This is the required discussion section for POLS UN1501.
This introductory course surveys key topics in the study of international politics, including the causes of war and peace; the efficacy of international law and human rights; the origins of international development and underdevelopment; the politics of global environmental protection; and the future of US-China relations. Throughout the course, we will focus on the
interests
of the many actors of world politics, including states, politicians, firms, bureaucracies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations; the
interactions
between them; and the
institutions
in which they operate. By the end of the semester, students will be better equipped to systematically study international relations and make informed contributions to critical policy debates.
This is the required discussion section for POLS UN1601.
Introductory course to analog photographic tools, techniques, and photo criticism. This class explores black & white, analog camera photography and darkroom processing and printing. Areascovered include camera operations, black and white darkroom work, 8x10 print production, and critique. With an emphasis on the student’s own creative practice, this course will explore the basics of photography and its history through regular shooting assignments, demonstrations, critique, lectures, and readings. No prior photography experience is required.
Since Walter Benjamin’s concept of “work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction” (1935), photography has been continuously changed by mechanical, and then digital, means of image capture and processing. This class explores the history of the image, as a global phenomenon that accompanied industrialization, conflict, racial reckonings, and decolonization. Students will study case studies, read critical essays, and get hands-on training in capture, workflow, editing, output, and display formats using digital equipment (e.g., DSLR camera) and software (e.g., Lightroom, Photoshop, Scanning Software). Students will complete weekly assignments, a midterm project, and a final project based on research and shooting assignments. No Prerequisites and no equipment needed. All enrolled students will be able to check out Canon EOS 5D DSLR Camera; receive an Adobe Creative Cloud license; and get access to Large Format Print service.
This course explores the photobook as a central medium of lens-based contemporary art practice and bookmaking. You will be exposed to a variety of geographies (Japan, USA, Europe, Latin America, Africa), approaches (formal book, luxury volume, grassroots zine, national archive, art object), subject matters (autobiography, fiction, historical, journalism, epic events), and materials. Using Columbia’s world-famous library holdings, many photo and art books and a diverse range of viewpoints will be studied through historical lectures and New York City field trips. Students will learn hands-on processes of photobook and fanzine making.
You know them well: on one side, the scheming, jealous stepmother, obsessed with her fading youth. On the other, her husband’s virginal, naive, and beautiful daughter – whose own mother is usually dead. The conflict between them is so familiar that it feels inevitable. Where, though, did these nearly universal figures come from? Why are they so ingrained in the imaginations of people around the world and across the millennia? In this course, we’ll explore the roots of the maternal in folk and fairy tales. We’ll analyze a variety of stories and films to investigate the “absent mother,” “virginal daughter,” and “wicked stepmother” from different critical perspectives, paying special attention to analytical psychology and feminist psychoanalytic theories, to try to figure out why these figures are so compelling, so ubiquitous, and so hard to shake.
You know them well: on one side, the scheming, jealous stepmother, obsessed with her fading youth. On the other, her husband’s virginal, naive, and beautiful daughter – whose own mother is usually dead. The conflict between them is so familiar that it feels inevitable. Where, though, did these nearly universal figures come from? Why are they so ingrained in the imaginations of people around the world and across the millennia? In this course, we’ll explore the roots of the maternal in folk and fairy tales. We’ll analyze a variety of stories and films to investigate the “absent mother,” “virginal daughter,” and “wicked stepmother” from different critical perspectives, paying special attention to analytical psychology and feminist psychoanalytic theories, to try to figure out why these figures are so compelling, so ubiquitous, and so hard to shake.
PSYC1991OC, Global Behavioral Science, 4 credits.
Instructor: Dr. Sarah Ashcroft-Jones .Eligibility
:
This course is open to undergraduates, graduate students, and visiting students.
Students will participate in a practicum hosted at the University of Cambridge (UCAM). They will work with 20 to 30 psychology students on the
Junior Research Programme
from multiple universities and countries who will join the practicum, along with over 100 other research collaborators. The objective is for students to get hands-on experience in carrying out behavioral science research, from study development to dissemination, while participating in a large, international collaboration. Specific skills to be acquired include multicultural teamwork, research design, data collection (internationally), data analysis, scientific writing, and academic presentation. Students are encouraged to engage in the publication and revision process, subject to feasibility. All contributors will receive authorship credit.
Examples of previous publications:
Summer 2022 Cohort
Summer 2023 Cohort
(Pre-print)
Academic Schedule:
Students will be expected to complete some assignments prior to the program start. This pre-work will take a maximum of 3 total working days, and will need to be completed by July 10th. Students will occasionally be expected to be available outside of the regularly schedule course times in to support collaborators who are in different time zones. Outside of course meetings, students will be expected to complete independent task, training, group work, and maintain some flexibility in their schedulesas needed.
To enroll in this course, you must apply to the
Columbia Summer Research Practice in Global Behavioral Science Program
through the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE). ).
Global Learning Scholarships
Vergil
"The Core as Praxis/Fieldwork” provides students with the opportunity to explore the connections among texts from the Core Curriculum, their work in their major field of study, and their work in a professional environment outside of Columbia’s campus. Students will be guided through a process of reflection on the ideas and approaches that they develop in Core classes and in the courses in their major, to think about how they can apply theory to practice in the context of an internship or other experiential learning environment. Students will reread and revisit a text that they have studied previously in Literature Humanities or in Contemporary Civilization as the basis for their reading and writing assignments over the semester.
