Religion, Media, and Culture: Islam and the Media
Sponsored by the Paley Center for Media
Wednesday, November 4th
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: 25 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212.621.6600
Speakers: Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub, Faculty Associate in Shi‘ite Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary; Maria Ebrahimji, Executive Editorial Producer, CNN; Daisy Khan, Executive Director, American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA); Dr. Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, Assistant Professor of Religion, Department of Religion, University of Florida
Moderator: Ibrahim Abdil-Mu’id Ramey, Director of Human Rights Division, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Is violence in the name of religion a central tenet of, or unique to, Islam? The religion of Islam, and Muslims throughout the world, is often portrayed by the media as intolerant and incapable of peaceful coexistence with Christians, Jews, and other faith communities. Many Muslims believe, despite the clear evidence of sectarian violence done in the name of their religion, that this is an unbalanced, even biased mischaracterization of a global community of over a billion people.
On the thirtieth anniversary of the taking of American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, a panel of Muslim and non-Muslim media professionals and scholars will examine the complex issues of both religious extremism and the Islamic quest for social justice..
Free admission with Columbia ID, $20 regular admission.
CU Arts weblink and ticket purchase

Darwin and the End of Evolution
A Seminar from Columbia Connection's "Café Science" Series
Monday, November 9th
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: Picnic Market & Café at 2665 Broadway (between 101st and 102nd streets)
Speaker: Shahid Naeem, Ecologist
For three and a half billion years, species have originated and subsequently suffered extinction, yielding as many as one hundred-million different kinds of plants, animals, and microorganisms. With every origination, each species, no matter how small or short lived, contributed to the transformation of Earth’s sterile surface to the life-sustaining Biosphere we live in today. While Darwin’s evolutionary theory provided tremendous insight into origination and extinction, it saw no direction or end to the process, suggesting that although every species influences the environment, the habitability of Biosphere is just an accident and not shaped by evolution. The evolution of our species and the mass extinction we are causing, however, suggests to some that perhaps humans were the direction and end of evolution–the production of a single species that would come to dominate the Earth. If this is true, what happens to the habitability of the biosphere? We will consider Darwin, the end of evolution, and the future of humanity over drinks at the café.
Space is limited; $10 cover (cash only) includes one drink. First Come, First Served. No Reservations, No Saving Seats .

Human Capital in the Latest Papal Encyclical
Crossroads Cultural Center in collaboration with the Christian Business Fellowship at Columbia University
Monday, November 16th
Time: 7:00pm
Location: W & J Warren Hall, Room 207 (115th Street & Amsterdam Avenue), Columbia University
Speakers: Kimberly Shankman, Ph.D., Dean of the Benedictine College, Atchison (KS)
As the title suggests, the aim of this series is to look at the many ways in which the ``human factor" affects the economic sphere. To some extent, there is a tendency in our culture to think of the economy as a fairly impersonal process that can be understood in "scientific" terms. Accordingly, public policy often faces economic questions like engineering problems, to be solved using appropriate fiscal, monetary or regulatory instruments. Similarly, economic debate in the academia and in the media focuses on topics such as the role of the market, or mathematical modeling, or even the need for ethical guidelines, but mostly in a manner that is fairly abstract and removed from concrete human experience.
At our third meeting, Dr. Kimberly Shankman, Dean of the Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, will present those issues of the latest Papal encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, which more directly deal with economy and finance, i.e., those aspects which are the least known or the most easily misunderstood by the larger public.
Free and open to the public.
www.crossroadsculturalcenter.org

The Moral Climate: Exploring the Ethical Dilemmas of Climate Change
The Veritas Forum
Monday, November 16th
Time: 8:00pm, doors open at 7:30pm
Location: Roone Arledge Auditorium, Columbia University
Speakers: Vinoth Ramachandra, theologian and human rights advocate from Sri Lanka; John Mutter, Director of the Fellows Program in the Earth Institute and part of the board at Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative; Cynthia Peabody, Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Science and Religion
Scientists now argue that we are on a collision-course with disaster unless the nations of the world collectively improve their stewardship of the environment. Yet the practical, ethical and political obstacles to change are truly daunting: Who is responsible for the climate-induced droughts in Africa? The floods in India? How conclusive is the evidence that climate change is man-caused? Who should be the primary receivers of protection and aid? Is a clean environment a human right? If so, where does it stand in relation to other competing rights? What is the basis of human rights? A Christian theologian from the third world and one of Columbia's premier experts in this field will discuss these and other fascinating questions on the ethics of intervention. Who will have the most satisfying answers to the questions that climate change has provoked? Opening presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion, and audience Q&A led by Cynthia Peabody.
No tickets necessary with a CUID. Without one, please RSVP to vertas@columbia.edu. This is a free event.
www.veritas.org/columbia

