Lecture and recitation. Recommended as the introductory biology course for biology and related majors, and for premedical students. Fundamental principles of biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics. SPS, Barnard, and TC students may register for this course, but they must first obtain the written permission of the instructor, by filling out a paper Registration Adjustment Form (Add/Drop form). The form can be downloaded at the URL below, but must be signed by the instructor and returned to the office of the registrar.
http://registrar.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/content/reg-adjustment.pdf
Linear algebra with a focus on probability and statistics. The course covers the standard linear algebra topics: systems of linear equations, matrices, determinants, vector spaces, bases, dimension, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, the Spectral Theorem and singular value decompositions. It also teaches applications of linear algebra to probability, statistics and dynamical systems giving a background sufficient for higher level courses in probability and statistics. The topics covered in the probability theory part include conditional probability, discrete and continuous random variables, probability distributions and the limit theorems, as well as Markov chains, curve fitting, regression, and pattern analysis. The course contains applications to life sciences, chemistry, and environmental life sciences. No a priori background in the life sciences is assumed.
This course is best suited for students who wish to focus on applications and practical approaches to problem solving. It is recommended to students majoring in engineering, technology, life sciences, social sciences, and economics.
Math majors, joint majors, and math concentrators must take MATH UN2010 Linear Algebra or MATH UN1207 Honors Math A, which focus on linear algebra concepts and foundations that are needed for upper-level math courses. MATH UN2015 (Linear Algebra and Probability) does NOT replace MATH UN2010 (Linear Algebra) as prerequisite requirements of math courses. Students may not receive full credit for both courses MATH UN2010 and MATH UN2015. Students who have taken MATH UN2015 and consider taking higher level Math courses should contact a major advisor to discuss alternative pathways.
Today’s cell phones are equipped with cameras that far surpass those used by the pioneers of digital photography, offering superior resolution and multi-sensor capabilities that revolutionize how we capture and process images. This course explores the creative and technical potential of smartphone photography, focusing on accessible tools and workflows that empower students to produce compelling digital works. The curriculum emphasizes post-production and digital media techniques over traditional camera mastery. Students will develop foundational skills in Adobe Suite applications, including Lightroom and Photoshop for photo editing and After Effects and Premiere for video production. We will also discuss the integration of artificial intelligence in modern photography, examining how AI enhances editing processes and opens new creative possibilities. A significant part of the course will address fundamental questions of light in photography, the use of RAW formats—offered by many smartphones but seldom understood—and the structure of digital image files. Students will also learn about post-production techniques for preparing images for print, as well as for projection or display on digital screens, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the end-to-end digital photography workflow. Thinking Locally: Street photography serves as a central theme in this course, encouraging students to document the vibrant life of New York City through weekly assignments. A guided photo walk in Harlem will provide hands-on experience in capturing unique, candid moments. Ethical considerations will be a key focus, addressing topics like consent, privacy, and best practices for interacting with subjects. Discussions will be complemented by readings, critiques, and a guest lecture from a professional street photographer. By the end of the course, students will have transformed their understanding of smartphone photography, creating works that push the boundaries of accessible technology while building a strong foundation in contemporary digital media.
Regimes of various shapes and sizes tend to criminalize associations, organizations, and social relations that these ruling powers see as anathema to the social order on which their power depends: witches, officers of toppled political orders, alleged conspirators (rebels, traitors, terrorists, and dissidents), gangsters and mafiosi, or corrupt officers and magnates. Our main goal will be to understand how and under what conditions do those with the power to do so define, investigate, criminalize and prosecute those kinds of social relations that are cast as enemies of public order. We will also pay close attention to questions of knowledge – legal, investigative, political, journalistic, and public – how doubt, certainty, suspicion and surprise shape the struggle over the relationship between the state and society.
The main part of the course is organized around six criminal investigations on mafia-related affairs that took place from the 1950s to the present (two are undergoing appeal these days) in western Sicily. After the introductory section, we will spend two weeks (four meetings) on every one of these cases. We will follow attempts to understand the Mafia and similarly criminalized organizations, and procure evidence about it. We will then expand our inquiry from Sicily to cases from all over the world, to examine questions about social relations, law, the uses of culture, and political imagination.
*Although this is a social anthropology course,
no previous knowledge of anthropology is required or presumed
. Classroom lectures will provide necessary disciplinary background.
