Immanuel Wallerstein was one of the most influential intellectuals of his generation. The extraordinarily prolific scholar published countless books and articles and was a pathbreaking historical sociologist and a pioneer in African Studies, among other fields. While his career has been well-known, especially his development of world-systems analysis, there is much more to discover about Wallerstein’s impact and legacy. One relatively unexplored aspect of his career is his formative years as a student and faculty member at Columbia University, a period when the university, and the world, were radically transformed by the upheavals caused by World War II, the outbreak of the Cold War, and the advent of decolonization. Toward the end of his time at Columbia, Wallerstein sought to interpret how these world historical events transformed the American university.
This conference aims to explore the transformations that influenced, and were influenced by, Immanuel Wallerstein during his years at Columbia. It was during this period that he helped transform sociology as an undergraduate student of intellectual giants like C. Wright Mills, and later as a graduate student, when he made his turn toward politics and history while studying with Seymour Martin Lipset, Hans Zetterberg, and Robert S. Lynd. As a faculty member at Columbia in the 1960s, Wallerstein’s career was profoundly shaped by the outbreak of “antisystemic” movements throughout the world. Wallerstein’s engagements with the movements for African independence led him to offer foundational analyses of the politics of decolonization on the continent. And it was also in this period when Wallerstein was influenced by, and a participant in, the outbreak of what he called the antisystemic movements of 1968. Indeed, the conference will be timed with the republication of Wallerstein’s University in Turmoil: The Politics of Change, which was originally published in 1969 the aftermath of the protests at Columbia.
The conference aims to provoke urgent conversations in another moment when world historical events are dramatically transforming the American university. The conference, together with the republication of Wallerstein’s still-timely book, also offers an occasion for colleagues and students at Columbia and beyond to reflect on recent events and their implications both locally and globally.
This symposium is organized by The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia Maison Française, Lehman Center for American History, and Wallerstein Institute, Paris.
Program
Thursday, October 22, 2026, 3:00pm
Welcome / Introduction
Katharine Wallerstein, Director
Elaine Mokhtefi, Writer
3:15pm Panel 1: Wallerstein, 68, Columbia and Beyond
Jodi Dean, Professor of Politics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Frank Guridy, Dr. Kenneth and Kareitha Forde Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, Columbia University
Thai Jones, Herbert Lehman curator of American History, Columbia University Libraries
Grant Miner,Student Workers of Columbia
Moderator Reinhold Martin, Columbia University
4:45pm Break
5:15pm Opening Keynote
Robin D. G. Kelley, Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History, University of California, Los Angeles
Friday, October 23, 2026
9:00am Panel 2: World-Systems Analysis and Anti-Systemic Movements
Sam Chian, Independent Scholar
Premilla Nadasen, Professor of History, Barnard College
Noah Tsika, Professor of Media Studies, Queens College, CUNY
Bruce Robbins, Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University
Moderator Frank Guridy, Columbia University
10:30am Break
10:45am EDT Panel 3: The Situation of the University: The Situation of Knowledge
Gregory P. Williams, Associate Professor of Politics and Policy, Simmons University
Craig Calhoun, University Professor of Social Sciences, Arizona State University
Romain Huret, Directeur d’études and President, École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)
Jean Howard, George Delacorte Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University
Moderator Katharine Wallerstein, Director, Wallerstein Institute
12:15pm Break
1:30pm EDT Panel 4: After Global?
Isaac Kamola, Professor of Political Science, Trinity College
Reinhold Martin, Professor of Architecture, Columbia University
Nirvana Tanoukhi, Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing, Dartmouth College
Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Professor Emeritus of French and Philosophy, Columbia University
Moderator Bruce Robbins, Columbia University
3:15pm Closing Session: Reflections on the book and the conference
Manan Ahmed, Professor History, Columbia University
Lisa Anderson, James T. Shotwell Professor Emerita of International Relations, Columbia University
Victoria De Grazia, Moore Collegiate Professor Emerita of History, Columbia University
Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies, Columbia University
Moderator Jean Howard, George Delacorte Professor Emerita in the Humanities, Columbia University
7:00pm Closing reception