To be eligible, students must (1) be engaged during the semester in an internship or other experiential learning opportunity, (2) have completed the sophomore year, and (3) have declared their major (or concentration)
. HUMAUN2000 may not be taken with the Pass/D/Fail option. All students will receive a letter grade for the course. Students can take HUMAUN2000 twice.
"The Core as Praxis/Fieldwork” provides students with the opportunity to explore the connections among texts from the Core Curriculum, their work in their major field of study, and their work in a professional environment outside of Columbia’s campus. Students will be guided through a process of reflection on the ideas and approaches that they develop in Core classes and in the courses in their major, to think about how they can apply theory to practice in the context of an internship or other experiential learning environment. Students will reread and revisit a text that they have studied previously in Literature Humanities or in Contemporary Civilization as the basis for their reading and writing assignments over the semester.
To be eligible, students must (1) be engaged during the semester in an internship or other experiential learning opportunity, (2) have completed the sophomore year, and (3) have declared their major (or concentration)
. HUMAUN2000 may not be taken with the Pass/D/Fail option. All students will receive a letter grade for the course. Students can take HUMAUN2000 twice.
This course delves into drawing as an expansive, exploratory practice that underpins all forms of visual art. Designed primarily as a hands-on workshop, the class is enriched with slide lectures, video presentations, and field trips. Throughout the semester, students will engage in individual and group critiques, fostering dialogue about their work. Beginning with still life and progressing to drawings of artworks, artifacts, and figure studies, the course investigates drawing as a dynamic practice connected to a wide array of visual cultures.
This course delves into drawing as an expansive, exploratory practice that underpins all forms of visual art. Designed primarily as a hands-on workshop, the class is enriched with slide lectures, video presentations, and field trips. Throughout the semester, students will engage in individual and group critiques, fostering dialogue about their work. Beginning with still life and progressing to drawings of artworks, artifacts, and figure studies, the course investigates drawing as a dynamic practice connected to a wide array of visual cultures.
This 28-day course is an immersion in Parisian culture from the point of view of the dancer. The course is divided into three major components: technique, composition, and history. Students will take a series of technique classes in modern, ballet, improvisation, world dance forms, and yoga, taught by Barnard/USF and international guest faculty, as well as opportunities to take alternative technique classes in some of Paris’s professional dance studios. Students will be exposed to the rich artistic side of Paris through lectures and performances, as well as assigned readings by major dancers/writers/artists who have drawn on the Parisian landscape as inspiration for their work.
A final choreographic project based on compositional exercises that will take students to various Parisian locales, will be presented during the final week of the course. We will also visit many important locations essential to studying the history of dance in Western culture, including Versailles, Théâtre de la Ville and the Paris Opera.
This course will introduce students to basic concepts in American Constitutional Law - including the history and development of the U.S. Constitution, theories and practice of constitutional interpretation, and the historical context of major controversies of the Supreme Court. Students will develop the intellectual ability to read case law, properly conceptualize and analyze constitutional issues, and will foster an informed perspective on the nature and limits of constitutional decision making. Class will spend particular attention on the development of civil rights and civil liberties. Specifically, this semester will cover freedom of the press, the right to keep and bear arms, reproductive freedom, the right to privacy, constitutional police procedure, discrimination, voting rights, and political repression.
This course will introduce students to basic concepts in American Constitutional Law - including the history and development of the U.S. Constitution, theories and practice of constitutional interpretation, and the historical context of major controversies of the Supreme Court. Students will develop the intellectual ability to read case law, properly conceptualize and analyze constitutional issues, and will foster an informed perspective on the nature and limits of constitutional decision making. Class will spend particular attention on the development of civil rights and civil liberties. Specifically, this semester will cover freedom of the press, the right to keep and bear arms, reproductive freedom, the right to privacy, constitutional police procedure, discrimination, voting rights, and political repression.
This course offers a chronological study of the Anglophone, Hispanophone, and Francophone insular Caribbean through the eyes of some of the region’s most important writers and thinkers. We will focus on issues that key Caribbean intellectuals--including two Nobel prize-winning authors--consider particularly enduring and relevant in Caribbean cultures and societies. Among these are, for example, colonization, slavery, national and postcolonial identity, race, class, popular culture, gender, sexuality, tourism and migration. This course will also serve as an introduction to some of the exciting work on the Caribbean by professors at Barnard College and Columbia University (faculty spotlights).
This course offers a chronological study of the Anglophone, Hispanophone, and Francophone insular Caribbean through the eyes of some of the region’s most important writers and thinkers. We will focus on issues that key Caribbean intellectuals--including two Nobel prize-winning authors--consider particularly enduring and relevant in Caribbean cultures and societies. Among these are, for example, colonization, slavery, national and postcolonial identity, race, class, popular culture, gender, sexuality, tourism and migration. This course will also serve as an introduction to some of the exciting work on the Caribbean by professors at Barnard College and Columbia University (faculty spotlights).
