Wednesday, December 5, 6-7:30 p.m. East Gallery, Buell Hall, Columbia University Main campus entrance at Broadway and Broadway 110th street

A panel discussion moderated by Paul LeClerc, President Emeritus, New York Public Library; Director, Columbia Global Centers / Europe; and Chair, Columbia Maison Française Advisory Board

Panelists: Jeffrey Freedman, Associate Professor of History, Yeshiva University Carla Hesse, Dean of Social Sciences and Peder Sather Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley Richard John, Professor, Columbia Journalism School Leah Price, Professor of English, Harvard University In this conversation about book history and the media revolution, scholars consider how current transformations in the production, circulation and consumption of books map onto earlier historical periods.

In debates today, books are sometimes represented as organic objects under threat from new media technologies and the reading practices these foster. But to what extent do such contrasts between an idealized past and threatening present hold up to scrutiny?

Co-sponsored by the Columbia Maison Française, Columbia University Libraries and the Department of English.