This course examines major developments and debates in the history of cinema between 1930 and 1960, from the consolidation of the classic Hollywood studio system in the early sound era to the articulation of emergent ;new waves; and new critical discourses in the late 1950s. Our approach will be interdisciplinary in scope, albeit with an emphasis on social and cultural history - concerned not only with how movies have developed as a form of art and medium of entertainment, but also with cinemas changing function as a social institution. Discussion section FILM UN 2021 is a required co-requisite.
Co-requisite for FILM UN 2020 Cinema History II.
Co-requisite for FILM UN 2020 Cinema History II.
Popular and Historical Gestures explores the fundamental properties of figure drawing and portraiture through the lens of pop culture and historical gestures and poses. Students examine the figure in painting, documentary photography, art history, and literature, and then use these examples as sources for live model sessions, studio practice, and discussions. Students will work on self-directed projects and from live models. There are one-on-one and group discussions, as well as individual critiques with the instructor. Class time will include image presentations, discussions, museum trips, individual and group critiques, and in-class independent work time. Each class will begin with a homework critique and a discussion, lecture, or demonstration structured around a specific goal. Students will then work individually. Each class will end with brief individual and group critiques to allow students to see and discuss each other's work.
May be retaken for full credit.
Prerequisites: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Department through audition required. Students cast as actors in a departmental stage production register for this course; course emphasizes the collaborative nature of production, and appropriate research and reading required in addition to artistic assignments. Auditions for each semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance:
theatre.barnard.edu/auditions
.
May be retaken for full credit.
Prerequisites: Open to all Barnard and Columbia undergraduates. Permission of Department through audition required. Students cast as actors in a departmental stage production register for this course; course emphasizes the collaborative nature of production, and appropriate research and reading required in addition to artistic assignments. Auditions for each semester's stage productions held 6pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday class days of each semester. For required details, consult "Auditions" on the Barnard Theatre Department website in advance:
theatre.barnard.edu/auditions
.
The purpose of this course is to survey the genre of the symphony throughout its history in Western music from about 1750 to the present. In class we will listen to and analyze selected examples, and also discuss the relationship of the work and its composer to their historical time.
By closely watching representative classics from countries including Italy, Poland, Russia and Argentina, we will study the distinctive trends and masters of this vibrant era. Special attention will be paid to the French New Wave (60s); the New German Cinema (70s); the reformulation of Hollywood studio filmmaking in the 70s (Altman, Cassavetes, Coppola), and the rise of the independent American cinema (80s). Discussion section FILM UN 2031 is a required co-requisite.
Prerequisites: MATH UN1102 and MATH UN1201 or the equivalent. Special differential equations of order one. Linear differential equations with constant and variable coefficients. Systems of such equations. Transform and series solution techniques. Emphasis on applications.
Prerequisites: Music Humanities (Columbia University) or An Introduction to Music (Barnard). With the arrival of the first Jewish immigrants in New York in the mid-1600s until today, Jewish music in the City has oscillated between preserving traditions and introducing innovative ideas. This course explores the variety of ways people have used music to describe, inscribe, symbolize, and editorialize their Jewish experience. Along these lines, it draws upon genres of art music, popular music, and non-Western traditions, as well as practices that synthesize various styles and genres, from hazzanut to hiphop. Diverse musical experiences will serve as a window to address wider questions of identity, memory, and dislocation. We will also experience the Jewish soundscape of New York’s dynamic and eclectic music culture by visiting various venues and meeting key players in today’s music scene, and thus engage in the ongoing dialogues that define Jewishness in New York. A basic familiarity with Judaism and Jewish culture is helpful for this course, but it is by no means required. You do not need to know Jewish history to take this class, nor do you need to be able to read music. Translations from Hebrew and Yiddish will be provided, and musical analysis will be well explained.
Co-requisite discussion section for FILM UN 2030 Cinema History III: 1960-90.
Prerequisites: CHEM UN2045 Premedical students may take CHEM UN2045, CHEM UN2046, and CHEM UN2545 to meet the minimum requirements for admission to medical school. This course covers the same material as CHEM UN2443 - CHEM UN2444, but is intended for students who have learned the principles of general chemistry in high school OR have completed CHEM UN1604 in their first year at Columbia. First year students enrolled in CHEM UN2045 - CHEM UN2046 are expected to enroll concurrently in CHEM UN1507. Although CHEM UN2045 and CHEM UN2046 are separate courses, students are expected to take both terms sequentially. A recitation section is required. Please check the Directory of Classes for details and also speak with the TA for the course.