Prerequisites: MATH S1201 Calculus III, or the equivalent. Matrices, vector spaces, linear transformation, Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors, canonical forms, applications.
This architectural design summer studio course explores modes of visualization, technologies of mediation, and
spaces of environmental and material transformations. These explorations will be used as catalysts for
architectural analysis and design experimentation.
Introducing design methodologies that allow us to perceive and reshape spatial and material interactions in new
ways, the studio will focus on how architecture negotiates, alters or redirects multiple forces in our world:
physical, cultural, social, technological, political etc. The semester progresses through two projects that examine
unique atmospheric, spatial and urban conditions with the aid of multimedia visual techniques; and that employ
design to develop critical and creative interventions at different scales. Learning analog and digital drawing
techniques, physical model-making, and multimedia image production, students will work in the studio and
digital architecture lab. The course includes site visits and field trips in the city.
NOTE: The course may be used to fulfill major requirements. It can replace: ARCH 2101 Architectural Design:
Environment Mediations OR ARCH 2103 Architectural Design: Systems and Materials. OR students may use it as
an additional optional studio course to complement their overall studies in the major. Preference will be given
to students who have completed one studio course or Design Futures course.
This architectural design summer studio course explores modes of visualization, technologies of mediation, and
spaces of environmental and material transformations. These explorations will be used as catalysts for
architectural analysis and design experimentation.
Introducing design methodologies that allow us to perceive and reshape spatial and material interactions in new
ways, the studio will focus on how architecture negotiates, alters or redirects multiple forces in our world:
physical, cultural, social, technological, political etc. The semester progresses through two projects that examine
unique atmospheric, spatial and urban conditions with the aid of multimedia visual techniques; and that employ
design to develop critical and creative interventions at different scales. Learning analog and digital drawing
techniques, physical model-making, and multimedia image production, students will work in the studio and
digital architecture lab. The course includes site visits and field trips in the city.
NOTE: The course may be used to fulfill major requirements. It can replace: ARCH 2101 Architectural Design:
Environment Mediations OR ARCH 2103 Architectural Design: Systems and Materials. OR students may use it as
an additional optional studio course to complement their overall studies in the major. Preference will be given
to students who have completed one studio course or Design Futures course.
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.
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.
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.
Municipal jails are one of the most impactful institutions of criminal justice in the United States; and yet many Americans do not even know the difference between a prison and a jail. This course will investigate the conditions of mass incarceration in America by centering the municipal jail. We will begin with the question “what is a jail,” and move from there to interrogate the cultural, economic, political and legal forces that shape the conditions of possibility for the 21st century jail. Taking as objects of study both the jail itself and the practice of incarcerating people in local jails, this course will combine scholarly work on U.S. criminal justice with a variety of non-academic texts including legal decisions, contemporary journalism, and documentary film. Over the course of the semester students will learn to “locate” the city jail in a number of different ways: within the complex political and economic structures of the American municipality, within the criminal justice system writ large, and within the country’s long history of anti-black racism and struggles for freedom. In addition to readings and discussions, students will get to know practices of municipal incarceration first-hand through observations in New York City’s criminal courthouses and other ethnographic excursions in the city. Because we are in New York City, we will pay particular attention throughout the semester to Rikers Island and the city’s proposed Borough-Based Jails Plan.
Municipal jails are one of the most impactful institutions of criminal justice in the United States; and yet many Americans do not even know the difference between a prison and a jail. This course will investigate the conditions of mass incarceration in America by centering the municipal jail. We will begin with the question “what is a jail,” and move from there to interrogate the cultural, economic, political and legal forces that shape the conditions of possibility for the 21st century jail. Taking as objects of study both the jail itself and the practice of incarcerating people in local jails, this course will combine scholarly work on U.S. criminal justice with a variety of non-academic texts including legal decisions, contemporary journalism, and documentary film. Over the course of the semester students will learn to “locate” the city jail in a number of different ways: within the complex political and economic structures of the American municipality, within the criminal justice system writ large, and within the country’s long history of anti-black racism and struggles for freedom. In addition to readings and discussions, students will get to know practices of municipal incarceration first-hand through observations in New York City’s criminal courthouses and other ethnographic excursions in the city. Because we are in New York City, we will pay particular attention throughout the semester to Rikers Island and the city’s proposed Borough-Based Jails Plan.
Prerequisites: MATH UN1101 (Calculus I) or equivalent courses. This course introduces students to mathematical modeling through hands-on, project-based learning. Topics include fundamental concepts from linear algebra, multivariable calculus, differential equations, probability and statistics, and introductory machine learning.
Prerequisites: SPAN S1102, or the equivalent. Equivalent to SPAN C1201 or F1201. Rapid grammar review, composition, and reading of literary works by contemporary authors.
Prerequisites: SPAN S1102, or the equivalent. Equivalent to SPAN C1201 or F1201. Rapid grammar review, composition, and reading of literary works by contemporary authors.
Prerequisites: RUSS UN2101 or placement test $15.00= Language Resource Fee, $15.00 = Materials Fee , Continuation of RUSS S2101H.
Prerequisites: SPAN S1201, or the equivalent. Equivalent to SPAN C1202 or F1202. Readings of contemporary authors, with emphasis on class discussion and composition.
