Tuesday, June 3

Conversations on Consciousness

Conscience ou absence… What happens in the brain when we become conscious—or when we don’t?"

By Columbia Global Paris Center

Date and time

Tuesday, June 3 · 7 - 8:30pm CEST

Location

Reid Hall

4 Rue de Chevreuse 75006 Paris France

About this event

Event lasts 1 hour 30 minutes

Proof of registration, via a QR code on your phone or on paper, will be required to enter Reid Hall. Entry will be refused to those who are not registered. Please note that access will not be permitted 15 minutes after the start of the event.

This event will be held in English.

Organized by the Columbia Global Paris Center.

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"Conscience ou absence… What happens in the brain when we become conscious—or when we don’t?"

Join us for the third edition of Conversations on Consciousness, hosted by Columbia University Professor Alfredo Spagna in collaboration with the Columbia Global Paris Center. This year’s event features two internationally recognized leaders in cognitive neuroscience: Stanislas Dehaene and Claire Sergent. Together, they will explore the neural architecture of conscious awareness, how attention shapes experience, and what brain research can teach us about the mind.

Speakers

Stanislas Dehaene is Professor at the Collège de France (Université Paris-Sciences-Lettres) and Director of the Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit at NeuroSpin (Université Paris-Saclay). His research spans numerical cognition, the neural basis of reading, and the neural correlates of consciousness.

Claire Sergent is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Université Paris Cité, based at the Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (CNRS). Her research explores the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying conscious access in both vision and audition, including studies involving patients with disorders of consciousness.

Alfredo Spagna is Lecturer in the Discipline of Psychology, Director of Undergraduate Research, Co-Director of STAR Program, and Director of Undergraduate Studies (Neuroscience & Behavior) at Columbia University. He investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying human attention and imagination, with a focus on the interplay between frontoparietal networks and high-level visual regions.

Reid Hall, the Columbia Global Paris Center, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination are not responsible for the views and opinions expressed by their speakers and guests.

Frequently asked questions

In what language will this event be held?

English

What time do doors open and close?

Doors will open 30 minutes prior to the event. Please note that access will not be permitted 15 minutes after the start of the event.

What is required to access the event?

Entry is granted by simply scanning the QR code on your Eventbrite ticket. If you don't have your ticket, you can still access the event, provided your name appears on the list of people who have registered via the platform.

Is entry possible without prior registration?

Access is strictly reserved to those on the registration list. No exceptions will be granted on site. Please note: if you are registering more than one person, the name of each guest must be entered during the registration process to ensure access to the event.

Organized by

Columbia Global Paris Center

The Columbia Global Paris Center addresses pressing global issues that are at the forefront of international education and research: agency and gender; climate and the environment; critical dialogues for just societies; encounters in the arts; and health and medical science.

Nestled in the Montparnasse district, Reid Hall hosts several Columbia University initiatives: Columbia Global Centers | Paris, the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Columbia Undergraduate Programs, M.A. in History and Literature, and the GSAPP Shape of Two Cities Program. This unique combination of resources is enhanced by our global network whose mission is to expand the University's engagement the world over through educational programs, research initiatives, regional partnerships, and public events.

The Paris Center is part of Columbia Global, which brings together major global initiatives from across the university to advance knowledge and foster global engagement. Its mission is to address complex global challenges through groundbreaking scholarly pursuits, leadership development, cutting-edge research, and projects that aim for social impact. Its long-term goal is to reimagine the university’s role in society as not only a nexus for learning and intellectual exploration but also as a catalyst for creativity and impact locally, regionally, and globally. Columbia Global includes eleven Global Centers, as well as the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, the Committee on Global Thought, and Columbia World Projects.