Failures and Successes of Three Decades

Peacemaking Failures & Su

The return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan, coming after a twenty-year engagement of the international community, raised hard questions on the wisdom of intervening in the lives of others. Meanwhile, the wars in Syria and Yemen, in which there was no intervention, have generated immense humanitarian crises, while the short but decisive intervention in Libya, once trumpeted as an example of the responsibility to protect, has led to more than a decade of political crisis. At the same time, there is a return of older forms of conflict: interstate war, with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia; the Israel-Palestine conflict; a deterioration of relations between China and the United States that is sometimes described as a ”second Cold War.”  

Have we forgotten the lessons of the first Cold War? Have we unlearned the lessons from the crises of the 90’s (Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda…)? Or has the world changed so radically that the lessons of the 90’s no longer apply? At a time when geopolitical confrontation is deepening, do we have the right frame of analysis and the right tools in the new landscape? Are there new lessons that we should learn from the last two decades?

To answer those questions, we will go through several case studies – focusing on conflicts in which the United Nations has been involved only to better understand the causes of failure and, in some cases, of success but also to sharpen a definition of what can be called success. I will draw on my own experience as under-secretary-general for peacekeeping, as deputy of Kofi Annan when he tried to stop the Syrian conflict, and as chair of the board of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and CEO of the International Crisis Group. I will also call on a few experts and practitioners with specific experience in particular conflicts. Ultimately, we will test the validity of existing tools on several ongoing potential or active conflicts: Ukraine and Russia, Syria, Israel and Palestine.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Jean-Marie Guehenno
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Climate Finance

This graduate course will develop both models and empirical methods that are necessary to assess the role of the financial system in addressing the risks of global warming.  The course will take a continuous-time approach and feature financial markets that provide crucial information on expectations and plans of economic agents regarding climate change.  After a primer on continuous time methods and stochastic growth models, we will cover a number of topics including: an asset pricing approach to integrated assessment models, pricing natural capital such as tropical rain forecasts, mitigation of weather disaster risks that are becoming more frequent with global warming, sustainable finance mandates in fostering the transition of the industrial sector to net-zero emissions, corporate adaptation strategies to heatwaves, and integrating climate tipping points and financial frictions into assessments.

• Department: Economics
• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• 3 points

Shock and Change: Strategic Surprises in

Strat Surprises: ME War P

A strategic surprise can be defined as a seemingly abrupt change during warfare or bilateral relations that is unexpected in timing, location, and scope. Traditionally, this term has been applied within the framework of decision-making and policy formulation during conflicts. However, a broader perspective sees strategic surprises not only as sudden attacks that fundamentally alter the conflict landscape but also as political developments that lead to dramatic paradigm shifts—such as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 or the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

This course addresses pivotal moments that have dramatically disrupted conventional paradigms in the Middle East conflict, a conflict marked by surprising events yet persistently resistant to long-lasting transformative progress. By examining occurrences of strategic surprise, including the wars of 1948, 1967, and 1973; Sadat’s peace initiative; the Oslo Accords; and the October 7 attack by Hamas, we will investigate the tension between a seeming stagnation and the potential for sudden shifts – for Peace or War. Through case studies and theoretical frameworks, students will analyze how these dynamics shape policy, conflict, and peace processes, gaining tools to critically address historical patterns and behaviors that continue to shape the region.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Nadav Eyal
  Info
• 1.5 points

RECOMBINANT RENAISSANCE

• Department: Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• T 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Instructor: Mark Rakatansky
  Info
• 3 points

Gender and Finance

Money influences power. Access to capital and financial products and services determines who has the ability not only to best meet their basic financial needs, but to build and grow businesses, to become property owners, to invest and build wealth, to take risk, and to be full participants in the political and financial economy. This course will examine the role and impact of gender in the financial sector and its implications for gender equity more broadly. We will explore the implications of gender differences in financial experience, access, and opportunity. We will examine the historic and psychological underpinnings of gender inequities in the financial sector and their impacts in both the traditional and emerging financial sectors. We will look at what drives change in the financial sector, including the impact of seismic financial and societal transitions. Our goal will be to identify recommendations and opportunities to impact the financial sector toward greater gender equity.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• R 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Michelle Greene
  Info
• 1.5 points

THE ECONOMICS OF LABOR II

• Department: Economics
• M 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Tatiana Mocanu
  Info
• 3 points

Social Justice Movements in the Age of S

Social Justice & Social M

This course is an introduction to how emerging hybrid models of traditional and digital organizing and advocacy are building unprecedented social justice movements in the United States. During the first half of the course, students will examine the theory and practice of successful traditional offline organizing and advocacy campaigns as well as principles and characteristics of successful digital activism. In the second half of the course, students w2ill analyze contemporary social movements that have fused offline and online organizing and advocacy tactics, including ongoing activism for racial equity, drug policy reform, LGBTQ rights, criminal justice reform, gender equity, and immigration reform. Using a blend of book and journal readings, case studies, videos, and hands-on group project, and guest speaker practitioners, this course will paint a vivid picture of how social change happens in our age of social media coexisting within the practical realities of longstanding power dynamics.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Richard F Greenberg
  Info
• 3 points

THE ARAB CITY

• Department: Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• M 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Instructor: Amale Andraos
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Fighting Corruption: Concepts and Strate