Prerequisites: ECON UN1105 The course surveys issues of interest in the American economy, including economic measurement, well-being and income distribution, business cycles and recession, the labor and housing markets, saving and wealth, fiscal policy, banking and finance, and topics in central banking. We study historical issues, institutions, measurement, current performance and recent research.
Primarily for graduate students in other departments who have some background in French and who wish to meet the French reading requirement for the Ph.D. degree, or for scholars whose research involves references in the French language. Intensive reading and translation, both prepared and at sight, in works drawn from literature, criticism, philosophy, and history. Brief review of grammar; vocabulary exercises.
Must be taken with Intro Biology Lecture
Must be taken with Intro Biology Lecture
Prerequisites: PSYCBC1001 Introduction to Psychology or its accepted equivalent. . An introduction to the study of abnormal behavior and various psychological disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders. The course broadly reviews scientific and cultural perspectives on abnormal behavior with an emphasis on clinical descriptions and diagnosis, etiology, treatment, and research methods. The following Columbia University course is considered overlapping and a student cannot receive credit for both the BC course and the equivalent CU course: PSYC UN2620 Abnormal Behavior.
Prerequisites: PSYCBC1001 Introduction to Psychology or its accepted equivalent. . An introduction to the study of abnormal behavior and various psychological disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders. The course broadly reviews scientific and cultural perspectives on abnormal behavior with an emphasis on clinical descriptions and diagnosis, etiology, treatment, and research methods. The following Columbia University course is considered overlapping and a student cannot receive credit for both the BC course and the equivalent CU course: PSYC UN2620 Abnormal Behavior.
Prerequisites: BC1001 or permission of the instructor.
The aim of this course is to critically examine the complex interaction of biological, psychological and environmental factors which impact the etiology, symptoms, and treatment of substance abuse and dependence. The course focuses on those drugs which have abuse and dependence potential with specific emphasis on Alcohol and the Depressants, the Psychostimulants, and the Opiates. A primary objective is to provide insight into factors which contribute to challenges with substances for some individuals and to better understand their felt and lived experience with drugs.
The course begins with a review of theoretical perspectives including disease, behavioral, cognitive, social learning, psychodynamic, and neurobiological models. The physical, psychological, and socio-cultural effects/impact of each major class of drug will then follow. Within each category, we will also discuss controversial issues related to each drug for example: methadone maintenance, needle exchange programs, Ritalin/Adderall abuse, the “opiate epidemic.” Throughout the course, case histories, film documentaries and memoirs will provide personal accounts of the drug experience. We conclude the course with an overview of treatment interventions.
Prerequisites: BC1001 or permission of the instructor.
The aim of this course is to critically examine the complex interaction of biological, psychological and environmental factors which impact the etiology, symptoms, and treatment of substance abuse and dependence. The course focuses on those drugs which have abuse and dependence potential with specific emphasis on Alcohol and the Depressants, the Psychostimulants, and the Opiates. A primary objective is to provide insight into factors which contribute to challenges with substances for some individuals and to better understand their felt and lived experience with drugs.
The course begins with a review of theoretical perspectives including disease, behavioral, cognitive, social learning, psychodynamic, and neurobiological models. The physical, psychological, and socio-cultural effects/impact of each major class of drug will then follow. Within each category, we will also discuss controversial issues related to each drug for example: methadone maintenance, needle exchange programs, Ritalin/Adderall abuse, the “opiate epidemic.” Throughout the course, case histories, film documentaries and memoirs will provide personal accounts of the drug experience. We conclude the course with an overview of treatment interventions.
This lecture course examines the social, cultural, and legal history of witchcraft, magic, and the occult throughout European history. We will examine the values and attitudes that have influenced beliefs about witchcraft and the supernatural, both historically and in the present day, using both primary and secondary sources. This course will pay specific attention to the role of gender and sexuality in the history of witchcraft, as the vast majority of individuals charged in the witch hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were indeed women. We will also study accusations of witchcraft, breaking down the power dynamics and assumptions at play behind the witch trials, and the impacts of these trials on gender relations in European society. This class will track the intersections of magic and science throughout the early-modern period, and the reconciliation of belief systems during the Enlightenment. We will carry our analysis into the modern period, touching on Victorian spiritualism and mysticism, McCarthyism in the United States, and contemporary goddess worship. We will conclude the semester with an investigation into the role of witchcraft in discussions of gender, race, and sexuality in popular culture.
This lecture course examines the social, cultural, and legal history of witchcraft, magic, and the occult throughout European history. We will examine the values and attitudes that have influenced beliefs about witchcraft and the supernatural, both historically and in the present day, using both primary and secondary sources. This course will pay specific attention to the role of gender and sexuality in the history of witchcraft, as the vast majority of individuals charged in the witch hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were indeed women. We will also study accusations of witchcraft, breaking down the power dynamics and assumptions at play behind the witch trials, and the impacts of these trials on gender relations in European society. This class will track the intersections of magic and science throughout the early-modern period, and the reconciliation of belief systems during the Enlightenment. We will carry our analysis into the modern period, touching on Victorian spiritualism and mysticism, McCarthyism in the United States, and contemporary goddess worship. We will conclude the semester with an investigation into the role of witchcraft in discussions of gender, race, and sexuality in popular culture.
