Café Columbia | Civility in the Public Sphere

In a democracy, where free speech and civil liberties reign supreme, what is the role of moral culture and what we call "civility" in defining the obligation and ability for individuals to impose limits on themselves — in preventing intolerance, discrimination, the weaponizing of language and the proliferation of misinformation? How do we find an equilibrium between the exercise of the rights of free speech, the promotion of diversity, and the respect for others on university campuses and beyond? Is it time to reinvent "civility"?

Professors Emmanuelle Saada and Nadia Urbinati will lead this timely discussion that will consider the possibilities in and limitations of a society that welcomes diversity, upholds freedom of speech and embraces civil conversation. This Café Columbia will reference the works of John Stuart Mill, Nietzsche, Frantz Fanon and Tocqueville.

Join fellow College Alumni for an evening of learning, listening, and discussion!

Zoom link provided upon registration.

About the Speakers

Emmanuelle Saada is a Professor of French and of History and the chair of Contemporary Civilization. Her main field of research and teaching is the history of the French empire in the 19th and 20th centuries, with a specific interest in law. Her first book Empire's Children: Race, Filiation and Citizenship in the French Colonies was published in 2012. Current projects include a historiographical book reflecting on French and European colonization as a history of the present, and a project on law and violence in Algeria and France in the 19th century.

Nadia Urbinati is the Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Professor of Political Theory.  She is a political theorist who specializes in modern and contemporary political thought and the democratic and anti-democratic traditions. Professor Urbinati co-chaired the Columbia University Faculty Seminar on Political and Social Thought. Among her recent publications is her 2019 book, Me The People: How Populism Transforms Democracy.