CULTURAL CENTER
The Joseph G. Astman Distinguished Conference Scholars
This award was established in 1985 in recognition of the outstanding role of the late founder of the 鶹 Cultural Center, Dr. Joseph G. Astman. Dr. Astman was a humanist, a cultural comparatist, and an international scholar who had the vision to establish the 鶹 Cultural Center as a forum for international scholarly thought.
1986 Marilyn French, author
Conference: The World of George Sand
1988 Andrea Bonanome (Italy), medical researcher
DzԴڱԳ:Chocolate: Food of the Gods
1989 Edmund W. Gordon, psychologist
Conference: Minorities in Higher Education
1989 Nicole Pellegrin (France), scholar
Conference: The French Revolution of 1789 and its Impact
1990 Edmond Morris, biographer,
and Sylvia J. Morris, biographer
Conference: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America
1990 Dore Ashton, art historian
Conference: Van Gogh 100
1990 John Cage, composer and artist
Conference: Bamboo and Oak: The Impact of East Asia on American Society and Culture
1991 Paul Badura-Skoda (Austria), musician, and
Eva Badura-Skoda (Austria), musicologist
Conference: Mozart: 200 Years of Research and Analysis
1991 Charles W. Smithson, banker
Conference: Innovative Financial Instruments and Development in Financial Services
1991 Lucine Amara, opera singer
Conference: Opera and the “Golden West”
1991 John G. Cawelti, scholar
Conference: Detective Fiction and Film
1991 Marc Shell, scholar
Conference: Money: Lure, Lore and Liquidity
1992 Artie Kamiya, scholar
Conference: East Coast Regional Conference on “Games Children Play”
1993 Paul John Eakin, scholar
Conference: First Person Singular: Autobiography Past, Present, and Future
1994 Tovah Feldshuh, actress
Conference: Women in Theatre: On the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Sarah Bernhardt
1994 Martin Bauml Duberman, scholar
Conference: Art, Glitter and Glitz: The Theatre of the 1920s Celebrates American Diversity
1995 Kazuo Sayama (Japan), writer and baseball historian
Conference: Baseball and the “Sultan of Swat”: Commemorating the 100th Birthday of Babe Ruth
1995Ngȗgiȋ, Thiong’o, novelist and essayist
Conference: Africa 2000
1995 Nicholas Johnson, former commissioner, federal communications commission (FCC)
Conference: 11th International Interdisciplinary Conference on General Semantics
1996 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, scholar
Conference: Inscription as Art in the World of Islam
1996 Peter A. Quinn, author
DzԴڱԳ:Irish Literatures: Old and New Worlds
1996 Rem Koolhas, founder and principal, Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Rotterdam, Netherlands, and professor of architecture, Harvard University
Conference: (In)Visible Cities: From the Postmodern Metropolis to the Cities of the Future
1996 Joyce Carol Oates, author and poet, Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Princeton University
Conference: George Sand: History, Politics and Society: From the First Empire to the Third Republic
1997 Herbert S. Parmet, distinguished professor emeritus,
City University of New York
Conference: The Tenth Presidential Conference: George Bush: Leading in a New World
1997 Edward Peters, scholar
Conference: Pope Innocent III and His World
1997 Mario Lavista (Mexico), composer
Conference: The Hispanic Connection: Spanish and Spanish American Literature in the Arts of the World
1998 Oren Lyons (Iroquois), scholar
Conference: Native American Experience: Long Island, New York and Beyond
1998 Will Friedwald, writer and Frank Sinatra historian
Conference: Frank Sinatra: The Man, The Music, The Legend
1999 Jon C. Teaford, scholar
Conference: Nassau County: From Rural Hinterland to Suburban Metropolis
1999 Michele Luzzati (Italy), scholar
Conference: The Most Ancient of Minorities: History and Culture of the Jews of Italy
1999 David B. Ruderman, scholar
DzԴڱԳ:The Most Ancient of Minorities: History and Culture of the Jews of Italy
1999 Blanche Wiesen Cook, historian
DzԴڱԳ:The Vision of Eleanor Roosevelt: World Citizen Ahead of Her Time
1999 Donald Spoto, author
DzԴڱԳ:Alfred Hitchcock: In Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Alfred Hitchcock
1999 Michael A. Morrison, scholar
Conference: Millennial Shakespeare:
Performance/Text/Scholarship
2000 Peter Riddell, associate editor, The Times(DzԻDz)
Conference: The Thatcher Years: The Rebirth of Liberty?
