Hidden Hybridities I: The Eccentric and Creole Nature of the English Language Much of my academic work addresses the results in language of contact between groups. My main interests are in revealing hybridities hitherto unsuspected, and in refining our conception of hybridities more obvious. My goal, addressing a wide range of languages and also extending to music, is to wean us from preconceptions due to superficial appearances, distracting gulfs between the present and the past, and concerns more local to our moment than scientifically framed. In these three lectures I will present areas that I have found of particular interest […]

  Please join us to discuss two recent collections in Memory Studies and to take stock of new directions in the field. Irene Kacandes, editor of On Being Adjacent to Historical Violence (De Gruyter, 2022), and Brett Kaplan, editor of Critical Memory Studies (Routledge, 2023), will each introduce their volumes and reflect on how the pandemic lock-down inflected the books' contributions. Contributors Claudia Breger, Leo Spitzer, Marita Sturken, Sonali Thakkar, and James Young will offer brief accounts of key memory studies concepts emerging from their essays. This event is open to the public. Fliers to order books at a discount are attached, along with the two […]

Meeting of all seminar chairs.

Co-sponsored by The University Seminar on Medieval Studies, Columbia Maison Française, Department of Music, and the Medieval and Renaissance Studies program A Talk by Emma Dillon  Why do we sing? How does singing shape how we see ourselves and how we relate to one another?  Emma Dillon takes up these universal questions in the context of a medieval song community. Her talk explores Medieval French songs (trouvère songs) as a social practice, linked to specific people and families from Northern France and to other forms of social activity.  She offers a case study of twelfth-century trouvères (using new recordings of their songs), […]

Co-sponsored by The Columbia University Seminar on Studies in Modern Italy and the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies In honor of the 80th anniversary of Italian Liberation Day, April 25th, 1945, the Columbia University Seminar in Modern Italian Studies presents a special panel and conversation. Resisting Silence: Unveiling the Legacy of the Italian Resistance aims to explore the historical significance and contemporary relevance of Italian antifascism. By bringing together scholars, activists, and community members, we will foster meaningful discussions that illuminate the lessons of resilience and social justice. Program: Introductory remarks by Elizabeth Leake, Professor, Columbia University Chair, Marla Stone, […]