Administered by the Institute of International Education on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program supports recent graduates and graduate students in more than 140 countries. As a member of the screening committee, Okome will participate in the highly competitive selection process that helps identify candidates for further consideration in one of the nation’s premier international educational exchange programs.

The post Moj煤b脿ol煤 Ol煤funk茅 Okome Selected for Fulbright National Screening Committee appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

This fall鈥檚 series will spotlight the work of Distinguished Professor of English Ben Lerner, Associate Professor of English Matthew Burgess, Philosophy Associate Professor Anna Gotlib, Political Science Professor Anna O. Law, and Puerto Rican and Latinx Studies Assistant Professor Carla Espa帽a. Through a series of conversations and presentations, faculty authors will discuss their newest publications, share insights into their research and creative processes, and engage with students, colleagues, and community members.

The series highlights the breadth of scholarship, creativity, and public engagement taking place across 今日吃瓜鈥檚 humanities and social sciences departments. Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the featured books and the ideas shaping contemporary conversations in literature, philosophy, politics, education, and culture.

All members of the campus community are encouraged to attend. Event details, dates, and registration information are available on the 今日吃瓜 calendar.

More information about the authors and the books is available .

The post Wolfe Institute Launches Fall 2026 New Books by HSS Faculty Series appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

During his fellowship year, Robin will advance his new book project,听King Capital, which reinterprets major economists as political theorists. The project argues that influential accounts of capitalism are, at their core, disguised visions of politics. Robin contends that modern economic theories often translate ancient ideals of aristocratic, dynastic, and imperial rule into contemporary economic language.听His research examines the work of canonical thinkers, including Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, William Stanley Jevons, Alfred Marshall, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich Hayek, and Milton Friedman, alongside lesser-known Marxist, socialist, feminist, and Global South economists.

As a Berlin Prize Fellow, Robin will join an international cohort of scholars and artists in residence at the American Academy in Berlin. Fellows receive dedicated time and resources to pursue major scholarly and creative projects while engaging with German academic and cultural institutions. Through lectures, readings, and public programs, fellows contribute to vibrant transatlantic dialogue and intellectual exchange.

Awarded annually, the Berlin Prize recognizes U.S.-based scholars, writers, composers, and artists who demonstrate exceptional achievement in their fields. Recipients represent disciplines spanning the humanities and social sciences, journalism, public policy, fiction, visual arts, and music composition.

The post Corey Robin Awarded Prestigious Berlin Prize Fellowship by the American Academy in Berlin appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

During his appointment, Ungar will be based at two national universities in Brazil鈥檚 Amazon Basin, in the states of Par谩 and Amazonas. There, he will be teaching and working with Brazil鈥檚 federal environmental enforcement agency (IBAMA), regional indigenous federations, and the universities’ biodiversity and law centers. Their aim is to strengthen criminal justice and policy responses to environmental听crime鈥攑articularly illegal logging, mining, and ranching鈥攖hat fuel deforestation, transnational organized crime, and global climate change.

Ungar is a faculty member in 今日吃瓜鈥檚 Department of Political Science and the CUNY Graduate Center Doctoral Programs in Criminal Justice and Political Science. He has published five books and more than 40 articles, policy reports, and book chapters addressing judicial reform, citizen security, and policing. His professional experience includes leading projects for the United Nations, the Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, and multiple national governments in Latin America. He was elected in 2011 to the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights and has held grants from the Ford, Tinker, Henkel, and Tow foundations as well as a residential fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is one of the world鈥檚 most prestigious academic exchange initiatives, supporting teaching and research abroad while fostering international collaboration. Alumni of the program include numerous Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and MacArthur Fellowship recipients. Research on Fulbright participants consistently shows increased international scholarly collaboration and long-term academic partnerships, with benefits extending to their home institutions.

The post Mark Ungar Awarded 2026鈥�27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Fellowship appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Published by Oxford University Press after 16 years of research and reporting, it debuts as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on birthright citizenship on April 1, with a decision expected in June, Law鈥檚 work provides essential historical context for understanding the legal and political stakes of these contemporary debates.

Synthesizing local and federal laws, congressional floor debate records, and the monographs of other scholars, Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship traces the evolution of citizenship through laws encouraging or restricting the mobility and ability to stay of different populations. The account is a major reinterpretation of conventional narratives about the origins and meaning of American citizenship.