Ecology and Sustainability in Venice, 6 points.
Instructors:
Jenna Lawrence, Lecturer, Columbia Climate School
Bryan Brazeau, Associate Professor in the Liberal Arts, University of Warwick
The course aims to provide a scientific, social, and economic examination of the city and past, present, and future threats to a sustainable Venice. It will be an immersive experience combining lectures; discussions; field trips; and training in field methods, experimental design, and quantitative analysis, culminating in an individual research project.
The course begins with an introduction to the fundamentals of ecology and biodiversity. Topics include marine and terrestrial biodiversity, aquaculture, population ecology and community ecology. It will also provide skill building on experimental design and quantitative analysis.
The course will then focus on considering the past, present, and future threats to a sustainable Venice, along with complex and unique local solutions using the three main pillars of sustainability (social, environmental, and economic areas).
This course is a partnership between Columbia and the University of Warwick so students can expect to be enrolled alongside Warwick students.
Pending approval by the Committee on Instruction (COI) and the Committee on Science Instruction (COSI) to partially fulfill (1 course) toward the
Columbia College Core Curriculum Science Requirement
and the
General Studies Core Science Requirement
.
To enroll in this course, you must apply to the
Columbia Summer Science Program: Ecology and Sustainability in Venice
program through the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE).
Global Learning Scholarships
available.
Tuition
charges apply.
Please note the program dates are different from the Summer Sessions Terms. Visit the
Vergil
PHIL UN2101 is not a prerequisite for this course. Exposition and analysis of central philosophical problems as discussed by innovative thinkers from Aquinas through Kant. Authors include figures like Descartes, Elisabeth of Bohemia, Spinoza, Anne Conway, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Émilie du Châtelet, and Kant. ,
As the first half of a one-year program for intermediate Chinese learners, this course helps students consolidate and develop language skills used in everyday communication. Texts are presented in the form of dialogues and narratives that provide language situations, sentence patterns, word usage, and cultural information. This course will enable students to conduct everyday tasks such as shopping for cell phone plans, opening a bank account, seeing a doctor, or renting a place to live. At the end of the course, students will be ready to move on to the second half of the program, which focuses on aspects of Chinese culture such as the social norms of politeness and gift-giving. Semi-formal and literary styles will also be introduced as students transition to more advanced levels of Chinese language study. While providing training for everyday communication skills, Second Year Chinese aims to improve the student's linguistic competence in preparation for advanced studies in Mandarin.
As the second half of a one-year program for intermediate Chinese learners, this course helps students consolidate and develop everyday communicative skills in Chinese, as well as introducing aspects of Chinese culture such as the social norms of politeness and gift-giving. Semi-formal and literary styles will also be introduced as students transition to more advanced levels of Chinese language study. While providing training for everyday communication skills, Second Year Chinese aims to improve the student's linguistic competence in preparation for advanced studies in Mandarin.
An introduction to basic concepts in cognitive psychology. Topics include theories and
phenomena in areas such as attention, memory, concepts and categories, language, reasoning,
decision making, and consciousness.
This is a course designed for the students enrolled in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. It should be taken fall and spring semesters of a student's third and fourth years at the college (for a total of 6 course credits total over the two years). The goal of this course is to become familiar with academic research and writing, as well as the culture of colleges/ universities in order to prepare students to apply to graduate school and earn the PhD.. The program hones academic writing skills (research papers, project and grant proposals, academic reflections designed to facilitate intentional goal setting and planning), teaches skills related to scholarly presentations (oral and written), as well as familiarizes students with academic culture in particular diversity, equity and inclusion issues and concerns in the academy. Students are expected to attend all the events and meetings associated with the program.
This class offers insight through composing, analysis, and performance for the composer, singer/songwriter, and performance artist. Coupling specifics of rhythm, melody, and harmony with story telling, lyric writing and the voice itself, students will be encouraged to share their imagination in song regardless of style, genre, or aesthetic. Music ranging from Chant to Music Theatre, the German lied to international pop fusion will be included as models upon which to base discussion and creative endeavor. Improvisation and musicianship techniques will complement pedagogical presentations of tonal and non - tonal compositional practice. A required final project based on any combination of composition, analysis, and performance, and in any media will be due at the end of the semester. All levels of experience and all types of instruments are welcome. Notation software is recommended but not required.
Financial accounting is concerned with the preparation and public dissemination
of financial reports designed to reflect corporate performance and financial
condition. By providing timely, relevant, and reliable information, these reports
facilitate the decision-making of investors, creditors, and other interested parties.
Financial markets depend on the information contained in these reports to
evaluate executives, estimate future stock returns, assess firms’ riskiness, and
allocate society’s resources to their most productive uses.
This course provides a base level of knowledge needed by corporate executives
to understand and discuss corporate financial statements. The process of
learning how various business activities impact financial statements will also give
you opportunities to learn and think about the business activities, themselves.
Prerequisites: PSYC W1001 or PSYC W1010, or the instructor's permission. Introduction to the scientific study of human development, with an emphasis on psychobiological processes underlying perceptual, cognitive, and emotional development.
