ADVANCED ARABIC GRAMMAR REVIEW

Through reading and writing, students will review Arabic Grammar concepts within the context of linguistic functions such as narration, description, comparison, etc. For example, within the function of narration, students will focus on verb tenses, word order, and adverbials. Based on error analysis in the past twelve years that the Arabic Program has been using Al-Kitaab, emphasis will be placed on common and frequent grammatical errors. Within these linguistic functions and based on error analysis, the course will review the following main concepts: Types of sentence and sentence/clause structure. The Verb system, pattern meanings and verb complementation. Quadriliteral verb patterns and derivations. Weak Verbs derivations, conjugation, tense frames and negation. Case endings. Types of noun and participle: Noun of time, place, instance, stance, instrument, active and passive participles. Types of construct phrase: al-iDafa. Types of Adverbials and verb complements: Hal, Tamyiz, Maf’ul mutlaq, Maf’ul li’ajlihi, adverbs of time, frequency, place and manner. The number system and countable nouns. Types of maa.Diptotes, al-mamnu’ min-aSSarf. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

• Department: Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies
• MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Taoufik Ben-Amor
  CULPA: 11 Info
• 3 points

Religion and Capitalism: Faith and the A

Is the market a religious system? Can we consider "capitalism" to be a key arena in which the relationship between the religious and the secular is both negotiated and performed? In this course, students will explore the complicated relationship between faith and the market, the religious and the secular, and the evolution of vice and virtue as they relate to economic thriving in the United States. While no hard and fast rules for thinking about the relationship between right conduct and material interests cut across all religious and philosophical traditions, human agents invest real faith into currency, into markets, and into the reigning economic order to bring about increased opportunities, wealth, and freedom to people across the globe. Throughout this semester, we will chart both the long shadows and the future trajectories of these beliefs from our American perspective.

• Department: Religion
• T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Andrew E Jungclaus
  Info
• 4 points

American Religions in extremis

This seminar focuses on historical, sociological, and first-hand accounts of a diverse set of American non-conformist religious and spiritual groups (including MOVE, the Branch Davidians at Waco, Father Divine's International Peace Mission, the Oneida Perfectionists, and Occupy and others). Diverse in their historical origins, their activities, and their ends, each of the groups sought or seeks to offer radically news ways of living, subverting American gender, sexuality, racial, or economic norms. The title of this seminar highlights the ways that these groups explain their reasons for existing (to themselves or others) not as a choice but as a response to a system or society out of whack, at odds with the plans of the divine, or at odds with nature and survival. Likewise, it considers the numerous ways that these same groups have often found themselves the targets of state surveillance and violence.

• Department: Religion
• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Courtney Bender
  CULPA: 10 Info
• 4 points

FOURTH YEAR JAPANESE

JPNS4218OC:  Fourth Year Japanese II, 4 points.  Required to take Fourth Year Japanese I, JPNS4217OC for 4 points.

The 4th Year Japanese program (JPNS4217OC & JPNS4218OC; 8 points/ 2 semesters) is designed for those who have completed at least three years of college-level Japanese or the equivalent (around 450 hours of Japanese study).

Students who want to take this course are expected to be at the 
Intermediate-High level
 or above of 
the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines
N1
   at the beginning of the course. Please note that depending on the results of the placement test, the students may be placed in a different level than they apply for.

Authentic materials such as newspaper, novels, and TV news will be used alongside with instructor-created materials to study grammatical patterns equivalent to JLPT N1 and N2. In addition, the students will have the opportunity to pursue an individualized project based on their own interests and give a presentation about their project at the end of
t
he program.

The goal of this course is to achieve Advanced-Low or above of the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.

To enroll in this course, you must apply to the
 
Kyoto Consortium Summer: Modern Japan
ese 
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 Kyoto Consortium Summer: Modern Japanese KCJS. 

Please email 
uge@columbia.edu
 with any questions you may have.