Corruption undermines governance, saps resources and undermines development.  It is also exceptionally difficult to identify, address, and resolve due to the intrinsic opacity of its operative mechanisms, endemic nature inside systems, and persistence. This course will teach: How to identify corruption, both in general and in its particular manifestations; Current strategies to respond to corruption, particularly within developing countries; and, Expected/possible future trends in corruption. This course will also focus on practical problem-solving and policy-making solutions, including through classroom debate, scenario assessment, simulation, and paper-writing.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Richard Nephew
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

THE LAW OF GENOCIDE

This is a Law School course. For more detailed course information, please go to the Law School Curriculum Guide at: http://www.law.columbia.edu/courses/search

• Department: Law
• R 4:20 p.m.-6:10 p.m.
• 2 points

Rethinking Policing in the 21st Century

Rethinking Policing-21st Cent

Social movements and activists are reshaping the debate on the traditional role of policing in our society. The Black Lives Matter movement has been pivotal in leading the call for systemic change, accountability and transparency. A chorus of diverse voices has called into question unchecked police power. The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner and other Black and brown people has led to a breakdown of trust between the public and police. This course is designed to examine current police practices through the lens of history, race, recent events, and jurisprudence.  This class will serve as a laboratory of ideas and recommendations as we analyze police training, disciplinary procedures, use of force guidelines and other practices in an effort to foster and improve community - police relations. Several cities have deconstructed police authorities, focusing on a more democratic force and in some cases diverting funds towards a more non-violent and community-based approach to policing. Some governmental leaders have criticized recent movements for their lack of structure and stated objectives other than demanding change. This class will discuss common threads and differences between recent movements and those of the past. Lastly, this class will tackle those issues that have impeded progress in advancing a police force that promotes trust and service.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• M 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Basil A Jr Smikle
  Info
• 3 points

Rethinking Policing in the 21st Century

Rethinking Policing-21st Cent

Social movements and activists are reshaping the debate on the traditional role of policing in our society. The Black Lives Matter movement has been pivotal in leading the call for systemic change, accountability and transparency. A chorus of diverse voices has called into question unchecked police power. The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner and other Black and brown people has led to a breakdown of trust between the public and police. This course is designed to examine current police practices through the lens of history, race, recent events, and jurisprudence.  This class will serve as a laboratory of ideas and recommendations as we analyze police training, disciplinary procedures, use of force guidelines and other practices in an effort to foster and improve community - police relations. Several cities have deconstructed police authorities, focusing on a more democratic force and in some cases diverting funds towards a more non-violent and community-based approach to policing. Some governmental leaders have criticized recent movements for their lack of structure and stated objectives other than demanding change. This class will discuss common threads and differences between recent movements and those of the past. Lastly, this class will tackle those issues that have impeded progress in advancing a police force that promotes trust and service.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• M 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Basil A Jr Smikle
  Info
• 3 points

Collaborative Social Justice and Health

Collab Social Justice & H

“Collaborative social justice” is an innovative program model where practitioners from different fields break down traditional disciplinary silos to join forces to tackle poor health, poverty, homelessness, discrimination, and other destabilizing social conditions. This course explores how policy practitioners can use this interdisciplinary program model to promote social justice.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• S 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Rose C Goldberg
  Info
• 1 points

JURISPRUDENCE:SELECT PROBLEMS

LAW AND PHILOSOPHY

• Department: Law
• MW 10:40 a.m.-noon
• 3 points

MILITARY LAW AND THE CONST

• Department: Law
• M 4:20 p.m.-6:10 p.m.
• 2 points

S. Special Topics in Feder Courts

S. Special Topics Fed Cou

This course is an in-depth look at the role of the federal courts in the constitutional order, with a
focus on recent scholarship. Matters such as case or controversy, the appellate jurisdiction of the
Supreme Court, the “shadow” docket, the power of congress to control the jurisdiction of the
federal courts, the status of the administrative state, the propriety of nationwide injunctions, and
debates around Supreme Court reform will be addressed. To the extent time permits, the course
will also deal with the role of the federal courts in ordering congressional and executive relations.

• Department: Law
• T 4:20 p.m.-6:10 p.m.
• 2 points

LABOR LAW

• Department: Law
• MTW 1:20 p.m.-2:40 p.m.
• 4 points

LAW OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS

This is a Law School course. For more detailed course information, please go to the Law School Curriculum Guide at: http://www.law.columbia.edu/courses/search

• Department: Law
• 3 points

Medieval Translation and the Vernacular

Med Translation and Verna

What was the role of translation within medieval literary culture? How did translations among vernacular and cosmopolitan languages contribute to establishing those categories? This graduate seminar will marshal translation theory and practice, medieval and modern, to investigate language use and translation in the medieval West. With reference to current debates in the field, we will ask what ideas about translation and translations themselves can tell us about the multilingual ecosystem of Europe from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. We’ll read some of the most well-known works of medieval literature as well as more obscure texts. Though the course centers on medieval literature in English, French, and Latin, it also aims to instill the critical skills of literary criticism: debate, comparison, and keen-eyed evaluation of others’ arguments, both in class discussions and written assignments. Students will be invited to write a final paper that connects the investigations of the course to their own areas of interest.

Reading knowledge of (Old) French, Latin, and Middle English will come in handy, as will any other foreign language competencies – but these are not prerequisites.

