The CUNY Gittell Collective Public Scholar Book-Writing Workshop supports CUNY faculty in developing and publishing great first books by providing structured feedback infrastructure: negotiated deadlines, peer camaraderie and accountability, and feedback from field/subfield experts and esteemed interlocutors.
The 2024 Awardees are:
Anthony Dest, Anthropology, Lehman College
Dissident Peace: An Ethnography of Struggle in Colombia
Ted Gordon, Music, Baruch College
The Composer’s Black Box: Cybernetics and Instrumentality in American Experimental Music
Rhea Rahman, Anthropology, Brooklyn College
Muslim Humanitarians in Black, Brown, and White: Racializing the Umma
Shreya Subramani, Anthropology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Carceral Transitions: The Productive Relations of Reentry Governance in New Orleans
The CUNY Gittell Collective is launching a second year of its Public Scholar Workshop Program. It aims to provide CUNY faculty with the support and feedback infrastructures to write and publish great first books. We acknowledge that the resources provided by book workshops– negotiated deadlines, peer camaraderie and accountability, and feedback from field/subfield experts and esteemed interlocutors– are often informally distributed, inaccessible or intimidating for scholars from historically marginalized communities, or codified and available at only certain well-resourced universities. Up to three awardees will receive support to organize a virtual book workshop in summer 2024.
A $2,800 award will be used to provide four expert reviewers an honorarium for their participation in the workshops. This workshop aims to help CUNY faculty in political science, sociology, anthropology, urban studies, and related disciplines to advance book manuscripts.
We especially encourage applications from scholars who book projects focus on issues related to cities, social justice, community participation and development, political engagement and social movements, and democratic governance, both domestically and abroad, and/or those that draw upon some aspect of community-based research and related methodologies, with the aim of combining knowledge and action for policy or social change. This program was inspired by a Book Workshop project run as a partnership between John Jay College-CUNY, Howard University, and the University of Maryland, developed by Professors Niambi Carter (UMD) and Heath Brown (JJC CUNY). This version is sponsored by the Gittell Urban Studies Collective at the CUNY Graduate Center, co-led by Drs. Celina Su and Heath Brown, and co-coordinated/organized by Dr. Kahina Meziant (kmeziant@gc.cuny.edu).
Eligibility
This workshop is designed for CUNY-affiliated faculty, whether full-time or part-time, who can share a completed draft of a first book manuscript by May 1, 2024. While applications from junior faculty (tenure-track or adjunct) will be prioritized, applications from senior faculty will also be considered if applicants 1. Wish to workshop their first book and 2. Agree to participate in a facilitated discussion mentoring junior faculty in the program.
Timeline of meetings
Awardees will meet as a cohort, to share plans for their respective book projects, in late January 2024. A second potential meeting may take place around spring break; this meeting would be an opportunity for awardees to share a portion of an introduction or a book proposal and to receive some feedback. Awardees will meet with 4 reviewers in a virtual workshop to receive feedback on their book manuscript in June 2024.
Today housing insecurity is a generalized phenomenon, driving forward policy solutions under the guise of housing for all. As many look towards the future, they’ve looked past the fight to preserve public housing in growing favor of so-called “social housing” policy solutions. This half-day mini-conference will kick off with a conversation led by tenants leading the fight to preserve public housing in New York City. After they share their analysis of the current housing climate in NYC, an international panel of housing researchers will share comparative research and perspectives on public and social housing across cities in the US, the UK, Europe, Brazil and Canada.
This event is co-sponsored by the CUNY Graduate Center Gittell Collective, the Center for Place, Culture and Politics, and the Urban Studies Department at Queens College, CUNY.
Where and when: The People’s Forum. Saturday, May 13th. 11.30-2.30 pm.
The CUNY Gittell Collective Public Scholar Book-Writing Workshop supports CUNY faculty in developing and publishing great first books by providing structured feedback infrastructure: negotiated deadlines, peer camaraderie and accountability, and feedback from field/subfield experts and esteemed interlocutors.
The 2023 Awardees are:
John Frank (Sociology), Lehman College: The Self Illusion: A Simplified Equation for “You”
Marta-Laura Haynes (Anthropology), John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Untrusting: The quest for democratic policing in urban Brazil
Jinwon Kim (Sociology), College of Technology, The Koreatown in Manhattan: Branding Korea and Consuming Ethnicity in the Global Economy
Nerve Macaspac (Geography), College of State Island, Spaces Of Peace: How Ordinary People Protect Their Lives During War
The CUNY Gittell Collective is launching its first Public Scholar Workshop Program. It aims to provide CUNY faculty with the support and feedback infrastructures to write and publish great first books. We acknowledge that the resources provided by book workshops– negotiated deadlines, peer camaraderie and accountability, and feedback from field/subfield experts and esteemed interlocutors– are often informally distributed, inaccessible or intimidating for scholars from historically marginalized communities, or codified and available at only certain well-resourced universities. Up to three awardees will receive support to organize a virtual book workshop in summer 2023.