2000 Walter Isaacson, managing editor, Time
Symposium: The Leadership Difference: Rating the Presidents
2000 Jackson R. Bryer, scholar
Conference: A Robert Anderson Retrospective: Theater and Film
2000 Carlisle Floyd, composer, Susannah
Conference: Contemporary Opera at the Millennium
2001 Kenneth T. Jackson, scholar
Conference: Redefining Suburban Studies
2001 Bill Michaelis, scholar
Conference: The Child’s Right to Play: A Global Approach
2001 E.L. Doctorow, author
DzԴڱԳ:Moby-Dick 2001: An International Celebration
2001 Richard A. Falk, scholar
Conference: 2001: A Peace Odyssey
2001 George Wein, producer
⳾Dzܳ:Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong: A Celebration of Jazz
2002 John Seelye, scholar
Conference: John Steinbeck’s Americas
2002 Gwen Kirkpatrick, scholar
Symposium: Spanish and Spanish-American Poetry: Transition 2000 and Beyond
2002 Howard Zinn, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:Representing Sacco and Vanzetti
2002 Ian Thomson, scholar
DzԴڱԳ:“If This Is a Man”: The Life and Legacy of Primo Levi
2002 Gary Giddins, biographer
Conference: Bing! Crosby and American Culture
2003 Robert Kimball, author and historian of musical theatre
Conference: The Broadway Musical: 1920-2020
2003 Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel, writer, Equatorial Guinea
Symposium: Beyond the Patria: Exile, Border-Crossing, and Transnationalism in the Spanish-Speaking World
2003 Carl R. Gunther, historian and archivist
DzԴڱԳ:From Autogiro to Gyroplane: The Past, Present and Future of an Aviation Industry
2003 George D. Jackson, historian
Conference: St. Petersburg 300th Anniversary: The City as a Cradle of Modern Russia
2004 J. Richard Hackman, scholar
Conference: Applied Organizational Psychology
2004 Edith Grossman, translator
Conference: Don Quixote: The First 400 Years
2005 Robert Fishman, scholar
Conference: New Visions of Suburban Life: An Interdisciplinary Conference
2005 Paul Ryan, scholar
Conference: Youth Employment in the Global Economy
2005 Douglas Brinkley, scholar
Conference: 11th Presidential Conference: William Jefferson Clinton: The “New Democrat” From Hope
2006 Ronald G. Knapp, scholar
Conference: Asian Merchant Cultures at the Crossroads
2006 Anthony Saunders, scholar
Conference: Managing Risk in Financial Institutions: From Theory to Practice
2006 Eric J. Topol, scholar
Conference: Biomedical Research and the Law
2006 Cathy L. Jrade, scholar
Symposium: Rubén Darío: 90 Years Later
2007 Jay Pasachoff, scholar
DzԴڱԳ:Building a Scientifically Literate Population and Workforce for the 21st Century
2007 Harold Koda, scholar
Conference: Defining Culture Through Dress: Individual and Collective Identities
2007 Talal Asad, scholar
DzԴڱԳ:The Politics of Religion-Making
2007 Robert Davi, artist
Symposium: Bond, James Bond: The World of 007
2007 Raymond Benson, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:Bond, James Bond: The World of 007
2007 Richard Kadison, scholar
Conference: College Student Mental Health:
Psychological, Institutional, and Legal Issues
2007 Jessica Milner Davis, scholar
Conference: At Whom Are We Laughing? Humor in Romance Language Literatures
2008 Alison Stone, scholar
DzԴڱԳ:Philosophy of Luce Irigaray
2008 Doug Hesse, scholar
Conference: “Who Owns Writing?” Revisited
2008 John A. Pojman, scholar
Symposium: Building a Scientifically Literate Population and Workforce for the 21st Century: The Science of Patterns and Colors
2008 Stephen Hart, scholar
Symposium: I Am Going to Speak About Hope: International Poetry Symposium Celebrating the Work of César Vallejo
2008 Jeffrey T. Sammons, scholar
Conference: The Greatest: From Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali
2009 William F. McComas, scholar
Conference: Darwin’s Reach: A Celebration of Darwin’s Legacy Across Academic Disciplines
2009 Neal A. Baer, MD, writer and executive producer
Symposium: Media and Social Change: Using Entertainment Education to Improve the Outcomes of Health and Social Issues of Women
2009 Miguel Angel Sikota Ndjoli, audiovisual artist
Conference: Between Three Continents: Rethinking Equatorial Guinea on the 40th Anniversary of its Independence From Spain
2009 Eugenio Nkogo Ondo, philosopher
Conference: Between Three Continents: Rethinking Equatorial Guinea on the 40th Anniversary of its Independence From Spain
2009 Joan Marter, scholar
Symposium: Perle Fine and Early Leaders of Abstract Expressionism
2009 Bernard Neville, scholar
Conference: Jean Gebser: Identity, Civilization and Consciousness
2009 John A. Powell, scholar
Conference: The Diverse Suburb: History, Politics and Prospects
2009 Suzanne Jill Levine, scholar
Conference: Borges and Us: Then and Always
2010 Ritch C. Savin-Williams, scholar
Symposium: Sexual Identities: They Ain’t What They Used to Be!
