So much more than the season is changing. This set of Picks tries to keep pace and keep the peace. Don’t miss the essay conference with masters of nonfiction. And a DIY Picks Tip: check out SIPA’s alumni events calendar, two weeks full of program covering global affairs around the world. Visit here…
March 12-14
Columbia University Medical Center
“The Tempest” by William Shakespeare
This production draws on the creativity and skills of students and faculty from all corners of the Medical Center campus. Please contact [email protected] for more information. Tickets are $10 at the door. CUMC Alumni Auditorium, 650 West 168th Street, 1st Floor.
March 24
6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Graduate School of Journalism
Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age
Taylor Owen will discuss his new book, Disruptive Power, which provides a look at the way that digital communication technologies has given rise to a 21st century global actor – changing the workings of the institutions that have traditionally controlled international affairs. Followed by a panel discussion. RSVP here. Graduate School of Journalism, Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
March 26
11 a.m. – 7:45 p.m.
The Earth Institute
Sustaining Peace Conference
This event, sponsored by the Earth Institute’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, brings together members from conflict and peace communities and from the greater Columbia community to explore what it means to identify and foster the conditions for achieving sustainable peace – locally and globally. Keynote speakers include: Peter T. Coleman, director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution; Aldo Civico, co-director of the International Institute for Peace at Rutgers University; Armando Geller, co-founder of Scensei; Beth Fisher-Yoshida, academic director of the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program, among others. Registration required. Teachers College, Everett Lounge.
March 28 – 29
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
School of the Arts Writing
Stalking the Essay: A Two-Day Conference
The conference, which includes many of the most influential nonfiction writers of our time, will attempt to develop a methodology for understanding the essay as an enduring, transformative, endearing, and essential creative expression. Organized by the head of the School of the Arts nonfiction program leading essayist and College alumnus, Phillip Lopate, with a variety of participants, including Hilton Als, Roz Chast, Meghan Daum, Margo Jefferson, Maira Kalman, Laura Kipnis, Jonathan Lethem, and Marilynne Robinson. Registration is now closed but walk-ins are welcome. The Italian Academy, 1161 Amsterdam Avenue.
March 31
6:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
Columbia Business School | Columbia Law School
Debate: The President’s Constitutional Authority
President Obama has launched a sustained, long-term military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But did he have constitutional power to do so? This debate will include Gene Healy, vice president of the Cato Institute and author of False Idol; Professor Philip Bobbitt (law); Deborah Pearlstein, assistant professor at Cardozo Law; Jake Sullivan, lecturer at Yale Law; and moderated by John Donovan, author and correspondent for ABC News. Purchase tickets here. Miller Theater.
April 1 – Springin’ forward!
6:10 p.m. – 7 p.m.
The Earth Institute
The Bicycle, Activism, and Sustainable Cities
A lecture on how low-carbon modes of transportation, including public transit, bicycling, and walking, yield environmental, economic, health, and social benefits. Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, will lead the discussion on the interplay among environmental and non-environmental issues in advancing sustainability, as well as the ways in which advocacy and activism can be used to change cities. RSVP required. Havemeyer Hall, Room 209.
Highlighted above are campus or NYC events of possible high general interest to alumni, donors, and prospects. This listing is highly selective by design — regrettably, much more is omitted than featured. For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. As always, I appreciate hearing from you about future events!