September 2016
Scott Ortman – Discourse and Human Securities in Tewa Origins
Speaker: Scott Ortman, University of Colorado Boulder Abstract: For the Archaeology of Human Experience to have an impact on public policy, archaeologists need to identify what contemporary society values were, determine the extent to which ancient societies provided these values, and examine what it was that enabled certain societies to provide them better than others. I develop a case study of this approach focusing on the famous “collapse” of Mesa Verde society and subsequent formation of ancestral Tewa society in the…
Find out more »Designing Babies? Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Dr. Robert Klitzman is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Joseph Mailman School of Public Health and the Director of the Masters of Bioethics Program at Columbia University. He co-founded and for five years co-directed the Center for Bioethics, and for 10 years directed the Ethics and Policy Core of the HIV Center. He has conducted research and written about a variety of ethical issues in medicine and public health to promote…
Find out more »Paula Findlen – Newton’s Prisms: Why Francesco Algarotti Became an Experimenter
This talk explores the circumstances that led the teenage Algarotti to become a celebrity experimenter in relation to debates about Newtonian science in Italy in the early eighteenth century.
Find out more »Ernst Fehr – The Brain’s Functional Network Architecture Reveals Human Motives
Goal-directed human behaviors are driven by motives. Motives are, however, purely mental constructs that are not directly observable. Here, we show that the brain’s functional network architecture captures information that predicts different motives behind the same altruistic act with high accuracy. In contrast, mere activity in these regions contains no information about motives. Empathy-based altruism is primarily characterized by a positive connectivity from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to the anterior insula (AI), whereas reciprocity-based altruism additionally invokes strong positive connectivity from the AI to the ACC and even stronger positive connectivity from the…
Find out more »Friday Lab: The Contemporary Archaeology of Homelessness, Pelham Bay Park, NYC
Ever wonder what a contemporary archaeology project looks like? Well this is your chance to delve into the fascinating world of modernity and study “us”, “here”, and “now” as an archaeologist. Starting on Friday September 30th, every Friday from 12:30 to 4:30 we will be working with contemporary artifacts from an abandoned 1970s and 1980s homeless encampment in Pelham Bay Park, located in the Bronx. During this time you will learn traditional lab techniques by processing “non-traditional” material culture. You…
Find out more »October 2016
Horst Bredekamp – Symbiosis of Nature and Art: A new Neo-Mannerism?
This event is part of the Lionel Trilling Seminar series. Speaker: Horst Bredekamp, Professor of Art History, Humboldt University Berlin Respondents: Pamela H. Smith, Seth Low Professor of History; Director of the Center for Science and Society, Columbia University Peter N. Miller, Dean of the Bard Graduate Center and Professor of Cultural History, Bard Graduate Center Free and open to the public ― first come, first seated. Please see the Heyman Center website for more details.
Find out more »Beyond Circulation: Non-Western Universalisms and Global Histories of Science – Day 1
This workshop aims to encourage greater dialogue between the history of science on the one hand, and intellectual and cultural history on the other.
Find out more »Beyond Circulation: Non-Western Universalisms and Global Histories of Science – Day 2
This workshop aims to encourage greater dialogue between the history of science on the one hand, and intellectual and cultural history on the other.
Find out more »A University Symposium: Promoting Credibility, Reproducibility, and Integrity in Research
Columbia University and other New York City research institutions* are hosting a one-day symposium to showcase a robust discussion of reproducibility and research integrity among leading experts, high-profile journal editors, funders and researchers.
Find out more »Mark A. Rothstein – The Complex Challenges of Genetic Discrimination
Ever since the launch of the Human Genome Project in 1990, there has been considerable concern about genetic discrimination in employment, health insurance, and other areas. The federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and numerous state laws have been enacted, but it is not clear that these legislative responses have been well considered or appropriate. This talk will address the conceptual and practical challenges in preventing genetic discrimination. This event is part of the Seminar on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications…
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