With Paul Auster

A conversation with PAUL AUSTER, acclaimed novelist, essayist and translator. His many works include The New York Trilogy, Moon Palace, The Brooklyn Follies and, most recently, Man in the Dark. Moderated by Mark C. Taylor, Chair of the Department of Religion and Co-Director of the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life.

With Loren Ryter

Loren Ryter, Visiting Scholar and Lecturer at the University of Michigan, on Indonesia’s New Order, in which state-sactioned criminal groups were given license to control gambling, prostitution, drug distribution, and protection rackets in exchange for political support.

With Courtney Bender, Mark C. Taylor, Penny Edgell, Joshua Dubler, Wayne Proudfoot and others

In recent decades, scholars of religion have attempted to shift attention away from belief and doctrine to practices, rituals identities and institutition. This focus has allowed scholars to recognize that “lived religion” is a multilayered and dynamic phenomenon, but it has kept them from examining other ways in which belief remains central to religious practices. By re-examining what it means to believe, this conference explores if and how belief matters.

With David Ignatius and Nicholas Lemann

A conversation with David Ignatius, columnist for The Washington Post and author of Body of Lies, which was recently adapted into a feature film. Moderated by Nicholas Lemann, Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of the Graduate School of Journalism.

With Assia Djebar, Toni Morrison, Leila Ahmed and Angela Davis

A performance of extracts from the operas The Daughters of Ishmael in Wind and Storm by Assia Djebar and Margaret Garner by Toni Morrison and Richard Danielpour. Accompanied by a discussion with Assia Djebar, Toni Morrison, Leila Ahmed (Harvard Divinity School), and Angela Davis (University of California Santa Cruz).

With Jean Leca and Peter Awn

A talk by Jean Leca (Sciences-Po, Paris) on current global political dynamics in reference to the concepts of uncertainty, vulnerability, and legitimacy. He will use Algeria as a case study for democratic processes in the Arab world. Introduction by Peter Awn, Director of the Middle East Institute and Dean of General Studies. Light lunch will be served.

With Dalia Sofer

A conversation with Dalia Sofer, author of the novel The Septembers of Shiraz based on her family’s flight from post-revolutionary Iran. It was named one of the New York Times Notable Books of 2008. Moderated by Dohra Ahmad, Assistant Professor of English at St. John’s University.

With Bat Ye’or, Faisal Devji, Philip Hamburger, Marci Hamilton, Leonard Leo and others

Are candor and respect compatible when discussing other religions in the public sphere? This conference investigates the dangers of neglecting both in the realms of governance, diplomacy and journalism.

With Uzodinma Iweala and Mamadou Diouf

A conversation with Uzodinma Iweala, author of Beasts of No Nation and named one of Granta‘s Best Young American Novelists. Moderated by Mamadou Diouf, the Leitner Family Professor of African Studies and Director of Institute for African Studies.

With Jonathan Safran Foer and Jenny Davidson

A conversation with Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the acclaimed Everything is Illuminated, which was adapted into a feature film directed by Liev Schreiber.

With Gilles Kepel and Alfred Stepan

A book presentation by Gilles Kepel, Professor of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at Sciences Po, Paris. His book investigates the ideological quagmire of terrorism and martyrdom and explores the terms of a new and constructive dialogue between Islam and the West, one for which Europe, with its expanding and restless Muslim populations, may be the proving ground.

With Gail Omvedt

A public talk with Gail Omvedt, sociologist and author of Seeking Begumpura: The Social Vision of Anticaste Intellectuals (2008). Dr. Omvedt has also worked actively with social movements in India, including the Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental movements, farmers’ movements and especially with rural women.

With Laurence Louër and Gary Sick

A book presentation by Laurence Louër (Professor of Middle East Studies at Sciences Po-CERI in Paris) and moderated by Gary Sick (Middle East Institute).

With Rashid Khalidi and Joseph Massad

A conference on the legacy of Edward Said’s work and its part in the larger phenomenon of Orientalism with regard to the question of Palestine and the Jewish question.

With Salman Rushdie, Thomas Krens, Charles Taylor, and Orhan Pamuk

To celebrate its inauguration, the Institute is hosting an afternoon of public lectures on religion in contemporary society with Salman Rushdie, Thomas Krens, Charles Taylor, and Orhan Pamuk.

With Jaime Lara

As part of the series “New Evidence, 1400-1800,” a lecture with Jaime Lara, Associate Professor of Christian Art and Architecture at Yale University Divinity School, and José ardo Tomás, a member of the Department of History of Science at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Barcelona.

With Richard Locke and Philip Gourevitch

Richard Locke, Professor of Writing at Columbia’s School of the Arts, in conversation with Philip Gourevitch, writer and editor of The Paris Review, on his most recent book Standard Operating Procedure, which he co-authored with filmmaker Errol Morris. The book and Morris’ film explore Abu Ghraib.

With Naz Modirzadeh and Mahmood Mamdani

An open forum with Naz Modirzadeh, Senior Associate at Harvard School of Public Health, and Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University.

With Tariq Ali and Mahmoud Mamdani

Historian and novelist Tariq Ali discusses his new book The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Powerwith an introduction by Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and Professor of Anthropology.

With Denis Lacorne

Denis Lacorne will discuss his new book De La Religion en Amerique: Essai d’histoire politique (2007), a comparative analysis of religion in America, which has received a popular and critical reception in France. An English translation is forthcoming.

With Rajeev Bhargava

Rajeev Bhargava, Professor of Political Science at the University of Delhi, is Director of the Center for the Study of Developing Societies and the leading scholar on Indian secularism.