This interdisciplinary course grapples with nation-states and cities at its margins, exploring the exclusions, oppositions, silences and, in particular, the 'Others' or 'in-betweens' of the nation-state as an organizing tool. ‘Illegal migrants’, ‘refugees’, ‘asylum seekers’, ‘exiles’, ‘nomads’, ‘aliens’, and other ‘Others’: these are all in-between figures, exceptions to a political order defined by membership in the city, borders, sovereignty and nation-states. In their very existence, they represent a challenge to this political order, as social and political theorists have long recognized. This seminar explores the dynamics, contradictions and politics surrounding nation-states and their Others with particular attention to the responses to them on the part of ostensibly liberal-democratic states. We examine the relationship between citizenship, statelessness, refugee-hood and migration as exceptions to a political order defined by membership in the city, borders, sovereignty and nation-states. Students will engage with film, fiction, visual animations and displacement maps to examine key theoretical and critical interventions by scholars who examine nation-states and cities at their margins. To this end, participants will examine key theoretical interventions by Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Giorgio Agamben alongside scholars who have grappled with, contested, and developed their ideas, such as Étienne Balibar, Didier Bigo, Jacques Rancière, and Seyla Benhabib. With these texts, the participants will attempt to explore non-national or post-national alternatives to the nation-state and citizenship as a tool for planning and organization of people and space.
Taken together, this course provides an alternative to conventional scholarship on this subject. It engages with and provides an alternative to the mainstream literature to take for granted the inclusive and integrative character of nation-states and its respective memberships in the form of refugees, citizens and migrants.
At first glance, the course may appear highly theoretical, but not to worry—we will move slowly through the texts and concepts together. The instructor will also ensure that we apply the ideas discussed in class to concrete and tangible case studies with examples given to enable easier access and collective learning.
What is the state of anti-incarceral activism today? What visions of social transformation are available for tomorrow? Mass incarceration remains one of the most pressing human rights issues in the United States. This course explores what has been done, is being done, and can be done to rethink incarceration in the U.S. and to provoke change.
We will actively engage with prominent activists at Columbia who will visit some classes during the second half of the semester.
Incarcerated people in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn (a maximum-security federal prison) and in Rikers Island (a mixed security New York State detention center) regularly claim to be tortured (and show apparent evidence of torture), and yet their claims are rarely thoroughly examined. There has never been real accountability. Compare the New York cases to those in Chicago. From 1972 to 1991, former Chicago police commander Jon Burge and white detectives under his command systematically tortured at least 117 Black people in police custody. In May 2015, 43 years after clear evidence of torture, Chicago became the first municipality in the U.S. to provide reparations to those harmed by racially-motivated law enforcement violence, passing legislation for survivors of the Burge police torture regime. What is the difference between those tortured in Chicago and those who (at least claim to) have been tortured in New York? Decades of community activism.
May be repeated for credit. Topics and instructors from the Applied Mathematics Committee and the staff change from year to year. For advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in engineering, physical sciences, biological sciences, and other fields. Examples of topics include multi-scale analysis and Applied Harmonic Analysis.
Research Course for Master's Students. Students must be nominated by a faculty member. The research credits may not be counted towards the credits required for the Master’s degree.
This course approaches Jewish Studies from theoretical and pedagogical standpoints. In addition to looking back at ancient, medieval and Early Modern approaches to the study of Jewish topics and examining the theoretical, historical and religious underpinnings of Jewish Studies as a modern discipline, we will also read theoretical writings from related disciplines. The course will balance these materials with pedagogical materials and exercises. Faculty from disciplines related to Jewish Studies will visit the seminar to offer perspectives on current approaches to the field, and the class will visit the Rare Book and Manuscript Library with Jewish Studies Librarian Michelle Chesner. This course is required for students in the Jewish Studies MA program. It is open to graduate students, and advanced undergraduates may register with permission from the instructor. Please note that faculty visits will be added to the syllabus as they are scheduled.
Special topics sections arranged as the need and availability arises. Topics are usually offered on a one-time basis. Since the content of this course changes each time it is offered, it may be repeated for credit.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
Selected topics in computer science. Content and prerequisites vary between sections and semesters. May be repeated for credit. Check “topics course” webpage on the department website for more information on each section.
May be repeated for credit, but no more than 3 total points may be used for degree credit. Substantial independent project involving laboratory work, computer programming, analytical investigation, or engineering design.
Master's level independent project involving theoretical, computational, experimental, or engineering design work. May be repeated, subject to Master's Program guidelines. Students must submit both a project outline prior to registration and a final project write-up at the end of the semester.
Only for BMEN graduate students who need relevant work experience as part of their program of study. Final reports required. May not be taken for pass/fail credit or audited.
Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and ECON UN3412 and the director of the departmental honors programs permission. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.7 in all required major courses, including calculus and statistics, prior to enrollment. The honors thesis seminar is a year-long course, beginning in the fall semester and ending in the spring semester. Students who have been approved to enter the workshop will be registered for both semesters by the department during the first two weeks of classes; 3 points are earned per semester. This workshop may only be taken by students applying for departmental honors, and it also fulfills the economics seminar requirement for the economics major and all joint majors. Students must see the director during mid-semester registration in the spring to discuss their proposed thesis topic, at which time they will be matched with appropriate faculty who will act as their thesis adviser. Students will meet their adviser over the course of the year at mutually agreed upon times. A rough draft of the thesis will be due during the first week of February in the spring semester, and the final draft will be due three weeks before the last day of classes. Please note that for those joint majors that require two seminars, one in economics and one in the other discipline (i.e. Political Science), the economics senior honors thesis seminar only fulfills the economics seminar requirement.
