Events: 11/10 - 11/16
Monday, November 10th
Panel discussion on the The Evolving Role of Advocacy and Interest Groups in K-12 Education
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Jerome Greene Hall, Room 105.
A casual reception will begin at 6:00PM, the panel will go from 6:30-8:00PM
The goal for the event is to identify and assess the roles that interest and advocacy groups have played, are playing, or might play in aiding or hindering the improvement of public education, particularly at the district level.
Key questions (we of course don't expect panelists to address every one of them!) include: What qualifies as an "interest group" or an "advocacy group" in the context of education? Are there important differences between those two categories or among groups within each? Is there, as some claim, an inherent conflict between a group's focus on the needs and interests of a particular set of individuals with a stake in public education and the welfare of public school children or the public as a whole? Does interest-group politics require or risk a zero-sum competition over resources and focus too much attention on "inputs" rather than results for children?
If not, how is a fight over resources avoided? In what ways have! interest groups supported districts that have been the most successful in improving the life chances of children? Have interest-group politics instead stymied improvement? How have advocacy and interest groups interacted with such issues as the Common Core, teacher evaluation, charter schools, accountability, and "big data," and how has that interaction affected the direction of public education locally and nationally?
For further information regarding this event, please contact Tatyana Gourov by sending email to tg154@columbia.edu or by calling 212-854-8246.
Plays and Performance Texts: Politics, Aesthetics, Translation
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Barnard College Diana Center, Glicker-Milstein Theatre
What kind of pressure do Arabic revolutionary, theatrical and performance texts exercise on American translation? Do these texts bear a linguistic excess, a resistance within themselves, a potential to other translation paradigms aiming to domesticate them?
These questions and more are the focus of this panel, chaired by Carol Martin, series editor of the forthcoming anthology Tahrir Plays and Performance Texts from the Egyptian Revolution, and featuring the volumes editors and translators, Mohammed Albakry and Rebekah Maggor. The event includes a staged reading of one works in the collection delineating the role, the work, and the concerns of women during the revolution in Egypt, a monodrama, They Say Dancing Is a Sin, conceived in collaboration with Hani Abdel Nasser and written by Mohamed Abdel Muiz. Information: cmcnamara@barnard.edu
For further information regarding this event, please contact Lindsay Stuffle by sending email to lstuffle@barnard.edu or by calling 2128542037.
Tuesday, November 11th
The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall
12:00pm - 1:00pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219
Join the Harriman Institute for a book talk on The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall with author Professor Mary Elise Sarotte.
Drawing on new archival sources, Professor Sarotte describes the fall of the Berlin Wall as a chaotic accident, rather than a planned event orchestrated by Western and Eastern political leaders. The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall details the events that led to the collapse, including a series of decisions made by various revolutionaries, dictators, and Stasi officers.
Professor Sarotte is a Visiting Professor of Government and History at Harvard University and Dean's Professor of History and Professor of International Relations at University of Southern California.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Ilke Denizli by sending email to zid2000@columbia.edu .
Futbol, Jews, and the Making of Argentina
4:00pm - 6:00pm
International Affairs Building, Room 802
Talk with author Raanan Rein, Tel Aviv University with commentary from Jose Moya, Barnard College and Federico Finchelstein, The New School.
For further information regarding this event, please contact David Luna by sending email to dl2714@columbia.edu
Earth Institute Practicum; Infectious Diseases
4:10pm - 6:00pm
Union Theological Seminary, Room 207
The Earth Institute and the School of Continuing Education MSSM Practicum present Infectious Diseases with Jeff Shaman, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, International Research Institute (IRI), Earth Institute, Columbia University.
Jeff Shamans background is in climate, atmospheric science, hydrology, and biology with particular interest in the environmental determinants of infectious disease transmission. Previous investigations include how hydrologic variability affects mosquito ecology and mosquito borne disease transmission, and how atmospheric conditions impact the survival, transmission, and seasonality of pathogens.