A $2,000 award will be used to provide four expert reviewers an honorarium for their participation in the workshops. This workshop aims to help CUNY faculty in political science, sociology, anthropology, urban studies, and related disciplines to advance book manuscripts.
We especially encourage applications from scholars who book projects focus on issues related to cities, social justice, community participation and development, political engagement and social movements, and democratic governance, both domestically and abroad, and/or those that draw upon some aspect of community-based research and related methodologies, with the aim of combining knowledge and action for policy or social change. This program was inspired by the American Political Science Association’s Minority-Serving Institution Virtual Book Workshop project run as a partnership between John Jay College-CUNY, Howard University, and the University of Maryland, developed by Professors. Niambi Carter (UMD) and Heath Brown (JJC CUNY). This version is sponsored by the Gittell Urban Studies Collective at the CUNY Graduate Center, co-led by Drs. Celina Su and Heath Brown, and co-coordinated/organized by Dr. Kahina Meziant (kmeziant@gc.cuny.edu).
Eligibility
This workshop is designed for CUNY-affiliated faculty, whether full-time or part-time, who can share a completed draft of a first book manuscript by May 1, 2023. While applications from junior faculty (tenure-track or adjunct) will be prioritized, applications from senior faculty will also be considered if applicants 1. Wish to workshop their first book and 2. Agree to participate in a facilitated discussion mentoring junior faculty in the program.
Timeline of meetings
Awardees will meet as a cohort, to share plans for their respective book projects, in late January 2023. A second potential meeting may take place around spring break; this meeting would be an opportunity for awardees to share a portion of an introduction or a book proposal and to receive some feedback. Awardees will meet with 4 reviewers in a virtual workshop to receive feedback on their book manuscript in June 2023.
Facilitators: Anita Cheng, Aurash Khawarzad, and Jaime Jover.
Participants: Elizabeth Cooper, Bianca Mona, Silvia Rivera Alfaro, Anushay Said, and Joseph Torres-González.
Our second iteration of the Just Research Workshop—following last year’s generative and provocative first series of workshops—brought together nine research-activists across CUNY campuses working on a wide range of community-based topics from the Arts, Anthropology, Environmental Psychology, Indigenous Studies, Geography, and Women Studies. During the four sessions over the spring 2022 semester, we worked to create a safe, horizontal environment where participants felt confident to share their views, grappling with tensions and contradictions in community-based research, grounded in specific research, creative, and pedagogical projects that we are not usually paid to tend to. We highlight here our takeaways on key, grounding concepts from our experiences together.
Word cloud.
Community and power: we work with and for community development and justice. In many ways, our commitment to “communities” can be taken for granted. Indeed, we discussed how community-based research, social practice art, etc. appear to be “hot” in academic and art worlds, but how we still lack understanding of how implement and actually realize this in substantive ways. For instance, we need to define the community we work with, so how and where do we set the boundaries? Sometimes it is clear-cut because of sociological or geographic reasons, but it also happens that it is difficult to define who belongs to a community and who does not. How does the process of self-identification work? Who commands it? This kind of conversation relates to power relations: as in every group, there are always people who hold power. As engaged scholars, especially with disadvantaged or people in need, we must distinguish who is who. As important as fighting for a community is to be aware of potential inequalities within the community.
Justice and democracy: activist-informed research is about justice in one way or another, but it is not simple to explain. We examined different conceptualizations of justice, especially as linked to honesty and equality, and also to community and democracy. But, who defines these conceptualizations? When does democratic validity lead to justice? One problem comes back to the previous point, i.e., who holds power within a community, a society? Suppose those claiming justice are not represented in the system. In that case, if they are not successful, they could rarely identify themselves with that system, and it should not surprise us if they position themselves outside of it, as non-belonging. Or in other words, if democracy does not comprise its full extension, meaning power does not reside on the people, and those on top are not accountable, it is only logical to think that some people on the bottom, the oppressed and side-lined, disassociate. In those cases, justice does not serve honesty and equality; instead, it becomes a tool against part of the community, fostering non-democratic practices like segregation and alienation. A key takeaway was the necessity to reframe justice as a crucial concept in any social formation vis-à-vis democracy, especially concerning the process by which the latter unfolds.