Only for ME graduate students who need relevant off-campus work experience as part of their program of study as determined by the instructor. Written application must be made prior to registration outlining proposed study program. Final reports required. May not be taken for pass/fail credit or audited. International students must consult with the International Students and Scholars Office.
Nomads, natives, peasants, hill people, aboriginals, hunter-gatherers, First Nations—these
are just a handful of the terms in use to define indigenous peoples globally. The names these groups
use to describe themselves, as well as the varying religious practices, attitudes, and beliefs among
these populations are far more numerous and complex. For much of recorded history however,
colonial centers of power have defined indigenous peoples racially and often in terms of lacking
religion; as pagan, barbarian, non-modern, and without history or civilization.
Despite this conundrum of identity and classification, indigenous religious traditions often
have well-documented and observable pasts. This course considers the challenges associated with
studying indigenous religious history, as well as the changing social, political, and legal dimensions
of religious practice among native groups over time and in relationship to the state. Organized
thematically and geographically, we will engage with classic works of ethnohistory, environmental
history, indigenous studies, anthropology, and religious studies as well as primary sources that
include legal documentation, military records, personal testimony, and oral narrative.
The structure of the colloquium combines reading and analysis of texts by major theorists and critics. Each week discussions focus on key terms and analytical lenses in the history of art and art criticism. The course is designed to allow for guest presentations on particular issues by critics and writers, just as it draws on the expertise and participation of Columbia faculty. The aim is to develop students critical thinking and for them to learn directly from leading practitioners writing about modern and contemporary art. In addition to department faculty, writers for Artforum, Grey Room, Parkett, Texte zur Kunst, and October, among other venues, regularly participate in the colloquium.
This course explores the set of possibilities presented by American Studies as a comparative field of study. We begin with a brief overview of the history of the field, and then we’ll focus primarily on the range of modes in which its interdisciplinary work has been undertaken (literary, historical, legal, digital, etc.). The idea here is not to arrive a comprehensive picture of American Studies, but to think about the many ways people have produced knowledge under its aegis. We will also focus on work by Columbia faculty, and sessions of the course are built around visits by faculty in the field to Columbia’s University Seminar in American Studies. Our guiding questions include: How does one do research in a multimedia, “cultural” environment? How does one situate oneself as an “intellectual” or “critic” in relation to one’s object of study? How does one write about different media/genres? How does one incorporate different methodologies into one research project?
English communication proficiency is important for academic achievement and career success. Columbia Engineering provides English communication instruction for students who would like to improve their communication skills in English. In a small group setting (15-20 students), enrollees will obtain opportunities to interact with the instructor and fellow classmates to improve communication skills.
In the first semester a series of workshops will introduce the field of international history and various research skills and methods such as conceptualization of research projects and use of oral sources. The fall sessions will also show the digital resources available at Columbia and how students can deploy them in their individual projects. In the second semester students will apply the skills acquired in the fall as they develop their proposal for the Master's thesis, which is to be completed next year at the LSE. The proposal identifies a significant historical question, the relevant primary and secondary sources, an appropriate methodology, what preliminary research has been done and what remains to be done. Students will present their work-in-progress.
This course provides students with a foundation to the key concepts, theories and debates in the field of Islamic studies. Interdisciplinary in scope, and wide-ranging in substantive coverage, the seminar features weekly visits by faculty from across the university. The course will utilize major approaches in the classic areas of history, law and political economy as well as sociology, anthropology, media studies, and colonial and postcolonial studies. We will critically address theoretical questions and debates about culture and civilization, religion, secularization, law and authority, nation-states, globalization, minority rights and technology. While engaging with archetypal themes in Islamic studies, this course will also concentrate on gender and sexuality, cultural production and articulations, transnational movements, and modes of religious association and ritual in everyday life. We will examine the variety of ways that Islamic norms and practices are developed, reinterpreted, embodied and regulated in contemporary Muslim societies as well as among Muslims minorities in western contexts. This seminar is a core course for the MA in Islamic Studies and will be helpful for graduate students studying the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. Qualified undergraduates may register with permission of the instructor.
This course will be the first part of a two part introduction to theoretical approaches to modern social science and cultural studies in Asian and African contexts. The first course will focus primarily on methodological and theoretical problems in the fields broadly described as historical social sciences - which study historical trends, and political, economic and social institutions and processes. The course will start with discussions regarding the origins of the modern social sciences and the disputes about the nature of social science knowledge. In the next section it will focus on definitions and debates about the concept of modernity. It will go on to analyses of some fundamental concepts used in modern social and historical analyses: concepts of social action, political concepts like state, power, hegemony, democracy, nationalism; economic concepts like the economy, labor, market, capitalism, and related concepts of secularity/secularism, representation, and identity. The teaching will be primarily through close reading of set texts, followed by a discussion. A primary concern of the course will be to think about problems specific to the societies studied by scholars of Asia and Africa: how to use a conceptual language originally stemming from reflection on European modernity in thinking about societies which have quite different historical and cultural characteristics.