Center for Place, Culture and Politics
Encyclopedia
The Center for Place, Culture and Politics, established in 2000, is an interdisciplinary center
providing an intellectual forum for the discussion of a wide range of vital contemporary topics and it is located at CUNY Graduate Center
. As the name suggests, most of the pressing political and economic issues of today occur at the nexus of place and culture. At the beginning of the 21st century, questions of space and place have come to play a crucial role in politics and public culture. Each academic year, a group of faculty and graduate student fellows explore a specific theme at the Center. At a weekly seminar, participants read relevant materials and fellows present their own work and explore the work of others related to the theme. The Center also hosts prominent national and international scholars and activists who have done significant work related to the theme. These Distinguished Lecturers present a public lecture and meet with the fellows at their weekly seminar, and also host conferences. Previous Distinguished Lecturers and conference participants have included Gayatri Spivak, Derek Gregory
, Daniel Ellsberg
, Eyal Weizman
, Vandana Shiva
, Nancy Fraser
, Gar Alperowitz, Naomi Klein
, and many others. In addition, the Center sponsors research working groups, including an ongoing group on The Right to the City. The Center organizes edited volumes, and hold book celebrations for authors as well as other scholarly events. Each academic year the Center appoints eight faculty fellows and five graduate student fellows from throughout the City University of New York
. Fellows are drawn from doctoral programs throughout the social sciences, humanities, and sciences.
The Center's work has several facets. Each academic year, they adopt a specific theme and appoint faculty and graduate student fellows to explore that theme. At a weekly seminar, fellows present their own work and explore the work of others related to the year's theme. The Center also hosts prominent national and international scholars who have done significant work related to the theme. In addition to giving a public lecture, these distinguished visitors meet with the fellows at their weekly seminar. The Center also hosts conferences related to the year's theme. A book series, combining essays by fellows and visitors and other invited outside scholars will help to publicize the Center's work. The Center also encourages faculty and graduate students throughout CUNY to use the Center's facilities for meetings and for organizing projects, and will work on joint projects with other programs and centers.
The director of the Center is Neil Smith
. Advisory board members include David Harvey
, Omar Dahbour, Hester Eisenstein, Joshua Freeman
, Frances Fox-Piven, Heather Gautney, Peter Hitchcock
, Cindi Katz
, Setha Low
, Michael Menser, Joan Richardson, Donald Robotham, Ida Susser, and Saadia Toor.
Recent themes have included
Interdisciplinarity
Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....
providing an intellectual forum for the discussion of a wide range of vital contemporary topics and it is located at CUNY Graduate Center
CUNY Graduate Center
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York brings together graduate education, advanced research, and public programming to midtown Manhattan hosting 4,600 students, 33 doctoral programs, 7 master's programs, and 30 research centers and institutes...
. As the name suggests, most of the pressing political and economic issues of today occur at the nexus of place and culture. At the beginning of the 21st century, questions of space and place have come to play a crucial role in politics and public culture. Each academic year, a group of faculty and graduate student fellows explore a specific theme at the Center. At a weekly seminar, participants read relevant materials and fellows present their own work and explore the work of others related to the theme. The Center also hosts prominent national and international scholars and activists who have done significant work related to the theme. These Distinguished Lecturers present a public lecture and meet with the fellows at their weekly seminar, and also host conferences. Previous Distinguished Lecturers and conference participants have included Gayatri Spivak, Derek Gregory
Derek Gregory
Derek Gregory Ph.D. FBA, FRCC is an influential British academic and geographer who is currently Professor of Political Geography at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He formerly held positions at the University of Cambridge.Gregory is best known for his book The Colonial...
, Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg
Daniel Ellsberg, PhD, is a former United States military analyst who, while employed by the RAND Corporation, precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers, a top-secret Pentagon study of U.S. government decision-making in relation to the Vietnam War,...
, Eyal Weizman
Eyal Weizman
Eyal Weizman is an Israeli intellectual and architect. Involved in political theory through the case of Palestine, Weizman's most known theoretical work describes the acts of the Israeli army as founded upon the post-structuralist French philosophers and a reading of them...
, Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva , is a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books and over 500 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. She was trained as a physicist and received her Ph.D...
, Nancy Fraser
Nancy Fraser
Nancy Fraser is an American critical theorist, currently the Henry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Political and Social Science and professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City...
, Gar Alperowitz, Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein
Naomi Klein is a Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization.-Family:...
, and many others. In addition, the Center sponsors research working groups, including an ongoing group on The Right to the City. The Center organizes edited volumes, and hold book celebrations for authors as well as other scholarly events. Each academic year the Center appoints eight faculty fellows and five graduate student fellows from throughout the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
. Fellows are drawn from doctoral programs throughout the social sciences, humanities, and sciences.
The Center's work has several facets. Each academic year, they adopt a specific theme and appoint faculty and graduate student fellows to explore that theme. At a weekly seminar, fellows present their own work and explore the work of others related to the year's theme. The Center also hosts prominent national and international scholars who have done significant work related to the theme. In addition to giving a public lecture, these distinguished visitors meet with the fellows at their weekly seminar. The Center also hosts conferences related to the year's theme. A book series, combining essays by fellows and visitors and other invited outside scholars will help to publicize the Center's work. The Center also encourages faculty and graduate students throughout CUNY to use the Center's facilities for meetings and for organizing projects, and will work on joint projects with other programs and centers.
The director of the Center is Neil Smith
Neil Smith (geographer)
Neil Smith was born 1954 in Leith, Scotland. he is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography, at the Graduate Center department of the City University of New York. From 2008 he holds a twenty percent appointment as Sixth Century Professor of Geography and Social Theory, at the...
. Advisory board members include David Harvey
David Harvey (geographer)
David Harvey is the Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York . A leading social theorist of international standing, he received his PhD in Geography from University of Cambridge in 1961. Widely influential, he is among the top 20 most cited...
, Omar Dahbour, Hester Eisenstein, Joshua Freeman
Joshua Freeman
Joshua B. Freeman is a professor of history at Queens College, City University of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center. He is the former executive officer of the Graduate Center's history department. Freeman is often called the "dean of new york writers."-Childhood and education:Freeman was born...
, Frances Fox-Piven, Heather Gautney, Peter Hitchcock
Peter Hitchcock
Peter Hitchcock was an attorney, teacher, farmer, soldier, legislator, and jurist. His judicial career included 28 years service on the Ohio Supreme Court, 21 years of them as Chief Justice...
, Cindi Katz
Cindi Katz
Cindi Katz , a geographer, is a Professor in Environmental Psychology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Women's Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center...
, Setha Low
Setha Low
- External links :*...
, Michael Menser, Joan Richardson, Donald Robotham, Ida Susser, and Saadia Toor.
Recent themes have included
- “Geopolitics and Insecurity” (2007-8)
- “Transformative Cities” (2006-7)
- “War, Patriotism, Resistance” (2005-6)