Creative Writing: Master Class in Fictio

Master Class in Fiction W

For students who seek intensive experience with the writing of fiction. Students explore diverse styles of and approaches to fiction, and learn essential skills for writing their own short stories and novels. They participate in rigorous daily workshops and discussions on craft, as well as one-on-one teacher conferences.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Liza M St. James
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• Instructor: Colin M Johnson
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• 0 points

Introduction to Journalism & Nonfiction

Journalism & Nonfiction W

What creative possibilities do true stories hold? How can truth telling and storytelling work together? How can we turn ourselves—and other real people—into compelling characters? This class considers the possibilities of journalism and creative nonfiction. Students will learn basic research and reporting skills essential to all forms of nonfiction writing, as well as how to incorporate techniques traditionally associated with fiction writing into journalism and nonfiction. We will engage with a range of nonfiction prose and quality journalism—from news and magazine writing to memoir and personal essay—and use workshops to develop skills as editors and as writers.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Elizabeth P Walters
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• Instructor: Hannah P Gold
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• 0 points

Creative Writing: Journalism & Non-Ficti

Journalism & Non-Fiction

What creative possibilities do true stories hold? How can truth telling and storytelling work together? How can we turn ourselves—and other real people—into compelling characters? This class considers the possibilities of journalism and creative nonfiction. We will explore sub-genres ranging from news and magazine writing to memoir and personal essay; from science writing and profiles to humor, food writing, and lyric essay. Students will learn research and reporting skills essential to all forms of nonfiction writing, as well as how to incorporate techniques traditionally associated with fiction writing into journalism and nonfiction. We will engage with a range of nonfiction prose and quality journalism, and use workshops to develop skills as editors and as writers.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Sara von Oldershausen
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• Instructor: Sarah M Rosenthal
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• Instructor: Kristen M Martin
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• 0 points

The Media and Politics in the United Sta

This course explores a broad range of questions concerning the relationship between the media and politics, with a focus on historical and contemporary issues presented in the American context: Do the news media educate or manipulate the citizenry? What is the role of the press in a democracy and how does the First Amendment protect the press in the United States? What has the impact been of the new information technologies on the traditional media and on the political role of citizens? Against the backdrop of these questions, we critically assess the political significance of social media and the increasing “weaponization” of information. In particular, we examine the extent to which these new developments limit the ability of citizens to participate meaningfully in society and politics, while at the same time challenging longstanding assumptions about the role of journalism and political communication in America’s system of democratic government. Students engage with course material through a combination of readings, lectures, daily discussions, films, and guest speakers from the worlds of journalism and politics. Participants also work in small teams to create a hypothetical media proposal for selected candidates running in the 2020 New York City Mayoral Race. This will involve doing research on target constituencies, developing a persuasive message, and designing an effective media plan that matches specific messages to appropriate audiences and platforms. The central goal of this course is to provide students with a deeper understanding of the factors that characterize effective communication strategies, and to equip them with the tools necessary to be more intelligent, critical consumers of all forms of political communication.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Timothy Novak
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• 0 points

Creative Writing Elective: Exquisite Cor

Writing Elec: Exquisite C

Writing is hard for everyone, and poetry in particular can be intimidating. In this class, we will find low-stakes ways of generating new material, and learn how to find our bearings in any poem we might come across. Together we will read a wide range of poems that will broaden our idea of what poetry is and can be. We will strengthen the foundation of our own poetry by delving into some of the fundamentals of craft, such as line, image, and structure. We will also explore poetry’s relationship to occult practices, dreams, and visual media. Through experiments with collage, ekphrasis, exquisite corpses, automatic writing and more, we will find our way into the language that holds our own interior worlds. This class will develop your creative toolkit and expand your sense of yourself as an artist.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 2 p.m.-3 p.m.
• 0 points

Creative Writing Elective: Exquisite Cor

Writing Elec: Exquisite C

Writing is hard for everyone, and poetry in particular can be intimidating. In this class, we will find low-stakes ways of generating new material, and learn how to find our bearings in any poem we might come across. Together we will read a wide range of poems that will broaden our idea of what poetry is and can be. We will strengthen the foundation of our own poetry by delving into some of the fundamentals of craft, such as line, image, and structure. We will also explore poetry’s relationship to occult practices, dreams, and visual media. Through experiments with collage, ekphrasis, exquisite corpses, automatic writing and more, we will find our way into the language that holds our own interior worlds. This class will develop your creative toolkit and expand your sense of yourself as an artist.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 2 p.m.-3 p.m.
• 0 points

SEVEN-WEEK INTENSIVE

• Department: American Language Program
• MTWR 8:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Evan Chan
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• 0 points

FOUR WEEK SEMI-INTENSIVE

• Department: American Language Program
• MTWR 8:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• 0 points

FOUR WEEK SEMI-INTENSIVE

• Department: American Language Program
• MTWR 8:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• 0 points

FOUR WEEK SEMI-INTENSIVE

• Department: American Language Program
• MTWR 8:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• 0 points

Introduction to the Physical Sciences

Intro to the Physical Sci

This curricular option familiarizes students with the foundations of physics and chemistry from a modern perspective. Lectures, discussions, and experiments focus on topics such as electromagnetic radiation, spectroscopy, the interactions between elementary particles, the quantum mechanics of atoms, chemical bonding, special relativity, gravitation, and cosmology. The course also familiarizes participants with classical mechanics and waves in order to help them develop physical intuitions about activity on macroscopic-length scales. Experiments concentrate primarily on the analysis of stellar spectra, interference of electromagnetic waves, and Hubble’s Law. Students are instructed on how to conduct proper analyses of experimental uncertainties during the course of their investigations.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Philip M Frankel
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• 0 points

Queer Studies

QUEER STUDIES

Without understanding the obstacles and discrimination that a group has faced, on cannot fully appreciate that their demand for equal treatment is in fact a struggle for civil rights. Covering queer U.S. History and Culture from the early 20th Century through the present, this course introduces students to how enforcement of and reaction against institutionalized discrimination have shaped the LGBTQ experience in this country. Students will learn not just about events but often-overlooked people who shaped the course of this history - often heroically. Our study of historical sources will be supplemented by visits from influential and dynamic guest speakers in the arts and humanities. Students will have an opportunity to study our guests' work in advance and discuss it with them when they visit. This course is not restricted to students who identify as LGBTQ - this history is important for everyone, so allies are welcome and encouraged!

