For seven days in April 1968, students occupied five buildings on the campus of Columbia University to protest a planned gymnasium in a nearby Harlem park, links between the university and the Vietnam War, and what they saw as the university's unresponsive attitude toward students and faculty. Exhilarating to some and troubling to others, the student protests paralyzed the university, grabbed the world's attention, and inspired other uprisings. Fifty years after the events, A Time to Stir captures the reflections of those who participated in and witnessed the Columbia rebellion. With more than sixty essays from members of the Columbia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the Students' Afro-American Society, faculty, undergraduates who opposed the protests, "outside agitators," and members of the New York Police Department, A Time to Stir sheds light on the politics, passions, and ideals of the 1960s. Moving beyond accounts from the student movement's white leadership, this book presents the perspectives of black students, who were dealing with their uneasy integration into a supposedly liberal campus, as well as the views of women, who increasingly questioned their second-class status within the protest movement and society at large. A Time to Stir also speaks to the complicated legacy of the uprising. For many, the events at Columbia inspired a lifelong dedication to social causes while for others they signaled the beginning of the chaos that would soon engulf Students for a Democratic Society. Taken together, these reflections present a nuanced and moving portrait that reflects the sense of possibility and excess that characterized the 1960s.
About the AuthorPaul Cronin's books include Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed (2014) and Lessons with Kiarostami (2015). His films include a study of Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool and, to accompany this book, a multichapter documentary on the Columbia University protests of 1968. He teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York. His website is www.atimetostir.com.
ReviewsIn this richly contextualized collection of essays written by participants involved in the student protests at Columbia University in the spring of 1968, historian Paul Cronin treats the topic as comprehensively as possible. A Time to Stir showcases a broad range of perspectives, draws out numerous themes, and reminds us why the Columbia rebellion remains relevant today. A Time to Stir also makes for dramatic, exciting, and provocative reading. This is can't-put-it-down history. -- John McMillian, Georgia State University
Book InformationISBN 9780231182744
Author Paul CroninFormat Hardback
Page Count 512
Imprint Columbia University PressPublisher Columbia University Press