Academics | Alumni Hall, 2nd floor
This exhibition, curated by 10 students in the fall 2024 semester of MUSE 300: Museum Curating, features the themes of textiles and weaving. Showcasing works from the Longyear Museum of Anthropology’s basket and world textile collections, this exhibition explores the incredible amount of labor and skill that goes into creating woven art. The exhibition takes a comparative view of textiles from around the world, introducing the community significance of different designs and individual stylistic choices. The exhibition discusses how fiber art forms have changed as local and global markets develop, as well as the role that clothing can play in displays of nationalism and politics. Ultimately, Unraveled aims to inspire viewers to consider the benefits of hand-crafted works and foster an appreciation for the people behind the woven things we use and love each and every day.The exhibition features several new acquisitions, including three new works acquired from the Jalabil Maya women’s weaving collective during their artist residency last fall. It also features pieces on loan from our student curators, highlighting the significance of weaving and textile arts in their lives.Student Curators:Leila Bekaert ’25 Oscar Brown ‘26 Kegan Foley ‘26 Emma Herwig ‘25 Bri Liddell ‘25 Gloria Liu ‘26 Meg McClenahan ‘25 Anna Miksis ‘25 Blanca Rivas ‘25 Aleksia Taci ‘25 Professor/Curator: Rebecca Mendelsohn

Academics | Picker Art Gallery, Dana Arts Center, 2nd floor
A Thought Is A Thread: Contemporary Artists Reworking Textile TraditionsMetaphors using the language of textiles are part of everyday idiomatic English: we follow threads on social media; storytellers weave tales or spin fantastic yarns; friend groups might be close-knit and and we might tie ourselves in knots trying to navigate complex situations. The history of textiles is intimately tied to the development of human societies. Weaving is at the same time one of the earliest human technological advancements, the foundation upon which modern industrial nations were built, and the basis for the computing revolution.A Thought Is A Thread brings together works by leading artists who investigate what textiles can still reveal about people and their relationships to each other, to themselves, and to language, land, and the future. Artworks by Faig Ahmed, Sanford Biggers, Diedrick Brackens, Melissa Cody, Suzanne Husky, Joy Ray, and Jordan Nassar present intertwining narratives that both cherish and complicate the web of meanings that emerge when traditional textile arts are given contemporary expression.Debuting at our opening, Picker Art Gallery welcomes members of the Colgate community to partake in Yarnival, a collaborative art experience. Yarnival will be on view and available for participation during the exhibition run of A Thought is a Thread, through May 18, 2025, in the upper atrium of the Dana Arts Center. Please stay tuned to our social media channels and website for more details on how to participate.A Thought Is A Thread is partially supported by funding from The Friends of Picker Art Gallery.

Academics | Alumni Hall, 111
This study explores the impact of administrative adjustments on local economic development in post-reform China by examining the consequences of upgrading counties to county-level cities (CheXianSheShi), a process that significantly alters local governance structures. Using advanced econometric techniques and a unique spatial dataset, the research reveals unexpected negative effects on economic growth rates in upgraded areas. The findings highlight the complex interplay between administrative restructuring, fiscal decentralization, and economic performance, demonstrating that such political processes can have unintended consequences on local development.This talk -- with Xiaozhong Sun, visiting assistant professor of geography, will discuss the implications of these findings for the political-driven urbanization process and the institutional design of effective decentralization strategies for territorial making in China and beyond.

Academics | Colgate Memorial Chapel, Basement
Colgate’s Heretics Club lunch discussion series was created to elevate the conversation on campus about life’s “big questions.”The spring 2025 theme: We Disagree! (But We Do It Well!)Discussions begin at noon in the Chapel Basement.Lunch is provided. All are welcome!Topics include:Feb. 6: Building Trust Across Difference How do we engage across difference in productive ways? In a time of intense polarization, this can seem impossible, but it is more important than ever. Join us for a conversation with Simon Greer, social entrepreneur and founder of Bridging the Gap.Feb. 20: Disagreeing Well with Our Political “Frenemies” Do you have friends whose politics you disagree with? Join us for a student-hosted conversation about ideological bubbles, political frenemies, and the importance of cultivating relationships with people who see the world differently than you.March 6 Disagreeing Well in the University (feat. President Casey!) Colgate’s mission statement focuses on the importance of cultivating open inquiry, mutual understanding, and a broadened perspective. Join us for a conversation with our own Brian Casey, who will talk about the key role that “civil disagreement” plays in this mission.April 3: What Does It Look Like to “Disagree” with Yourself? Have you ever experienced a dramatic change in your worldview? How did you make sense of it? Join us for a conversation with Sohrab Ahmari, editor of UnHerd and author of From Fire, By Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith (2019) and Tyranny Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty—and What To Do About It (2023).April 24: Disagreeing Well Across Religious Difference Religious differences have created some of humankind’s most longstanding disagreements. Join us for a conversation with Colgate’s Chaplains Rabbi Barry Baron and Imam Ahmet Celik about disagreeing well across religious difference

Academics | Arts at the palace
Colgate University has embarked on an ambitious plan for the future, to attract and support outstanding students and faculty, strengthen the university’s academic enterprise, enrich the student experience, and improve the campus and the environment. In this presentation, President Casey will focus on the plans for the campus and the impact on the greater Hamilton community.Presenter: Brian W. Casey is the 17th President of Colgate University and has served since his inauguration in 2016.

Academics | Ho Science Center, 101
NAST invites you to the Anthony Aveni Lecture Series with Dr. Victor Montejo.In this talk, Dr. Montejo will focus on the central idea developed in his newly published book Mayalogue: An Interactionist Theory of Indigenous Cultures (SUNY Press, 2021). Indigenous ideas of culture are very complex since they must make reference to their relationships with other living beings on earth. This ancient idea can be used retaken and used once again for explaining Indigenous belief systems in relation to the great connection or trilogy: human-nature-and the supernatural or spiritual world as the conciencia cosmica (cosmic consciousness). For Indigenous people there is a consciousness of belonging to the totality of creation: humans, plants, animals, rivers, mountains, the moon, the sun, the galaxies, and the spiritual world. In other words, this trialogical connection and reciprocity is of great scale that extends to the cosmic dimension for which rituals and ceremonies are necessary for pleasing the Creator. As Dr. Montejo mentions in Mayalogue, interactionism here can be labeled with the Maya term salap, the cross-weaving of threads to produce multicolored patterns of weaving, a metaphor for the diversity of cultures.Dr. Victor Montejo (Jakaltek Maya from Guatemala) is a renowned socio-cultural anthropologist, scholar, novelist, poet, activist, journalist, and important Maya public intellectual, specializing in Mesoamerican Indigenous cultures. Montejo's work integrates discourses on human rights, migration, Indigenous worldviews, and sustainable development. His contributions to understanding indigenous worldviews, such as the Popol Vuh, have been crucial in centering non-Western perspectives in academia through publications, such as Voices from Exile, Maya Intellectual Renaissance, and Mayalogue: An Interactionist Theory of Indigenous Cultures. He served as Guatemala’s Minister of Peace and a congressman, where he championed Indigenous rights, including establishing the National Day of Indigenous People of Guatemala and advancing reparation programs for civil war victims.Montejo also co-founded the American Anthropological Association's Commission for Human Rights, oversaw the implementation of Guatemala's peace accords as Minister of Peace, and continues to advocate for Indigenous self-representation through his leadership in the pan-Maya movement.As a Fulbright Scholar and award-winning writer, Montejo’s efforts have helped bridge Indigenous and Western perspectives and have worked to decolonize scholarship more broadly.