• Department: English and Comparative Literature
• F 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Hannah Weaver
  Info
• 4 points

REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

See Law School Curriculum Guide for details.

• Department: Law
• W 6:20 p.m.-8:10 p.m.
• 2 points

The Tenets and Dilemmas of Humanitarian

Humanitarian Action

Never have more people been in need of humanitarian assistance globally. The impact of conflict, natural disasters, climate change and governance crises has led to the largest ever global Humanitarian Needs Overview and appeal in 2022. But is the system functioning the way it should, and has humanitarian action been shielded from politization and power dynamics?

The course will allow students to examine the history, norms, principles, actors and governance of the international humanitarian system, to assess with a critical lens whether the norms and actors established yesterday are still the ones needed today. Through a combination of thematic sessions and case studies, it will provide insights into how humanitarian responses are governed, implemented and coordinated, and help students understand the dilemmas faced by humanitarian actors on a daily basis. Students will be asked to reflect on the key issues, challenges and prospects facing the humanitarian system.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Laura Perez
  Info
• 3 points

TOPICS IN THEATRE HISTORY & THEORY

DRAMATURGIES OF THE REAL

A course description will be forthcoming.

• Department: Theatre Arts
• W 9:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Maria Jose Contreras
  Info
• 3 points

COMP MODLS PERCPTN & CHOICE

Prerequisites: ECON GR6211 and ECON GR6212 and ECON GR6215 and ECON GR6216 and ECON GR6410 and ECON GR6411 and ECON GR6412 and ECON GR6493 Models of errors and biases in judgments, in the domains of perception, statistical inference, and decision making. Experimental evidence and theoretical analyses from economics, psychology, computational neuroscience, and computer science will be discussed and compared. Topics treated will include signal detection theory, stochastic choice, diffusion-to- bound models, decision by sampling, probability matching, rational inattention, efficient coding theories, theories of salience or focus- weighted valuations, reference-dependent or context-dependent valuations, and reinforcement learning.

• Department: Economics
• W 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Michael D Woodford
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy Pra

Hum Rights & Hum Pol Practicum

This 1.5 credit, 7-week course is designed as a forum in which human rights practitioners, humanitarian aid workers, practitioners and academics share their professional experiences and insights on the modern development of international human rights and humanitarian law, policy, and practice. The Practicum plays an important role in the Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy Concentration as a means by which students: 1. interact with speakers and gain an understanding of the different roles that humanitarian aid workers and actors play in a variety of contexts, and 2. examine current trends in the human rights field and remain informed on the different roles that human rights actors play in a variety of contexts. The Practicum is designed, therefore, to enhance students’ abilities to think critically and analytically about current problems and challenges confronting the field, and to do so in the context of a vibrant community of their peers. Whereas most courses integrate conceptual and theoretical perspectives of human rights, the Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy Practicum is meant to emphasize the processes of implementing human rights from the practitioner’s perspective.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• R 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Laura Perez
  Info
• 1.5 points

Global Fault Lines

Our world is interconnected thanks to the worldwide web, social media, academic institutions, news outlets, ease of international travel, fashion trends, diasporic communities, music...the threads that are woven into the global textile are boundless. However, this textile is torn and frayed. People are – as they have been for centuries - fragmented by war, religion, disasters and crises, poverty, and disparate concentrations of wealth. In this class, we will examine these various fault lines, by addressing issues such as cultural difference, nationalism, populism, and identity politics. By understanding the fissures in our collective humanity, we will have a better understanding of what binds us together.

• Department: Committee on Global Thought
• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Ramona H Bajema
  Info
• 3 points

SUPERVISED TEACHING ASSISTANCE

Prerequisites: permission of the faculty member who will direct the teaching. Participation in ongoing teaching.

• Department: Psychology
• Instructor: Katherine T Fox-Glassman
  CULPA: 6 h-index: 4 Info
• 3 points

Quantitative Analysis I for Internationa

Open to MIA, MPA, and MPA-DP Only. 
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of statistical analysis. We will examine the principles and basic methods for analyzing quantitative data, focusing on applications to problems in public policy, management, and the social sciences. We will begin with simple statistical techniques for describing and summarizing data and build toward more sophisticated methods for drawing inferences from data and making predictions about the social world. The course assumed that students have at least high school algebra. Students will be trained on STATA. This powerful statistical package is frequently used to manage and analyze quantitative data in many organizational/institutional contexts. A practical mastery of a significant statistical package is an essential proficiency.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• M 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• M 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• W 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• W 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Doru Cojoc
  Info
• 3 points

Quantitative Analysis II for Internation

Pre-req: Quant I.
 This course introduces students to regression analysis as a tool for policy analysis and program evaluation (i.e., econometrics). As future practitioners and policymakers, your professional decisions will impact the world in many ways. This course will equip you with the empirical skills needed to evaluate these impacts and assess the causal effects of programs and policies.

The first half of the course will focus on the fundamentals of multiple regression analysis (including a review of Quant I), emphasizing causal inference. The second half builds on this foundation, introducing experimental and non-experimental methods widely used in empirical research and program evaluation.

Note that this is not a math course. Instead of solving math problems, you will be asked to articulate the statistical concepts we have learned and how they relate to different policy settings. Beyond the technical and conceptual foundations, a key emphasis is developing the ability to apply and explain statistical concepts in non-technical language. This skill is crucial for communicating effectively with policymakers who are not statistical experts, as you would be expected to do in many jobs and with most audiences. This course will also prepare you to take any of SIPA’s Quant III courses. This course aims to achieve three broad goals: 


Develop the technical foundations and intuition to become intelligent consumers of statistical analysis for policy research and program evaluation. This enables you to assess empirical studies and articulate findings in non-technical language critically.

