The late Arthur Schlesinger Jr., the great scholar of the New Deal, liked to talk about how the best historians know that history is “an argument without end.” Now a new generation of authors has taken up that argument, and it’s as controversial as ever. Join columnists Amity Shlaes and Jonathan Alter as they square […]
Reflections on Citizen Movements: Peace and Politics in the U.S and Japan
Nonviolent citizen movements for peace, environmental change, and social justice in both the U.S. and Japan have caused social and political change in both nations. Leading American social activist and former California State Senator Tom Hayden and James Orr, Chair of the Department of East Asian Studies at Bucknell University and author of The Victim […]
It’s the Economic Recovery Plan, Stupid
As debate on the recession moves from “if” to “when” to “how long,” The New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (CEPA) and the New America Foundation invite top economists and business executives to share their perspectives. The discussion centers on the economic and political realities behind the debate on how best to stimulate […]
Janet Browne on Charles Darwin
Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, speaks about Charles Darwin in the context of his place and time. She focuses particularly on his personal finances and what they tell us about his habits and inclinations. She is the author of a two-part biography of Darwin, Charles Darwin: Voyaging and […]
Taking Stock of New York City’s Water
How well is the New York City Memorandum of Agreement of 1997 working? The Agreement is intended to protect the quality, affordability and availability of the drinking water of almost 10 million residents of New York City and surrounding counties. The Agreement has also offered economic programs to upstate communities, in return for their cooperation […]
Are New Immigrants Assimilating?
The U.S. has long been known as a nation of immigrants who embrace a common culture. Today, the U.S. finds itself in the midst of a wave of new immigrants and a fierce fight over immigration policy. Have recent arrivals made efforts to assimilate? Or are they standing apart as many anti-immigrant forces contend? To […]
Orientalism: The Roots of Modernism
The 19th century had a love affair with the Arabic Middle East. For some it was all about an exoticism which we today might think of as romantic, ornamental, even “superficial,” much like the craze for chinoiserie in the 1700s. But “Orientalism” in architecture, when processed by creative Western designers, also served as a root […]
Darwin is famed for his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, but many people do not know that he was originally a botanist. Is Darwinism relevant today? And how do his theories match up with contemporary science? Presentations are made by David Kohn, Darwin historian, on Darwin’s Delight: The Man and His Botany; Michael […]
Hao Jiang Tian: My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met
Operatic bass Hao Jiang Tian reminisces about and performs the songs that highlight his tumultuous journey from the Cultural Revolution to the Metropolitan Opera. Tian is the first Chinese-born opera singer to achieve fame and a lasting success on world stages, but audiences know nothing about his childhood in a revolutionary household and his seven […]
Learning from the Elections of 2004 and 2000
What lessons can be learned from the past two presidential elections? How are party alliances changing? How might this election transform foreign policy and generational dynamics? Sondra Farganis, director of the Wolfson Center for National Affairs, leads a conversation about the direction and lessons of American politics after the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. She […]