Reform and academia: reframing justice calls for a reformist agenda. We thought about the process, strengths, and challenges of reframing justice within current political institutions, and how most are interwoven with or embedded in notions of the Western nation-state. Reforms can be implemented at other scales of politic-economic power and outside the West, as decolonial and postcolonial theory and practice shows, in Bolivia or Chile as recent examples. Nevertheless, we wondered: do we believe in reform? Going back to the act of research, questions about positionality arose here because, as academics, we are part of institutions and within the system. Is it possible to work within a system that we do not entirely agree with and that is often unjust and unequal (to us, and especially to the communities we work with)? Are we legitimizing the system by doing so? We did not reach any consensus beyond the importance of self-awareness, uneven relations of power, and the necessity to implement community-based research methodologies that give voice to the communities in setting their agendas and goals.
Resistance: to achieve more just and equal societies we need plans that encompass both direct actions and softer reforms. How does that translate into daily practices? What does resistance look like? The communities we work with keep reframing their strategies and tactics, adjusting to their (also evolving) goals. In our discussions, it seemed helpful to distinguish the everyday emancipatory strategies we have observed as being used by BIPOC communities in the US, from the long-term, repertoires of resistance and alternative institution-building, for example, by the Zapatistas in Chiapas. Again, we could not reach a general conclusion beyond the diversities and richness of every struggle, our necessity as researchers to plug into them by active listening, putting their interest in front instead of ours.
When combined, our most fundamental learning is that our definitions of justice, democracy, and community are linked, and that many global, institutional, and personal transitions can be re-defined, re-contextualized, and understood in endless ways. These definitions are constantly changing. Thus, we must be aware of these ongoing processes and understand that the ways to research them are not fixed, but evolve together with the struggles. Through our academic activity, we are not only helping the community but also transforming their reality, for example, the ways in which they see themselves. That is to say: we need to be mindful of our impacts as academics, striving to reduce these while co-producing knowledge (theoretical and empirical) that helps the goals of the people we serve. Because it is ultimately them and the public good more broadly, and not our institutions, the reasons why we carry out research in the first place. Overall, the workshop was a helpful opportunity to share personal and professional experiences as engaged scholars, reflect on the principles that drive our activity as scholars and activists, engage in conversations about research methods, ethics, and practices, and exchange information to keep our ambitions alive for social change.
Earth and Environmental Sciences Doctoral Program Presents
Dr. Jaime Jover,Gittell Postodoctoral Fellow
For decades, economic growth in Lisbon and Seville-the third and fifth largest cities in the Iberian Peninsula-has been sustained by tourism development. When Covid-19 interrupted global mobilities, both cities’ profound dependency on tourism became evident. Instead of sparking reflection on alternatives, the pandemic reinforced a sense that tourism is the only way out of the crisis. The lecture will highlight the impacts of tourism on housing markets and unpack tourism-oriented local and regional governance in Lisbon and Seville, focusing on city strategies and urban planning in the years before and during Covid-19. A final argument centers on how tourism solidifies class structures. The goal is to question tourism as an accumulation strategy that exploits urban cultures and ask, ultimately, whether tourism can exist beyond capitalism.
April 14, 2022 4:15-6:15 p.m.
Skylight Room, 9100
The Graduate Center, CUNY
This presentation will also be accessible on Zoom. See below for Zoom Link.
Topic: Colloquium with Dr. Jaime Jover Time: April 14, 2022 04:10 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 811 205 1577 Passcode: EES One tap mobile +19292056099,,8112051577# US (New York) +13126266799,,8112051577# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) Meeting ID: 811 205 1577 Find your local number: https://gc-cuny-edu.zoom.us/u/kcENI6iTsj
Fri, Mar 18, 2022 – Sun, Mar 20, 2022 Kaufman Music Center, Merkin Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023
About the 2022 Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival
Started in 2020, the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival is a platform for the performance and discussion of the complex and unique contributions of Ukrainian composers to contemporary music. Through three separate concert programs and academic discussion with scholars and musicians, the festival engages the intersection of new music, contemporary events and the culture of Ukraine.
Join us for this year’s festival which will journey through the ancient Ukrainian landscape, mythologies of nature and centuries of agrarian life, to the modern city, exploring Ukraine’s diverse landscapes as we contemplate the role of music in our planet’s past, present and future.
Ukraine in 2022: UCMF Statement
While the war effort is of paramount importance, it is also crucial that Ukrainian culture does not disappear. It is the lie that Ukraine has no culture of its own that forms the basis of Vladimir Putin’s claim that Ukraine is not a proper country, a lie that has put the people of Ukraine in grave danger. UCMF 2022 will take place despite the challenges, aiming to showcase Ukrainian artists and music in a time when these matter most. So it more important than ever to give Ukrainian art and artists an international voice. Any and all acts of solidarity with Ukraine are crucial; we encourage you to support Ukrainian artists in any way you can. We are offering three performances by contemporary Ukrainian composers and artists in NYC. We invite you to join us and discover incredible music from Ukraine. Click here or below to get tickets and attend.
