The University Senate recently passed a resolution designating Juneteenth as an official University Holiday. After two years observing the day, Juneteenth has now been added to the University holiday calendar for this year and moving forward. The University calendar is always changing and evolving, but some holidays have a longer history than others. […]
Research at the RBML | Gary Ley on Albert Maltz
RBML researcher and Swansea University PhD candidate, Gary Ley writes a guest essay about delving into the Albert Maltz collection at Columbia. Maltz, a screenwriter, novelist, and playwright, was jailed after his refusal to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee regarding his membership in the Communist Party. (Columbia also has a collection of Maltz’ […]
Research at the RBML | Laurence Cossu-Beaumont on transatlantic literary agents
Laurence Cossu-Beaumont, Professor at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, recently visited the RBML for his project, Two Literary Agents in the American Century: William and Jenny Bradley, Transatlantic Cultural Passeurs (Deux agents littéraires dans le siècle américain: William et Jenny Bradley, passeurs culturels transatlantiques, Lyon, ENS Editions, 2023). Professor Cossu-Beaumont’s work draws on previously unexplored archival […]
Now Available | Columbia Bicentennial Anniversary Records
In 1954, Columbia marked its first 200 years with a year-long celebration. There were conferences, convocations, a weekly radio show, a commemorative US postage stamp, and a very special reception dedicated to the long-term Morningside Heights neighborhood businesses. From Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, attending the Charter Day Dinner to John Courtsounis, the peanut vendor […]
Transatlantic’s Varian Fry
The Netflix limited series Transatlantic tells the story behind a rescue operation to help artists, intellectuals, writers and other blacklisted individuals escape from Nazi-occupied Europe. This fictionalized account, inspired by the historical novel The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer, focuses on the work by the real Emergency Rescue Committee and its agent in Marseilles (also […]