Read more about our Reunion 2018 Mini-Core Classes, Talks and Tours below.
Friday, June 1 | Morning Classes, Talks and Tours
10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Mini-Core Classes (choice of)
Literature Humanities
Cristobal Silva, Professor of English and Comparative Literature
Song of Solomon and Literature Humanities in the Twenty-First Century
Toni Morrison’s 1977 novel Song of Solomon is steeped in the literary tradition at the heart of the Core Curriculum. It not only demonstrates Morrison’s commitment to revealing the debts that Western literature owes to histories of colonialism and enslavement, but also shows the tension between the Core’s intellectual and aesthetic goals on the one hand and the modern university’s interest in social justice on the other. Explore how this book fits into a 21st-century Lit Hum syllabus.Music Humanities
Julia Doe, Assistant Professor of Music, Historical Musicology
Program Music in the Romantic Age
How do composers like Mendelssohn and Berlioz translate images and narrative into instrumental form? What controversies do these works generate within the broader aesthetic discourse of Romanticism? Should orchestral music be linked to concrete language and ideas, or does its true value lie in its ability to express the inexpressible? Explore the development of programmatic music in the 19th century.Café Columbia
Van Tran, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Immigrant New York and the Transformation of American Society
Using New York City as a case study, this class will examine how immigration has transformed the city’s demographic, political, socioeconomic and spatial landscape, past and present. What lessons can we learn by identifying the city’s major ethnic groups and asking how immigrants and their U.S.-born children have been incorporated into the city’s schools, workplaces and neighborhoods? How does integration reshape patterns of ethnic and racial inequality in the city? What might our findings mean for other parts of the country? .
Alumni Featured Talk
Diversity and the Entertainment Industry, A Panel Hosted by Columbia College Women
In the era of #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite, there’s an undeniable push for more diverse voices and stories. But whose voices get to be at the table? And how can the entertainment and media industries support and encourage underrepresented voices? Get an insider’s look into how the need for diversity is being addressed in entertainment in a panel that will include VP, associate general counsel for Viacom Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard ’93, sports business reporter for CNNMoney Ahiza Garcia ’10, Editor-in-Chief for Lifetime Television Lea Goldman ’98 and VP OTT video for Oath Studios Alex Wallace Creed ’88. Moderated by Rita Pietropinto Kitt ’93, Columbia College Alumni Association Board member.
Tours (choice of)
“1968: The Global Revolution”, Special Exhibition
Relive history with a self-guided tour of this exhibition by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library that follows pivotal events 50 years ago from Morningside Heights to Mexico City, Paris to Prague, and South Vietnam to West Berlin.Student Experience & Neighborhood Tour
Reminisce about your days at Columbia by exploring campus and the surrounding neighborhood on this walking tour. See how much (or how little) has changed.Manhattanville Tour
The first new buildings on Columbia’s Manhattanville campus have come to life—the first stage of a sustainable urban design that will unfold over decades. Tour two of the completed buildings on the new campus: the Lenfest Center for the Arts and the Jerome L. Greene Science Center. The tour will include performance art spaces and the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Meet in the lobby of Lenfest Center for the Arts. Directions: Take the 1 train to 125th Street, or walk or take the M104 bus to West 129th Street.
Friday, June 1 | Afternoon Classes and Tours
2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Mini-Core Classes (choice of)
Contemporary Civilization
Nicole Callahan CC'05, TC'17, Core Lecturer in Contemporary Civilization
A Democracy, If You Can Keep It: Why CC (at 100) Still Matters
Shortly after the 1787 Constitutional Convention, a famous story goes, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government this new constitution would create if adopted, and he replied, “A republic ... if you can keep it.” This class will address how CC can be seen as a site of democratic hope, where texts like John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty help us to see that the underlying and essential principles of democracy, and the fundamental issues of justice, of citizenship, and of rights and responsibilities are alive and well.Frontiers of Science
Dustin Rubinstein, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology
The Evolution of Cooperation
Why do some animal species form groups that are as complicated as those of humans? How can the principles of economic game theory help scientists model the evolution of cooperation and conflict in animal society? Explore the latest research on the formation of groups and collective behavior in a diversity of animal species as we learn how genes and the environment interact to shape complex social behavior.
Alumni Featured Talk
My Alumni Journey: A Conversation Between Ben Fried CC’88 and Dean James J. Valentini
Hear an insightful and personal conversation between James J. Valentini, Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education, and distinguished alumnus Ben Fried CC’88. Dean Valentini will interview Mr. Fried about his journey from Columbia College to his current position as the chief information officer of Google, a role he has held since 2008. As CIO of the most innovative technology company in the world, Mr. Fried has built breakthrough solutions to enterprise problems by using Google’s product engineering disciplines. Previously, he worked at Morgan Stanley for 13 years, most recently as a managing director. In that position, Mr. Fried led the Application Infrastructure Group, which was responsible for all technology for software development, electronic commerce, and knowledge worker productivity.A Talk with Conrad Teitell LAW’57: Learn How the New Tax Laws Affect You, Your Family and the Causes You Care About
Conrad Teitell LAW’57 is a practicing attorney, prodigious lecturer, prolific writer and professor of law. In addition to helping draft and shape tax legislation, he has testified before the House Committee on Ways and Means, the House Committee on the Judiciary, the Senate Committee on Finance, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS. He was one of four invited witnesses, along with Warren Buffett BUS’51, who testified on tax reform before the Senate Committee on Finance.