This course is designed as an introduction to the Islamic religion, both in its pre-modern and modern manifestations. The semester begins with a survey of the central elements that unite a diverse community of Muslim peoples from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds. This includes a look at the Prophet and the Qur'an and the ways in which both were actualized in the development of ritual, jurisprudence, theology, and sufism/mysticism. The course then shifts to the modern period, examining the impact of colonization and the rise of liberal secularism on the Muslim world. The tension between traditional Sunni and Shi'i systems of authority and movements for 'modernization' and/or 'reform' feature prominently in these readings. Topics range from intellectual attempts at societal/religious reform (e.g. Islamic Revivalism, Modernism, Progressivism) and political re-interpretations of traditional Islamic motifs (e.g. Third-Worldism and Jihadist discourse) to efforts at accommodating scientific and technological innovations (e.g. evolution, bioethics ). The class ends by examining the efforts of American and European Muslim communities to carve out distinct spheres of identity in the larger global Muslim community ( umma) through expressions of popular culture (e.g. Hip-Hop).
This course is designed as an introduction to the Islamic religion, both in its pre-modern and modern manifestations. The semester begins with a survey of the central elements that unite a diverse community of Muslim peoples from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds. This includes a look at the Prophet and the Qur'an and the ways in which both were actualized in the development of ritual, jurisprudence, theology, and sufism/mysticism. The course then shifts to the modern period, examining the impact of colonization and the rise of liberal secularism on the Muslim world. The tension between traditional Sunni and Shi'i systems of authority and movements for 'modernization' and/or 'reform' feature prominently in these readings. Topics range from intellectual attempts at societal/religious reform (e.g. Islamic Revivalism, Modernism, Progressivism) and political re-interpretations of traditional Islamic motifs (e.g. Third-Worldism and Jihadist discourse) to efforts at accommodating scientific and technological innovations (e.g. evolution, bioethics ). The class ends by examining the efforts of American and European Muslim communities to carve out distinct spheres of identity in the larger global Muslim community ( umma) through expressions of popular culture (e.g. Hip-Hop).
This course examines three masters of European Baroque art—Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), and Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)—artists who are all well represented in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Through classroom discussions and museum visits, we will examine Baroque art as part of a continuing and developing accumulation of forms and ideas throughout the 17th century, and consider the impact these artists had on their contemporaries and in ensuing centuries. Roughly half of the class sessions take place at the Metropolitan Museum, a luxury that allows for close, firsthand analysis of art, but it is not an art appreciation course. It is a history course concerned with a study of ideas, artists, and visual facts and their application to emerging art forms within their cultural-historical context. In addition to developing a critical eye, the class is intended to develop analytical thinking and communication skills as well as knowledge of the subject matter.
Examines the shaping of European cultural identity through encounters with non-European cultures from 1500 to the post-colonial era. Novels, paintings, and films will be among the sources used to examine such topics as exoticism in the Enlightenment, slavery and European capitalism, Orientalism in art, ethnographic writings on the primitive, and tourism.
Examines the shaping of European cultural identity through encounters with non-European cultures from 1500 to the post-colonial era. Novels, paintings, and films will be among the sources used to examine such topics as exoticism in the Enlightenment, slavery and European capitalism, Orientalism in art, ethnographic writings on the primitive, and tourism.
An introduction to the history and theory of film music. We will survey the development of film-musical art, beginning with accompaniment to silent film in various national contexts, through the emergence of the Hollywood studio model, continuous changes in the use of popular song across a range of cinemas (including but not limited to “New Hollywood”), and ending with contemporary examples of music’s role in integrated sound design.
What is this course about? Well, it’s about witches…but what are witches about? Witches are about
gender, sexuality, morality, fear, and authority, among other things. For millennia, female spirituality
and female sexuality have been paired in ways that reveal deep-seated anxieties about the female
body and its power. From ancient Mesopotamian goddess worship to the frenzied witch hunts of
early modern Europe to the child-devouring crones of folk tales from cultures around the world,
we’ll delve into what the witch and those who name and pursue her reveal about deeply-held cultural
beliefs, desires, and anxieties. We’ll work together to analyze the figure of the witch across time and
space and develop our own ideas about why she is so constantly compelling. We’ll also look at our
own sociocultural moment and connect what we learn about witches to the world around us.
What is this course about? Well, it’s about witches…but what are witches about? Witches are about
gender, sexuality, morality, fear, and authority, among other things. For millennia, female spirituality
and female sexuality have been paired in ways that reveal deep-seated anxieties about the female
body and its power. From ancient Mesopotamian goddess worship to the frenzied witch hunts of
early modern Europe to the child-devouring crones of folk tales from cultures around the world,
we’ll delve into what the witch and those who name and pursue her reveal about deeply-held cultural
beliefs, desires, and anxieties. We’ll work together to analyze the figure of the witch across time and
space and develop our own ideas about why she is so constantly compelling. We’ll also look at our
own sociocultural moment and connect what we learn about witches to the world around us.
Careers in health care require an in depth knowledge of the anatomy of the human body. However, anyone can gain from an appreciation of the complexity of their own body. With this class, students will gain an understanding of how anatomical form and function are intertwined from the microscopic to macroscopic levels. Though any anatomy course necessarily involves the memorization of structures, this course has a strong focus on the functions of those structures as applied to everyday life! Rather than rote memorization, students will work to understand the anatomical, biomechanical, and physiological principles that govern how we move, feel, and think.
