With Omer Bartov

As a part of a public lecture series on The History and Future of Religious Violence and Apocalyptic Movements, The Hertog Global Strategy Initiative and the IRCPL present a lecture by Omer Bartov entitled The Voice of Your Brother’s Blood: A Galician Town in the Time of the Holocaust.

With Nina Shea

As a part of a public lecture series on The History and Future of Religious Violence and Apocalyptic Movements, The Hertog Global Strategy Initiative and the IRCPL present a lecture by Nina Shea on Blasphemy Codes in the Contemporary World.

With Harvey Cox, Jr.

As a part of a public lecture series on The History and Future of Religious Violence and Apocalyptic Movements, The Hertog Global Strategy Initiative and the IRCPL present a lecture by Harvey Cox, Jr. on Religion, Violence, and Nonviolence.

With Richard W. Bulliet

As a part of a public lecture series on The History and Future of Religious Violence and Apocalyptic Movements, The Hertog Global Strategy Initiative and the IRCPL present a lecture by Richard W. Bulliet onViolence and Islamo-Christian Civilization.

With R. Scott Appleby, Martha Crenshaw, Mark Juergensmeyer, Jessica Stern and Monica Duffy Toft

As a part of a public lecture series on The History and Future of Religious Violence and Apocalyptic Movements, The Hertog Global Strategy Initiative and the IRCPL present a panel discussion on Religious Violence and Apocalyptic Movements.

With Mark Z. Danielewski and Mark C. Taylor

Rewiring the Real is a yearlong series of conversations with writers about the interplay of literature, technology and religion.

With Mustafa Akyol and the Reverend Daniel Madigan

A conversation with Mustafa Akyol and the Reverend Daniel Madigan on the common ground that exists between Christianity and Islam, and between conservative and moderate traditions in both religions. They will discuss how, within Islam, Quranic interpretation can lead either to humanist depictions of freedom and democracy or to a justification of authoritarian political force.

With Nathan Schneider

A talk by Nathan Schneider, who writes about reason, religion, and politics for publications including Harper’s, The Nation, The New York Times, Commonweal, Religion Dispatches. He is editor of the online literary magazine Killing the Buddha and the website Waging Nonviolence. His book about the search for proof of God’s existence is forthcoming.

With Michael E. Lewitt and Mark C. Taylor

Burden of Choice is a conversation series about how proliferating choices in a liberal democracy both liberate and constrain us, including charitable giving on February 15; guns on February 29; and waste on March 28.

With Dr. Nouzha Guessous, Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, Dr. Toby C. Jones, Dr. Tarek Masoud and Dr. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro

A conference on the factors that have led to greater, or more restricted, liberties in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, focusing on the role of religious actors, international bodies like the UN, civil society, and developments since the Arab Spring.

With Susanna Wing, Jaimie Bleck, Brandon County and Manthia Diawara

A roundtable discussion on Mali’s 2012 elections with Susanna Wing (Haverford College), Jaimie Bleck (University of Notre Dame), and Brandon County (Columbia University). Moderated by Manthia Diawara (New York University).

With David Buckley

A talk by David Buckley, a doctoral candidate in government at Georgetown University. Moderated by Alfred Stepan,  the Wallace Sayre Professor of Government at Columbia; and Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor of French and Romance Philology and of Philosophy at Columbia

With Charles Best and Mark C. Taylor

A conversation with Charles Best, Founder and CEO of DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that provides a way for people to donate directly to public schools. Through peer-to-peer philanthropy, the nonprofit has raised more than $1o0 million for 200,000 projects at public schools across the country. Moderated by Mark C. Taylor, Chair of the Department of Religion and Co-Director of the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life.

With Glenn Bowman

A public talk by Glenn Bowman, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Kent and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at IRCPL. His talk is part of the Religion and Mobility Faculty Seminar, organized by Karen Barkey, Professor of Sociology and History, and Valentina Izmirlieva, Professor of Slavic Languages, and sponsored by the IRCPL.

With Alioune Badara Diop and Ousmane Kane

A lecture by Alioune Badara Diop, a political scientist at Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis, Senegal. Moderated by Ousmane Kane, associate professor of international and public affairs at SIPA at Columbia University.

With Bachir Souleymane Diagne, Etienne Smith, Alfred Stepan,  Alioune Badara Diop and Mamadou Diouf

A discussion with Bachir Souleymane Diagne, Etienne Smith, Alfred Stepan, and Alioune Badara Diop, a political scientist at Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis, Senegal. Moderated by Mamadou Diouf. Followed by a screening of film Democracy in Dakar, which looks at the involvement of the youth and rap singers in the elections in 2007.

With Glenn Bowman

A private seminar discussion with Glenn Bowman, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Kent and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at IRCPL. Participation is by invitation. If interested in attending, please email Chelsea Ebin at cre2106@columbia.edu.

