For Immediate Release:

 
DECEMBER PUBLIC PROGRAMS

 
The City University of New York Graduate Center announces the following public programs to be held during the month of December at the Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street.

Through Saturday, February 28

People “Weekly”
(art exhibition) Tues.–Fri., 12–8 pm; Sat. & Sun., 12–6 pm, James Gallery
The inaugural exhibition of the Amie and Tony James Gallery comprises seven installations that respond to the Graduate Center as site and context. The projects include a small group show and a specially commissioned project for the building's lobby display windows.  Visit www.gc.cuny.edu/events/art_gallery.htm for full details. 
 
People “Weekly” December Schedule:

December 11 – January 4       
Daniel Joseph Martinez, the west bank is missing, i am not dead am i, 2008 (Opening reception: December 10, 6–8 PM)
 
Barbara Kruger Untitled, through February 28 (window installations)

Monday, December 1

An Evening with Turkish Playwright Özen Yula/Concubine Sultan Hürrem
(play reading & discussion) 6:30–10 PM, Martin E. Segal Theatre
Özen Yula’s play focuses on the legendary 16th-century figure Sultan Hürrem, the concubine of Süleyman the Magnificent.  In a secret harem room of the Ottoman Palace, the old Sultan Hürrem talks with a young concubine who resembles her very much. The play provides insight into the life of the Sultan and Ottoman women. Yula -- an avant-garde playwright and director internationally known for his dark, comical, and visually daring work -- will be on hand for a discussion.  With actor and director Zishan Urgulu of The New School.  Presented by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center; free, for information call 212-817-1860.
 
Tuesday, December 2

Gotham Center History Forum -- Forgotten Patriots: The Untold Story of American Prisoners During the Revolutionary War
(book talk) 6:30– 8:00 PM
During the Revolution, over 20,000 Americans were held by the British in New York under conditions so atrocious that the mortality rate often reached 70 percent or more.  Edwin G. Burrows, Distinguished Professor of History at Brooklyn College and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, raises questions about how this aspect of the war has been remembered, forgotten, and remembered again since the Revolution.  Free, but seating is limited and reservations are required.  Reservations can be made at www.gc.cuny.edu/events, or by calling 212-817-8215.
 
Wednesday, December 3

Islamophobia and American Muslim Comedy
(discussion) 6:30–8:30 PM
Muslim American comedy has gained national attention since 9/11 (e.g., Azhar Usman, Ahmed Ahmed, Maz Jobrani, Allah Made Me Funny, and Axis of Evil). At the same time, Islamophobia increased. This talk by Mucahit Bilici, a professor of sociology at John Jay College, explores this paradox and the current landscape of Muslim ethnic comedy.  Presented by the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center; free, for information call 212-817-7571.
 
Richard John Neuhaus & Philip Gorski in Conversation
(discussion) 7:00 PM, Elebash Recital Hall
Father Richard John Neuhaus and Philip Gorski discuss the place of religion in contemporary American politics and life. Neuhaus, one of Time magazine's 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America, is the author of, among other books, Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, and the Splendor of Truth, and editor-in-chief of First Things, a monthly publication of the Institute on Religion and Public Life.  Gorski is a professor of sociology at Yale University and co-director of Yale's Center for Comparative Research.  His most recent book is The Disciplinary Revolution: Calvinism and the Growth of State Power in Early Modern Europe.  The moderator, John Torpey, is a professor of sociology at the Graduate Center.  Presented by the Center for the Humanities; free, for information call 212-817-2005.
 
Thursday, December 4

Music in Midtown: Philharmonic Quintet of New York
1:00–2:00 PM, Elebash Recital Hall
Music in Midtown welcomes the Philharmonic Quintet of New York, performing compositions by Carl Nielsen, Lalo Schifrin, and David Maslanka.  The Quintet was launched in 2001 by five key members of the New York Philharmonic’s wind section: Mark Nuccio (clarinet), Sherry Sylar (oboe), Erik Ralske (horn), Judith LeClair (bassoon), and Robert Langevin (flute). Since then they have toured in Asia, Europe, and North America, serving at times as a “musical ambassador” for the orchestra. In 2004 the quintet also helped inaugurate a new chamber music series at the 92nd Street “Y” in Manhattan. Noted for its particularly infectious performances, the PQNY offers “serious fun” as much as virtuosity.  Free, but seating is limited and reservations are required.  Reservations can be made at www.gc.cuny.edu/events, or by calling 212-817-8215.
 