Corequisites: TO BE ENROLLED IN UN2046, YOU MUST REGISTER FOR UN2048 RECITATION
Sustainability is a powerful framework for thinking about business, economics, politics and environmental impacts. An overview course, Environmental Policy & Governance will focus specifically on the policy elements of sustainability. With an emphasis on the American political system, the course will begin by exploring the way the American bureaucracy addresses environmental challenges. We will then use the foundations established through our understanding of the US system to study sustainable governance at the international level. With both US and international perspectives in place, we will then address a range of specific sustainability issues including land use, climate change, food and agriculture, air quality, water quality, and energy. Over the course of the semester, we will study current events through the lens of sustainability policy to help illustrate course concepts and theories.
Mendelian and molecular genetics of both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, with an emphasis on human genetics. Topics include segregation, recombination and linkage maps, cytogenetics, gene structure and function, mutation, molecular aspects of gene expression and regulation, genetic components of cancer, and genome studies.
Serves as an introduction to the chemical engineering profession. Students are exposed to concepts used in the analysis of chemical engineering problems. Rigorous analysis of material and energy balances on open and closed systems is emphasized. An introduction to important processes in the chemical and biochemical industries is provided.
Introduction to design for a sustainable planet. Scientific understanding of the challenges. Innovative technologies for water, energy, food, materials provision. Multi-scale modeling and conceptual framework for understanding environmental, resource, human, ecological and economic impacts and design performance evaluation. Focus on the linkages between planetary, regional and urban water, energy, mineral, food, climate, economic and ecological cycles. Solution strategies for developed and developing country settings.
Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics; and one semester of college science. Origin and development of the atmosphere and oceans, formation of winds, storms and ocean currents, reasons for changes through geologic time. Recent influence of human activity: the ozone hole, global warming, water pollution. Laboratory exploration of topics through demonstrations, experimentation, computer data analysis, and modeling. Students majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences should plan to take EESC W2100 before their senior year to avoid conflicts with Senior Seminar.
Prerequisites: (VIAR UN1000) (Formerly R3201) Introduction of the fundamental skills and concepts involved in painting. Problems are structured to provide students with a knowledge of visual language along with a development of expressive content. Individual and group critiques. Portfolio required at end. If the class is full, please visit http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program.
Intermediate workshops are for students with some experience with creative writing, and whose prior work merits admission to the class (as judged by the professor). Intermediate workshops present a higher creative standard than beginning workshops, and increased expectations to produce finished work. By the end of the semester, each student will have produced at least seventy pages of original fiction. Students are additionally expected to write extensive critiques of the work of their peers. Please visit
https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/undergraduate
for information about registration procedures.
Prerequisites: AKAD UN1101 and AKAD UN1102 or the instructor's permission. Readings in Akkadian literature.
A unified, single-semester introduction to differential equations and linear algebra with emphases on (1) elementary analytical and numerical technique and (2) discovering the analogs on the continuous and discrete sides of the mathematics of linear operators: superposition, diagonalization, fundamental solutions. Concepts are illustrated with applications using the language of engineering, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. Students execute scripts in Mathematica and MATLAB (or the like) to illustrate and visualize course concepts (programming not required).
This architectural design studio explores material assemblies, techniques of fabrication, and systems of organization. These explorations will be understood as catalysts for architectural analysis and design experimentation.
Both designed objects and the very act of making are always embedded within a culture, as they reflect changing material preferences, diverse approaches to durability and obsolescence, varied understandings of comfort, different concerns with economy and ecology. They depend on multiple resources and mobilize varied technological innovations. Consequently, we will consider that making always involves making a society, for it constitutes a response to its values and a position regarding its technical and material resources. Within this understanding, this studio will consider different cultures of making through a number of exercises rehearse design operations at different scales—from objects to infrastructures.
Prerequisites: BCRS UN1102 or the equivalent. Readings in Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian literature in the original, with emphasis depending upon the needs of individual students.
Prerequisites: BENG UN1101 and BENG UN1102 or the instructor's permission. Further develops a student's knowledge of Bengali, a major language of northeast India and Bangladesh.
Prerequisites: (CANT W1101 and CANT UN1102) CANT W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission. This course further continues the study of the Cantonese language. Emphasis is on linguistic rules to enable students to communicate with more competence. The lessons will not only focus on language, but also incorporate discussions on history, current events, literature, popular culture, and native values. Includes field trips to Chinatown and other Cantonese-speaking neighborhoods. Note: This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University (NYU). Classes will be held at NYU.