• Department: Pre-College Program (Barnard)
• 0 points

Introduction to Architectural Design and

Architectural Design & Th

This intensive introduction to key concepts in architecture consists of a morning seminar focusing on architectural history and theory and an afternoon studio in which students learn through independent design. In the seminar, participants are familiarized with the fundamental vocabulary employed to describe architectural ideas. The course covers how to analyze a building visually and formally, and introduces a spectrum of significant historical and recent designs while instilling an understanding of how the built environment is generated and transformed. Through discussions of challenging readings that encompass the political, social, technological, and economic aspects of the field, students are introduced to selected architectural themes. Class discussions are supplemented with architectural tours of the Columbia University campus and visits to prominent works of modern architecture in New York City such as the Whitney Museum, the High Line Park, Grand Central Station, and the Seagram Building. The afternoon studio class, conducted as a creative workshop, introduces participants to the conceptual skills employed by architectural designers. Instructors provide students with training in technical drawing and introduce them to the process of conceptualizing and developing architectural ideas. A short project is undertaken in the final week, in which students develop their own designs for an intervention on one of the New York City sites that was visited earlier in the session.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 9:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Virginia A Black
  CULPA: 1 Info
• Instructor: Brendan D Moran
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• 0 points

Introduction to Architectural Design and

Architectural Design & Th

This intensive introduction to key concepts in architecture consists of a morning seminar focusing on architectural history and theory and an afternoon studio in which students learn through independent design. In the seminar, participants are familiarized with the fundamental vocabulary employed to describe architectural ideas. The course covers how to analyze a building visually and formally, and introduces a spectrum of significant historical and recent designs while instilling an understanding of how the built environment is generated and transformed. Through discussions of challenging readings that encompass the political, social, technological, and economic aspects of the field, students are introduced to selected architectural themes. Class discussions are supplemented with architectural tours of the Columbia University campus and visits to prominent works of modern architecture in New York City such as the Whitney Museum, the High Line Park, Grand Central Station, and the Seagram Building. The afternoon studio class, conducted as a creative workshop, introduces participants to the conceptual skills employed by architectural designers. Instructors provide students with training in technical drawing and introduce them to the process of conceptualizing and developing architectural ideas. A short project is undertaken in the final week, in which students develop their own designs for an intervention on one of the New York City sites that was visited earlier in the session.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 9:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Brendan D Moran
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• Instructor: Marco V Piscitelli
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• 0 points

Introduction to Architectural Design and

Arch Design & Theory Lab

This intensive introduction to key concepts in architecture consists of a morning seminar focusing on architectural history and theory and an afternoon “virtual studio” in which students learn through independent design.

In the seminar, participants are familiarized with the fundamental vocabulary employed to describe architectural ideas. The course covers how to analyze a building visually and formally, and introduces a spectrum of significant historical and recent designs while instilling an understanding of how the built environment is generated and transformed. Through discussions of challenging readings that encompass the political, social, technological, and economic aspects of the field, students are introduced to selected architectural themes. Class discussions are supplemented with digital architectural tours of the Columbia University campus and virtual visits to prominent works of modern architecture in New York City such as the Whitney Museum, the High Line Park, Grand Central Station, and the Seagram Building.

The afternoon studio class, conducted online as a creative workshop, introduces participants to the conceptual skills employed by architectural designers. Instructors provide students with basic training in 2D and 3D visualization software and introduce them to the process of conceptualizing and developing architectural ideas. A short project is undertaken in the final week, in which students develop their own designs for an intervention on one of the New York City sites that was visited earlier in the session.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Marco V Piscitelli
  Info
• Instructor: Virginia A Black
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 0 points

Introduction to Architectural Design and

Arch Design & Theory Lab

This intensive introduction to key concepts in architecture consists of a morning seminar focusing on architectural history and theory and an afternoon “virtual studio” in which students learn through independent design.

In the seminar, participants are familiarized with the fundamental vocabulary employed to describe architectural ideas. The course covers how to analyze a building visually and formally, and introduces a spectrum of significant historical and recent designs while instilling an understanding of how the built environment is generated and transformed. Through discussions of challenging readings that encompass the political, social, technological, and economic aspects of the field, students are introduced to selected architectural themes. Class discussions are supplemented with digital architectural tours of the Columbia University campus and virtual visits to prominent works of modern architecture in New York City such as the Whitney Museum, the High Line Park, Grand Central Station, and the Seagram Building.

The afternoon studio class, conducted online as a creative workshop, introduces participants to the conceptual skills employed by architectural designers. Instructors provide students with basic training in 2D and 3D visualization software and introduce them to the process of conceptualizing and developing architectural ideas. A short project is undertaken in the final week, in which students develop their own designs for an intervention on one of the New York City sites that was visited earlier in the session.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Virginia A Black
  CULPA: 1 Info
• Instructor: Maria A Linares Trelles
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• 0 points

UN and Global Impact

UN AND GLOBAL IMPACT

This course will focus on the work of the United Nations (UN) and is intended for students interested in deepening their understanding of international affairs. Over the two weeks, students will learn the basics of the various important UN bodies and functions and subsequently explore global human rights, the sustainable development goals and the UN’s impact on current events. Guest speakers, who are current professionals in the UN system, will be invited to engage students in discussion.

• Department: Pre-College Program (Barnard)
• 0 points

Introduction to Marketing Communications

Intro Marketing Communica

What is marketing communications? Is it buying and selling, advertising and promotion, surveys and telemarketing, or looking at how consumers buy? Do you want the same stuff your friends have; do you want to be part of the “in” crowd; and what do your clothes say about you? In this course students examine multiple ads and promotional programs, read about how companies try to reach consumers, and discuss consumers’ responses to companies’ programs. They explore how companies advertise and promote their products to the consumer. The morning session is devoted to lecture and class discussion. In the afternoon, students are often divided into small teams to do hands-on and group work and present their findings to the class for Q&A. As a final project, they work in teams to create, brand, and develop a comprehensive written marketing and communications plan for a new product, which they also present to the class.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Stephane Goldsand
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• Instructor: Wesley Stroud
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• 0 points

Playwriting

PLAYWRITING

What is a play? Where does a play come from? This course will embrace the live performance event in the widest possible terms through reading, writing, feedback, and discussion. Students will engage in daily writing exercises, as well as extended writing operations. We will become adept at giving and receiving feedback. We will read and dissect both classic texts and contemporary plays. We will engage with theatre artists living and working in New York City. Successful students will possess a sense of adventure and willingness to experiment. Appropriate for Grade Levels: 10, 11

• Department: Pre-College Program (Barnard)
• Instructor: Alice A Reagan
  CULPA: 1 Wikipedia Info
• 0 points