Understand causal thinking and its role in interpreting data analysis and empirical studies.

Build the skills to apply and explain statistical concepts in accessible language, fostering effective communication with policymakers and non-experts.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• W 9 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
• W 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• F 9 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
• F 1 p.m.-2:50 p.m.
• M 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Alan S Yang
  CULPA: 5 Info
• 3 points

SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH

• Department: Social Work
• W 6:20 p.m.-8:10 p.m.
• R 9 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
• R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• M 8:30 p.m.-10:20 p.m.
• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• W 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• R 11:10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Instructor: Robert Eschmann
  Info
• Instructor: Alexandra Seals
  Info
• Instructor: Diane D Williams
  Info
• Instructor: Prema L Filippone
  Info
• Instructor: Eva C Haldane
  Info
• Instructor: Craig S Schwalbe
  h-index: 10 Info
• Instructor: Jason Harley
  Info
• 3 points

ADV CRIM LAW: DEATH PENALTY

• Department: Law
• MW 2:50 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
• 3 points

Introduction to Health Economics

INTRODUCTN TO HEALTH ECON

Health economics provides theories and tools for understanding, predicting, and changing human behavior. Understanding and changing the behavior of firms and individuals, designing health policies, and managing firms and organizations concerned with delivering health care and improving health, requires a solid foundation in health economics. In this course, students will learn the concepts in health economics most relevant and important to public health professionals and how these economic concepts can be applied to improving health care and the public health systems. Students will identify the basic concepts of health economics for the purposes of solving problems using these concepts, and apply these concepts in new contexts within public health.

• Department: Health Policy & Management
• W 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Lawrence Bartlett
  Info
• 3 points

Applying Machine Learning

The spread of information technology has led to the generation of vast amounts of data on human behavior. This course explores ways to use this data to better understand and improve the societies in which we live. The course weaves together methods from machine learning (OLS, LASSO, trees) and social science (theory, reduced form causal inference, structural modeling) to work on real world problems. We will use these problems as a backdrop to weigh the importance of causality, precision, and computational efficiency.

Pre-requisites:
Quantitative Analysis II, Microeconomics, and an introductory computer science course (INAF U6006 or equiv). Students who have attained mastery of the prerequisite concepts through other means may petition for an exception to the prerequisites using the form: 
https://bit.ly/applyingMLpetition

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• F 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• F 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Daniel C Bjorkegren
  Info
• 3 points

Python for Public Policy

This 7-week mini course exposes the students to the application and use of Python for data analytics in public policy setting. The course teaches introductory technical programming skills that allow students to learn Python and apply code on pertinent public policy data. The majority of the class content will utilize the New York City 311 Service Requests dataset. It’s a rich dataset that can be explored from many angles relevant to real-world public policy and program management responsibilities.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 9 a.m.-10:50 a.m.
• T 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Aidan Feldman
  Info
• 1.5 points

INTRO TO STATISTICS

• Department: Social Work
• Instructor: Melissa D Begg
  h-index: 32 Info
• 0 points

SUZUKI

• Department: Theatre Arts
• R 2:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Shanga Parker
  Info
• 0-1 points

Data Science & Public Policy

This course will bridge the gap between data science and public policy in several exciting ways. By drawing on a diverse student body – consisting of students from SIPA and the Data Science Institute – we will combine domain-level policy expertise with quantitative analytical skills as we work on cutting-edge policy problems with large amounts of data. Throughout the semester, students will have the opportunity to analyze real-world datasets on a broad range of policy topics, including, for example, data on Russian trolls disseminating misinformation on social media, data on Islamic State recruitment propaganda on the Internet, and granular information on natural disasters that can facilitate preparedness for future hazards. In addition, students will work in interdisciplinary policy – data science teams on semester-long projects that develop solutions to policy problems drawing on big data sources. By the end of the course, students will gain hands-on experience working with various types of data in an interdisciplinary environment – a setting that is becoming more and more common in the policy world these days.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Tamar Mitts
  h-index: 5 Info
• 3 points

GENDER JUSTICE

• Department: Law
• T 4:20 p.m.-6:10 p.m.
• 2 points

LEAD I

• Department: Rehabilitation Medicine (RMED)
• Instructor: Tyra M Banks
  Info
• 2 points

Using Big Data to Develop Public Policy

Big Data to Develop Pub Policy

Prerequisites: SIPA U6500 Data are a critical resource for understanding and solving public policy challenges. This course provides an applied understanding of data analytics tools and approaches to policy. This course is designed to bridge the gap between the statistical theory and real-world challenges of using data in public policy. The course leverages the DATA2GO.NYC data set. DATA2GO.NYC was developed with the intention of empowering community members to understand the areas in which they work, play, and live by providing open access to aggregated city data. You will use the data set to conduct the in-depth analysis of an issue and ultimately develop a policy proposal or policy evaluation.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Francesco Brindisi
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 3 points

Basics of Cybersecurity

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Elizabeth Cartier
  Info
• 1.5 points

STEM CELL, GENOME ENG & REGEN MED

General lectures on stem cell biology followed by student presentations and discussion of the primary literature. Themes presented include: basic stem cell concepts; basic cell and molecular biological characterization of endogenous stem cell populations; concepts related to reprogramming; directed differentiation of stem cell populations; use of stem cells in disease modeling or tissue replacement/repair; clinical translation of stem cell research.