Tours (choice of)
Student Experience & Neighborhood Tour
Reminisce about your days at Columbia by exploring campus and the surrounding neighborhood on this walking tour. See how much (or how little) has changed.Manhattanville Tour
The first new buildings on Columbia’s Manhattanville campus have come to life—the first stage of a sustainable urban design that will unfold over decades. Tour two of the completed buildings on the new campus: the Lenfest Center for the Arts and the Jerome L. Greene Science Center. The tour will include performance art spaces and the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Meet in the lobby of Lenfest Center for the Arts. Directions: Take the 1 train to 125th Street, or walk or take the M104 bus to West 129th Street.
Saturday, June 2 | Morning Keynote and Tours
10:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Reunion Keynote: A Reading by Paul Auster CC'69, GSAS'70
Paul Auster CC’69, GSAS’70, a bestselling author, member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, will read autobiographical and Columbia-inspired excerpts from his acclaimed novel 4321.
Tours (choice of)
“1968: The Global Revolution”, Special Exhibition
Relive history with a guided tour of this exhibition by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library that follows pivotal events 50 years ago, from Morningside Heights to Mexico City, Paris to Prague and South Vietnam to West Berlin.Student Experience & Neighborhood Tour
Reminisce about your days at Columbia by exploring campus and the surrounding neighborhood on this walking tour. See how much (or how little) has changed.Manhattanville Tour
The first new buildings on Columbia’s Manhattanville campus have come to life—the first stage of a sustainable urban design that will unfold over decades. Tour two of the completed buildings on the new campus: the Lenfest Center for the Arts and the Jerome L. Greene Science Center. The tour will include performance art spaces and the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Meet in the lobby of Lenfest Center for the Arts. Directions: Take the 1 train to 125th Street, or walk or take the M104 bus to West 129th Street.MakerSpace & New Electrical Engineering Teaching Labs Tour + Talk with John Kymissis
Come visit and learn about the Columbia MakerSpace (CMS), a Columbia University affiliated and student-run workshop that provides a variety of tools and space for students, artists, makers, creatives, programmers, scientists and engineers to collaborate. We will also visit the Electrical Engineering Department's recently remodeled project and teaching laboratory space, which boasts unparalleled views of the Hudson River, Grant's Tomb, Riverside Church, Columbia's campus and the George Washington Bridge.
Saturday, June 2 | Afternoon Classes, Talks and Tours
2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m.
Mini-Core Classes (choice of)
Literature Humanities
Deborah Martinsen SIPA'82, GSAS'90, Adjunct Associate Professor of Russian Literature
Getting Away with Murder
By the end of Part One, the protagonist of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment has committed a double murder, yet many readers want him to get away with it. Explore how Dostoevsky plunges readers into Raskolnikov’s fevered brain, makes us complicit in his escape and then converts protagonist and readers alike into ex-utilitarian nihilists.Contemporary Civilization
Richard John, Professor of History and Communications
Social Media and Contemporary Civilization from Aristotle to Zuckerberg
Political theorists from Plato to John Stuart Mill have warned us about the perils of public opinion. Does social media prove them right? Whither Contemporary Civilization in the age of Facebook and Google?Frontiers of Science
David J. Helfand, Professor of Astronomy
The Universal Timekeepers: Reconstructing History Atom by Atom
By using the building blocks of matter as little clocks, we are now able to reconstruct in quantitative detail a remarkable history of human and natural events. From a detailed understanding of the human diet to the events surrounding the origin of the Solar System, these universal timekeepers provide us with a precise chronology from the beginning of time to the moment humans emerge. We’ll explore this profound history lesson together.
Alumni Featured Talk
CCYA Presents: Lessons from Startupland
Enjoy a panel discussion and Q&A with Columbia College alumni entrepreneurs: Anastasia Alt ’10, Pathspark; Tze Chun ’06, Uprise Art; Robert Reffkin ’00, Compass; and Carter Reum ’03, M13. Moderated by Adam Kuerbitz '12, Columbia College Young Alumni Executive Board member.
Tours (choice of)
Student Experience & Neighborhood Tour
Reminisce about your days at Columbia by exploring campus and the surrounding neighborhood on this walking tour. See how much (or how little) has changed.Manhattanville Tour
The first new buildings on Columbia’s Manhattanville campus have come to life—the first stage of a sustainable urban design that will unfold over decades. Tour two of the completed buildings on the new campus: the Lenfest Center for the Arts and the Jerome L. Greene Science Center. The tour will include performance art spaces and the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Meet in the lobby of Lenfest Center for the Arts. Directions: Take the 1 train to 125th Street, or walk or take the M104 bus to West 129th Street.
