September 2023 Newsletter
Welcome to the very first CHA newsletter of the year!!
Whether you are a history major, thinking about becoming one, or are just interested in history, we welcome you!
If you haven't gotten our newsletter before, the CHA hosts a variety of events on campus throughout the year for anyone interested in history. These events include midterm and finals study breaks, panel discussions with distinguished professors, and our fantastic peer mentoring program! This newsletter will also include suggestions for events related to history taking place in the city!
*New thing!*
If you know of a history events to include in the next newsletter or a history fact that us Columbia history nerds need to see, please submit them to the google form below and they might appear in the next newsletter!
Suggestions for the CHA Newsletter!
Hamilton Grange National Memorial (CHA Coordinated group tour!)
The CHA is hosting excited to host a tour of the Hamilton Grange National Memorial aka the last home of Alexander Hamilton!
(You know, the one from that musical everyone was obsessed with back in 2016)
Merchant’s clerk, Revolutionary War soldier, first Secretary Treasury of the United States: Alexander Hamilton’s life is memorialized at The Grange, the home he built on a country estate in uptown Manhattan. A faithful testament to early American architecture, it stands today as a tribute to its first owner’s many accomplishments.
It will be this Saturday (9/30), from 2:30-3pm. Come and enjoy some interesting history and fantastic exhibits with your peers!
If you are interested, please RSVP below by the EOD on Friday (9/29), as spots are limited! We will be meeting at 2pm on Saturday (9/30) at the Sundial to take the short subway ride up to the Hamilton Grange and finish by 3pm.
Description: Hamilton Grange National Memorial preserves the country home of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. In 1801, Hamilton commissioned architect John McComb Jr. to design the Federal-style country home on a 32-acre estate in upper Manhattan. The building was completed in 1802 and named "The Grange" after his father's ancestral home in Scotland. Unfortunately, Hamilton was only able to enjoy his home for two years. On July 11, 1804, Hamilton was fatally wounded in a duel with his personal and political rival Vice President Aaron Burr. Elizabeth, however, continued using the home for 30 years after his death. Today, The Grange provides visitors a glimpse into Hamilton’s personal life, role in establishing the United States, and his contributions to developing New York City.
Fall 2023 Mentorship Program!
The Columbia History Association (CHA) is excited to launch its Fall 2023 Peer Mentorship Program! CHA is the official undergraduate organization of the History Department, open to any undergraduate interested in history, whether or not you are a declared major/concentrator.
The Peer Mentorship Program pairs upperclass history majors and concentrators with prospective/interested history students to foster community and share advice. Mentor-Mentee pairings meet at least once a semester, and Mentors are also invited to speak at CHA Peer Advice panels over the course of the Fall.
To sign up, please fill out the brief registration form by 11:59pm EST on Friday, September 29th
If you have any questions, feel free to contact CHA Chair Mrinalini (mw2706@columbia.edu) and/or Mentorship Coordinator Megan (mm5771@columbia.edu).
Midterms Study Break!
We know you don't want to even think about midterms yet, but they are creeping up on us poor students like they always do!
On October 17 from 7-8pm, stop by Fayerweather 411 for a quick study break and some yummy snacks, no sign up necessary!
We hope that you will be able to join us for at least a little bit
and maybe feel a bit less stressed as you take a break from all of that intense studying you've been doing
(well, we hope you've been studying, but I got lost in a youtube spiral of cats falling off of things for an hour yesterday so I can't judge you!).
Press the pause button for a second and have some snacks to fuel you for your next exam! You got this!
History Events in the City
New York City is one of the best cities in the world to visit
museums and see other historical events! We live here nine months of the
year, so we might as well take advantage of it!
(Don't forget that students get free admission to almost every museum in NYC!)
Museum of Jewish Heritage: “Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark”
Opening October 15, 2023, the exhibition tells the remarkable story of the rescue of the Danish Jews during the Holocaust. Together, Jewish and non-Jewish neighbors of all ages mobilized to create one of the most effective—and exceptional—examples of mass resistance and escape in modern history. Despite the enormous risk, ordinary citizens united against Nazism to save nearly 95% of Denmark’s Jewish population.
Also featured in the exhibition is the story of the Gerda III, one of many small vessels used in the Danish Rescue. The Gerda III alone saved an estimated 300 Jews in groups of 10 – 15 at a time on clandestine journeys across the Øresund Sound to Sweden. Twenty-two-year-old Henny Sinding Sundø, who led Gerda III’s rescue activities, will be among the exhibition’s narrators telling stories of their experiences during the Danish Rescue.
American Museum of Natural History: "What's in a name?"
In science, the name of a species is never just a name. In this inaugural exhibition in the new Alcove Gallery of the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Research Library and Learning Center, explore the history, significance, and challenges of scientific nomenclature, with a focus on insects, through rare books and other unique holdings from the Library's collections.
Learn about the history of classification, from Aristotle to Linnaeus to the present day, while viewing rare books and illustrated works of entomology from the 17th and 18th centuries, including by Maria Sibylla Merian, Pieter Cramer, and Ulisse Aldrovandi.
Modern holdings on view include a screen print by Andy Warhol depicting an endangered species of butterfly and a whimsical model of an animal based on a longhorn beetle and named Withus oragainstus, which was added to the Library's collection after it was surreptitiously displayed in the Museum's Hall of Biodiversity in 2005 by an unidentified artist.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey
American artist Lauren Halsey (b. 1987, Los Angeles) has been commissioned to create a site-specific installation for The Met's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Halsey created a full-scale architectural structure imbued with the collective energy and imagination of the South Central Los Angeles Community where she was born and continues to work. Titled the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I), the installation is designed to be inhabited by The Met’s visitors, who will be able to explore its connections to sources as varied as ancient Egyptian symbolism, 1960s utopian architecture, and contemporary visual expressions like tagging that reflect the ways in which people aspire to make public places their own. This structure is located on the roof of the MET, offering a beautiful view of the city in addition to the artwork.
The exhibition is open until October 22nd.
Columbia Historical Fun Fact!
Did you know...
The Columbia University Orchestra, founded in 1896, is the oldest continually operating university orchestra in the US.
The Columbia Queer Alliance, founded in 1967, is the oldest gay student organization in the world.
Meet the new Team!
Chair: Mrinalini Sisodia Wadhwa CC'24
Vice Chair: Kay Zou CC'25
Treasurer: Janus Yuen CC'25
Outreach & Marketing Coordinators: Tymesha-Elizabeth Kindell CC'24, Tenley Roberson CC'24, Kira Ratan CC'26, Belan Yeshigeta CC'26
Transfer/ GS Coordinator: Sophia Sanico CC'24
Mentorship Coordinator: Megan Meyerson CC'24
Newsletter Written by: Tenley Roberson