Careers in health care require an in depth knowledge of the anatomy of the human body. However, anyone can gain from an appreciation of the complexity of their own body. With this class, students will gain an understanding of how anatomical form and function are intertwined from the microscopic to macroscopic levels. Though any anatomy course necessarily involves the memorization of structures, this course has a strong focus on the functions of those structures as applied to everyday life! Rather than rote memorization, students will work to understand the anatomical, biomechanical, and physiological principles that govern how we move, feel, and think.
This course examines some of the key moments of architectural modernity in the twentieth century in an attempt to understand how architecture participated in the making of a new world order. It follows the lead of recent scholarship that has been undoing the assumption that modern twentieth-century architecture is a coherent enterprise that should be understood through avant-gardist movements. Instead, architectural modernity is presented in this course as a multivalent, and even contradictory, entity that has nonetheless had profound impact on modernity. Rather than attempting to be geographically comprehensive, it focuses on the interdependencies between the Global North and the South; instead of being strictly chronological, it is arranged around a constellation of themes that are explored through a handful of projects and texts. Reading primary sources from the period under examination is a crucial part of the course.
Prerequisites: CHEM S1403 General Chemistry I Lecture, CHEM S1404 General Chemistry II Lecture and CHEM S1500 General Chemistry Lab or their equivalents taken within the previous five years. Principles of organic chemistry. The structure and reactivity of organic molecules from the standpoint of modern theories of chemistry. Stereochemistry, reactions of organic molecules, mechanisms of organic reactions, syntheses and degradations of organic molecules, spectroscopic techniques of structure determination. Please note that students must attend a recitation for this class. Students who wish to take the full organic chemistry lecture sequence and laboratory should also register for CHEM S2444Q Organic Chemistry II Lecture and CHEM S2543Q Organic Chemistry Lab (see below). This course is equivalent to CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I Lecture.
Prerequisites: CHEM S2443D Organic Chemistry I Lecture or the equivalent. The principles of organic chemistry. The structure and reactivity of organic molecules are examined from the standpoint of modern theories of chemistry. Topics include stereochemistry, reactions of organic molecules, mechanisms of organic reactions, syntheses and degradations of organic molecules, and spectroscopic techniques of structure determination. This course is a continuation of CHEM S2443D Organic Chemistry I Lecture. Please note that students must attend a recitation for this class. Students who wish to take the full organic chemistry lecture sequence and laboratory should also register for CHEM S2443D Organic Chemistry I Lecture and CHEM S2543Q Organic Chemistry Lab - see below. This course is equivalent to CHEM UN2444 Organic Chemistry II Lecture.
Prerequisites: PSYC UN1001 An introduction to the analysis of psychological issues by anatomical, physiological, and pharmacological methods. Topics include neurons, neurotransmitters, neural circuits, human neuroanatomy, vision, learning, memory, emotion, and sleep and circadian rhythms.
PSYC2471OC:
Fundamentals of Neuropsychology
(link to syllabus)
, 3 points
Instructor
Alfredo Spagna
, Department of Psychology, Columbia University
This course has been approved to partially fulfill the
Columbia College Core Curriculum Science Requirement
and the
General Studies Core Science Requirement
.
This course explores how the analysis of lesion patterns extended across brain networks has offered invaluable insights on the relationship between brain and behavior and deepened our understanding of the causal relationships between brain lesions and their clinical consequences.
To enroll in this course, you must apply to the
Columbia Summer Program: Global Neuroscience
program through the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE).
Global Learning Scholarships
available.
Tuition
charges apply.
Please note the program dates are different from the Summer Sessions Terms. Visit the
UGE
website for the start and end dates for the
Columbia Summer Program: Global Neuroscience
program
.
Please email
uge@columbia.edu
with any questions you may have.
PSYC2472OC:
Hallucinations: Case Studies in Interdisciplinary Research
(link to syllabus)
,
3 credits
Instructor
Luca Iemi
, Department of Neuroscience & Behavior, Barnard College
The course examines the phenomenon of hallucinations, in which the brain creates perceptual experiences that do not correspond to external sensory input. To explore this phenomenon, students will engage with a variety of media—such as podcasts, documentaries, and memoirs—alongside scholarly articles from fields like cognitive neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, and anthropology. Drawing on case studies centered on the lived experience of hallucinations, we will investigate how key theories of the mind and brain influence the interpretation of first-person accounts and how, in turn, these accounts challenge and refine these theories. Guest lectures will enhance the case studies by presenting current and future directions in hallucination research. By integrating interdisciplinary academic research with first-person perspectives, this course offers students the opportunity to critically examine how knowledge of the mind and brain is constructed and how it can be applied in real-world contexts.
To enroll in this course, you must apply to the
Columbia Summer Program: Global Neuroscience
program through the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE).
Global Learning Scholarships
available.
Tuition
charges apply.
