2014’s Best Videos from the School of Professional Studies

This year brought a wealth of fascinating guests to Columbia University. Within the School of Professional Studies, several programs hosted events series that were free and open to the public.

For Bioethics, director Robert Klitzman not only participated in crucial conversations about the Ebola outbreak but also featured high caliber guest speakers to discuss additional urgent issues. Trudi Baldwin, director of Strategic Communications, convened a series of marketing- and communications-related seminars on everything from social media to branding. At the intersection of medicine and the humanities, Narrative Medicine brought speakers from the realms of psychology, literature, visual arts, and more.

Here, the School of Professional Studies presents the best videos of the year. They feature everyone from author and neurologist Oliver Sacks on hallucinations, Columbia instructor Tasha Space on the business of culture, and photographer Amy Arbus on the power of visual art to tell the stories of patients and to help them heal.

Bioethics

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks, M.D., discusses what causes hallucinations, the nature of hallucinations, and the sometimes private shame of those who suffer from them.

Strategic Communications

Apple. Airbnb. Old Spice. These brands leverage cultural insights in order to differentiate themselves in the marketplace and connect with their audiences. Similarly, how can other brands amplify relevant cultural discussions or spark new ones? Tasha Space of Strategic Communications tells you how.

Narrative Medicine

Amy Arbus, photographer and daughter of icon Diane Arbus, discusses the nature of mental illness and how creative expression can help us heal.