Prof. Shaman will focus on evaluating project success through the research projects he has conducted centered around infectious disease and disease transmission.
The Earth Institute Practicum is designed to be a broad survey of the applications of frontier research to the practice of sustainable development and environmental policy.
The Practicum is a dynamic forum featuring a different lecture each week by the directors or lead researchers representing various units from across the Earth Institute. Each week the guest lecturer will present the applications of their research and discuss the policy implications.
To RSVP for this event please contact Nathan Rudder at nrudder@ei.columbia.edu.
For more information on Earth Institute education programs, please click EDUCATION.
For more information on the Earth Institute visit earth.columbia.edu.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Nathan Rudder by sending email to nrudder@ei.columbia.edu
Conscription against Communism
4:30pm - 6:30pm
Faculty House
The Columbia University Seminar on Twentieth Century Politics and Society presents:
"Conscription Against Communism" A talk by Jeremy Kessler
Free & open to the public.
Jeremy Kessler is Associate Professor of Law (Designate) at Columbia Law School. He is a legal historian whose scholarship focuses on First Amendment law, administrative law, and constitutional law generally. His research traces how the rise and fall of the American draft transformed the relationship between civil liberties law and the administrative state. Kessler received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2013. He will join the Columbia Law faculty in July 2015 after serving as the David Berg Foundation Fellow at the Tikvah Center for Law & Jewish Civilization at New York University. His article, The Invention of a Human Right: Conscientious Objection at the United Nations, 1947-2011, recently appeared in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. Kessler also writes about law and history for a range of non-academic publications, including The New Republic, n+1, and The Los Angeles Review of Books.
An optional dinner directly follows the talk. All are welcome to come. We will dine in Faculty House at 6:30 pm.
Meals, buffet style, cost $25 (payment by check only). Please sign up for dinner at saw2156@columbia.eduand provide two days notice if you cannot attend.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Stephen Wertheim by sending email to saw2156@columbia.edu
The Justice Forum: Reimagining Justice: Narratives of Inclusion
6:15pm - 8:15pm
East Campus Heyman Center, 2nd Floor Common Room
How do we change the current criminal justice system, one defined by mass incarceration, a paradigm of punishment, and racial discrimination? Changing how we achieve justice through policing, courts, jails, prisons and reentry must include changing the public narrative about people who become involved with the criminal justice system. We must move away from the current narratives that pathologize people and their behavior and provides little consideration for the current and historic marginalization of low income comm! unities and communities of color.
This immense undertaking involves examining current and historical narratives about justice, crime, safety, punishment, race, class, and gender among others. This roundtable discussion will bring together a diverse group of thinkers to examine the current prevailing narratives, as well as explore opportunities for how these narratives might be transformed towards a more inclusive framework. The roundtable will include discussants from a variety of backgrounds and experiences including psychology, journalism, history, law and those who have been directly impacted by mass incarceration and the prevailing narratives.
Issues of mass incarceration and justice are complex and cut across many systems, structures, cultures and communities. As such, the efforts and dialogues around changing the current criminal justice system must also cross disciplines, structures, cultures and communities. The Justice Forum provides a space for leading thinkers in justice work from a variety of disciplines and experiences to collectively examine some of the most critical justice issues today. The Forum seeks to create a space for cross pollination of ideas and perspectives and contribute towards the efforts to rethink our current policies and practices in criminal justice.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Heyman Center for the Humanities by sending email to heymancenter@columbia.org .
Wednesday, November 12th
9th Annual Columbia International Investment Conference - Raising the Bar: Home Country Efforts to Regulate Foreign Investment for Sustainable Development
Thursday, November 13, 2014 - 5:00pm
Faculty House
The draft program is available here.
Much of the effort to regulate foreign investment for sustainable development focuses on the actions of host states, overlooking the role of home countries. In recent years, however, there has been growing dialogue over whether, in addition to supporting their firms in making foreign direct investments, home countries should also monitor or regulate the activities of companies operating abroad, for example, with regards to the disclosure of tax payments, or impacts on human rights, the environment, or development.