Please note the program dates are different from the Summer Sessions Terms. Visit the
UGE
website for the start and end dates for the
Columbia Summer Program: Global Neuroscience
Prerequisites: PSYC UN1001 or equivalent Traditional psychologists have focused primarily on answering “how?” questions regarding the mechanisms that underlie behavior (i.e. How does the system work?). In contrast, evolutionary psychologists focus primarily on answering “why?” questions (i.e. Why does this system exist, and why does it have the form it does?). This course is designed to apply our knowledge of evolutionary theory to psychology in order to answer such questions.
Prerequisites: MATH V1102-MATH V1201 or the equivalent and MATH V2010. Mathematical methods for economics. Quadratic forms, Hessian, implicit functions. Convex sets, convex functions. Optimization, constrained optimization, Kuhn-Tucker conditions. Elements of the calculus of variations and optimal control.
Prerequisites: CHEM UN1500 General Chemistry Lab, CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I - Lecture. Techniques of experimental organic chemistry, with emphasis on understanding fundamental principles underlying the experiments in methodology of solving laboratory problems involving organic molecules. Attendance at the first laboratory session is mandatory. Please note that you must complete CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I Lecture or the equivalent to register for this lab course. This course is equivalent to CHEM UN2543 Organic Chemistry Laboratory.
Prerequisites: CHEM UN1500 General Chemistry Lab, CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I - Lecture. Techniques of experimental organic chemistry, with emphasis on understanding fundamental principles underlying the experiments in methodology of solving laboratory problems involving organic molecules. Attendance at the first laboratory session is mandatory. Please note that you must complete CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I Lecture or the equivalent to register for this lab course. This course is equivalent to CHEM UN2543 Organic Chemistry Laboratory.
Introduces distinctive aesthetic traditions of China, Japan, and Korea--their similarities and differences--through an examination of the visual significance of selected works of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other arts in relation to the history, culture, and religions of East Asia.
Prerequisites: PSYC W1001 or PSYC W1010 or the instructor's permission. An examination of definitions, theories, and treatments of abnormal behavior.
Surveys important methods, findings, and theories in the study of social influences on behavior. Emphasizes different perspectives on the relation between individuals and society.
A survey of the major dance traditions of Africa, Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East, and the Americas. Lectures and discussions address primary written and visual sources, ethnographic and documentary films, workshops, and performances.
A survey of the major dance traditions of Africa, Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East, and the Americas. Lectures and discussions address primary written and visual sources, ethnographic and documentary films, workshops, and performances.
The history of human trafficking in the Atlantic world from the first European slaving expeditions in the late fifteenth century down to the final forced crossings in the era of the U.S. Civil War. Themes include captive taking in West Africa and its impact on West African societies, the commercial organization of the Atlantic slave trade in Europe and the Americas, and the experience of capture, exile, commodification, and survival of those shipped to the Americas.
Clinical psychology is a broad and expanding field. This course will provide students with a broad overview of approaches to treatment and assessment in clinical psychology. These include theoretical orientations and current debates within the field. The course will also provide students with cultural and ethical considerations within the field. Finally, the course will offer many illustrative examples of the application of the provided material.
Introduction to 2000 years of art on the Indian subcontinent. The course covers the early art of Buddhism, rock-cut architecture of the Buddhists and Hindus, the development of the Hindu temple, Mughal and Rajput painting and architecture, art of the colonial period, and the emergence of the Modern.
Introduction to 2000 years of art on the Indian subcontinent. The course covers the early art of Buddhism, rock-cut architecture of the Buddhists and Hindus, the development of the Hindu temple, Mughal and Rajput painting and architecture, art of the colonial period, and the emergence of the Modern.
Prerequisites: declared major in Earth and environmental sciences and the departments permission. Students with particular interest in one of the many components of the Earth and environmental sciences should approach a director of undergraduate studies during the registration period so that tutorial-level exposure to the subject can be arranged. Each point requires two hours each week of readings, discussion, and research work under the close supervision of a member of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, American Museum of Natural History, or Goddard Institute for Space Studies. In consultation with the supervisor, the student selects a topic for intensive study and the time and place of the tutorial discussion sessions. May be repeated for credit up to a maximum of 12 points, with a maximum of 6 points with each staff member.
Prerequisites: declared major in Earth and environmental sciences and the departments permission. Students with particular interest in one of the many components of the Earth and environmental sciences should approach a director of undergraduate studies during the registration period so that tutorial-level exposure to the subject can be arranged. Each point requires two hours each week of readings, discussion, and research work under the close supervision of a member of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, American Museum of Natural History, or Goddard Institute for Space Studies. In consultation with the supervisor, the student selects a topic for intensive study and the time and place of the tutorial discussion sessions. May be repeated for credit up to a maximum of 12 points, with a maximum of 6 points with each staff member.
This course is required for all sociology majors, but open to all students. Theoretical accounts of the rise and transformations of modern society in the19th and 20th centuries. Theories studied include those of Adam Smith, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Max Weber, Roberto Michels. Selected topics: individual, society, and polity; economy, class, and status: organization and ideology; religion and society; moral and instrumental action.
The nature of cinema as a technology, a business, a cultural product, an entertainment medium, and most especially an art form. Study of cinematic genres, stylistics, and nationalities; outstanding film artists and artisans; the relationship of cinema to other art forms and media, as well as to society.