Conflict Resolution: Negotiation, Persua

Conflict is a part of life. Most people do not like conflict because they usually do not resolve their conflicts well and so they develop a distaste for it. There are also ways to constructively engage in conflict that lead to better quality outcomes and relationships. In this course, students learn basic concepts about conflict resolution so that they can develop a deeper and broader understanding of conflict dynamics. There are many types of conflicts and in this course the students focus on learning more about their interpersonal conflicts with others. They learn skills so they will be able to more constructively resolve their interpersonal conflicts toward win-win outcomes. These goals are achieved by students developing more self-awareness as to the types of conflict styles they tend to use as their “default” approach. They become more aware of their “hot buttons” and the types of behaviors and situations that cause them to become embroiled in a conflict situation. In addition to learning more about their own habits, they apply these concepts and skills to better understand others around them. By developing more empathy and understanding of others, students are able to reduce the number, types, and intensity of their interpersonal conflicts. The course is primarily experiential and interactive so students learn by doing and reinforce their learning through immediate application. There are role-plays, simulations, discussions, presentations, film analyses, and other activities designed to enhance learning of the identified concepts and skills.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• 0 points

Conflict Resolution: Negotiation, Persua

Conflict is a part of life. Most people do not like conflict because they usually do not resolve their conflicts well and so they develop a distaste for it. There are also ways to constructively engage in conflict that lead to better quality outcomes and relationships. In this course, students learn basic concepts about conflict resolution so that they can develop a deeper and broader understanding of conflict dynamics. There are many types of conflicts and in this course the students focus on learning more about their interpersonal conflicts with others. They learn skills so they will be able to more constructively resolve their interpersonal conflicts toward win-win outcomes. These goals are achieved by students developing more self-awareness as to the types of conflict styles they tend to use as their “default” approach. They become more aware of their “hot buttons” and the types of behaviors and situations that cause them to become embroiled in a conflict situation. In addition to learning more about their own habits, they apply these concepts and skills to better understand others around them. By developing more empathy and understanding of others, students are able to reduce the number, types, and intensity of their interpersonal conflicts. The course is primarily experiential and interactive so students learn by doing and reinforce their learning through immediate application. There are role-plays, simulations, discussions, presentations, film analyses, and other activities designed to enhance learning of the identified concepts and skills.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• 0 points

Leadership in Action Series

LEADERSHIP IN ACTION SERI

Leadership in action series.

• Department: Pre-College Program (Barnard)
• 0 points

Activist NY

ACTIVIST NY

• Department: Pre-College Program (Barnard)
• 0 points

Entrepreneurship & Innovation: New Produ

In this course students learn the fundamentals of developing, iterating on, and improving core new business concept ideas. Further, they learn how to estimate sales and potential profitability, mainly through the application of the Booze Allen Sales Estimating System (BASES), the most universal new products and service sales forecasting system globally. Students work in groups to develop new products and marketing plans for those products. With the help of the Columbia Business School librarian and access to the University’s databases, students learn to quantify the sizes of the target audiences for their new business ideas and find data to support the trends, industry size, and growth, as well as key market segments for the categories they will be entering. Students learn the types of assumptions needed to forecast sales and profitability. They develop and field marketing research questionnaires and interpret the result to improve their new product and service ideas. They also learn the fundamentals of developing launch marketing plans to achieve trial and awareness for the new business introductions. Participants apply these concepts to Harvard case studies that deal with positioning new products and services amongst competitors, developing launch marketing plans, and adapting new products and services around the world based on local market assessments about category differences, local customs and cultures, values, distribution channels, and intermediaries. Final in-class presentations allow students to see the course concepts applied to one another’s ideas and industries. The presentations also provide a sense of what venture capitalists and senior management in corporations look for in deciding whether to green light a new product or service for market introduction. The presentations bring the course material together to provide a holistic, real-world view of how the new product and services process works.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Michelle Greenwald
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• 0 points

Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Changing

Intended for students interested in creating new business ventures or social enterprises, this hands-on course focuses on the creation, evaluation, development, and launch-readiness of new business or social ventures. Participants are guided through the new venture creation process as applied to student team-selected venture ideas. Through interactive lectures, short case studies, and structured peer activities, students explore the elements of the new venture planning process in an innovative modular format. For each student venture, key issues are addressed in a fashion highly consistent with other formal venture-planning processes including business model development, customer discovery, product-market validation, in-depth industry and market analysis, product or service innovation, brand development and go-to-market strategies, team selection and management, profit models, financing, and legal considerations. Students work through a series of structured activities and assignments that correspond with each phase of new venture planning. Throughout the class, they refine their venture’s hypothesized business model on the basis of instructor and peer feedback. At each stage of venture plan development, they learn critical terms, apply tools that support research and decision making, and develop a deep understanding of how each major planning activity fits into formal venture creation. Additionally, they hone critical professional skills including creative problem-solving, communication and negotiation, project management, financial analysis, and collaborative leadership. By the end of the class, participants have generated robust business models, with supportive venture plan documents, investor pitches, websites, and crowd-funding videos.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Jack McGourty
  CULPA: 67 Info
• 0 points

Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Changing

Intended for students interested in creating new business ventures or social enterprises, this hands-on course focuses on the creation, evaluation, development, and launch-readiness of new business or social ventures. Participants are guided through the new venture creation process as applied to student team-selected venture ideas. Through interactive lectures, short case studies, and structured peer activities, students explore the elements of the new venture planning process in an innovative modular format. For each student venture, key issues are addressed in a fashion highly consistent with other formal venture-planning processes including business model development, customer discovery, product-market validation, in-depth industry and market analysis, product or service innovation, brand development and go-to-market strategies, team selection and management, profit models, financing, and legal considerations. Students work through a series of structured activities and assignments that correspond with each phase of new venture planning. Throughout the class, they refine their venture’s hypothesized business model on the basis of instructor and peer feedback. At each stage of venture plan development, they learn critical terms, apply tools that support research and decision making, and develop a deep understanding of how each major planning activity fits into formal venture creation. Additionally, they hone critical professional skills including creative problem-solving, communication and negotiation, project management, financial analysis, and collaborative leadership. By the end of the class, participants have generated robust business models, with supportive venture plan documents, investor pitches, websites, and crowd-funding videos.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Jack McGourty
  CULPA: 67 Info
• 0 points