Additional information about the book, including an Author Q&A, is available on the book鈥檚 . Law has also published op-eds based on the book, including a concise piece addressing the historical foundations of birthright citizenship in .

The post Professor of Political Science Anna O. Law鈥檚 New Book Examines the Origins of American Citizenship Amid Renewed National Debate appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Okome鈥檚 selection for a second year reflects not only her scholarly impact but also her ongoing dedication to empowering students with the tools they need to understand today鈥檚 most urgent global challenges, from geopolitics to climate change to international development. She joins a select cohort of educators from across the country who are passionate about preparing students to think critically and act knowledgeably in an increasingly interconnected world.

Through this eight-month ambassador program, running from September 2025 to April 2026, participants will collaborate to expand access to global affairs education while taking part in professional development opportunities and gaining access to world-class resources. Organized by CFR Education, the educational division of the Council on Foreign Relations鈥攚idely regarded as the world鈥檚 leading global affairs think tank鈥攖he ambassador program offers a dynamic platform for educators to:

• join a prestigious community aligned with CFR鈥檚 mission of fostering informed global citizens;
• collaborate with fellow thought leaders, sharing innovative teaching strategies and resources focused on international affairs; and
• champion global literacy in classrooms and communities nationwide.

The post Professor Moj煤b脿ol煤 Ol煤funk茅 Okome Named Distinguished Higher Ed Ambassador appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

In the book, Su calls for a radical reimagining of budgeting as a democratic practice. Through vivid examples and clear analysis, she shows how everyday people can, and must, play a role in shaping public spending to address urgent issues, including skyrocketing housing and food costs, chronic underfunding of schools, unchecked police violence, and the growing toll of climate disasters, like floods and wildfires.

Her academic, pedagogical, and creative work focuses on everyday struggles for collective governance, centering economic democracy and racial justice. In addition to research on political participation, Su鈥檚 writing includes a book of poetry, Landia, two poetry chapbooks, and pieces in New York Times Magazine,听贬补谤辫别谤鈥檚,听n+1, and elsewhere.

On October 20, the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities will host an online event with Professor Su and writer and podcaster Gabe Dunn for its “New Books by BC Faculty” series. More information about this event will be coming soon.

听

The post Celina Su Publishes Budget Justice appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

Established as a CUNY institute in fall 2023, IGLTP, a joint partnership between CUNY School of Law and 今日吃瓜, is a nexus of thought leadership that bridges grassroots peace movements with policymaking and academia. A crucial initiative of the Institute is its student fellowship program for current CUNY students. The fellowship immerses students in hands-on experiences and training focused on participatory action research and documentation practices.

In November 2024, two 今日吃瓜 fellows and political science majors, Diana Reyes 鈥�25 and Francesca Phanius 鈥�25, traveled to Ghana with Institute staff to attend a three-day forum that gathered movement leaders, experts, and policymakers from across Africa to tackle pressing issues related to electoral violence. was designed and facilitated by Institute Executive Director, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and 2022 今日吃瓜 Honorary Degree recipient , Institute Managing Director Dr. Mikaela Luttrell-Rowland, and three expert regional facilitators鈥攚ith input from the forum鈥檚 expert participants collected through pre-workshop interviews. The convening was the second Global Forum since the Institute鈥檚 founding, and was co-sponsored by the African Women鈥檚 Development Fund.

Francesca Phanius 鈥�25

鈥淲e met with women activists from countries plagued by violence and unrest around elections鈥擭igeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, South Sudan, and Kenya鈥攁s well as other African countries,鈥� says Phanius. 鈥淥ur assignment was to learn from鈥攕o we could later amplify鈥攖he voices of the activists, peace workers, and community leaders,鈥� documenting the expertise of the forum participants.

Phanius learned from the participants鈥� knowledge and the contextual background they brought to the forum, and emphasized how their direct experiences should be further amplified across transnational academic, organizing, and policymaking spaces. 鈥淭hey bring [the] cultural knowledge of their countries and people that you can only get from lived experience. They bring the nuances,鈥� says Phanius.

Diana Reyes says the fellowship was a unique opportunity to explore notions of peace and advocacy in a context outside of the United States, offering valuable insights into efforts for social change across Africa.