• Department: Biomedical Engineering
• M 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
• 3 points

CHINESE BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Department: East Asian Languages and Cultures
• R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Lu Kou
  Info
• 4 points

PLAYWRITING II

• Department: Theatre Arts
• R 10 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Rogelio Martinez
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

FICTION LECTURE

LONG CENTURY SHORT NOVELS

.

• Department: Writing
• M 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Joshua A Cohen
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Intro to Infographics and Data Visualiza

Intro Infographics & Data Vis

Priority Reg: DAQA and TMaC Specializations. 
This is a seven-week course that introduces students to design principles and techniques for effective data visualization. Visualizations graphically depict data to foster communication, improve comprehension and enhance decision-making. This course aims to help students: understand how visual representations can improve data comprehension, master techniques to facilitate the creation of visualizations as well as begin using widely available software and web-based, open-source frameworks.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• M 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Douglas Williamson
  Info
• 1.5 points

Late Soviet Underground Literature and A

Late Soviet Undergr Lit &

The Soviet underground constitutes a highly important example of alternative culture that developed in the USSR outside of restraints of censorship, albeit not in a full isolation from Soviet environment. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with this rich legacy as the extrapolation of interrupted trajectories of Russian modernism and the avant-garde as well as underdeveloped tendencies that can form a foundation for new Russian culture of the 21st century. Since all the primary readings in this graduate course are in Russian, advanced knowledge of the language is required.

• Department: Slavic Languages
• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Mark Lipovetsky
  Wikipedia Info
• 4 points

Data Driven Approaches for Campaigns and

Data Driven Approaches-Campaig

It is strongly recommended that students have completed Quantitative Analysis before taking this course. This class will focus on properly understanding a wide range of tools and techniques involving data and analytics in campaigns. We will study evolutions and revolutions in data-driven politics, including micro-targeting, random controlled trials, and the application of insights from behavioral science, as well as more current approaches using modern statistical techniques, machine learning/AI, and natural language processing/large language models. Our primary focus will be on developments in US political and advocacy campaigns, but we will also examine the uses of these tools in development and other areas. The course is designed to provide an informative but critical overview of an area where it is often difficult to separate hype from expertise. The purpose of the course is to prepare students to understand the strengths and limitations of Big Data and analytics, and to provide concrete and practical knowledge of some of the key tools in use in campaigns and advocacy. Students will be expected to examine the use of data in practical case studies and distinguish between proper and improper uses. The course includes a track to analyze data and will spend more time giving students practical experience with current data and analytic approaches.  Sample code will be provided, and students will be asked to execute and make minor revisions to the code to gain familiarity. Sample R projects will include reading and analyzing polling data, developing predictive models of voter behavior, and analyzing data from social media.  Students will leave with a set of applications that can be customized to work on new data sets.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• M 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• 3 points

Critical Issues in Hospital Management

HOSP ORGANIZATION/MANAGEM

This course is intended to give the student a broad understanding of the components of the health care system and the basic management principles of hospital organization and management. The course will employ a variety of learning formats for students including lectures by the instructors, guest lecturers with special expertise, case studies and student presentations. Emphasis will be on the historical trends of health care statistics and operating data of health care institutions; the history of hospitals and health care systems; their organization and finances; regulatory controls; management strategies; accreditation and professional standards; government; private insurance; administrative leadership and professional interactions, emergency services, healthcare trends and marketing.

• Department: Health Policy & Management
• M 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Donna Lynne
  Wikipedia Info
• 1.5 points

Text as Data

This course is an introduction to the quantitative analysis of text as data – a rapidly growing field within the social sciences. The availability of textual data has grown massively in recent years, and so has the demand for skills to analyze it. Vast amounts of digital content are becoming increasingly relevant to various policy-relevant questions. For example, social media data are now commonly used to understand public opinion, engagement with politics, behavior during natural disasters, and even pathways to extremism; candidates’ statements and rhetoric during elections are useful for estimating policy positions; and large amounts of text from news sources are used to document and understand world events.

While the wealth of information in text data is incredible, its sheer size makes it challenging to summarize and interpret without quantitative methods. In this course, we will learn how to quantitatively analyze text from a social-science perspective. Throughout the course, students will learn different methods to acquire text, how to transform it to data, and how to analyze it to shed light on important research questions. Each week we will cover different methods, including dictionary construction and application, sentiment analysis, scaling and topic models, and machine learning classification of text. Lectures will be accompanied by hands-on exercises that will give students practical experience while working with real-world texts. By the end of the course, students will develop and write their own research projects using text as data.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Tamar Mitts
  h-index: 5 Info
• 3 points

SPEECH II

In this course, students will continue an exploration of their Idiolects in relationship to both extemporaneous and heightened texts through class and small group work that focuses on audibility, clarity, resonance, vocal dynamics by way of imaginative activation, articulation and ownership. The objective of this course is for students to activate their speech in such a way that it ignites and expands both their imaginations and their capacity to communicate language with honesty. They will experience a full and balanced sound that is neither pushed nor half-baked, neither rushed nor indulgent, and fill space onstage and in the world with their voice and their presence. Students will also hone their skills of self-observation, offer useful feedback and take ownership of and interpret a variety of texts to be expressed on vibration.