Introduction to Philosophical Enquiry: E

Ethics

Most broadly, ethics is concerned with how it is best for us, as human individuals and communities, to live – how we understand and relate to ourselves, each other, and beyond. What goals or values should we pursue? What kinds of lives are good and worthy of choice (for anyone)? What moral duties do we have – are there individual actions or social policies which are (morally) required or forbidden? And to whom or what do we owe them – in virtue of what do entities have moral standing? Is acting morally good for us and, if so, would this compromise the ethical worth of so acting? What is the source of our knowledge, if any, about these matters, and how do we resolve conflicting answers to these questions?  While attending some to ‘meta-ethics’, the course focuses on normative ethics and its application. After an introduction to philosophical and ethical inquiry and an orientation in foundational ethical questions, the course surveys several approaches to ethics – consequentialism (especially utilitarianism), rule- or duty-based theories (particularly ‘Kantianism’ and ‘contractualism’), and some of the traditions of ‘virtue ethics’. The course then applies these theories to several concrete topics, including the distribution of material resources in society, sex and gender, race and racism, and free speech.  Our authors include Audre Lorde, Immanuel Kant, John Rawls, John Stuart Mill, Kongzi (Confucius), Peter Singer, Plato, Robin S. Dillon, Susan Moller Okin, and W.E.B. Du Bois.  The course has three main goals for students:
1
) To describe, explain, and provisionally assess some important philosophical perspectives – historical and contemporary, Western and non-Western – on ethics;
2
) To identify, logically analyze and evaluate, and construct (logically valid and sound) philosophical arguments;
3
) To use spoken and written language clearly, concisely, and convincingly.  There are no prerequisites for the course. The course includes asynchronous work, which students are expected to complete between class sessions.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Alexander C Rigas
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• 0 points

DRAWING: EYE & IDEA

Drawing: Eye & Idea

Studio arts courses are offered in conjunction with Columbia University's School of the Arts.
In this beginner-level class, students explore various modes of looking at and interpreting the world through drawing. The course emphasizes drawing from both observation and imagination as ways to learn traditional drawing techniques and foster creativity and personal interpretation. Course assignments stress observation while focusing on experiments with materials so as to find creative approaches to visual problem-solving. Assignments include exercises in composition, use of charcoal and pencil, graphic drawing techniques, wet media, color theory, and optical illusions. The course combines studio work, including the study of the human figure using live nude models, with outdoor drawing, individual and group critiques, and visits to major museums and art galleries. Critical issues in art are addressed once a week in the form of a short seminar, so as to generate meaningful debates as a context for studio work. Participants also learn how to prepare a final portfolio for college applications, and the session concludes with a group show to which parents, friends, and other program participants are invited.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Ioana I Manolache
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• 0 points

Intro to Philosophical Enquiry: Love, Hu

This course is designed for students who want to engage in lively debate on a philosopher's ideas, closely read primary texts, and investigate how philosophical concepts are present in our experiences today. In the process of delving into key philosophical texts about love, human excellence, and existential freedom, course participants are familiarized with the basic methodology of philosophical enquiry. We begin by reading and discussing Plato's 
Symposium
 and Aristotle's 
Nicomachean Ethics
, their respective treatises on love and moral character (virtue ethics). Students debate questions related to the dialogue on love that Plato develops through the voice and character of Socrates. What is love and what does it mean to be a lover of wisdom—a philosopher? In the Ethics, students discuss the topic of human excellence and seek to answer how humans should best live their lives. In a practical sense, what is the purpose of human life and what is the ultimate goal of human endeavor? Why does Aristotle consider friendship a virtue, an excellence one must pursue if one wants a good life, Eudaemonia?   Having established the classical foundations, we move into the 20th Century and begin a dialogue and exploration of ideas on existential freedom, choice, and responsibility. We begin with readings to explore the ideas of determinism and indeterminism associated with various philosophies of freedom. Specifically, we focus on the foundational works of Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of existential freedom found in 
Being and Nothingness
 and Soren Kierkegaard’s religious freedom from 
Fear and Trembling
, which Donald Palmer introduces in 
Does the Center Hold? An Introduction to Western Philosophy
. This introduction serves as the foundation students need in order to grasp the idea of existential freedom articulated in the essays that make up Albert Camus' seminal work 
The Myth of Sisyphus
. Through this lens students will debate whether it is practical to attempt to live an existential life and how philosophers as diverse as Nietzsche, Camus, and Sartre would define that life. In addition to the readings, participants will have an opportunity to critique film and other art forms that present interpretations of existential themes.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Alec U Milton
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• 0 points

Introduction to Creative Writing (Semina

Intro to Creative Writing

This course serves as an exploration of the creative writing process, including idea generation, creation and development of drafts, and basic editing skills. Through frequent and diverse exercises, students develop their use of voice, imagery, characterization, dialogue, and narration. Students work in poetry, prose poetry, drama, and fiction. Works produced by professional writers as well as by students in the class form the basis of discussion in the workshop process.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Kelley S Hess
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• Instructor: Sarah G Monsen
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• Instructor: William S Thomas
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• Instructor: Sofia L Florimbi
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• 0 points

Creative Writing: Introductory Workshop

Introductory Workshop (Se

A course designed for students who have not had extensive experience in creative writing. Through frequent writing exercises, participants develop such writing resources as voice, imagery, characterization, dialogue, and narration. Experimentation is encouraged.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Samuel T Granoff
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• Instructor: Nora R Tomas
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• 0 points

Introduction to AI: Search Algorithms

Intro to AI: Search Algor

This course is intended for students with a strong programming background, including comfort in applying object-oriented programming and recursion to solve problems. We start off with a brief overview of the history of artificial intelligence and progress to focus on a powerful classical technique known as Search. Optimization and probabilistic strategies are explored so as to demonstrate tradeoffs between different types of search strategies (blind search, local search, and adversarial search). Several well-known problems—such as N-Queens, Knapsack, Post correspondence, and Chess—are discussed, and we look at how the Deep Blue system was able to win a chess game against a reigning world champion. Participants are expected to complete challenging and thought-provoking assignments using the techniques taught in class as well as their prerequisite knowledge. The end goal of the course is for each student to build a program in Java that can be used to search for a solution to one of the classical problems presented in class.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Emud Moghareh Dehkordy
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• 0 points

The Power of Personal Nonfiction

What makes a personal essay feel so much bigger than the individual? What is the difference between writing that is merely confessional and writing that captivates, questions, and transforms? How do we tell compelling true stories about ourselves while probing the limits of our knowledge, the gaps in our memories, the stories that we don’t yet know how to tell? Writing a personal essay is not only a process of self-discovery—it is also the work of becoming the person capable of writing the essay. In this course, we learn to write true stories about ourselves, the cultural artifacts and places we care about, the identities we hold in relation to power, and the ways our experiences change us forever. With the goal of producing up to three compelling personal essays, we explore the process of personal writing, from generating ideas to revising drafts. To become captivating narrators, we practice drafting skills essential to all nonfiction writing, drawing from reporting, research, and our personal archives—be it text messages, photos, or journals—to enhance the emotional specificity and intellectual rigor of our personal narratives. Part seminar and part workshop, this course introduces students to the genre of personal nonfiction and the practice of critiquing writing as a group. Through close examination of their own experiences and engagement with model texts, students develop storytelling skills that will transfer to their future writing in any genre.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Jasmine S Vojdani
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• 0 points