Legal experts have argued that home countries have extraterritorial obligations under international law, including with respect to regulating the activities of both publicly controlled as well as private companies. The increasing pressure on home countries to monitor or regulate the overseas activities of multinational companies also results from a sense of moral duty, the desire for greater coherency of governmental policies and actions, and perceptions of potential political or economic self-interest. Yet, while home countries have influence over outward investors, are willing to exercise extraterritorial power in certain contexts, and are often committed to sustainable development, their policies and actions are not always coherent.
This conference looks at home country measures that have been taken unilaterally or multilaterally to monitor or regulate foreign investment, why states have taken these measures, whether they have a duty to do so, what lessons can be learned from both successful and failed attempts, and what further efforts may be useful or necessary to regulate investment for sustainable development. Examining these issues is crucial in order to understand what future regulation of international economic activity will look like, who will be responsible for writing and enforcing the rules, and what that means for businesses, governments, citizens and other stakeholders.
Confirmed panelists include:
- Patrick Alley (Co-founder and Director, Global Witness)
- Mark Beckett (Global Department Head of International Arbitration Practice Group, Chadbourne & Parke LLP)
- Daniel Cerqueira (Senior Program Officer, Due Process of Law Foundation)
- Lesley Coldham (Group Head of Government, Public Affairs & Policy, Tullow Oil Plc)
- Marie-Chantal Kaninda (Chief Advisor, External Affairs Africa, Rio Tinto)
- Niki Kruger (Chief Director, Trade Negotiations, Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa)
- Ambassador Lisa J. Kubiske (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Finance & Development, U.S. Department of State)
- Margaret L. Kuhlow (Vice President, Office of Investment Policy, Overseas Private Investment Corporation)
- Yenga Mabolia (National Coordinator, Promines Project, Ministry of Mines, Democratic Republic of Congo)
- Julie McCarthy (Director, Fiscal Governance Programs, Open Society Foundations)
- Ariel Meyerstein (Vice President, Labor Affairs, Corporate Responsibility & Corporate Governance, United States Council for International Business)
- Lisa Misol (Senior Researcher, Business and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch)
- Roel Nieuwenkamp (Chair, OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct)
- Zaw Oo (Executive Director, Centre for Economic and Social Development, Myanmar Resource Development Institute)
- Marcos Orellana (Director, Human Rights & Environment Program, Center for International Environmental Law)
- Mark Pearson (Director General, External Relations, Natural Resources Canada)
- Minister Francisco Rivadeneira (Minister of International Trade, Ecuador)
- Jeffrey Sachs (Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University)
- Karl P. Sauvant (Resident Senior Fellow, Columbia Center on Sustainble Investment)
- Marcio Senne de Moraes (Director of External Affairs, Vale S.A.)
- Michael Shank (Associate Director, Legislative Affairs, Friends Committee on National Legislation)
- Benjamin Skinner (Co-founder and Senior Vice President, Tau Investment Management, LLC)
- M. Sornarajah (CJ Koh Professor of Law, National University of Singapore)
- Felipe Palacios Sureda (Investment Affairs Manager Negotiator, Investment, Directorate General for Trade, European Commission)
- Werner Thut (Senior Policy Advisor, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation)
- Michael Tracton (Office Director, Office of Investment Affairs, U.S. Department of State)
- Mei (Lisa) Wang (Deputy Director, National Economic Research Institute, China)
- Jrg Weber (Head, Investment Policies Branch, Investment & Enterprise Division, UNCTAD)
- James Zhan (Director, Investment & Enterprise Division, UNCTAD)
For further information regarding this event, please contact Paulo Cunha by sending email to pmc2105@columbia.edu or by calling 212-854-1830.
Today's National Security Agency and the Way Ahead
12:15pm - 2:00pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1512
A discussion with Dr. David Shore, Deputy Chief, Media Leaks Task Force, National Security Agency; and Peter Clement, Professor of Professional Practice and Deputy Director for Intelligence for Analytic Programs. Registration limited to Columbia University ID holders only. No exceptions. No press will be admitted to this event.
