art – RightsViews

By Guest Writer Emma McDonnell Art is a means to document, a means to capture emotions, feelings, and history. Art has the capacity to chronicle and tell the story of a bygone era—to depict events and places which the world no longer knows of. And ultimately, art is a marker of the past, present, and future. As such, it ties us to periods and moments–persevering through devastating and disastrous times such as war and conflict. Hosted by the Harriman Institute together with the President’s Office of Columbia University, Art in Time of War: Celebrating the Resilience of Ukrainian Culture celebrated the strength and talent of Ukrainian culture through a variety of artistic mediums. The event combined music, poetry, film, art, and conversation to showcase Ukrainian creativity and artistic talent. The event began with opening remarks from the Director of the Harriman Institute, Valentina Izmirlieva, followed by remarks from the Executive Vice President for Columbia Global, Waffaa El-Sadr. Both highlighted what a unique, monumental,...

By Staff Writer Carina Goebelbecker How can words, language, grammar, and narrative be used in the fight for social justice? The Columbia University Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities’ Language Pedagogy and Social Justice virtual event on May 11th explored the previous question. The roundtable discussion highlighted perspectives from language educators, featuring: moderator David Borgonjon (Public Humanities Fellow and PhD Candidate in EALAC, Columbia University) Maya Krinsky (Associate Director of Multilingual Education, Rhode Island School of Design), João Nemi Neto (Senior Lecturer in LAIC, Columbia University), Karim ElHaies (Worker-Owner, Algarabía Language Co-op), Aldo Ulisses Reséndiz Ramírez (Worker-Owner, Algarabía Language Co-op), and Pamela Rose (Mandarin Educator). Each panel member reflected on their own teaching practice and how language pedagogy can be taught with a focus on social justice. Social justice themes and conversations are typically labeled as “advanced” in the language classroom. However, these topics are present within each unit of study, and denying this fact can perpetuate harm and...