Introduction to Film Studies

Each moment of a film involves many, many decisions: where to place the camera, where to position the actors, choosing how they will dress, should there be music in the background (or not), the relation of a shot to those that precede it and those that follow it, etc. What are the techniques a filmmaker uses to convey meaning—and create the sense of a world? In the first three days of this course an introduction to the major avenues of expression in the cinema—cinematography, editing, mise-en-scène, sound and narrative—will be provided. In the final two days all participants will engage in close, detailed readings of two films that will elucidate not only the filmmakers’ technical choices but the reasons behind those choices.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Richard A Pena
  CULPA: 16 Info
• 0 points

Introduction to Socially Responsible Inv

Socially Responsible Inve

There is no denying the significant growth in the focus on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) Investing that has taken place over the past few years, with trends around climate change leading the charge. What was once deemed a public value focal point has blossomed into a prudent investment strategy as research has indicated that companies demonstrating a commitment to sustainable business practices, in the long-run, outperform those that do not. The result has been a mass migration towards ESG and Impact investing. This course is an introduction to socially responsible investing and an overview of the differences between ESG and Impact Investing. We investigate the relationships between ESG investing, outperforming market returns, and achieving Sustainable Development Goals. The materials presented in class as well as class discussions empower students to answer questions such as:

How can investing be reconciled with sustainability and achieving the sustainable development goals?

Will ESG investing become the norm rather than the exception?

What are the links between green finance and ESG investing?

Through a mix of introductory finance and asset management theories, class colloquia, and investment case studies, students gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities embedded in sustainable investing.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Isabelle Marie F Delalex
  Info
• 0 points

The Art of Cell Phone Photography

Studio arts courses are offered in conjunction with Columbia University's School of the Arts.
This class is an introduction to the tools and techniques of digital photography and the language of photo criticism. Using their own cell phone cameras students work to understand the functions and potentials of the cameras we carry with us every day while exploring the medium's context within contemporary photography. Each day students undertake assignments designed to explore the distinct qualities of taking photos with a cell phone while engaging with the language and context of the photographic medium. We focus on storytelling, with assignments considering traditional formats of portraiture, still life, and landscape, as well as editing and sequencing. The class culminates in a project combining moving and still images. We also look at digital platforms for sharing and publishing work and undertake projects which both finesse the cellphone camera’s abilities and embrace its glitches and limitations. This intensive program enables photographers to take full advantage of a tool already at their side and to fine-tune it into an art practice.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Rachel L Stern
  Info
• 0 points

Advanced Screenwriting

This class is designed for screenwriters who have written screenplays in proper script format and are interested in the art of revision. In this immersive screenwriting workshop, you’ll learn how to transcend tinkering, dive deeper into your story and characters, and re-see your work. Using improvisational acting techniques, we’ll bring scenes to life and re-stage them to sharpen the characters’ opposing goals. Focusing upon what each character needs, we’ll explore how to write even more memorable and moving scenes. Come ready to write and act! While sharing work and giving constructive notes will be the heart of the course, we’ll also do in-class writing exercises, have guest speakers, and analyze the blueprint and DNA of great films – their screenplays. By the end of the course, each writer will have revised at least one short script or excerpts from a feature length screenplay.

• Department: Pre-College Program (Barnard)
• 0 points

Introduction to Creative Writing (Craft)

Intro Creative Writing (C

This course serves as an exploration of the creative writing process, including idea generation, creation and development of drafts, and basic editing skills. Through frequent and diverse exercises, students develop their use of voice, imagery, characterization, dialogue, and narration. Students work in poetry, prose poetry, drama, and fiction. Works produced by professional writers as well as by students in the class form the basis of discussion in the workshop process.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Rachel E Keranen
  Info
• Instructor: Elias P Sorich
  Info
• Instructor: Brianne M Baker
  CULPA: 2 Info
• Instructor: Samuel O Carpenter
  Info
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Introductory Workshop

Introductory Workshop (Cr

A course designed for students who have not had extensive experience in creative writing. Through frequent writing exercises, participants develop such writing resources as voice, imagery, characterization, dialogue, and narration. Experimentation is encouraged.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Julia S Burgdorff
  Info
• Instructor: Rachel T Kang
  Info
• 0 points

Introduction to Creative Writing (Worksh

Intro Creative Writing Wr

This course serves as an exploration of the creative writing process, including idea generation, creation and development of drafts, and basic editing skills. Through frequent and diverse exercises, students develop their use of voice, imagery, characterization, dialogue, and narration. Students work in poetry, prose poetry, drama, and fiction. Works produced by professional writers as well as by students in the class form the basis of discussion in the workshop process.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Taylor Zhang
  Info
• Instructor: Elly M Graff
  Info
• Instructor: Emma E O'Leary
  Info
• Instructor: Meghan M Dahn
  Info
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Introductory Workshop

A course designed for students who have not had extensive experience in creative writing. Through frequent writing exercises, participants develop such writing resources as voice, imagery, characterization, dialogue, and narration. Experimentation is encouraged.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Meghan M Dahn
  Info
• Instructor: Elizabeth M von Klemperer
  Info
• 0 points

Constitutional Law

This is a course designed for students interested in law, government, and politics. It examines a wide range of contemporary issues subject to constitutional interpretation, introducing students to the constitution, the fundamental concepts of constitutional law, the role of the courts, and the legal limitations on governmental policy making. Students discuss and analyze topics including separation of powers, federalism, freedom of speech, affirmative action, the death penalty, gun control, civil rights, and abortion. They are exposed to current constitutional challenges and are given the opportunity to explore the relationship between law and society. Students develop skills that enable them to read and interpret Supreme Court decisions, which serve as the basis for class discussion. Debates and Moot Courts call on students to develop persuasive arguments in defense of their positions, thereby sharpening reasoning and analytical skills.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Michelle Chun
  CULPA: 12 Info
• 0 points

Critical Focus on the Visual Arts: Archi

Architecture & Society

A two-course curricular option that provides a concentrated study of aesthetic concepts for students interested in the visual arts. Both courses emphasize critical thinking and analysis, skills that will be valuable to students in whatever fields they choose to pursue in college and beyond.

Architecture and Society: New York’s Built Environment
This course introduces students to the visual analysis of architecture. Instead of surveying the history of architecture, we look at specific New York landmarks so as to understand how great structures not only fulfill practical needs but also influence our relationship to the physical and social world around us. By studying some of the city's notable museums, parks, houses of worship, office buildings, and transportation centers, we see how these sites reflect and inform different kinds of social experiences. Students become familiar with basic architectural vocabulary (such as light, space, mass, and circulation) and come to appreciate how architects of different eras and sensibilities have engaged these same elements to different ends.