Dr. Shore will discuss the mission of the National Security Agency and the authorities, oversight, and compliance under which it operates. He also will describe current NSA outreach efforts with the American public through increased transparency into NSA activities and how those activities fit into the broader US national security strategy.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Maggie Li by sending email to ml3408@columbia.edu or by calling 2128547879.
Darfur Update
4:00pm - 6:00pm
Lerner Hall Jed D. Satow Conference Room
The Institute for the Study of Human Rights Invites you to a:
DARFUR UPDATE
Akshaya Kumar (Enough Project, Center for America Progress) Topic: "The Janjaweed and Resurgent Violence."
Kiki Gbeho (Chief, Africa I Section - Sudan, South Sudan, Horn and Souther Africa, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OSCHA). Topic: "Protection of Civilians."
Hamid Ali (Assistant Professor of Public Policy, American University). Topic: "Reconstruction and the Cost of Conflict."
Katie Campo (Program Officer, National Endowment for Democracy). Topic: "National Dialogue and Marginalized Groups."
Ahmed Hussain Adam (Visiting Scholar, Cornell University). Topic: "Scenarios of Change."
Moderator: David L. Phillips (Director, Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights)
For further information regarding this event, please contact Elena Garofalo by sending email to elena.garofalo@ncafp.org .
Thursday, November 13th
New Directions in Southeast Asian Politics
12:00pm - 2:00pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918
Joseph Chinyong Liow, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for East Asian Studies, Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asian Studies; Dr. Thomas B. Pepinsky, Associate Professor, Department of Government, Cornell University; and Duncan McCargo, Senior Research Affiliate, Weatherhead East Asian Institute; Professor of Political Science, University of Leeds. Moderated by Ann Marie Murphy, Adjunct Research Scholar; Associate Professor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University; Fellow, National Asia Research Program; Associate Fellow, The Asia Society. No registration required. Sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the Southeast Asian Student Initiative (SEASI).
For further information regarding this event, please contact Lauren Mack by sending email to lem2111@columbia.edu .
Inflation Persistence in Brazil, 1946-64
1:00pm - 2:00pm
International Affairs Building, Room 802
Talk with Professor Eduardo F. Bastian.
Part of the Brazil Brown Bag Seminar Series.
For further information regarding this event, please contact David Luna by sending email to dl2714@columbia.edu
Thinking with Balibar
2:00pm - 5:30pm
Buell Hall (Maison Francaise)
This conference on Thinking with Balibar will explore the influence of Etienne Balibar's work, not paying tribute to tienne Balibar per se, but showing how certain concepts, arguments, and methods that he applies in his work can be and are being used by scholars in different fields working on crucial issues of our time. The conference will thus be inspired by his work instead of being on is work. It marks the third and last year of tienne Balibar's stint as a Visiting Prof! essor at Columbia in the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society and Department of French. He will also be speaking at the conference.
This conference follows and builds on a one-day workshop called "Pourquoi Balibar" that was organized in Paris on January 17, 2014 by the Collge International de Philosophie (tienne Balibar is a member of its Scientific Board) after he published several important books in recent years Violence et civilit and La Proposition de l'galibert in 2011 (the latter now translated as Equaliberty: Political Essays), Citoyen sujet et autres essais d'anthropologie philosophique in 2011, and Saeculum: culture, religion, idologie in 2011. This conference will further develop these analyses, bringing together some of the participants from the Paris meeting with other scholars working in the U.S.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Heyman Center for the Humanities by sending email to heymancenter@columbia.org .
Thinking with Balibar
Thursday, November 13, 2014 - 2:00pm - Friday, November 14, 2014 - 5:30pm
East Gallery, Buell Hall
Registration required
This conference on Thinking with Balibar will explore the influence of tienne Balibar's work, not paying tribute to tienne Balibar per se, but showing how certain concepts, arguments, and methods that he applies in his work can be and are being used by scholars in different fields working on crucial issues of our time. The conference will thus be inspired by his work instead of being on is work. . It celebrates three years of tienne Balibars participation in the intellectual community of Columbia University as Visiting Professor in the Department of French and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society. He will also be speaking at the conference.
