Seminar News

Winter 2025

Seminars Community

431 | Medieval Studies

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), and shows how songs, charters and seals foster a sense of belonging to a community. Her talk also introduces the UKRI-funded project, Musical Lives, which takes further the possibility of song-centred histories through interdisciplinary collaboration with scholars and performers.

Emma Dillon is Thurston Dart Professor of Music (Medieval Music and Cultures) at Kings College London. Her research focuses on European musical culture from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Her work falls at the intersection of musicology, sound studies, medieval studies, and the history of material texts. Her books include Medieval Music-Making and the Roman de Fauvel and The Sense of Sound: Musical Meaning in France, 1260-1330. She is Principal Investigator of a five-year research collaboration, Musical Lives: Towards an Historical Anthropology of French Song, 1100-1300 (MUSLIVE).

Belonging with Songs: Towards an Historical Anthropology of Medieval French Chansons Emma Dillon

A Talk by Emma Dillon

Co-sponsored by The University Seminar on Medieval Studies, Columbia Maison Française, Department of Music, and the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program

March 26, 2025
Maison Française
6:00-7:00 pm

May 23, 2025
Butler Library

“Ab uno disce omnes”: A Conference in Honor of Christopher Baswell

This conference celebrates the long and distinguished career of Christopher Baswell (Ann Whitney Olin Chair of English, Barnard College; Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University), a leading scholar of medieval literature. Baswell’s work combines analytical precision, theoretical sophistication, and astonishing erudition to probe a wide range of topics, from medieval reception of the classics to multilingualism, to disability studies, to women’s poetry across time. He is the author of Virgil in Medieval England: Figuring the Aeneid from the Twelfth Century to Chaucer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), a dazzling demonstration of the ways manuscript study can inform literary analysis, and of many articles that are required reading for anyone working on medieval literary study today. Baswell has transformed our understanding of the interactions among Latin, French, and Middle English literary traditions in the Middle Ages. This conference features presentations from Chris’s former students and colleagues related to his field-shaping research.

473 | Study of the Hebrew Bible

Lunch at the January 9, 2025 Regional Conference on Approaches, Old and New, to the Study of the Hebrew Bible which was co-sponsored by the Columbia University Seminar on The Study of the Hebrew Bible, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Jewish Studies Department of Princeton University. The program included presentations by doctoral students and faculty, a lightening panel by graduate students on approaches to research that engage them, and a discussion of “Literary, Ecological and Feminist” [LEAF] readings of the Hebrew Bible.

477 | South Asia

Sunila S. Kalé and Christian Lee Novetzke recently published The Power of Yoga: Yoga as Political Thought and Practice in India (Columbia University Press) with support from the Schoff Fund.

483 | Studies in Modern Italy

Resisting Silence: Unveiling the Legacy of the Italian Resistance: 80th anniversary of the Giornata di Liberazione

Friday April 25, 2025
6:00-9:00 pm
Italian Academy for Advanced Studies

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. The meeting will be followed by refreshments.

Open to the public. Registration required. RSVP to: modernitalianseminar@gmail.com

511 | Innovation in Education

Ronald Gross, co-chair of the University Seminar on Innovation in Education, published an article “Finding New Communities in Clubs”, on Nov. 25th, 2024 in Newsday. He cited the dictum of U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy that Americans should counteract pervasive loneliness through greater participation in civic associations. “Through increase involvement in such groups,” Gross reported, “I became a better friend, a more engaged citizen, and a sharper thinker.”

557 | Brazil

Recent publications and presentations by Sidney Greenfield, co-chair of The University Seminar on Brazil.

2024 PUBLICATIONS

  • “A Proposal to Eliminate Poverty by Including the Poor as Shareholders in Wealth Producing Companies.” In Donald C. Wood and Raja Swamy (eds). Health, Money, Commerce, and Wealth: Anthropological Perspectives. Vol. 43, Readings in Economic Anthropology. Emerald Publishing Limited, 2024. Pp. 123-146.
  • “Live, Work and Pray in the New York Metropolitan Area: Brazilian Immigrants and Ethnic-Religious Entrepreneurship” In Margaça, Clara et al.(eds.). Driving Local Economic Development: Immigrant Entrepreneurs and the Role of Religion and Ethnicity. London: Routledge Press. (with Donizete Rodrigues).
  • “The Dynamics of Change: Trump’s and Harris’s 2024 Campaigns.” Journey Through New York’s Religion
  • “Might There Be an Inextricable Relationship Between Economics and Religion in the Way Countries Like Brazil Were Offered a Path the Modernization and Development? On the Relationship Between Economics, Politics and Religion in the Culture of Modernity.” Anthropológicas (Federal University of Pernambuco Magazine).

