, interviews and systematization of their data will be a plus. So, too, an interest in music, media, and radio, and knowledge of editing digital audio files.
To apply, please send a resume and a 1-2 page statement with information about relevant coursework, Portuguese-language experience, prior experience in areas related to the project, and personal interests in the project to Professors Anupama Rao (arao@barnard.edu) and Ana Paulina Lee (ana.lee@columbia.edu). Questions regarding internship specifics and scholarship opportunities can be sent to the project directors, Professors Rao and Lee, as well.
Application review will begin on December 1, 2019, followed by interviews with shortlisted candidates beginning in late January.
Frances Negrón-Muntaner Participates in 2019 Conference of Ford Fellows
The event, themed “Empowered Scholarship: Engaging with the World, Connecting with Each Other,” took place on October 3 and 4.
The CSSD Executive Committee member and former Unpayable Debt working group co-director Frances Negrón-Muntaner was part the opening plenary panel of the 2019 Conference of Ford Fellows. Her talk was entitled “Decolonial Joy: Theorizing from Public Scholarship.” The annual conference “is a unique national conference of a select group of high-achieving scholars committed to diversifying the professoriate and using diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students."
See the full conference program here.
“Valor y Cambio” Wins Borimix 2019 Award and Features in Medium and Nexos
Frances Negrón-Muntaner’s art and alternative currency project continues to make news.
Frances Negrón-Muntaner, CSSD Executive Committee member and former Unpayable Debt working group co-director, announced on Twitter that her “Valor y Cambio” (Value and Change) project won the Borimix 2019 Award “for its contribution and support to arts and culture.” The project recently wrapped up its run in East Harlem and is headed back to Puerto Rico.
“Valor y Cambio” was also featured in a Medium article, which delves into the socio-political context out of which the project was born, as well as the history of other alternative currencies.
Read yet another piece on “Valor y Cambio” on the Spanish-language Nexos.
Columbia Spectator Covers “Ushui” Film Screening
The screening was part of a two-day event put on by the Environmental Justice, Belief Systems, and Aesthetic Experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean working group.
On Thursday October 10 and Friday October 11, the Environmental Justice working group hosted an event showcasing Ushui, a documentary about women shamans from the indigenous Colombian culture the Wiwa. The event, Water, Sound, and Indigenous Film: Ushui, invited the director of the film, as well as film historians, critics, curators, and academics, for a Q&A after the film, and a workshop the following day.
The film’s director Rafael Mojica Gil grew up practicing Wiwa customs, as did another event participant, film historian José Gregorio Mojica Gil. The film is meant as an archive of sorts, created to preserve Wiwa culture for the future.
Read the thoughtful piece in the Spectator here, featuring many direct quotes from the director and event participants.