2010 Peter Zweifel, scholar
Conference: New Directions in American Health Care: Innovations From Home and Abroad
2010 Howard P. Chudacoff, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:Child’s Play, Children’s Pleasures: Interdisciplinary Explorations
2010 Remo Bodei, scholar
Conference: For a Dangerous Pedogogy: A Manifesto for Italian and Italian American Studies
2010 Francesco Durante, scholar
Conference: For a Dangerous Pedogogy: A Manifesto for Italian and Italian American Studies
2010 Michael Bérubé, scholar
Symposium: The Future of the Liberal Arts in the 21st Century
2010 Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2007-2009)
Symposium: U.S. Presidential Leadership at the United Nations: Evaluating the Past 65 Years and Looking Ahead to 21st-Century Governance
2010 Kevin Smith, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:KAPOW! From Pulp Fiction to Google Books
2010 Margo Wootan, scholar
Conference: Public Health Challenges and Achievements: 1935-2010
2010 James P. Gee, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:75 Years: The Transformation of Public Schools
2010 Sheila W. Wellington, scholar
Conference: Social Responsibility in Business in the 21st Century
2011 Kathleen Hall Jamieson, scholar
Conference: Communication, Technology and Democracy:
Promises, Prophecies and Projections, 1935-2011
2011 Morris Dickstein, scholar
Conference: 1935: The Reality and the Promise
2011 Fritz Stern, scholar
Conference: 1935: The Reality and the Promise
2011 David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
Into Sunlight: The Impact of War on the Social Body From the Vietnam Era to the Present
2011 Juan Gonzalez, journalist
Conference: Innovative Communication Within and Across Communities
2011 Stefania Rinaldi, (Italy), Direttrice Laboratorio
“Coro di Voci Bianche” del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli
Conference: Delirious Naples: For a Cultural, Intellectual, and Urban History of the City of the Sun
2011 Angelo Cannavacciuolo (Italy), writer, director, screenwriter, actor
Conference: Delirious Naples: For a Cultural, Intellectual, and Urban History of the City of the Sun
2012 Erik Gunderson, scholar
Symposium: Queer Rhetoric
2012 Chuck E. Morris, III, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:Queer Rhetoric
2012 Martine Hackett, scholar
Symposium: The Ethical Use of Internet Cloud-Based Apps and Social Media (ICASM) in Healthcare
2012 Bradley H. Crotty, MD, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:The Ethical Use of Internet Cloud-Based Apps and Social Media (ICASM) in Healthcare
2012 John Thorn, scholar
Conference: The 50th Anniversary of the New York Mets
2012 Edwin Charles, athlete and poet
Conference: The 50th Anniversary of the New York Mets
2012 Donna Gabaccia, scholar
Conference: E Pluribus: What is Italian American?