We examine historical and current images of key buildings and places, discuss their essential role in urban life, and identify significant events which have made them memorable. We also consider how their portrayal in popular culture has contributed to New York’s identity and image as an American city and a global destination.

Some of the sites we consider typically include Columbia University’s campus, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, Lever House, and the 9/11 Memorial.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Nenette Arroyo
  Info
• 0 points

Advanced Counseling Skills

• Department: Genetic Counseling
• Instructor: Michelle Ernst
  Info
• 2 points

Digital Filmmaking: From Initial Concept

Participants learn all the basics of making a strong, visually-driven short film with an emphasis on narrative storytelling. The course focuses on the fundamentals of video production: essential film grammar, story development, script, music, and sound. Working in small groups, students shoot three shorter pieces before collaborating to make a final film. The exercises start off simply, adding a new element of filmmaking with each new assignment. For the final film, students work sequentially through the stages of production: initial concept, synopsis, treatment, script, storyboards, and final shooting and editing. During pre-production participants learn how to work in a group to plan for and realize a short film from concept to shooting script. During production they work together to coordinate and shoot their script. And finally in post-production they edit and polish their projects. The instructor provides guidance throughout the process, emphasizing the students’ responsibility for carrying the project from inception to completion. The emphasis throughout the three weeks is on collaborative teamwork. Over the course of the various exercises, each student takes on a number of different roles within the production teams (director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, sound). For the final projects, only a handful of proposals are selected for production, so not every participant directs or writes his or her own film, though everyone plays a crucial role in the production. On the last day of the program, students screen their completed films at a film festival attended by friends, family members, and other program participants. The completed films can potentially be used for submission to short film festivals and as portfolio pieces for film or art school applications.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Yu Cheng
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 3 Info
• Instructor: King King Lu
  Info
• Instructor: Mark A Christopher
  Info
• 0 points

Digital Filmmaking: From Initial Concept

Participants learn all the basics of making a strong, visually-driven short film with an emphasis on narrative storytelling. The course focuses on the fundamentals of video production: essential film grammar, story development, script, music, and sound. Working in small groups, students shoot three shorter pieces before collaborating to make a final film. The exercises start off simply, adding a new element of filmmaking with each new assignment. For the final film, students work sequentially through the stages of production: initial concept, synopsis, treatment, script, storyboards, and final shooting and editing. During pre-production participants learn how to work in a group to plan for and realize a short film from concept to shooting script. During production they work together to coordinate and shoot their script. And finally in post-production they edit and polish their projects. The instructor provides guidance throughout the process, emphasizing the students’ responsibility for carrying the project from inception to completion. The emphasis throughout the three weeks is on collaborative teamwork. Over the course of the various exercises, each student takes on a number of different roles within the production teams (director, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, sound). For the final projects, only a handful of proposals are selected for production, so not every participant directs or writes his or her own film, though everyone plays a crucial role in the production. On the last day of the program, students screen their completed films at a film festival attended by friends, family members, and other program participants. The completed films can potentially be used for submission to short film festivals and as portfolio pieces for film or art school applications.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• 0 points

Genetics, Genomics, and Society

• Department: Genetic Counseling
• Instructor: Elana Levinson
  Info
• 2 points

Intensive Seminars in Modern Chemistry

Chemistry, the central science, is the science of molecules and bonds. Its signature is change in all its manifestations, from events that happen on a geological time scale to those that happen instantaneously, from the cosmological to the subatomic scale. Chemistry provides powerful scientific tools that extend our ability to sense the magnitudes of change by stretching the limits of what we know of our universe. Intensive Seminars in Modern Chemistry is designed for highly motivated students who want to strengthen their understanding of chemistry and current research methods. The daily program follows a seminar format, beginning with a presentation by senior faculty members and researchers that is expanded upon through small group discussions and laboratory experiences. Topics have been selected because they stand out as essential themes of current research, illustrate the methods of science, lend themselves to historical development, and highlight the role of chemistry as the central science. Through integrative experiments and collaborative projects, students discover the synthetic and analytic dimensions of chemistry in forensic, environmental, and materials problems. Experiments emphasize the development of problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Formal training includes instrumental methods in spectroscopy, chromatography, magnetic resonance, and computer simulations with state-of-the-art equipment in the department’s modern laboratories. Guest lecturers and field trips to area research facilities round out the program. Students are expected to complete a small research project, prepare a scientific paper, and participate regularly in class discussions.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Luis A Avila
  CULPA: 22 Info
• 0 points

Introduction to Programming in C

Intro to Programming in C

An intensive course designed to develop logic and programming skills through immersion in the fundamentals of C. Programming projects involving mathematical problems and word games challenge students to develop their logical reasoning, systematic thinking, and problem-solving skills. Students learn the structure and features of a fundamental programming language as they implement solutions in C. In addition to teaching programming techniques, the course will cover an overview of fundamental computing concepts such as data structures, library design, and memory management.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Leighanne C Hsu
  Info
• Instructor: Sandip D Nair
  Info
• 0 points

Painting: The Painted Image

Studio arts courses are offered in conjunction with Columbia University's School of the Arts.
In this course students explore various approaches to painting from observation. They learn oil painting techniques, the basic principles of color theory, and, by working with live nude models, diverse approaches to the study of the human figure. Assignments focus on composition, color theory, the use of materials, and creativity and visual communication in painting. Studio work is complemented by individual and group critiques as well as lectures and field trips to major New York City museums and galleries. Critical issues in art are addressed once a week in the form of a short seminar, so as to generate meaningful debates as a context for studio work. Participants also learn how to prepare a final portfolio for college applications, and the session concludes with a group show to which parents, friends, and other program participants are invited.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Miguel Cardenas
  CULPA: 4 Info
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Advanced Workshop (Sem

Advanced Workshop (Semina

This workshop is geared toward students who have considerable experience in creative writing or who demonstrate unusual talent. Students read and write free verse poetry, short prose, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction with the goal of developing a final portfolio of revised work.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Julia D Cannon
  Info
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Advanced Workshop (Sem

Advanced Workshop (Semina

This workshop is geared toward students who have considerable experience in creative writing or who demonstrate unusual talent. Students read and write free verse poetry, short prose, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction with the goal of developing a final portfolio of revised work.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Advanced Workshop (Sem

Advanced Workshop (Semina

This workshop is geared toward students who have considerable experience in creative writing or who demonstrate unusual talent. Students read and write free verse poetry, short prose, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction with the goal of developing a final portfolio of revised work.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Galina Nemirovsky
  Info
• Instructor: Melanie H Broder
  Info
• 0 points

