Bucket List represents the intellectual privilege we enjoy as Columbia students. We do our very best to bring to your attention important guest lecturers and special events on campus. Our recommendations for this week are below, and the full list is after the jump. 

If you notice any events that have been left off the list, or if you have a correction, please let us know in the comments or email events@bwog.com.

Recommended

• “Should Governments Pay Ransom?” 6 – 7 PM. Pulitzer Hall, World Room. Joel Simon, Janine di Giovanni and Kyle Pope discuss Simon’s new book, which draws on his decades of experience on the Committee to Protect Journalists and explores the different facets of the problem facing governments when asked to pay ransom to terrorist groups.
• Two food related events
  • “Arts Week Presents: Alex Guarnaschelli.” Tuesday, February 5, 7 – 9 PM. Diana Center Event Oval. In Arts Week Keynote address, Barnard alumna and chef Alex Guarnaschelli talks about her career in the culinary arts. Tickets are sold out, so hopefully you snagged yours!
  • Columbia’s annual Battle of the Dining Halls will take place on Thursday, February 7 from 2 – 3:30 PM in the Lerner auditorium, and features Guarnaschelli as the guest judge. See which dining hall will emerge victorious (though in the past Bwog has doubted that victory is possible).
• BODILY: The Immigrant Body in the Court of Judgment with Amitava Kumar.” Thursday, February 7, 4 – 5 PM. 754 Schermerhorn Extension. Dr. Amitava Kumar will read and discuss his acclaimed 2018 novel, Immigrant, Montana. Remarks and a conversation with Columbia Professor Bruce Robbins will follow.

Student Event Spotlight

If your club or organization is interested in having your event featured here, please submit them to events@bwog.com or using our Events Submission Form.

• Rooted (Respecting Ourselves & Others Through Empathy & Dialogue) hosts Dinner & Dialogue Series: Dissecting the CU Experience, which works to create discussion spaces “dedicated to building solidarity, empathy, and authenticity.” This Thursday, the topic of discussion is “You say you don’t like the Core. What are you doing about it?” and will take place in the Intercultural Resource Center from 6:30 – 8:30.

Monday, February 4

• “Rethinking Utopia: Fiction, Science, Politics.” Monday, February 4, 4 – 6 PM. Philosophy Hall, Room 501. Roundtable discussion with visiting professor Douglas Mao and graduate students Mia Florin-Sefton, Naomi Michalowicz and Diana Newby.
• “Food Justice + Public Health: The World That Food Made.” 6 – 7:30 PM. Lenfest Center for the Arts, The Lantern. Mark Bittman. RSVP here.
• “Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe – From the Ancien Régime to the Present Day.” 6 – 7:30 PM. Buell Hall, East Gallery. Sheri Berman, in discussion with Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Jack Snyder, and Alexander Stille, moderated by Adam Tooze. RSVP here.
• “Civilian Monitors in Armed Conflict: Opportunities and Challenges.” 6 – 7 PM. Pulitzer Hall, World Room. Alexander Hug.
• “Launch of the Book: Sugar, Cigars, and Revolution: The Making of Cuban New York.” 6 – 8 PM. International Affairs Building, Room 802. Lisandro Pérez.

Tuesday, February 5

• “The Worldliest Minority: Chinese Muslims and the Global History of Guomindang Nation-Building, 1927-1949.” 12 – 1:30 PM. Internation Affairs Building, Room 918. John Chen, moderated by Eugenia Lean. 
• “Book Talk: Mara Karlin ‘Building Militaries in Fragile States.‘” 12:10 – 2 PM. International Affairs Building, Room 1302.
• “Antisemitism, Hate Speech, and Social Media.” 5:30 – 7:30 PM. Italian Academy, Teatro. 
  

Wednesday, February 6

• “Prince Of The Press: How One Collector Built History’s Most Enduring And Remarkable Jewish Library.” 12 – 1:30 PM. Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. Joshua Teplitsky. Register here.
• “The Barbarity of the Metropolis: Towards a Biopolitics of Radical Social Transformation.” 6 – 7:30 PM. Buell Hall East Gallery. Guillaume Faburel. RSVP here.
• “Entangled Spirits: A Conversation Series on the Arts, Religion & Politics.” 6:15 – 8 PM. Lenfest Center for the Arts, The Forum. artist Mickalene Thomas and writer/activist Darnell Moore, moderated by Columbia Professor Kellie Jones. Register by Monday, February 4.

Thursday, February 7

• “Is the Islamic State Really Defeated? A View From Syria.” 12 – 1 PM. International Affairs Building, Room 1219. David Phillips. 
• “Navigating Human Rights Critiques: Lessons from South Africa.” 12:10 – 1:10 PM. Jerome Greene Hall, Room 107. discussion with Jackie Dugard and Benjamin Hoffman. 
• “Between War and the European Union.” 6:15 – 7:15 PM. International Affairs Building, Room 1219. Milan Antonijevic. 
• “Italy’s Decolonization: Multidirectional Memories of Empire’s End.” 6 – 8 PM. Heyman Center, Second Floor Common Room. Pamela Ballinger (University of Michigan), with respondant Victoria de Grazia (Columbia University) and Konstantina Zanou moderating. 
• “Heroes and Toilers: Work as Life in Postwar North Korea, 1953-1961.” 12 – 1:30 PM. International Affairs Room 918. Cheehyung Harrison Kim, moderated by Charles K. Armstrong.
• “The Persistence of an Idea: Anticommunism in Brazil from Getulio Vargas to Jair Bolsonaro.” 1 – 2 PM. International Affairs, Room 812. Vinicius Bivar. 

Friday, February 8

• “A Conversation With Author Vladimir Pištalo.” 6 – 7:30 PM. International Affairs Building, Room 1219.
• “44th Annual Scholar and Feminist Conference.” Friday – Saturday, starting at 4 PM, throughout Barnard’s campus. See a full schedule of workshops, talks, exhibits and more here.