• Department: Theatre Arts
• T 9 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Elizabeth Hayes
  Info
• 2 points

SPEECH III

In this course, students will continue their individual development of
greater ownership
, expression and embodiment of heightened (mostly Shakespeare’s) text. The objective of this course is for students to practice landing heightened text with honesty and clarity, uniting the Givens and the Imaginatives. “It’s not about making it right, it’s about making it ALIVE.” 

Students will:


(Continue to) refine their articulation skills via a strong working knowledge of the IPA and corresponding Lexical Sets

Dance along the fine line between control and freedom of their muscles of articulation in order to share complicated thoughts and speak heightened language with invisible technique

Unpack and investigate texts in order to marry structure with meaning

Interpret texts with Musiclarity – the musicality of the language supporting the clarity of the thought

Play with passion, curiosity, specificity and
humanity.

• Department: Theatre Arts
• F 9 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Elizabeth Hayes
  Info
• 2 points

S. Rebuilding Government

S REBUILDING GOVERNMENT

• Department: Law
• 2 points

VOICE & ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE II

Voice and Alexander Technique II deepens and expands the work we did in Voice and Alexander Technique I. This continuing course presupposes that you have continued our work in your daily practice and in your other classes and have begun to develop clarity around the inner structure of the body which is your physical and vocal support. Our work this term will help you develop a solid vocal technique, a body that is strong, open and free, and a mind which is clear and focused.

• Department: Theatre Arts
• M 9 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Jean McClelland
  Info
• 1 points

Clinical Conditions II: Physical Health

CLINICAL CONDITIONS II

• Department: Rehabilitation Medicine (RMED)
• Instructor: Michael Urban
  Info
• 3 points

FUNDAMENTALS OF SCREENWRITING

• Department: Theatre Arts
• M 10 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: David Auburn
  Info
• 3 points

NONFICTION LECTURE

AGAINST NONFICTION

NONFICTION LECTURE

• Department: Writing
• R 10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Kate Zambreno
  Info
• 3 points

DISABILITY LAW

This is a Law School course. For more detailed course information, please go to the Law School Curriculum Guide at: http://www.law.columbia.edu/courses/search

• Department: Law
• TR 2:50 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
• 3 points

Cyber Risks & Vulnerabilities

The purpose of this course is to familiarize SIPA students with the protocols and devices used in the function of the internet while focusing on the flaws and vulnerabilities. This course will approach each session in the following manner: discussion of the topic to include what the topic is and how it is used, vulnerabilities and specifically, and example, and will follow up with a video or other demonstration of a common hacker technique or tool to illustrate the problem so the students can better understand the impact. This course is intended to complement Basics of Cybersecurity with a tighter focus on specific vulnerabilities and how these can be exploited by hackers, criminals, spies, or militaries. This course is intended to be an introduction to cybersecurity and is thus suitable for complete newcomers to the area. It is a big field, with a lot to cover; however this should get students familiar with all of the basics. The class is divided into seven topics; the first five iteratively build on each other. Session six will look to future technologies. Session seven will challenge students to understand the authorities encountered and the friction between the authorities and agencies in responding to a cyber incident. Many cyber jobs are opening up with companies that need international affairs analysts who, while not cybersecurity experts, understand the topic well enough to write policy recommendations or intelligence briefs. Even if you don’t intend your career to focus on cyber issues, having some exposure will deepen your understanding of the dynamics of many other international and public policy issues.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Elizabeth Cartier
  Info
• 1.5 points

Cybersecurity & Business Risk

This course will examine cybersecurity and threats in cyberspace as a business risk: that is, the potential and consequent magnitude of loss or liability arising from conducting business connected to the Internet. Many organizations have traditionally viewed cybersecurity as a technology problem, “owned” by the Information Technology department. However, doing business connected to the Internet can create non-technical problems: legal, regulatory, financial, logistical, brand or reputational, even health or public safety problems. Increasingly, organizations are treating cybersecurity and cyber threats in a broader manner, viewing cyber as a risk to be managed, and owned ultimately by the most senior ranks of corporate governance. An example might be a bank managing cyber operational risk similarly to managing credit and market risk. However, organizations continue to face challenges as they try to translate, measure, manage, and report a risk that is highly technical, and still somewhat foreign to most risk managers. The objective of this course will be to introduce you to basic concepts of cybersecurity and threats in cyberspace, and enable you to apply them to tools, techniques, and processes for business risk management. It assumes no technical knowledge of cybersecurity, nor a deep understanding of risk management. Students will learn about the basic principles of cybersecurity, the main actors in the business and regulatory spheres, and approaches to business risk management: how to understand, describe, measure, and report risk in a cybersecurity context. Students will also understand different models and approaches used by leading institutions in various industries, including the financial services sector, critical infrastructure providers, high-technology companies, and governments.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• 3 points

Healthcare Accounting and Budgeting

HLTH CARE ACCOUNTING&BUDG

The current market places increasing demands on healthcare managers so it is essential that individuals possess basic skills related to financial management and financial reporting. Current events make these demands more dynamic than ever. This course is intended for students who are interested in expanding their knowledge of healthcare financial issues and/or pursuing careers that involve financial management in the healthcare sector. The focus will be on non-profit healthcare delivery organizations.