With Bernard Haykel

Saudi Arabia’s leaders have claimed that their regime is immune to the revolutionary changes associated with the Arab Spring uprisings. The Saudis have been quite actively engaged with these events and in complicated ways, domestically as well as regionally. They have encouraged some of the uprisings and attempted to clamp down on others. This talk will explore Saudi Arabia’s policies in response to the Arab Spring, which include enforcing religious sanctions against public demonstrations within the Kingdom, increasing various domestic subsidies in an effort to co-opt potential dissent, stabilizing the monarchy in Bahrain and stewarding a new government into power in Yemen.

With Yuri Stoyanov

This lecture intends to explore movements in Western and Central Eurasia like Manichaeism, Paulicianism, Bogomilism, and Ismailism (which as early as the tenth century expanded in Central and later in South Asia and often condemned by its Sunni opponents as a ‘Manichaean’ sect). Why did normative Christian and Islamic elites view them as heretical? How did they defy this label to achieve the character of religious internationals?

With Arolda Elbassani and Karen Barkey

Since the fall of communism, Muslim organizations have boomed in number and strength in Albania. Yet, they represent an exceptional case of Islam which is both liberal, tolerant, pro-democratic and pro-European.  The Albanian brand of moderate Islam has persisted over radical influences which have penetrated the porous post-communist terrain characterized by open competition for sources and ideas.

With Michael Laffan and Duncan McCargo

A conversation with Michael Laffan, Professor of History, Princeton University and author of The Makings of Indonesian Islam; and with Duncan McCargo, Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead East Asian Institute and author ofMapping National Anxieties: Thailand’s Southern Conflict.

With Paul Kollman

A conversation with Paul Kollman, who will draw upon his research in African Christianity as well as other trends in religious studies to offer some suggestions about how studies of religion and mobility have been already undertaken and how they might profitably move forward.

With Neal Stephenson and Alfred E. Guy Jr

A conversation with Neal Stephenson, author of Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, Anathem, and most recently Reamde. Moderated by Alfred E. Guy Jr, director of Yale College Writing Center. Rewiring the Real is a yearlong series of conversations with writers about the interplay of literature, technology and religion, including Jennifer Egan on February 7 and Mark Z. Danielewski on April 24.

With Obery M. Hendricks Jr

A talk by Obery M. Hendricks Jr. on his new book, The Universe Bends Towards Justice. It includes essays on the gap between the spirituality of the church and of Jesus; the ways in which contemporary gospel music sensationalize today’s churches into social and political irrelevance; and how the economic policies espoused by the religious right betray the same biblical tradition they claim to hold dear.

With Gary Shteyngart and McKenzie Wark

A conversation with Gary Shteyngart, author of The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Absurdistan, and most recently Super Sad True Love Story. Moderated by McKenzie Wark, professor of media and cultural studies at The New School and author of Gamer Theory.

With Christophe Jaffrelot, Karen Barkey, Rajeev Bhargava, Shabnam Hashmi and Gagan Sethi

A workshop with Christophe Jaffrelot (CERI, Sciences Po); Karen Barkey (Columbia); Rajeev Bhargava (Columbia); Shabnam Hashmi; Gagan Sethi (Jan Vikas Society). The 2002 pogrom in Gujurat, India, which resulted in 2,000–mostly Muslim–casualties. It was exceptional not only because of its magnitude but also because of its spread to the countryside, where a large number of Muslims were attacked by their Hindu neighbours. After the pogrom, NGOs committed themselves to relief work, judicial assistance and attempts at reconciliating Hindus and Muslims. This workshop will engage NGO activists involved in reconciliation work to share their experience and assess the impact of their efforts.The workshop is part of the ongoing Sacred Sites project, organized by Karen Barkey and Elazar Barkan.

With Rajeev Bhargava and Nadia Urbinati

Europe, the home of secular humanism, has the most secularized social institutions in the world. Wasn’t it settled long ago that European states were secular too? Rajeev Bhargava’s answer is an emphatic no. Not only have most European states continued the long-standing practice of appeasing national churches, they continue to have a legal and constitutional framework that fails to safeguard the interests of religious minorities. What is worse, conceptual blindness prevents them from even noticing that they are not secular. Europe’s inter-communal problems will further deteriorate if they don’t refashion their political secularism.

With Saskia Sassen, Nadia Urbinati, Stathis Gourgouris and Suresh Naidu

On September 17th, 2011, a group of protestors began their occupation of Zuccotti Park in the financial district of Manhattan. The #OCCUPYWALLSTREET movement has grown to include hundreds of people who live in the park and thousands more who occupy it during the day. Similar protests have begun in other cities around the United States and throughout the world. The leaderless movement has spread largely via the Internet and through the use of mobile technology and social media. How do we understand this movement? What is new about it, and how has it arisen? Where is it going, and how has it already changed? A roundtable of Columbia University professors will explore these questions and provide a platform for campus-wide discussion.