2024 PRESENTATIONS

  • (2/29) Presentation at a book launch for Pe. Rino Bonvini’s book, Abordagem Sistemica Comunitária.
  • (3/2) Presentation at a UFC Law School seminar at a local fishing community on human rights and their struggle to maintain their community.
  • (4/5) “Might There Be More Than One Normal State of Consciousness and Multiple Altered Ones? If So, How May We Explain it?” Paper presented at the Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness First Friday.
  • (4/18) “Why Shouldn’t their Science be at Least as Good if not Better than Ours? And Why Isn’t their Reality as Real as Ours?” Association of Senior Anthropologists Chat.
  • (5/8) “Ethnic-religious Entrepreneurship: Brazilian Immigrants in New York City.” Presentation at a joint meeting of the Columbia University Seminars on Studies of Religion and Contents and Methods in the Social Sciences (with Donizete Rodrigues).
  • (12/12) “Exploring Revitalization in Modern Politics – The Dynamics of Change: Trump’s & Harris’s 2024 Campaigns.” Presentation at the Columbia University Seminar on Memory and Slavery.

 

Recent publications and presentations by Vânia Penha-Lopes, co-chair of The University Seminar on Brazil.

2024 PUBLICATIONS

(11/15) “Considerations on Trump’s Victory in 2024.” Washington Brazil Office Feature Article nº 143. Washington Brazil Office.

2024 PRESENTATIONS

  • (11/22) Keynote speaker, “Brasil: A Maior Diáspora Africana.” 2nd Brazilian Black Consciousness Abroad, Teachers College, Columbia University.
  • (10/31)  Speaker, “The Presidential Elections of Trump and Bolsonaro, Whiteness, and the Nation.” Stockton University.
  • (10/8) Panelist, “The Impact of Bias on Afro-Latino/e/x Communities in New Jersey.” Online program. New Jersey Division of Civil Rights.
  • (9/14) Panelist, “Reflecting about the Americas: Democracy and Sustainability in Brazil and the United States.” City College of the City University of New York.
  • (8/21) “Os Usos de Donald Trump das Identidades Negra e Judaica.” Usos Políticos do Holocausto e do Genocídio. Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Sociais, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

2025 MEDIA

  • Interview, “Vânia Penha-Lopes, Doutora em Sociologia, Analisa os Impactos do Novo Governo Donald Trump.” Papo com Gustavo, ABI TV.

581 | Shakespeare

Andy Crow’s Austerity Measures: The Poetics of Food Insecurity in Early Modern English Literature is forthcoming April 2025 from the University of Pennsylvania Press with support from the Warner fund.

Benjamin VanWagoner’s Imperial Ventures: Maritime Drama and the Invention of Risk is forthcoming February 2025 from the University of Pennsylvania Press with support from the Warner fund.

613 | Full Employment, Social Welfare, and Equity

IN MEMORIAM

Rev. John Collins, husband of Sheila Collins, a co-founder and leader of the National Jobs for All Network and co-chair, for a number of years, of the Columbia University Seminar on Full Employment, Social Welfare, and Equity, has passed away.

711 | Literary Theory

Joseph Albernaz recently published Common Measures: Romanticism and the Groundlessness of Community with Stanford University Press and support from the Warner fund.

717 | Cultural Memory

Skulls, Sculptures and the Kaiser’s Museums: Global Entanglements, Colonial Race Science, and German Memory Culture (c. 1900 – today)

 

Thursday, March 27, 2025
6:00-8:00 pm
Deutches Haus

Third Annual Mosse Lecture given by Mirjam Brusius

Each year the annual Mosse Lecture, presented by the Columbia Department of Germanic Languages, seeks to honor the legacy of the progressive Mosse publishing house founded by Rudolf Mosse, which helped to shape the democratic public sphere during the German Weimar Republic. Descendants of the Mosse Family include Prof. George L Mosse, the acclaimed historian of fascism, Dr. Hilde L. Mosse, a distinguished child psychiatrist who worked with Harlem children suffering from reading disabilities, Hans Strauch, an accomplished architect, and Roger Strauch, a successful high technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Hans and Roger co-lead The Mosse Foundation’s efforts to sustain and promote the Mosse Family’s philanthropic legacy to support distinguished educational, research, health, and arts institutions and progressive causes.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

763 | Beyond France

Mohamad Ziad Jamaleddine has published the article Takiyyat ibn Tulun, Preservation and ‘Utility’ in the Case of a Deserted Mosque, International Journal of Islamic ArchitectureVolume 14, Issue 1, Jan 2025, p. 39 – 66

799 | Menstruation and Society

Last Fall, The University Seminar on Menstruation and Society welcomed Céline Brassart Olsen, Assistant Professor in Health and Human Rights at the University of Copenhagen. Olsen introduced her comprehensive Regulatory Framework for Menstrual Products, the first of its kind, aimed to improve the content, labeling, production, pricing, and advertising of menstrual products. Her journal article, “Addressing the commercial determinants of menstrual health: a call to regulate menstrual product manufacturers,” is available in Health Promotion International.

Welcome to The University Seminars Community!

817 | World Philology

Clare Huntington (Law School) and Chris Wimer (School of Social Work) are pleased to announce the new University Seminar (#821) on Families and Inequality. This seminar will foster an interdisciplinary community of scholars researching the causes and consequences of inequality among families, as well as possible solutions. Sessions will feature new work on families and inequality by members, with occasional external speakers. Those interested in participating should email either Clare (ch104@columbia.edu) or Chris (cw2727@columbia.edu).