(Formerly R1001) The fundamentals of visual vocabulary. Students work from observation using still-life objects and the human figure. The relationship of lines and forms to each other and to the picture format is emphasized. Materials used: vine charcoal, compressed charcoal, pencil, pen, ink, and brushes. Class assignments are accompanied by discussions and critiques. Portfolio required at the end. If the class is full, please visit
http://arts.columbia.edu/undergraduate-visual-arts-program
.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
What is America? Who is American? How do we live in America? This new lecture course will introduce you to the dynamic, inter-disciplinary field of American Studies.
The purpose of this foundational course is to introduce Columbia undergraduate students, in the context of their Global Core curriculum, to the seminal field of critical theory. The historical domain of this course is within the last century and its geographical spectrum is global. European critical thinkers are included in this course but not privileged. Thinkers from Asia, Africa, Europe, North, South, and Latin America, are examined here in chronological order and in equal democratic footing with each other. This course as a result is decidedly cross-cultural, one step forward towards de-alienating critical thinkers from around the globe and the issues they address without pigeonholing them as something “other” or “different.”
The course is designed and offered in the true spirit of the “Global Core.” The purpose of the course is to reach for the common denominator of serious critical thinking about the fate of our humanity and the health of our social relations in an increasingly fragile world—where the false binaries of “the West” and “the Rest” no longer hold. The roster of critical thinkers we will examine is by no means exhaustive but representative. Any number of other critical thinkers can be added to this roster but none of those we will examine can be excluded from them.
The course is divided into thirteen successive weeks and for each week a number of seminal, original, and groundbreaking texts are identified. Each week we will examine selected passages from these texts. The course is designed as a lecture course, and my lectures are based on the totality of these texts but students will be assigned specific shorter passages to read.
Prerequisites: high school algebra.
This course does not fulfill the physics requirement for admission to medical school. No previous background in physics is expected. An introduction to physics taught through the exploration of the scientific method, and the application of physical principles to a wide range of topics from quantum mechanics to cosmology.
Prerequisites: BLOCKED CLASS. EVERYONE MUST JOIN WAITLIST TO BE ADMITTED
Broad survey of psychological science including: sensation and perception; learning, memory, intelligence, language, and cognition; emotions and motivation; development, personality, health and illness, and social behavior. Discusses relations between the brain, behavior, and experience. Emphasizes science as a process of discovering both new ideas and new empirical results.
PSYC UN1001
serves as a prerequisite for further psychology courses and should be completed by the sophomore year.
A friendly introduction to statistical concepts and reasoning with emphasis on developing statistical intuition rather than on mathematical rigor. Topics include design of experiments, descriptive statistics, correlation and regression, probability, chance variability, sampling, chance models, and tests of significance.
An interdisciplinary introduction to key concepts and analytical categories in women's and gender studies. This course grapples with gender in its complex intersection with other systems of power and inequality, including: sexuality, race and ethnicity, class and nation. Topics include: feminisms, feminist and queer theory, commodity culture, violence, science and technology, visual cultures, work, and family.
The anthropological approach to the study of culture and human society. Case studies from ethnography are used in exploring the universality of cultural categories (social organization, economy, law, belief system, art, etc.) and the range of variation among human societies.
An interdisciplinary and topical approach to the major issues and phases of East Asian civilizations and their role in the contemporary world.
Prerequisites: Course does not fulfill biology major requirements or premedical requirements.BIOL BC1001 or equivalent preparation and background for students fulfilling Nine Ways of Knowing. Enrollment in laboratory sections limited to 16 students per section.
Exploration of modern biology as it pertains to contemporary issues. One module examines the microbiological agents that cause disease and addresses how such agents can be used as weapons for terrorism or war. Another module considers human physiology, focusing on major health issues. The third module explores growth and resource use, emphasizing the uniqueness of human populations. Lab exercises introduce biological techniques for studying these topics.
Prerequisites: Course does not fulfill biology major requirements or premedical requirements.BIOL BC1001 or equivalent preparation and background for students fulfilling Nine Ways of Knowing. Enrollment in laboratory sections limited to 16 students per section.
Exploration of modern biology as it pertains to contemporary issues. One module examines the microbiological agents that cause disease and addresses how such agents can be used as weapons for terrorism or war. Another module considers human physiology, focusing on major health issues. The third module explores growth and resource use, emphasizing the uniqueness of human populations. Lab exercises introduce biological techniques for studying these topics.
A survey of the political and cultural history of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Iran from prehistory to the disappearance of the cuneiform documentation, with special emphasis on Mesopotamia.
Groups(s): A
Taught by members of the Departments of Classics; English and Comparative Literature; French; German; Italian; Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies; Philosophy; Religion; Slavic Languages; and Spanish; as well as members of the Society of Fellows. Major works by over twenty authors, ranging in time, theme, and genre, from Homer to Virginia Woolf. Students are expected to write at least two papers, to complete two examinations each semester, and to participate actively in class discussions.