• Department: Health Policy & Management
• M 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• R 8:30 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
• Instructor: Larry Joo
  Info
• Instructor: Jonathan Engel
  Info
• 3 points

POETRY LECTURE

READNG RAINER MARIA RILKE

POETRY LECTURE

• Department: Writing
• W 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Mark C Wunderlich
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

BANKRUPTCY LAW

• Department: Law
• MTW 1:20 p.m.-2:40 p.m.
• 4 points

Post-Soviet Geopolitics

Instructor: Renata Mustafina.
This 7-week class is designed as a journey through the complex geopolitics of the post-Soviet region, mediated by cultural artifacts, infrastructural objects, specific sites, and landscapes. The class adopts a bottom-up approach to geopolitics, moving beyond state-centric or national-level understandings of international politics to focus on the everyday experience of geopolitics at the micro level (Bono & Stoffelen, 2020; Dodds, 2019; Gaufman, 2023*). Each session aims to locate the “international” and ground various geopolitical processes in both practice and place. This perspective provides a starting point for discussing major geopolitical issues such as war, political violence, ethnic conflict, and energy crises. The six case studies—varied in both time and space—are carefully selected to offer students a glimpse of the diverse geopolitical dynamics in the region, as well as analytical frameworks that can be useful in approaching these dynamics. The seminar adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, engaging with political science, anthropology, literature, geography, and law. In addition to academic research, the seminar will incorporate visuals (photos, maps, videos) to help convey this often physically distant social reality.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Renata Mustafina
  Info
• 1.5 points

Global Reliance on Russian Energy

Globl Reliance-Russ Enrgy

Russian unprovoked war in Ukraine dramatically changed the world energy landscape and created one of the primary energy crises in the world. Russian Federation is the world's largest energy exporter of fossil fuels. However, shocked by the war, the West imposed sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The course will discuss a significant energy geopolitical shift happening worldwide because of the war. We will focus on how the EU navigates this crisis and how Russia tries to escape sanctions. What new energy alliances appear, and what disappear because of this war?

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Natasha Udensiva
  Info
• 3 points

Law and Politics of Spying and Lying

As far back as the Revolutionary War, American citizens have been engaged in secret intelligence operations in wartime. Over the past eighty years, the US government has made secret intelligence and covert operations a regular part of its toolkit for dealing with foreign challenges or domestic threats in peacetime as well as wartime. Reconciling these secret activities and the institutions and individuals responsible for them with a democratic Republic based on checks and balances and electoral accountability has been a ceaseless work-in-progress, whose tempo increases or decreases depending on world and domestic events.

Regardless of the tempo, however, the overarching question is unchanged: Can secret intelligence activities–including lying to deny or mask the government’s involvement–be reconciled with American democracy? This seminar examines the law, policy, and history of U.S. intelligence activities. It explores such issues as the constitutional allocations of power for intelligence, the evolution of American intelligence organizations over time, dilemmas created by new surveillance technologies and ways to address them (or not), congressional oversight of covert action–including lethal force–in which the U.S. government intends to hide its hand, and the roles of courts and the press as checks.

This is a joint offering between SIPA and the Law School, because the history, policy, and law of American intelligence activities are so intertwined. To understand the future in this area, one must understand those interconnections.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Timothy Naftali
  Info
• 3 points

LAW OF GLOBEL GOV AND REG

• Department: Law
• W 4:20 p.m.-6:10 p.m.
• 2 points

Artificial Intelligence and Climate Chan

AI and Climate Change

Pre-reqs: N/A.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic. Over 200 million people now use ChatGPT each month, tens of billions of dollars have poured into AI projects over the past year, and policymakers around the world are considering how best to respond to AI’s rapid growth.

At the same time, countries are grappling with the urgent challenge of climate change. Based on global average temperatures, July 22, 2024, was the warmest day ever recorded; 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded; and the 10 warmest years on record are the last 10 years. Despite encouraging developments, such as the dramatic drop in renewable energy costs over the past decade, global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.

Can AI help reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Will the increased power demand for AI result in more emissions, offsetting any benefits? Can AI aid in climate change adaptation? Should policymakers encourage AI use to combat climate change while discouraging AI applications that may increase emissions? If so, how?

This advanced seminar will explore these questions. After an introductory session on core AI concepts, we will examine how AI could reduce emissions and aid adaptation to climate change, as well as the ways AI could contribute to increased emissions. We will discuss barriers to using AI in climate action, risks associated with AI in this context, policy options to address these risks and barriers, and strategies for stakeholders to collaborate in leveraging AI tools to combat climate change.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• 1.5 points

Analytics and Managerial Decision-Making

ANALYTCS/MANAGR DECISION

Analytics and Managerial Decision-Making I is the first of two required quantitative methods courses taken in sequence by all MHA students. These courses are foundational to the MHA curriculum. The two courses are fully integrated with respect to materials, exercises and cases, and by a two-term, team-based application project.
Managers are continually confronted with the need to make significant decisions concerning the organizational and financial performance of a health organization, based on a combination of strategic intention, practical experience, and interpretation and application of complex data and information. Data analysis is one tool that supports such decision-making. This course is designed to provide management students with the tools to generate and present data-driven and model-based management recommendations that are meaningful and implementable.
The course focuses on learning basic tools for the collection, analysis, and presentation of data in support of managerial/executive decision-making. Topics will include introductory data and statistical exploration from basic descriptive statistics to population and market estimation, comparison testing and decision-making, sampling design and analysis, and predicting/forecasting using linear regression. Using Excel as an additional tool, the course develops analytical skills to prepare managers to make and to present informed decisions in the overall healthcare sector.