Faiths in Conflict: Searching for a Common Space
The Veritas Forum
Tuesday, November 17th
Time: 8:00pm, doors open at 7:30pm
Location: Roone Arledge Auditorium, Columbia University
Speakers: Vinoth Ramachandra, theologian and human rights advocate from Sri Lanka; Akeel Bilgrami, Director of the Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University; Dr. David Eisenbach, Award-winning historian and professor at Columbia University
In a world where conflicting faiths divide societies, often violently, the inevitable question arises: Can faiths harmoniously coexist? If so, which worldview best promotes this coexistence and encourages members of diverse faith communities to engage in meaningful discussion with one another? Is there a place for faith in such a worldview, or must tolerant worldviews be secular and free from faith? Can any worldview, including a secular one, be truly neutral? Akeel Bilgrami will argue that a secular pluralistic worldview provides the best solution to the problem of conflict between differing faiths. Vinoth Ramachandra will propose, to the contrary, that a Christian theological worldview is a better means of promoting global harmony. A moderated discussion by Dr. David Eisenbach with audience Q&A will follow the opening presentations.
No tickets necessary with a CUID. Without one, please RSVP to vertas@columbia.edu. This is a free event.
www.veritas.org/columbia

A Blight on the Nation: A Look at Modern-Day Slavery in the United States
A Columbia University Slavery and Memory Seminar
Wednesday, November 18th
Time: noon to 2pm
Location: Faculty House, 64 Morningside Drive, between 116th and 117th Street
Speaker: Ron Soodalter
In a world where conflicting faiths divide societies, often violently, the inevitable question arises: Can faiths harmoniously coexist? If so, which worldview best promotes this coexistence and encourages members of diverse faith communities to engage in meaningful discussion with one another? Is there a place for faith in such a worldview, or must tolerant worldviews be secular and free from faith? Can any worldview, including a secular one, be truly neutral?
Akeel Bilgrami will argue that a secular pluralistic worldview provides the best solution to the problem of conflict between differing faiths. Vinoth Ramachandra will propose, to the contrary, that a Christian theological worldview is a better means of promoting global harmony. A moderated discussion by Dr. David Eisenbach with audience Q&A will follow the opening presentations.
Seminars are open to Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary faculty. To register please contact Pilar Jennings at pj38@columbia.edu.

Kepler
US Premiere of an opera by Philip Glass
November 18, 20, and 21
Time: 7:30pm, 150 minutes with intermission
Location: BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, NYC
Libretto by Martina Winkel
In German and Latin with English Titles
Regarded as one of the most important composers of our time, minimalist pioneer Philip Glass returns to BAM with a concert staging of his opera Kepler. Spacious, elemental, and imbued with wonder, Glass' hypnotic score becomes the sound of the cosmos as we witness Johannes Kepler--a founding father of modern science who discovered the laws of planetary motion--struggling to reconcile scientific discovery with the divine. Celebrated conductor Dennis Russell Davies and Bruckner Orchestra Linz support a stellar cast and 42-member chorus drawn from the Upper Austrian State Theatre, Linz, in this illuminating portrait of science at the dawn of our modern age.
Tickets: $20, 40, 65
Video preview at BAM.org

December 2009

Will The World End in 2012?
Part of the 2009 Public Lecture Series and Star-Gazing presented by Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach
Friday, December 4
Time: lecture at 7:00pm - 7:30pm, star-gazing follows and lasts for two hours
Location: Pupin Hall, Columbia University (Morningside Campus)
Speaker: Cameron Hummels
These are free lectures at a public level followed by guided star-gazing with telescopes. No reservations are needed. Lectures are wheelchair accessible, star-gazing on the roof is not. For directions and other information visit http://outreach.astro.columbia.edu.

Spirituality and Americans
A Seminar from Columbia Connection's "Café Humanities" Series
Monday, December 21
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: Picnic Market & Café at 2665 Broadway (between 101st and 102nd streets)
Speaker: Courtney Bender, Sociologist of Religion
National polls report that growing numbers of Americans consider themselves “spiritual not religious” or “religiously non-affiliated” yet spiritual. What do they mean by this? When did it become possible for Americans to self-identify in this way? What are the implications for American society and politics? By presenting ways to think historically about spirituality in America, this talk will reveal a tangled, interesting story, complete with perplexing implications.
Space is limited; $10 cover (cash only) includes one drink. First Come, First Served. No Reservations, No Saving Seats .

Unnatural Selection: Population Control and the Struggle to Remake Humanity
A Seminar from Columbia Connection's "Café Social Science" Series
Monday, December 28th
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: Picnic Market & Café at 2665 Broadway (between 101st and 102nd streets)
Speaker: Matthew Connelly, Historian
In the past century, the world’s population has grown more than four times as much as in the previous 2,000 centuries. By controlling migration, manipulating birthrates and sterilizing the “unfit,” scientists and activists struggled to prevent the meek from inheriting the earth. The talk will describe how these opposing forms of population control developed, how they diverged and how the cause of reproductive rights was finally redeemed.
Space is limited; $10 cover (cash only) includes one drink. First Come, First Served. No Reservations, No Saving Seats .