Monday, December 8

Acting Teachers of America
(discussion, film screening, & performance) 2:00–9:00 PM, Proshansky Auditorium
The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presents and in-depth look at the art of acting and actor training, with some of today’s most influential actors and their teachers.  Participating artists include Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Lee Grant, Olympia Dukakis, Billy Crudup, Gregory Abels, Ellen Adler, Harold Baldridge, William Esper, Maggie Flanigan, Milton Katselas, Marian Seldes, and many more. Afternoon screenings will feature excerpts from acting classes by master teachers of the 20th century followed by a special excerpted performance at 6:30 PM of Let it BE Art!, starring Ronald Rand and directed by Gregory Abels.  Presented in collaboration The Soul of the American Actor; free, for information call 212-817-1860.
 
Wednesday, December 10

Gotham Center History Forum -- 34th Street, Part II: The Corner of 34th and Fifth
(discussion) 6:30–8:30 PM, Elebash Recital Hall
This forum will focus on a geographical and historical look at one corner over time -- the corner of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue.  It was home to farm land, two Astor mansions (1850s), the A.T. Stewart mansion (1867), the Waldorf and Astoria Hotels (1893 and 1897), B. Altman's (1906), and the Empire State Building (1931) -- immortalized in the 1933 film King Kong.  Panelists David M. Scobey, Professor of History, Bates College; Clifton Hood, Professor of History, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; and author John Tauranac will examine the layers of change that reveal much about the history of power, real estate, and tourism in New York City.  Free, but seating is limited and reservations are required. Reservations can be made at www.gc.cuny.edu/events, or by calling 212-817-8215.
 
World Premiere of Gaudencio Thiago de Mello’s A Flame in the Dark
 (performance and discussion) 7:30 PM, Proshansky Auditorium
Join Grammy Award-nominated composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Gaudencio Thiago de Mello for the world premiere of A Flame in the Dark, his tribute to Sergio Veiria de Mello, in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Speakers will include Catherine Albisa, Monica Aleman, Hossein Alizadeh, Charlotte Bunch, and William P. Kelly.  The event will be hosted by Blanche Wiesen Cook, Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center.  Presented by the Center for the Humanities; free, for information call 212-817-2005.

Monday, December 15

An Evening with German Playwright Kai Hensel/Klamm's War
(play reading & discussion) 6:30–8:00 PM, Martin E. Segal Theatre
Kai Hensel will discuss his work at this event featuring monologues from his plays Klamm’s War and Which is the Best Drug for Me?, directed by Andreas Robertz (OneHeart Productions, New York/Cologne).  Hensel’s plays have been produced in theatres throughout Germany, translated into several languages, and adapted for radio broadcast.  Robertz is an established German theatre director who has served as artistic advisor for the City of Cologne Arts Council and resident director at the Artheatre Cologne.  Presented by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center; free, for information call 212-817-1860.
 
Tuesday, December 16

Beyond Boundaries: Klezmer Music in the 21st Century
(music conference & concert) 3:00 –9:00 PM, Proshansky Auditorium
Renowned Klezmer musicians, scholars, and composers will engage in an eclectic conversation about the state of the art of Klezmer at a symposium with music (3:30–5:30 PM).  Participants include Alicia Svigals, Hankus Netsky, Yale Strom, Seth Rogovoy, Joel Rubin, Eve Sicular, and Stephen Dankner; moderated by Dr. Marsha Dubrow, musicologist and resident scholar at the Center for Jewish Studies.  An evening concert (7-9 PM) will feature cellist Matt Haimovitz performing Stephen Dankner's Klezmer Fantasy, accompanied by pianist Geoffrey Burlson; followed by clips from ethnographer Yale Strom's forthcoming documentary A Great Day on Eldridge Street; and a “Klezmer stew” cooked up by Strom, his band Hot Pstromi, and Klezmer greats from the afternoon’s symposium.  Presented by the Center for Jewish Studies; free, for information call 212-817-1950.