CSER | Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race

Reimagining Race and Technology

Join the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race for a panel discussion and dinner highlighting exciting recent scholarship at the intersection of race and technology. Panelists will discuss how digital technology is deployed in war zones, how corporations manage access to democratic expression online, how digital surveillance works in U.S. higher education, and how race and racism appear in the digital collections at Columbia’s Libraries.

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Roots Journal, CSER's Student Publication

Check out the latest edition of CSER’s student journal, Roots! Established within The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race in 2023-2024, Roots is a unique space for academic and creative work directly related to the intersection of several axes of identity—namely race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, class, and ability.

Want to get involved? Email cserjournal@gmail.com to inquire about submission guidelines, timelines, and available staff positions.

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2025 International Program on Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Policy Now Open for Applications

The Institute for the Study of Human Rights and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race are glad to inform you that we are now accepting applications for the 2025 International Program on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Policy. This program is presented in partnership with the University of Auckland (New Zealand) and the University of British Columbia (Canada). Download our flyer for more information.

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Statement from CSER's Faculty

April 25, 2024

The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER) faculty fully supports Columbia and Barnard students’ rights to free speech and assembly. We unequivocally and unanimously condemn the decision to bring armed riot police onto campus and to impose mass suspensions in response to peaceful student protests.

We urgently advocate for the immediate reinstatement of the Columbia and Barnard students, including restoring their access to academic and extracurricular activities, dining halls, and residences. The university leadership must also swiftly revoke the suspensions and expunge disciplinary sanctions from student records. Additionally, for the safety of everyone on campus, the administration must cease its collaboration with the FBI and the NYPD, end its deployment of private security firms to surveil students and faculty, and begin a dialogue taking students’ demands seriously.

The Center is the only academic unit at Columbia formed in response to student inquiry and activism. The students currently calling for a ceasefire and university divestment carry on that legacy. We demand a university that can sustain real dialogue, without policing, on state violence towards Palestine. The University should be able to engage peacefully with peaceful student protest.

Follow CSER's Instagram Account!

Follow CSER’s new Instagram account (@columbiacser) to stay up to date on our latest events and opportunities.

The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER) is Columbia’s main interdisciplinary space for the study of ethnicity, race and indigeneity and their implications for thinking about culture, power, hierarchy, social identities, and political communities, in the U.S. and around the world.

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