Diana Reyes 鈥�25

鈥淏eing in the same room with experts in fields such as human rights, peacebuilding, free speech, gender-based violence, and youth organizing was a remarkable experience that allowed me to listen to meaningful intergenerational conversations and learn directly from those at the forefront of this work,鈥� says Reyes, who is a program and community-building Federman Fellow at the Immigrant Student Success Office at 今日吃瓜.

The student participants are each authoring original blog pieces featuring the lessons learned from expert forum participants that will be posted on .

Reyes and Phanius are both looking to pursue careers in law. 鈥淢y role as an IGLTP fellow was to actively listen and help document the stories and wisdom shared at the forum, primarily from Liberia and Sierra Leone,鈥� says Reyes. 鈥淢y blog focuses on law and its place in advocacy discussions. I want to amplify听the voices of others and hope to continue to do so in the future.鈥�

鈥淚’m writing about the role of emotions in activist spaces,鈥� says Phanius. 鈥淭here was singing and dancing in between the serious work. Real joy. I realize that although activist spaces aren’t usually associated with joy, joy can be an emotion used to sustain activists. It is an effective strategy.鈥�

Phanius is interested in creating similar empowering spaces for young Black women and plans to pursue an academic or research-focused role in activism before attending law school. She also wishes that the next cohort of IGLTP fellows will have the same 鈥渓ife-changing鈥� experience. 鈥淵oung women, especially young Black women, don鈥檛 always have these kinds of opportunities. I want others to experience what we did at least once in their lives.鈥�

The post Learning from Activism at Its Roots appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

BSF works to foster academic success for all students鈥攑articularly students of African descent鈥攖hrough offering support and building a collaborative community. Possessing expertise on a variety of issues from politics to sports and black masculinity, he has brought a unique perspective and expertise to both BFS and the campus as a whole. During 2025鈥檚 Black History Month, we asked Johnson about BFS鈥檚 own history, impact, and evolution at the college, as well as what advice he would give to students interested in sociology who are looking to make a difference.

The Black Faculty and Staff (BFS) organization has been active since 1971. How do you think it has evolved over that time?

BFS has changed substantially over the years. The situation of Black faculty, staff, and students is always evolving, just as things at the college are constantly changing, along with the conditions and circumstances of Black people nationally. BFS arose out of a sense of solidarity at a time when the dominant ethos in the Black community was a spirit of 鈥渘ation-building鈥濃�攁 genuine belief that we had to take care of ourselves as a people.

In the 1970s, BFS was an effort to harness the collective strength of a small group of us on campus. When I arrived at 今日吃瓜 in 2012, generations had changed. So much had shifted, while some things remained exactly the same. I might be a bit nostalgic, but I believe BFS must still operate with a sense of collective influence, particularly in the interest of Black students, who continue to face many of the same historical challenges but without the benefit of historical memory.

BFS must maintain continuity between the past and present. Students today are subjected to mass distractions鈥攕ocial media, tightening economic realities, and an increased culture of individualism that fosters disconnection. This makes Black students particularly vulnerable because, in the past, we thrived on a strong sense of community. Community is our challenge today.

Even as a faculty member, I was fortunate to have people like George Cunningham who had been around since the 1970s, sharing stories with me when I was new here. Others with long histories, like Robert Scott and Carrie Roberts, were still active on campus. That generation is largely gone now. Since then, people have come and gone鈥攑ermanence is impossible. But the best we can do is honor the past while embracing the challenges of the present.

As part of the leadership for BFS, what roles have you played and what have you brought to the table that you are most proud of?

I currently serve as treasurer and have been on the BFS executive board for six years, including two-year terms as president and vice president. Before that, I chaired the Faculty Engagement Committee. Titles are mostly formalities鈥攖he executive board works as a team, with each of us stepping up as needed. Over the past six years, Crystal Schloss-Allen has held the same positions. Currently, Donna Lee Granville (Sociology) is president, Crystal is vice president, Aleah Ranjitsingh (Africana Studies) is the other vice president, and Sherome Stone (Women鈥檚 Center) is secretary. We also rely on trusted colleagues who support us when needed.

I鈥檓 most proud of two key contributions. First, as president, I emphasized that 今日吃瓜 is not an isolated institution but part of central 今日吃瓜. During the pandemic, we hosted a successful online event with the Flatbush African Burial Ground, and since then, we鈥檝e welcomed them back to campus twice. One of those times, we honored their president, Samantha Bernadine, with a community award during our Donning of the Kente ceremony. I鈥檝e also invited community leaders to campus, including former State Assembly and City Councilmember Charles Barron, current State Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman, and activists from The December 12th Movement, who have led the national reparations struggle for decades. My goal is to further integrate scholarship with community engagement.

