Cooper Reads Together Discussion Sessions Jan. 31 and Feb. 8

Dear Cooper Union,

I hope the first weeks of this spring semester are going well for you. I’ve enjoyed seeing and speaking with so many of you since our first days back together.

As President Sparks shared in her message at the start of the semester, we are energized by the opportunities ahead of us. As she noted, I am in the process of curating educational sessions that will review the historical background of the crisis in the Middle East and the broader context of comparative histories of partition and international humanitarian law. We will have dates and details on those for you shortly.

As a precursor to these sessions, we will be hosting a variety of opportunities to engage with one another while building skills to engage respectfully on challenging topics from different perspectives. I am pleased to provide details on our first such event, a shared learning experience that is scheduled for the coming weeks, open to all students, faculty, and staff. Just before winter break, our inaugural Cooper Reads Together book was announced. The free copies of “Collaborative Society” by Dariusz Jemielniak and Aleksandra Przegalinska flew out of the Library, and several of you downloaded the e-book, as well.  If you haven’t yet read it, there’s still time (and the link is here). We will be hosting two Cooper Reads Together discussion sessions:

Dates: Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Thursday, Feb. 8
Time: 12:30–1:30 p.m. on both dates
Place: Library Atrium
Lunch will be provided!

Center for Writing and Learning Director Kit Nicholls will facilitate the Jan. 31 discussion, and Mokena Makeka, special advisor to my office, will facilitate on Feb. 8.

So that we may have an accurate count for lunch, please register here.

I look forward to seeing you at these events and to sharing additional programming with you as the details are confirmed.


Sincerely,

Demetrius L. Eudell, VPAA

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.