One question we typically get from admitted applicants this time of year is advice for summer reading prior to the start of the fall term. There are generally two opinions from those I ask at SIPA about this topic.

The first group says something like, “Do as much fun reading as you can!  You won’t have any time to read “fun” stuff while at SIPA because you will be so busy.”  Of course your SIPA reading will be meaningful, but it might not be like reading a page turning popular novel.

The second group offers advice on reading that is directly related to what SIPA is all about.  This can be divided into reading materials specific to courses and reading that is just related to topics in international and public affairs.  A future entry will be posted with information on accessing class listings and example syllabi so you can look forward to that, but for now here are some digital resources for you to consider reading and following in the coming months.

SIPA Faculty Blogging and Online Forums:

Steven Cohen: The Huffington Post
Steven Cohen is director of SIPA’s Energy and Environment concentration; director of the MPA program in Environment Science and Policy; executive director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

Stuart Gottlieb: The Arena on Politico

Stuart Gottlieb teaches American foreign policy and counterterrorism.

Gary Sick: Gary’s Choices on Tumblr
Gary Sick is a senior research scholar at Columbia’s Middle East Institute and an adjunct professor at SIPA. He served on the National Security Council for three presidents, and is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on Iran and the Persian Gulf region.

Hassan Abbas: Asia Society and Watandost
Hassan Abbas is Quaid-i-Azam Professor with SIPA and Columbia’s South Asia Institute. He teaches courses focusing on politics, religion and security in South Asia.

Guillermo Calvo: The Ecomomist
Guillermo Calvo is the director of SIPA’s mid-career Program in Economic Policy Management (PEPM).  Professor Calvo’s main field of expertise is macroeconomics of emerging market and transition economies.

Rodolfo de la Garza: WNYC
Rodolfo de la Garza specializes in immigration, Latino political behavior, and public policy. He directs the Project on Immigration, Ethnicity, and Race and is vice-president of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California.

José Antonio Ocampo: Project Syndicate
José Antonio Ocampo is director of Economic and Political Development concentration at SIPA, and a Fellow of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University. Professor Ocampo previously served in a number of positions in the United Nations and the Government of Colombia.

Jagdish Baghwati: The American Interest

Jagdish Baghwati is the Arthur Lehman Professor of Economics and a professor of political science.

Benjamin Orlove: Earth Institute’s State of the Planet
Benjamin Orlove focuses on environment and climate change. He is an anthropologist who has conducted field work in the Peruvian Andes, East Africa, the Italian Alps, and Aboriginal Australia.

Tanya Domi: The New Civil Rights Movement
Tanya Domi is Senior Public Affairs Officer at Columbia University’s Office of Communications and Public Affairs. She teaches human rights at SIPA.

Howard Freidman: The Huffington Post

Howard Friedman works as a statistician and health economist for the United Nations, currently focused on the areas of maternal and newborn child health, health expenditures, and fertility at UNFPA. He teaches health economics at SIPA.

Anne Nelson: PBS Media Shift
Anne Nelson specializes in international media development and has worked extensively as an analyst, evaluator, and practitioner in the field.

Ralph Da Costa-Núñez: The Huffington Post

Ralph Da Costa-Núñez is President and CEO of Homes for the Homeless, and President of Institute for Children and Poverty, an independent think tank which focuses poverty, homelessness, and the impact on children and families.

Student and alumni blogging:

SIPA’s student-run blog: The Morningside Post

Thanassis Cambanis’ graduate seminar blog: Writing About War.

Samantha Barthelemy (MIA ’11/Sciences Po dual-degree): SAMANHATTAN.

Michelle Chahine (MIA ’12): First Generation.

Josh Gartner (MIA ’06): China Policy Pod.

Francisco Noguera (MPA DP ’12): Next Billion