This conference follows and builds on a one-day workshop called "Pourquoi Balibar" that was organized in Paris on January 17, 2014 by the Collge International de Philosophie (tienne Balibar is a member of its Scientific Board) after he published several important books in recent years Violence et civilit and La Proposition de l'galibert in 2011 (the latter now translated asEqualiberty: Political Essays), Citoyen sujet et autres essais d'anthropologie philosophique in 2011, and Saeculum: culture, religion, idologie in 2011. This conference will further develop these analyses, bringing together some of the participants from the Paris meeting with other scholars working in the U.S.
Conference co-sponsored by the Columbia Maison Franaise, Collge International de Philosophie, Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, and Heyman Center for the Humanities
Please visit www.maisonfrancaise.org for full conference program
For further information regarding this event, please contact Maison Events by sending email to ll2787@columbia.edu .
Second Annual Cicero Speech Contest
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Barnard College Barnard Hall, James Room 4th Floor
Traditionally, women have not been encouraged to communicate rhetorically and to use the public sphere in order to affect a large number of people, and events around them. The program enables Barnard students to practice public speaking in a peer environment and to use opportunities like the Cicero Speech Contest to speak up about issues that matter to them and the larger community. It also helps these young women transform themselves, other women, and the world at large.
This contest brings Barnards best public speakers together for a lively competition in two categories: persuasive advocacy speech and impromptu speech. Come to be persuaded, to be entertained, and to meet promising young voices as they debate the topics that matter most. Information: barnard.edu/speaking
For further information regarding this event, please contact Lindsay Stuffle by sending email to lstuffle@barnard.edu or by calling 2128542037.
Etienne Balibar talk: Can we say : After the Subject Comes the Stranger?
6:15pm - 8:00pm
East Gallery, Buell Hall
If you wish to only attend the talk by Etienne Balibar, please register below. Seating is limited. To register for the whole conference, which will also register you for his talk, please click here.
Professor Balibar's talk is entitled Can we say : After the Subject Comes the Stranger? and will take place from 6:15-8 p.m. Etienne Balibar is a professor at Universit de Paris X-Nanterre and University of California, Irvine, and visiting professor at Columbia University.
This conference on Thinking with Balibar will explore the influence of tienne Balibar's work, not paying tribute to tienne Balibar per se, but showing how certain concepts, arguments, and methods that he applies in his work can be and are being used by scholars in different fields working on crucial issues of our time. The conference will thus be inspired by his work instead of being on is work. It marks the third and last year of tienne Balibar's stint as a Visiting Professor at Columbia in the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society. He will also be speaking at the conference.
This conference follows and builds on a one-day workshop called "Pourquoi Balibar" that was organized in Paris on January 17, 2014 by the Collge International de Philosophie (tienne Balibar is a member of its Scientific Board) after he published several important books in recent years Violence et civilit and La Proposition de l'galibert in 2011 (the latter now translated asEqualiberty: Political Essays), Citoyen sujet et autres essais d'anthropologie philosophique in 2011, and Saeculum: culture, religion, idologie in 2011. This conference will further develop these analyses, bringing together some of the participants from the Paris meeting with other scholars working in the U.S.
Conference co-sponsored by the Columbia Maison Franaise, Collge International de Philosophie, Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, and Heyman Center for the Humanities
Please visit www.maisonfrancaise.org for full conference program
For further information regarding this event, please contact Maison Events by sending email to ll2787@columbia.edu .
