The Committee on Global Thought’s fall semester featured an engaging line-up of campus talks, panels, and community-building events that covered a breadth of topics relevant to our current global political situation, from climate activism to the US presidential election. As we reflect on the close of another semester, we also look forward to all that next year will bring.
CGT started the academic year by announcing a chair transition, with Reinhold Martin stepping down in advance of his upcoming sabbatical. CGT’s new chair, Adam Tooze, is a renowned economic historian whose work touches on many of the themes explored in CGT’s academic programs and research initiatives. CGT has embarked on an exciting new agenda under his leadership.
In September, the Undergraduate Committee on Global Thought (UCGT) hosted a talk by Professor Wafaa El-Sadr, the Executive VP of Columbia Global, “Approaches to Global Health Challenges: From Scholarship to Impact.” Professor El-Sadr shared insights about building connections between scholarship and action to create health solutions for vulnerable communities.
In the second half of the month, the Committee on Global Thought teamed up with the Climate School, the Institute of Global Politics, Columbia Global, and the European Institute to host activist Luisa Neubauer, the lead organizer of the Fridays For the Future climate movement in Germany, and Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in the UK Government, in a panel moderated by CGT Chair Adam Tooze. The discussion covered young people’s perspectives on a fossil fuel future, a vision for a “green transition” to revitalize local UK communities, and the importance of dynamic partnerships at the grassroots and government levels to enact effective societal change.
October brought the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Global Thought MA. Our two-day reunion invited alumni, current students, past chairs, faculty, and friends to enjoy meals together, participate in cohort-bridging activities and networking, and attend talks by CGT Chair Adam Tooze, past Chairs Joseph Stiglitz, Saskia Sassen, Carol Gluck, and Vishakha Desai, and class of 2021 alumnus Junjie Ren.. At the end of the month, current students were welcomed to the first event in the Committee’s professional development series, Careers Without Borders. Seven experts in fields such as economics, law, advocacy, and policy reform spent time speaking with students, offering priceless personal and professional advice.
The CGT also hosted two expert panel discussions on the topic of the US presidential election this autumn, moderated by Chair Adam Tooze. “Morning in America” took place at the end of October, and featured speakers from China, India, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, who discussed how the election is being viewed in their part of the world, and what is at stake for their region. The “Evening in America” panel, which took place mid-November, offered insight on the US election outcome from Columbia Global Center directors from Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, and Tunis.
To conclude the semester, in December CGT convened a panel discussion on the macroeconomic, geopolitical, and individual impacts of global dislocation in this age of de-globalization, a topic that is becoming increasingly resonant in the United States and across the globe. CGT Chair Adam Tooze, CGT advisory council member Rajesh Swaminathan, and CGT members Nikhar Gaikwad and Yasmine Ergas were joined by fellow CGT members, Advisory Council members, and students from around Columbia.
We want to extend heartfelt thanks to all who participated in and attended CGT events throughout the fall semester, and we look forward to sharing next semester’s lineup of events soon.