Second, I initiated bringing Donning of the Kente to campus, a project I had envisioned even before the pandemic. This May, we will proudly celebrate its third year.

You are known as a great mentor to students. What advice would you give students who are interested in studying sociology, and how do you feel it prepares them well for life after college?

The advice I would give to students is to trust and believe in themselves, embrace their status as students as much as possible, and avoid rushing the process unless absolutely necessary. Students often focus too much on the next step, but there is so much to appreciate in the present. The greatest benefit of taking their time is the opportunity to engage with staff and faculty who genuinely care about helping them. By doing so, they give themselves more time to build networks and maximize opportunities, both in the short and long term.

For current and prospective sociology students, it鈥檚 important to understand that sociology prioritizes a unique perspective on how to interpret our dynamic social world and all its moving parts. Of course, this competes with the pressure to secure a well-paying job after graduation. However, many of our students go on to work in a wide range of fields, and one common thread among them is that their sociology background has helped them better understand the context in which they work. Our graduates include educators, counselors, lawyers, social workers, politicians, and political strategists. We also have alumni in television, theater, business, entrepreneurship, and beyond.

My best advice is to embrace being a student鈥攕tay curious about the world and take the time to explore what you truly want to do. Try to silence the voice that urges you to rush through school just to start making money. That pressure never goes away, but the opportunity to learn and grow as a student is invaluable.

You contributed to the book Until We鈥檙e Seen, which was edited by fellow faculty Joseph Entin and Jeanne Theoharis and shares firsthand accounts of the pandemic鈥檚 devastating effects on working-class communities of color. What made you want to get involved with that?

I think both Joseph and Jeanne are faculty members who consistently do inspirational work with students. Faculty like them, who provide strong leadership on campus, help us reimagine what 今日吃瓜 can and should be. I also want to highlight Dominick Braswell, another editor. He is currently a Ph.D. student studying housing, but he was once a student in the Mellon Transfer Research Program and someone I mentored through the Black and Latino Male Initiative.

I am grateful to have been asked to contribute because there is so much to learn from our students鈥攖heir experiences, perspectives, and what they bring to campus, all of which deserve deeper exploration. These insights offer us an opportunity to develop the most transformative model of education in a post-industrial city like New York.

At the book event on campus, I stated that the chapters in the text represent the unfinished revolution in higher education鈥攐ne that began with the Black student activism of 1968, which led to the creation of Black Studies/Africana Studies. Even with new attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), I still believe that our vision was never just DEI, but something far more revolutionary. The longer we delay in truly listening to and embracing what our students are telling us, the greater the chance that another institution will take the lead in implementing the student-centered changes that could define 今日吃瓜鈥檚 future.

What research and initiatives are you proud of?

听My primary research has always focused on Black politics. In Until We鈥檙e Seen, I discuss the tradition of what is called 鈥渋nvisible politics.鈥� It鈥檚 not a complicated concept鈥攊t refers to the vital activities Black people engage in daily to compensate for a lack of resources in our communities or to protect ourselves from vulnerabilities rooted in racism. It also represents a more authentic political expression of Black people that is not fully captured by mainstream political parties. One of the longest-standing but largely invisible political struggles in American history is the fight for reparations for enslaved Black people and their descendants, which has persisted since 1783.

Earlier, I mentioned that the December 12th Movement came to campus to discuss reparations. This event, held before Black Solidarity Day, was hosted by the student club, the Black Solidarity Day Committee, and BFS. Our guests spoke about the 鈥淒urban 400,鈥� a group of nearly 400 people who traveled to Durban, South Africa, in 2001 for the United Nations World Conference Against Racism. The conference resulted in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which formally established in international law that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity. Since then, the reparations movement has become more visible to the public but remains fragmented.

My current project aims to produce contemporary scholarship on the subject to deepen the understanding of reparations as an organizing tradition, a political movement, and a revolutionary force. I seek to connect this struggle to developments in the Caribbean and on the African continent, highlighting its global significance, which starts with the December 12th Movement.