Friday, November 14th
Corruption in the 21st Century
(All day)
Columbia Law School Jerome Greene Hall, Room 103
Hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, Corruption in the 21st Century is an innovative conference that brings together leaders on the front lines of the fight against corruption. The conference will feature panels on emerging topics such as, how to enlist new technologies to enhance integrity and methods for understanding corruption in an increasingly globalized world. With the midterm elections just around the corner, this co! nference is a unique opportunity to hear from practitioners, civil society reformers, and government accountability experts dedicated to holding our elected officials to account. Please register at www.law.columbia.edu/CAPI
Speakers include: David Harbach Special Counsel to the Director of the FBI Michael Garcia Chair of the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee Frank Vogl Co-Founder of Transparency International Mark Peters Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation
The conference is free and open to the public. Free CLE credit is available for New York State attorneys.
Jerome Greene Hall, Room 101.Columbia Law School.
When: 9:00 a.m.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Jacob Watkins by sending email to jwatkins@law.columbia.edu or by calling 212-854-7419.
BRICS 2.0: Pursuing Global Governance and Growth
9:30am - 1:00pm
Rotunda, Low Memorial Library
The Fourth Columbia University BRICLab Conference will discuss how Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are building institutions. It will also examine challenges and opportunities of emerging markets and their role in contributing to global economic expansion.
Conference Program
9:30 - 9:45 a.m. - Opening remarks: Jan Svejnar (Columbia University)
9:45 - 11:15 a.m. - Session I: Are BRICS a New Platform for Global Economic Governance?
Panelists will weigh in on the prospects for the New Development Bank and the Contingency Reserve Arrangement set-up by the BRICS. They will also look into how these recently-established mechanisms present either alternatives or complements to existing multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the IMF.
11:15 - 11:30 a.m. - Coffee Break
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Session II: Can BRICS Become Re-emerging Markets?
Panelists will examine the economic performance of BRICS amidst growing skepticism toward emerging markets and the potential convergence between advanced and developing economies. They will consider what these five nations should accomplish in order to increase their economic clout and further contribute to global growth.
1:00 p.m. - Closing Remarks: Marcos Troyjo (Columbia University)
Conference Panelists:
Otaviano Canuto (Senior Advisor on BRICS Economies, World Bank) Padma Desai (Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Comparative Economic Systems, Columbia University) Arturo Porzecanski (Distinguished Economist in Residence, American University) Khalid Malik (Head of Human Development Report, UNDP) Fernando Faria (Founder, InnovaBRICS) Gregory Bedrosian (CEO, Redwood Capital) Jonathan Wheatley (Deputy Emerging Markets Editor, Financial Times) Tony Volpon (Head of Emerging Markets Research, Nomura Equities) David Fergusson (Co-CEO & President, The M&A Advisor) Jan Svejnar (Director, Center on Global Economic Governance, Columbia University) Marcos Troyjo (Co-Director, BRICLab | CGEG, Columbia University)
For further information regarding this event, please contact CGEG by sending email to cgeg@columbia.edu .
Manyōshū and the Imperial Imagination in Early Japan: A Symposium
3:00pm - 5:30pm
403 Kent Hall
To mark the publication of Duthies landmark book, Manyoshu and the Imperial Imagination in Early Japan (E.J. Brill, 2014), an afternoon symposium featuring a talk by Duthie, comments by Columbia professors and graduate students.
For further information regarding this event, please contact Yoshiko Niiya by sending email to donald-keene-center@columbia.edu or by calling 212-854-5036.
Sustainability Frameworks in Action
Practitioners Reflect on Sustainability Theory
Time: 6:30 P.M.
Place: Hamilton 516
“Is sustainability only a buzzword? How do the ideas get put into practice without legally binding international agreements, or without even a universally recognized method to gauge success? Is the environment the final and most important aspect of sustainability? Come listen to leaders dedicated to sustainable development and design, both internationally and locally in New York, tackle these questions! Representatives from ARCHIVE Global, Arup International Development, Loomstate, and BlocPower will share how they implement the concept of sustainability, their views on the current frameworks and guidelines, and how they think the discussion can be better framed to enable them to make a larger impact on the world.”
This List is pulled from the Columbia University Events Calendar