Conservation Biology and Sustainability:

Preserving the Planet

Designed for students with a background in biology, this program investigates some of the exciting recent developments in conservation biology. Topics include: what is biodiversity, why is it threatened, and why is it important?; habitat alteration and species loss; captive breeding as a conservation tool; conservation genetics; protected areas; the effects of exotic species in local ecosystems; conservation medicine; and the impact of global warming on ecosystems and wildlife. The course uses real case studies from conservation research to take an in-depth look at the challenges in conserving life on earth, and the unique ways scientists and ordinary citizens can make a difference. Class lectures and activities are supplemented with several field trips to sites in the New York area. Students will visit area institutions that address conservation—the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo, and the Hudson River Trust—to see behind-the-scenes research and talk with professionals in the field of conservation biology.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• 0 points

Conservation Biology and Sustainability:

Preserving the Planet

Designed for students with a background in biology, this program investigates some of the exciting recent developments in conservation biology. Topics include: what is biodiversity, why is it threatened, and why is it important?; habitat alteration and species loss; captive breeding as a conservation tool; conservation genetics; protected areas; the effects of exotic species in local ecosystems; conservation medicine; and the impact of global warming on ecosystems and wildlife. The course uses real case studies from conservation research to take an in-depth look at the challenges in conserving life on earth, and the unique ways scientists and ordinary citizens can make a difference. Class lectures and activities are supplemented with several field trips to sites in the New York area. Students will visit area institutions that address conservation—the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo, and the Hudson River Trust—to see behind-the-scenes research and talk with professionals in the field of conservation biology.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Advanced Workshop (Cra

Advanced Workshop (Craft)

This workshop is geared toward students who have considerable experience in creative writing or who demonstrate unusual talent. Students read and write free verse poetry, short prose, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction with the goal of developing a final portfolio of revised work.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
• MTWRF 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Emily E Weitzman
  Info
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Advanced Workshop (Cra

Advanced Workshop (Craft)

This workshop is geared toward students who have considerable experience in creative writing or who demonstrate unusual talent. Students read and write free verse poetry, short prose, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction with the goal of developing a final portfolio of revised work.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Elias P Sorich
  Info
• Instructor: Nathan A Fetherolf
  Info
• 0 points

Exploring Careers in Law

In this experiential course designed for students considering careers in law, participants acquire a realistic understanding of the legal profession and of the steps and skills necessary for success within it. In the process, they gain insight into whether a career in law would be fulfilling to them. At the heart of the course is exposure to the real world of legal practice. Through presentations by attorneys representing a broad range of practice areas and through visits to law firms, courts (including Manhattan’s Criminal Court, inspiration for television’s 
Law and Order
), and public interest legal organizations, participants learn first-hand about law as it is practiced in the corporate, government, and non-profit sectors. The course teacher provides substantive instruction related to first-year law school courses as well as LSAT test prep information and gives students a clear view of the requirements for law school and attorney licensing in the United States. Participants gain public speaking experience through debate, mock trial, and moot court exercises and engage in fundamental legal research and writing assignments, thereby developing skills which are transferable across academic disciplines. Students engage in a number of exercises requiring application of the principles and concepts learned throughout the program. A culminating collaborative practicum project is a special opportunity for them to employ their knowledge so as to develop and present a law-based solution to a specific social issue of interest to them.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: James O'Brien
  Info
• 0 points

Creative Writing: Advanced Workshop (Wor

Advanced Workshop (Worksh

This workshop is geared toward students who have considerable experience in creative writing or who demonstrate unusual talent. Students read and write free verse poetry, short prose, drama, fiction, and creative nonfiction with the goal of developing a final portfolio of revised work.

Daily workshops and seminars expose students to many aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, writing and revising drafts, and editing. Participants practice their literary craft with an attentive group of their peers, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. They write extensively, read and respond to excerpts from outstanding works of literature, and participate in candid, helpful critiques of their own work and that of their peers. Students are expected to come to the workshops with an openness to various approaches toward literature and writing. Classes are supplemented by weekly one-on-one conferences with instructors as well as optional electives.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
• MTWRF 3:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
• Instructor: Allison D Carter
  Info
• Instructor: Samuel O Carpenter
  Info
• Instructor: Theresa F Hottel
  Info
• Instructor: Dawn Elardo
  Info
• 0 points

Language & Identity: A Linguistic Explor

LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY

In this course students examine language as a vital part of culture and social structure while discovering how it reflects and shapes our lives. We first tackle assumptions and myths we hold about language. For example, can animals learn to use language? Do Eskimo languages really have 17 separate words for snow? Is English the hardest language to learn? Then we explore the components of language (phonemes, morphemes, words, and sentences) and how each plays a role in what we hear as an “accent” or dialect. Thus, students investigate both the structural and cultural functions of human language. The course employs a multi-disciplinary approach to investigating language behavior and variation in different cultures. This occurs mainly through the term project, which provides each student with the opportunity to conduct fieldwork as a means to research a culture and its use of language. Participants come to better understand themselves as members of their own cultures and language as a shaper of our self-identities in human society. In the morning sessions we examine material in a seminar format. Afternoons are devoted to research, analysis of case studies, and other hands-on applications including probing popular culture, literature, and film for evidence of language used as a way to define cultural and social identities. Students develop the skills of data collection and cross-linguistic and cross-cultural analysis and come away with a perspective of multiple viewpoints related to language correctness and relativity.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Jason Meilands
  Info
• Instructor: Allison Shapp
  Info
• 0 points

Legal Reasoning: Thinking Like a Lawyer

Students learn first to use the methods and tools of legal reasoning and research, which they marshal to create effective, persuasive, and sophisticated written legal arguments. Once they have a foundation in legal research, reasoning, and writing, they are given an in-depth look at various types of law through interactive sessions with practicing lawyers, via guest speakers and field trips to law firms. They learn how to problem solve using the lawyer’s toolbox and how to analyze legal sources and develop legal arguments based on and supported by the law and cases we research. In-class drafting and public speaking exercises strengthen participants’ reasoning, argumentation, and writing skills while introducing them to various types of legal work, including written memoranda and arguments for oral delivery

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• 0 points

New York Experienced: An Urban Case Stud

New York Urban Case Study

An experiential, immersive course designed for students interested in the urban environment, culture, literature, history, and public policy. The course comprises four interconnected modules (see below). Two days each week are reserved for fieldwork in New York City with city policymakers, philanthropists, and artists.


New York City: A History of People, Politics, and Place
What is New York City’s relationship to the American Dream? How does the City grow from its origins as a peripheral colonial outpost into a world capital? This overview explores New York's complicated historical origins, dynamic economy, tumultuous politics, multiethnic and multiracial populace, and innovative architecture as a basis for the other aspects in the course. Students are exposed to methods of field study, visual analysis, and critical interpretation.