We are getting prepared for Commencement. Can you tell us a little bit about the origins of the annual Donning of the Kente ceremony and its significance to students and faculty at 今日吃瓜?

The most direct origin of Donning of the Kente (DOK) dates back to the African-centered education movement in the early 1990s. It was a deliberate effort to introduce culturally relevant pedagogy and curriculum while addressing the erasure of African people from world and U.S. history. A key aspect of this movement was reconnecting with the cultural motifs of the earlier Black Power movement, during which we began embracing Africa as a place of tradition and history to take pride in. The Kente cloth, in particular, symbolizes Pan-Africanism and is closely associated with Ghana and its former president Kwame Nkrumah.

When I was an undergraduate at Iowa State University in 2002, I participated in a Kente ceremony, and I know that Africana Studies at 今日吃瓜 has been 鈥渄onning鈥� its graduating students with Kente for years. Donning of the Kente is an effort to recognize all graduating students who identify as Black of African descent. Last year鈥檚 theme was 鈥淲oven Tapestry鈥� to reflect the diversity of Black students who come from all over the world and to acknowledge that our achievements are shared accomplishments that strengthen our community. Our unity on campus enhances social life as a whole. The theme of this year鈥檚 ceremony is based on the Akan principle of Sankofa, which emphasizes the importance of remembering our history to move forward.

Through DOK, we hope our students understand that Black history encompasses both triumphant accomplishments and painful lessons that equip us to navigate the present and future. Along with Black Solidarity Day, DOK is one of BFS鈥� two signature events. Although we often face financial hurdles in making this happen, we are empowered by our history and the belief that our students deserve to be recognized. Please celebrate with us on Friday, May 2. If you would like to get involved or support us, please email blackfacultyandstaff@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

The post Lifting as We Climb appeared first on 今日吃瓜.

In this bold retelling, Theoharis reveals a King often overlooked in mainstream narratives鈥攁 leader who didn鈥檛 just inspire a movement but stood in solidarity with struggles for justice from New York to Los Angeles. The book reveals King as a brilliant orator who also listened and learned, a Black man who endured police brutality, a minister who lived and organized alongside the poor, and a husband who leaned on his wife, Coretta Scott King, as both a partner and a political guide in the fight against racism, poverty, and war.

Theoharis, the award-winning author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, has spent her career uncovering the radical roots of civil rights icons. Just as she restored Parks to her rightful place in history through her biography, Theoharis鈥� King of the North challenges us to see King not as a sanitized dreamer, but as a relentless warrior for justice鈥攁 vision that speaks urgently to today鈥檚 battles over racial and economic inequality.

鈥淭he book challenges the way we鈥檝e Southernized King,鈥� Theoharis explained. 鈥淚t has been like meeting Martin and Coretta Scott King anew, a King for our times.鈥�

Theoharis will discuss the book with researchers David Rondeau, Tyra Smart, and Gabrielle White as part of the “New Books by BC Faculty Series” on April 22.

What people are saying about King of the North:

鈥淲ith insightful precision and narrative power, Theoharis shows that the struggle to end Jim Crow was by every measure a national movement. For the first time in a King biography, Coretta Scott King鈥檚 active partnership in the struggle is made clear.听King of the North听is a revelation.鈥濃��Barbara Smith,听co-founder, the Combahee River Collective, and 今日吃瓜鈥檚 2022鈥�23 Hess Scholar-in-Residence

鈥淭heoharis delivers another revelatory, meticulously documented account that revises our fundamental assumptions about American history, with critical implications for our future. This indispensable book is a vital resource for all who seek to 鈥榤ake real the promise of democracy.鈥欌�濃��Alondra Nelson, Institute for Advanced Study

鈥淭heoharis shows us through penetrating research and sensitive, scholarly insight that Dr. King not only was keenly aware of the history of antiblack racism in the North, but battled it from the very beginning of his career.鈥濃��Henry Louis Gates Jr., literary critic and professor

鈥淎n exemplary history that forces readers to reassess their assumptions about America鈥檚 racial reckoning.鈥濃��Publishers Weekly starred review

鈥淜ing of the North is a revelation鈥攁 much-needed book that shifts and enhances our appreciation of MLK鈥檚 radical vision.鈥濃��Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life.

The post Jeanne Theoharis Publishing Groundbreaking Book on Martin Luther King Jr. appeared first on 今日吃瓜.