CONCERT SCHEDULE:
Forest Song | Лісова Пісня
Friday, March 18, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Kaufman Music Center, Merkin Hall
Photo credit: Maryna Prykhodko
Ivan Nebesnyy, Air Music 1/Wind Music
Zoltan Almashi, The echo from hitting the trunk of a dry mountain spruce in Rytsarka Hurna village
Anastasia Belitska, Rusalochka
Ostap Manulyak, Trees
—INTERMISSION—
Alla Zahaykevych, Nord/Ouest
Join us in the forest to explore a powerful source of Ukrainian traditions and mythologies. Named after Lesia Ukrainka’s poetic play, this concert reveals contemporary composers’ preoccupation with the natural world and the myths that have grown from the mysterious settings of Ukrainian forests in the North. Mixing instruments and voices with electronics, we present varied realizations of life in the woodlands. The concert culminates with Alla Zahaykevych’s sonic journey through the Polissya region, a site of feral, mystical lands, increasingly depleted since the Chornobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.
Performers include Ekmeles vocal ensemble, James Baker, Itay Lantner, Isabel Lepant Gleicher, Alice Teyssier, Laura Cocks, Gleb Kanasevich, Stella Saliei, Margarita Rovenskaya, Lindsey Eckenroth, Sean Statser and Iryna Klymenko and Serhiy Okhrimchuk of Drevo.
Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 8pm. Kaufman Music Center, Merkin Hall
Photo credit: Maryna Prykhodko
Zoltan Almashi, Carpathian Song
Yevhen Stankovych, Morning Music
Myroslav Skoryk, Hutsul Triptych
—INTERMISSION—
Improvisations and pieces by String Air Synthesis (duo SAS)
Many Ukrainian folk songs describing the facets of agrarian life begin with the “In the field…” (“Oy, u poli…”). Our second concert explores music inspired by the folk culture that accompanied centuries of rural existence. Works influenced by the Carpathian region and the traditions of the Hutsuls, an ethnographic group of Ukrainian pastoral highlanders, are are juxtaposed with the music of duo SAS, who transform elements of the same sonic world with wholly different results. Their program will include composed pieces in microtonal and even temperament for Kharkiv-style bandura and flute, with the use of extended techniques, synthesized and electronically processed sounds.
Performers include Shelest Piano Duo, Solomiya Ivakhiv, Quynh Nyugen, Sabina Torosjan, Ira Khonen Temple, and duo SAS.
Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 3pm. Kaufman Music Center, Merkin Hall
Photo credit: Maryna Prykhodko
Alexey Shmurak, Greenland
—INTERMISSION—
Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko, Chornobyldorf Partita
Our final concert interrogates the destructive consequences of human exploitation of the Earth, moving from the land as a site of magic and abundance to one of damage and devastation. Alexey Shmurak’s Greenland sheds a reflective light on the erosion of the Arctic, while the Chornobyldorf Partita by Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko imagines life in a post-apocalyptic world.
Click here or below to see the full list of composers.
PERFORMERS
Click here or below to see the full list of performers.
Click here for the official 2022 Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival website and more information, including performers, composers, video recordings, photos, past events, media, partners and more. The Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center, CUNY and the CUNY Adjunct Incubator with the Gittell Urban Studies Collective are proud co-partners and supporters of the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival organized by Leah Bastone.
Read “Surveying Ukraine’s Musical Landscape: 2020 to 2022” in anticipation of the 2022 Festival from organizer and creative director Leah Batstone who offers an update on Ukraine’s musical landscape since the inaugural Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival in 2020.
The Center for the Humanities at the Graduate Center, CUNY and the CUNY Adjunct Incubator with the Gittell Urban Studies Collective are proud co-partners and supporters of the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival organized by Leah Bastone (Hunter College, CUNY).
Statement from the organizer: “As a musicologist, my research is rooted in intersections of music and politics. I am interested in music’s response to political change and its role in mediating philosophical ideas, particularly its relationship to Leftist discourses, the history of socialism in the 20th century, and challenges to narratives of hegemonic cultures. The Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival grew out of a project I conducted examining how musical programming had changed in Ukraine following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. It has continued to serve as a site to investigate the newest music and composers from Ukraine as well as to examine their works as part of a longer history of Europe’s largest country. The geopolitical circumstances coinciding with this year’s festival make the need to highlight the anti-imperial narratives of Ukrainian music even more relevant and urgent.”
Gittell Collective 