Past Events

Fall 2012, Spring 2013

Women at the Helm: What is Our Obligation?
This year-long series looked at the roles of women in leadership and power, and our responsibilities to speak out, push back, or forge ahead.

Fall 2011, Spring 2012

Religion and the Public Square
This year long series looked at the complex connections between religion and society, and the proper role of religion in the public arena.

The Age of Insecurity: American Leadership in an Era of Change
Mona Sutphen '89, former Chief of Staff for Policy for the Obama Administration, presented a lecture on the role of the United States at a time of unprecedented challenges in world affairs.

Uncommon Playwrights
Three renowned dramatists reflected on the life of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein '71and her legacy on the role of women in theatre.

Lead by Choice
Sheena Iyengar, award-winning author and Professor at Columbia's School of Business, discussed what effective leaders need to know about the powerful role of choice.

Fall 2010, Spring 2011

All-campus FOOD Series
This year-long, campus-wide, and multi-disciplinary series probed the art, economics, philosophy, politics, and science of food.

FOOD, Weissman Center Public Lecture Series
The Weissman Center's FOOD series focused on the philosophical questions and practical approaches to world hunger, global climate change, animals as a food source, and food culture in culture in African American communities.

Civil Rights, Black Power, and Social Justice: The Courage to Act
A panel with civil rights activist Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr., and historian Dr. Peniel Joseph, examined the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement on contemporary society.

The New Discontent: The Tea Party Movement from the Ground Up
Tea Party organizer Keli Carender focused on the growing role of the movement in the political landscape.

Spring 2010

Limits of the Law
This series explored the limits of legal authority, and what can and cannot be done in the name of the law.

Fall 2009

Rethinking Health Care
This series looks at the moral, economic, and political consequences of health care policy as congress debates changes to medical insurance.

Fall 2008, Spring 2009

Body Politic(s)
A year-long series that explores contemporary political issues and the challenges that arise when bodies are politicized by domestic and international policies, wars, and conflict.

Weissman Center Tenth Anniversary
This weekend honored the visionary commitment of Harriet Levine Weissman '58 and Paul M. Weissman.

Fall 2007, Spring 2008

Bearing Witness
A year-long series that will explore the issues of testimony, the politics of advocacy, and the multiple ways in which acts of witnessing enable, educate, and inspire us.

Previous Series

• Spring 2007: Family Matters
  The first part of the series looked at the historical, political, legal, and social context relating to marriage and civil unions. The second part  explored ways in which women are shaping today's American military.
• Fall 2006: Migrations
  The Migrations series explores the ways in which the earth and humankind are immersed in epic, substantial, and sometimes irreversible acts of migration.
• Spring 2006: Acts of Reconstruction
  Explores the provocative ways in which land, history, law, art, and society have been transformed, challenged, threatened, and protected as a result of acts of reconstruction.
• Fall 2005: Law & Dis/Order
  A program inspired by the ways in which law, order, and disorder continue to shape our understanding of contemporary events and political efforts at home and abroad.
• Fall 2004, Spring 2005: Water Matters: Survival for the 21st Century
  A yearlong series of events, exhibits, courses, and outreach activities to explore the political, environmental, and cultural meanings of water.
• Fall 2004: The Road [Not] Taken: The Real Choices of the 2004 Presidential Election
• Spring 2004: Geographies of Color
• Fall 2003: The Pontigny Encounters
• Spring 2003: The Political Embryo
• Fall 2002: Destinations: New Meanings of Travel
• Spring 2002: Building Meaning
• Fall 2001: Architecture and Public Space
• Spring 2001: Social Changes
• Fall 2000: American Democracy
• Spring 2000: U.S. Intervention
• Fall 1999: Environmental Health
• Spring 1999: Public Education
• Fall 1998: Promoting Change