Prerequisites: CATL W1120. The first part of Columbia University´s comprehensive intermediate Catalan sequence. The main objectives of this course are to continue developing communicative competence - reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension - and to further acquaint students with Catalan cultures.
Students continue to expand their knowledge of the Cherokee language through the use of visual and audio materials, as well as various communicative activities. The goals and objectives of this course include transcribing from Cherokee syllabary to phonetics, conjugating simple verbs in the progressive past, present, habitual, and progressive future, and reading and comprehending levels of text written between novice low to intermediate low in the Cherokee syllabary and phonetics.
Prerequisites: CZCH UN1102 or the equivalent Rapid review of grammar. Readings in contemporary fiction and nonfiction, depending upon the interests of individual students.
Prerequisites: DTCH UN1101-UN1102 or the equivalent. Continued practice in the four skills (aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing); review and refinement of basic grammar; vocabulary building. Readings in Dutch literature.
Prerequisites: FILI W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission. Emphasis is placed on the linguistic rules to enable students to communicate with more competence. The lessons will not only focus on language but also will use a holistic approach and incorporate discussions on history, current events, literature, pop culture, and native values. Note: This course is part of the language exchange program with New York University (NYU). Classes will be held at NYU.
Prerequisites: FINN UN1101-UN1102 or the instructor's permission. Continued practice in aural comprehension, reading, speaking, and writing; review and refinement of grammatical structures; vocabulary building. Readings include Finnish fiction and nonfiction.
This course will further your awareness and understanding of the French language, culture and literature, provide a comprehensive review of fundamental grammar points while introducing more advanced ones, as well as improve your mastery of oral, reading, and writing skills. By the end of the course, you will be able to read short to medium-length literary and non-literary texts, and analyze and comment on varied documents and topics, both orally and in writing.
Prerequisites: GERM UN2101 or the equivalent. If you have prior German outside of Columbia’s language sequence, the placement exam is required.
Intermediate German UN2102 is conducted entirely in German and emphasizes the four basic language skills, cultural awareness, and critical thinking. A wide range of topics (from politics and poetry to art) as well as authentic materials (texts, film, art, etc.) are used to improve the 4 skill. Practice in conversation aims at enlarging the vocabulary necessary for daily communication. Grammar is practiced in the context of the topics. Learning and evaluation are individualized (individual vocabulary lists, essays, oral presentations, final portfolio) and project-based (group work and final group project).
Prerequisites: GREK UN1101- GREK UN1102 or the equivalent. Selections from Attic prose.
Prerequisites: GRKM UN1101 and GRKM UN1102 or the equivalent. Corequisites: GRKM UN2111 This course is designed for students who are already familiar with the basic grammar and syntax of modern Greek language and can communicate at an elementary level. Using films, newspapers, and popular songs, students engage the finer points of Greek grammar and syntax and enrich their vocabulary. Emphasis is given to writing, whether in the form of film and book reviews or essays on particular topics taken from a selection of second year textbooks.
Prerequisites: HNGR UN1101-UN1102 or the equivalent. Further develops a student's knowledge of the Hungarian language. With the instructor's permission the second term of this course may be taken without the first. Students with a schedule conflict should consult the instructor about the possibility of adjusting hours.
Prerequisites: INDO W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission. This course further develops a student's knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia, a major language of Indonesia and South East Asia.
Prerequisites: IRSH W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission. For the more advanced student of Irish, this course focuses on improving conversational fluency and on expanding vocabulary through reading complex literature in Irish, and writing in the Irish language, further encouraging students to strengthen their pronunciation and command of spoken Irish.
Prerequisites: ITAL V1102 or W1102, or the equivalent. If you did not take Elementary Italian at Columbia in the semester preceding the current one, you must take the placement test, offered by the Italian Department at the beginning of each semester.
This course focuses on learning Khmer (the national language of Cambodia) for students who have completed Elementary Khmer II. Students will be able to communicate in every day conversation using complex questions/answers. The course focuses on reading, writing, speaking, and listening to Khmer words, long sentences, and texts. The course is also emphasized on grammar, sentence structure and their use in the right context. This course is applied to persons who want to continue to learn Khmer and want to pursue the language study in the future.