Writing the City
How is our experience of New York – the city’s projected image and self-image – shaped by literature about the city? Using short stories, poems, popular song, journalism, and essays, students investigate the connection between the city and the manner in which it has been exported as a cultural icon. Beyond this examination, writing in the field enables students to reflect upon their experiences in the city and acts to tie the various threads of the course together while remaining true to the singular experience of each course participant.


Urban Place Design
What places make for an inclusive, successful, lively, and resilient city? We study various answers to this question – public/private partnerships (e.g. Bryant Park), the NYC Department of Transportation Plaza Program, public parks (e.g. Central Park), privately-owned public spaces, and business improvement districts – in order to learn the fundamental dynamics of public space in New York City. Armed with that knowledge, we select a location and design our own proposals for public spaces. We also examine how previous urban designers, such as Robert Moses, sought to overcome the challenges faced in constructing (and reconstructing) the city – and how those solutions often have ramifications for today’s NYC. Fieldwork: visiting and evaluating public plazas, meeting with designers and policymakers at the NY Department of Transportation, Neighborhood Plaza Partnership, and Times Square Alliance.
Emerging Urban Issues
Course instructors and invited experts intr

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• 0 points

Trial Advocacy

Designed for students with a strong interest in law, oral argument, and mock trial, this course immerses participants in the adversarial world of the trial court. Following an introduction to the United States legal system, students acquire a solid understanding of the trial process, including jury selection, opening statements, direct and cross examination of witnesses and experts, introduction of exhibits, closing arguments, and theory building. Students have the opportunity to observe court proceedings; meet with judges, local law enforcement, and defense counsel; and hear from experts in the field. Participants learn to validate and analyze evidence while working in teams of prosecutors and defense attorneys to develop a trial strategy, argue to preclude evidence, and prepare witnesses for trial testimony. The course pays particular attention to the Federal Rules of Evidence (with distinctions made for New York state-specific rules) that govern the introduction of evidence at trial. The rules of conduct that govern the U.S. trial system are explored, as are the various strategies of trial practice. Students attend lectures and demonstrations and are afforded the opportunity to practice the skills learned through daily classroom exercises. Participants should be prepared to orally argue their positions and will be called upon to make presentations frequently. At the heart of the program are daily exercises, designed to hone students' trial skills, that are rooted in a hypothetical legal case. The program culminates in a mock trial session held at the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Manhattan, where students are divided into teams of prosecutors and defense attorneys to present their case, prepared over the course of the program, through jury verdict.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• 0 points

Introduction to Business, Finance, and E

Business, Finance, & Econ

This course focuses on the firm’s financial and economic behavior. The firm needs cash to undertake worthy investments, and the firm needs to identify investments worth undertaking. What models does the firm use to identify such investments? What sources of cash can the firm use? How do the financial markets in which this money is raised function? How does the market value the firm, its securities, and its investments? What financial instruments are available to the firm? What are the microeconomic models that best describe a firm’s behavior in such markets? In answering these questions, the participants discuss stocks, bonds, stock markets, as well as valuation models of investments, firms, and securities. They also work with concepts like optimal investment strategies, what is revealed and what is hidden in published accounting statements, and what are some of the sources of risk. Students also acquire familiarity with the mechanics and history of the financial markets.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 9:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Raheem A Haji
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• Instructor: Karim Hooda
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• Instructor: Thomas W Leach
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Photography: The Camera Craft

Studio arts courses are offered in conjunction with Columbia University's School of the Arts.

In this course students gain a hands-on understanding of the basic principles of digital photography, approaching it within the context of the fine arts.

Using their own DSLR cameras, participants work on assignments and self-directed projects which touch on a diverse range of approaches to photography, with the goal of creating a final portfolio for web presentation at the course's conclusion. The course takes the form of both a seminar and a lab, and participants work on both individual and collaborative projects.

We focus on the critical context of photography and its broad conceptual applications. Critical issues in art are addressed in the form of short seminars designed to generate meaningful debates as a context for studio work.

Upon conclusion of the course, students will have completed a web-based portfolio to showcase their new bodies of work.

Participants are expected to have their own DSLR cameras and access to Adobe Photoshop and Bridge (free trials are generally available).

• Department: Summer High School Program
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Diana M Palermo
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Introduction to Material Science & Nanot

Material Science & Nanote

The progress of civilization is inscribed in the history of humans and their materials—the Stone Age, the Iron Age, and today’s Age of Plastics. Materials determine the technologies that provide protection, communication, information, construction, mechanization, agriculture, and health. Knowing why glass shatters, wood splinters, steel is tough, rubber stretches (and recovers), nylon can be drawn, and tin flattens makes possible the selection of materials for enormously different applications. Engineers are mostly successful at designing and manufacturing objects and devices, but on occasion there are catastrophic failures—bridges collapse, airplanes fall from the sky, containers leak, pipes burst, and the electrical grid goes down, leaving us cold and in the dark. And there are the annoying little failures—light bulbs burn out, clothes become permanently stained, foods spoil, and batteries die. In this challenging course, participants experience a hands-on introduction to materials science, engineering, and technology, from the bulk properties of the solid state to the nanoscale properties of large and small molecules and single atoms. Special attention is given to nanoscale materials and devices because of their potential for defining the next generation of important materials and machines. It has been said that the nanoscale is the new frontier of science and technology. Students investigate these worlds in a discovery-based environment, working under the guidance of an experienced instructor and a team of assistants, research scientists, and technologists from Columbia’s Department of Chemistry and from industry and national laboratories. The studio classroom format integrates laboratory and lecture and encourages teaching and learning especially useful to those considering undergraduate studies in engineering and science.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 1:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Luis A Avila
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Understanding the Stock Market

With an increasing complexity, financial markets exert a powerful presence in our lives and are central to the functioning of our economy. What role does the stock market play and how does it function? What factors govern stock market behavior and lead to market booms and busts? How is the price of a company’s stock determined and how does it affect individual investors? This challenging course introduces the basic financial principles necessary to understand the role of the stock market in our economy and in our personal lives. Class time is divided between lecture and lab. Participants assume the role of money managers in order to gain an understanding of financial markets as they manage their own portfolio of stocks in a session-long stock market simulation game. Stock options and future contracts are added to the portfolio as the managers gain market expertise. Financial theories presented in class lectures, news of current and world events, and analysis of company reports are incorporated as the new money managers develop strategies to test their understanding of the market for stocks.

• Department: Pre-College Programs (SHSP)
• MTWRF 3:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Thomas W Leach
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