2013 William Fulton, author
Conference: From the Outside In: Sustainable Futures for Global Cities and Suburbs
2013 Burrell Montz, scholar
Conference: From the Outside In: Sustainable Futures for Global Cities and Suburbs
2013Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, scholar
Symposium: Impact Investing: From Private Equity to Microfinance
2014Roderick Ferguson, scholar
⳾Dzܳ:Michel Foucault 2014: Beyond Sexuality
2014Ladelle McWhorter, scholar
Symposium: Michel Foucault 2014: Beyond Sexuality
2014Jennifer Doyle, scholar
DzԴڱԳ:Soccer as the Beautiful Game: Footballs Artistry, Identity, and Politics
2014David Goldblatt, scholar
Conference: Soccer as the Beautiful Game: Footballs Artistry, Identity, and Politics
2014 Pyong Gap Min, scholar
Association of Asian Studies: Asia Transforming: Old Values and New Presences
2014 Bridget Welsh, scholar
Association of Asian Studies: Asia Transforming: Old Values and New Presences
2015 Peter Baker, former White House correspondent
Conference: The George W. Bush Presidency
2015 Joaquin Borges-Triana, scholar
Symposium: Cuban Popular Music and its Diaspora
2016 Gerard Puccio, scholar
Symposium: Can We Teach Creativity? Creativity Studies in 2016?
2016 Christine Planté, scholar
Symposium: 40th Anniversary of George Sand Association
2017 David Harvey, scholar
DzԴڱԳ:Karl Marx’s Critique of Political Economy and the Global Crisis Today: On the 150th Anniversary of the Publication of Capital
2017 Mahmood Mamdani, scholar
Symposium: Culture and Idenity Configurations: Reflections on the 21st Century
2018 Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York City Councilwoman
Symposium: Shoot 4 Change New York, Shoot Local, Change Global Conference
2018 Twyla Tharp, Dance Choreographer
Lecture: Twyla Tharp: The Creative Habit
2018 Dr. Louis W. Uccellini, Director, National Weather Service
Conference: Long Island Hurricanes on the 80th Anniversary of the 1038 Storm: Past, Present, and Future
2018 Dr. Blanche Wiesen Cook, Scholar
Symposium: 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2018 Russell Shorto, Author, Historian, and Journalist
Symposium: New Netherland, New Amsterdam: A Celebration of Dutch Heritage and Transatlantic Exchange
2018 Dr. Sarah Cole, Scholar
Conference: Artistic Expressions and the Great War: A Hundred Years On
2019 Dr. Matthew Hersch, Scholar
Conference: ONE GIANT LEAP: Apollo 11 @ 50
2019 Dr. Mae C. Jemison, Former NASA Astronaut
Conference: ONE GIANT LEAP: Apollo 11 @ 50
2019 Michael Moss, Investigative Journalist and Author
Lecture: Salt, Sugar, Fat
2019 Max Boot, The Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
The 2019 Donald J. Sutherland Lecture: Conservatism in the Age of Trump
2019 Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., Scholar
The Legacy 1619-2019
2019 Ramachandra Guha, Scholar
On the Occasion of International Day of Non-Violence
2019 Dr. Deborah Gray White, Scholar
The Legacy, 1619-2019
2020 Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times Staff Writer and MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow
The Legacy, 1619-2019
2022 Rolando Pérez, Scholar
Symposium: Cesar Vallejo’s Trilce – One Hundred Years later, 1922-2022
2022 Adolph Reed Jr., Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
Conference: Anti-Fascism in the 21st Century
2022 Eric Gobetti, Independent Scholar, Turin, Italy
Conference: Anti-Fascism in the 21st Century
2023 Melissa Harris-Perry, Wake Forest University
Conference: 13th Presidential Conference Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
2023 Dr. Kathleen Creel, Asst. Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science, Northeastern University
Presidential Symposium: Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Friend or Foe?
2024 Isabel Wilkerson, American Journalist and Author, Signature Speaker
2024:Lilliana Hall Mason, SNF Agora Institute Associate Professor of Political Science, John Hopkins University
Presidential Symposium: Higher Education in an Election Year
2024:Sabine Feisst, Evelyn Smith Professor of Musicology, Arizona State University, and Severine Neff, Eugene H. Falk Distinguished Professor, Emerita, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Symposium: Listening to Arnold Schoenberg: Compositions, Teachings, and Writings
Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Arnold Schoenberg
2024: Lilliana Hall Mason, Johns Hopkins University
Presidential Symposium: Higher Education in an Election Year
2025: Janet Echelman, Sculptor and Author
Presidential Symposium: The Beauty of…
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