The Center for Place, Culture and Politics, established in 2000, is an interdisciplinary center providing an intellectual forum for the discussion of a wide range of vital contemporary topics and it is located at CUNY Graduate Center. As the name suggests, most of the pressing political and economic issues of today occur at the nexus of place and culture. At the beginning of the 21st century, questions of space and place have come to play a crucial role in politics and public culture. Each academic year, a group of faculty and graduate student fellows explore a specific theme at the Center. At a weekly seminar, participants read relevant materials and fellows present their own work and explore the work of others related to the theme. The Center also hosts prominent national and international scholars and activists who have done significant work related to the theme. These Distinguished Lecturers present a public lecture and meet with the fellows at their weekly seminar, and also host conferences. Previous Distinguished Lecturers and conference participants have included Gayatri Spivak, Derek Gregory, Daniel Ellsberg, Eyal Weizman, Vandana Shiva, Nancy Fraser, Gar Alperowitz, Naomi Klein, and many others. In addition, the Center sponsors research working groups, including an ongoing group on The Right to the City. The Center organizes edited volumes, and hold book celebrations for authors as well as other scholarly events. Each academic year the Center appoints eight faculty fellows and five graduate student fellows from throughout the City University of New York. Fellows are drawn from doctoral programs throughout the social sciences, humanities, and sciences.
The Center's work has several facets. Each academic year, they adopt a specific theme and appoint faculty and graduate student fellows to explore that theme. At a weekly seminar, fellows present their own work and explore the work of others related to the year's theme. The Center also hosts prominent national and international scholars who have done significant work related to the theme. In addition to giving a public lecture, these distinguished visitors meet with the fellows at their weekly seminar. The Center also hosts conferences related to the year's theme. A book series, combining essays by fellows and visitors and other invited outside scholars will help to publicize the Center's work. The Center also encourages faculty and graduate students throughout CUNY to use the Center's facilities for meetings and for organizing projects, and will work on joint projects with other programs and centers.
The Center was founded by Neil Smith. The director of the Center is Ruth Wilson Gilmore. Advisory board members include David Harvey, Omar Dahbour, Hester Eisenstein, Joshua Freeman, Frances Fox-Piven, Heather Gautney, Peter Hitchcock, Cindi Katz, Setha Low, Michael Menser, Joan Richardson, Donald Robotham, Ida Susser, and Saadia Toor.
Recent themes have included