• Department: Health Policy & Management
• M 5:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m.
• Instructor: Paul W Thurman
  h-index: 11 Info
• 3 points

AI: A Survey for Policymakers

AI for Policy Makers

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning have emerged as increasingly ubiquitous technologies in a wide range of areas, such as finance, healthcare, workforce management, and advertising, in addition to several domains in the public sector, including but not limited to criminal justice and law enforcement. In the past several years, ethical questions about how and whether to use AI for particular tasks have become much more prominent, partly due to its widespread use and partly due to publicly documented failures or shortcomings of a number of systems that can negatively impact people in sometimes serious ways.

This course will provide a broad overview of practical, ethical, and governance questions related to AI — such as those related to privacy, cybersecurity, fairness, transparency, and more — with a view towards policymaking. Policymaking will be interpreted broadly, including both the public and private sectors. The course will include a survey of how machine learning works so as to ground the discussion, as well as a wide range of concrete, real-world examples and case studies.

The instructor served as the first Director of AI for New York City and will also draw on this experience, which included collaborations with a number of other city governments internationally. The course will also include several guest speakers who directly engage with significant AI or AI policy projects in various areas.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Neal P Parikh
  Info
• 3 points

Building AI Tools with Large Language Mo

In the past two years, Large Language Models (LLMs) built using transformer frameworks have emerged as the fastest-growing area of research and investment in AI/machine learning. Recent releases of chatbots such as ChatGPT (OpenAI), Bing (Microsoft), and Bard (Google) quickly reached hundreds of millions of users and have become the face of artificial intelligence for consumers. There has also been an explosion in the number of applications that depend on LLMs for a variety of more specialized tasks. Recent models have shown impressive performance on both canonical machine learning tasks and for everyday use, yet are in many ways poorly understood and, in some cases, exhibit unexpected and potentially harmful behavior. 

Policymakers, analysts, and non-profit and industry leaders need an understanding of these models to take advantage of the opportunities they present and to mitigate potential harms. This course provides an overview of Large Language Models and gives students hands-on experience with various ways of interacting with LLMs. Students will learn to interpret model evaluation metrics, and we will discuss safety and ethics in applied contexts. Prerequisite: Working Python knowledge OR Python for Public Policy (U6504) OR Intro to Text Analysis in Python (U6502).

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Mike Q Zhu
  Info
• 1.5 points

Artificial Intelligence Institutions

AI Institutions

Pre-requisites: Microeconomics. Students would benefit from previous coding experience, but software development is not a strict requirement.
Our institutions were developed in a context with different technologies: where travel and communication were slow and expensive, and thinking had to be done by humans. New technologies afford—and may require—different ways of organizing society. We will consider historical episodes of technological change and our current era, following how shifts in technology can shift the economy and society. We will first use this course itself as a laboratory to explore the impacts of AI on education. We will then consider how AI may reshape other sectors, including governance, transportation, and defense; and the cross-cutting questions it raises about values, economic wellbeing, and purpose.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Daniel C Bjorkegren
  Info
• 3 points

Philosophy of Journalism

Journalism is an important profession in modern life but remains under-theorized within academic philosophy, where vanishingly little has been written about it. This graduate course oers a survey of major topics in the philosophy of journalism, drawing on philosophical writing, the work of critics within the eld of media studies, and the reective writings of journalists themselves to address this lacuna. The course is divided into ve substantive units that concern (1) freedom of the press as a political right and the place of journalism in democratic life, (2) objectivity as an ideal for news journalism, (3) the social epistemology of journalism: propaganda and the problem of ‘fake news’, (4) the relationship of news and editorial journalism, and (5) alternatives to mainstream journalism and news organizations: publicly-funded and citizen journalism. The last two weeks of the course will be devoted to student presentations on independent research projects.

• Department: Philosophy
• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Dhananjay Jagannathan
  Info
• 3 points

Putin and Global Anti-Americanism

Putin & Global AntiAmeric

This course explores the development of relations between Russia and the United States from the end of the Cold War to the present day. It also reveals a broader trend: in the early 1990s, it seemed that Western liberal values were triumphant worldwide. However, as Russia failed to transition into a democratic state, anti-Americanism and revanchism began to flourish. After becoming president, Vladimir Putin exploited these sentiments, ultimately making anti-Americanism a central aspect of his international political agenda. Russian propaganda has not only influenced the Russian population but also seeks to spread these ideas and conspiracy theories beyond Russia’s borders. As an inherently unstable political system, Russia aims to destabilize the West. The course concludes with an analysis of present-day dynamics.

• Department: International and Public Affairs
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Mikhail Zygar
  Info
• 1.5 points

AOP Adults I: Behavioral and Physical He

AOP ADULTS I

• Department: Rehabilitation Medicine (RMED)
• Instructor: Patricia Precin
  Info
• 3 points

THE ACTOR'S BODY II

• Department: Theatre Arts
• MR 9 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
• Instructor: Sita Mani
  Info
• 1 points