U.S. Intellectual History Blog

Conference: The Role of Opinion Journalism in American Intellectual History

If only I lived in New York! Participants in this exciting half-day conference include two historians scheduled to speak on one of our plenaries at the upcoming USIH conference–Casey Nelson Blake and Rochelle Gurstein.

From the Columbia University website:

Columbia University to Host Conference on the Journalism of Opinion

The Friends of Columbia Libraries are pleased to co-sponsor a conference on opinion journalism in American intellectual history. The half-day conference, entitled “The Journalism of Opinion,” will take place on Friday, April 30, 2010, from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Lecture Hall on the 3rd floor of Columbia University’s Journalism School. The event is free and open to the public.

The keynote will be delivered by Victor Navasky, Delacorte Professor of Journalism at Columbia Journalism School and chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review. Panel participants include Casey Nelson Blake, Eric Alterman, Howard Brick, Rochelle Gurstein, Michael Kazin, Stanley Crouch, Andi Zeisler, and Mark Lotto. Dean Nicholas Lemann, Henry R. Luce Professor, Columbia Journalism School, will make the opening remarks.

The journalism of opinion has played a significant role in twentieth-century American intellectual history. From its beginnings in a paper-only format to today’s purely digital spaces, the influence of opinion journalism has remained strong, although the message has outlasted its original medium. This conference will offer thoughts on the journalism of opinion—past, present, and future—by scholars and writers.

The impetus for the conference is the presence at Columbia University of The New Leader magazine and archives. The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of Columbia Libraries and by Columbia University’s American Studies Program; Journalism School; Rare Book & Manuscript Library; and the Herbert H. Lehman Center for American History.

To register for this event visit www.alumni.libraries.columbia.edu and click on “News and Events” or send an email to [email protected]. For further information about the event, contact Eric Wakin ([email protected]), Lehman Curator for American History, at Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library