Intermediate Haitian Creole I is intended to continue the material covered in Elementary Haitian
Creole I and II. It is intended for students who already have a strong comprehension of the
grammar, sounds, and vocabulary of Haitian Creole. The course is taught primarily in Haitian
Creole. Students are guided to a more advanced level of the Haitian Creole language to further
develop speaking, reading, writing, and listening comprehension skills. A communicative
approach is used and class materials are complemented by work with film, radio, and music
(konpa, rasin, twoubadou, rap, raga, levanjil, vodou tradisyonèl, etc.), as well as with visits to city
museums and other cultural institutions.
Prerequisites: LATN UN1101 & UN1102 or LATN UN1121 or equivalent. Selections from Catullus and Cicero.
Prerequisites: MDES W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission. Further develops students' written and oral proficiency in order to allow them to function adequately in a Tamil-speaking environment. Of particular interest to students planning to conduct scholarly research or fieldwork in a Tamil-speaking context. Develops the students' appreciation for the rich culture of the Indian subcontinent where Tamil is spoken. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.
Intermediate instruction in spoken grammar and verbal comprehension skills, with special attention to developing technical vocabularies and other verbal skills appropriate to students' professional fields.
Corequisites: PHIL V2111 Required Discussion Section (0 points). Exposition and analysis of the positions of the major philosophers from the pre-Socratics through Augustine. This course has unrestricted enrollment.
Prerequisites: POLI UN1102 or the equivalent. Rapid review of grammar; readings in contemporary nonfiction or fiction, depending on the interests of individual students.
Political theory examines the ideas and institutions that shape political life. This course introduces key texts and arguments about the best way to organize political power, how it should be used, and for what purpose.
We will address these larger questions by studying how major thinkers, ancient and modern, analyzed political diversity, division, and conflict. What are the sources of conflicting identities, interests, passions, and values in politics? How can partisanship and contestation avoid degenerating into open war and unjust domination? Which institutions, laws, and practices are best able to manage conflict consistent with other political goals, such as freedom, equality, justice?
Course goals: Demonstrate broad knowledge of key texts, thinkers, concepts, and debates in the history of political thought; compare, contrast, and classify definitions of diversity and their political significance; interpret texts and reconstruct their core arguments and concepts; evaluate arguments, concepts, and theories in terms of consistency, plausibility, and desirability; develop persuasive interpretations and arguments through textual analysis; present and defend ideas and arguments clearly in writing and discussion.
Prerequisites: PORT W1120 or the equivalent. General review of grammar, with emphasis on self-expression through oral and written composition, reading, conversation, and discussion.
Prerequisites: PUNJ W1101-W1102 or the instructor's permission. Further develops a student's writing, reading, and oral skills in Punjabi, a major language of northern India and Pakistan.
Prerequisites: QUCH W1101-W1102 or the instructors permission. Quechua is the most important and most widely-distributed indigenous language in South America, with over 10 million speakers living from the high mountains to the tropical lowlands in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Those who speak it call the language runa simi or runa shimi, human speech. It was the principal language of the Inca empire and the key language of cultural interaction during the colonial era. Quechua has remained central to indigenous peoples efforts to preserve their cultural autonomy. It has gained greater force in recent years, during which indigenous movements have swept Quechua speakers into national politics, where they have succeeded in transforming constitutions to recognize cultural diversity, making Quechua an official language of state, and successfully promoting schooling in the language. Students who satisfactorily complete Elementary Quechua I and II will be well-prepared for intensive summer study at one of many summer study abroad programs in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia that will put them in closer contact with the indigenous world.
Prerequisites: RUSS UN1102 or the equivalent. Drill practice in small groups. Reading, composition, and grammar review.Off-sequence
Prerequisites: SINH W1101-1102 or the instructor's permission. In this course, learners will continue practicing all four language skills through every day dialogues, writing letters, and describing basic situations. In addition, they will be introduced to Sinhala literature and learn how to read and comprehend basic Sinhala texts, such as newspaper articles. Finally, they will be introduced to current affairs as well as social, artistic, and cultural events and issues in Sri Lanka. The class uses a highly interactive classroom style supplemented by extensive use of video - both prepared and student-produced - and other computer-assisted tools. Please note this course is offered by videoconferencing from Cornell as part of the Shared Course Initiative.
Prerequisites: SPAN UN1102 or SPAN UN1120 or or a score of 380-449 in the departments Placement Examination. An intensive course in Spanish language communicative competence, with stress on oral interaction, reading, writing, and culture as a continuation of SPAN UN1102 or SPAN UN1120. All Columbia students must take Spanish language courses (UN 1101-3300) for a letter grade.