• Department: Global Programs
• 8 points

SPOKEN ARABIC II

Prerequisites: MDES UN2202 This is an introductory course to Levantine Arabic for students who have completed two years of Standard Arabic studies, at the Intermediate level. The course is designed to further develop fluency in oral communication, through building students’ familiarity with a less formal register of Arabic, namely the Levantine dialect. The course will convert and recycle some of the previous Standard Arabic knowledge to the dialect, by comparing their prior knowledge to its dialectal counterpart; while at the same time developing students’ new communicative skills in a diverse range of contexts that are essential in any conversational interaction. The course will build students abilities to interact effectively in various areas where Levantine Arabic is spoken. In addition to varied thematic topics, the course exposes students to cultural aspects specific to the region. Additionally, the course will work on both constructing students’ knowledge of dialectal diction as well as other grammatical features of the dialects. Even though the course is designed for communication in the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), the emphasis will be mostly on speaking and listening. No P/D/F or R credit is allowed for this class.

• Department: Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies
• MW 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Reem Faraj
  CULPA: 4 Info
• 4 points

INTRO-HIST & THEORY-LIT INTERP

• Department: Italian
• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Elizabeth Leake
  Info
• 3 points

The Arabic Linguistic Tradition

The purpose of the Arabic Linguistic Tradition course is to introduce undergraduate and graduate
students to the Arabic Linguistic Tradition, starting before Islam and ending in current times. The
course maps out the context in which the Arabic language and its predecessors existed, the
history of the development of the language, its script, its geographical spread, its linguistic
influences on other languages and scripts throughout the world, as well as its own influences by
other languages. The course will also examine the importance of Arabic as a language of
religion, philosophy, sciences, and nationalism. Furthermore, the course will focus on the
classical Arabic linguistic categories and fields devised by Arab/Arabic grammarians, and how
we can situate them vis-à-vis modern western linguistic theories. The course will detail some of
the language linguistic issues, challenges and secrets, as the language stands on its own, as well
as within a euro-centric “modern” linguistic theories framework.

• Department: Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies
• R 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: May Ahmar
  CULPA: 9 Info
• 4 points

TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

Prerequisites: STAT GU4205 or the equivalent. Least squares smoothing and prediction, linear systems, Fourier analysis, and spectral estimation. Impulse response and transfer function. Fourier series, the fast Fourier transform, autocorrelation function, and spectral density. Univariate Box-Jenkins modeling and forecasting. Emphasis on applications. Examples from the physical sciences, social sciences, and business. Computing is an integral part of the course.

• Department: Statistics
• S 10:10 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Franz Rembart
  Info
• 3 points

Interfacial Engineering for Sustainable

Cross disciplinary interfacial engineering principles and applications in sustainable energy and material science. Surface science and systems analysis across different technology sectors - material production and processing, waste management, device manufacture, composites, coatings, ceramics, membranes, biomaterials, and microelectronics.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Engineering
• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• None None-None
• Instructor: Raymond Farinato
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 3 points

NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS

Prerequisites: STAT GU4204 or the equivalent. Statistical inference without parametric model assumption. Hypothesis testing using ranks, permutations, and order statistics. Nonparametric analogs of analysis of variance. Non-parametric regression, smoothing and model selection.

• Department: Statistics
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Marco A Avella Medina
  Info
• 3 points

Hist of Russian Thought: Faith & Reason

History of Russian Though

Russian ideas are familiar to the world through Tolstoy’s and Dostoevsky’s novels. In this course, we will examine key texts in the intellectual tradition that forms the backdrop to these famous works. Emphasis is on close textual readings; but also on how Russian ideas have been read and interpreted across national and cultural boundaries, including in recent English-language works like Tom Stoppard’s play,
Coast of Utopia
. Thinkers include Schellingians and Hegelians, Slavophiles, Populists and Pan-Slavists, and Vladimir Soloviev.

• Department: History
• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Catherine Evtuhov
  CULPA: 2 Info
• 4 points

Dreams

This seminar for advanced undergraduates and graduate students investigates the significance of dreams in multiple cultural and historical contexts with a focus on Tibetan Buddhism. Dreams and dreaming are vital aspects of Tibetan Buddhist meditative practice, visionary experience, poetry, narratives, as well as visual arts. Students in the seminar will explore a range of materials that 1) guide Buddhist practitioners to cultivate certain types of dreams, and 2) narrate dream experiences that the dreamer has deemed worth recording, and 3) situate Tibetan Buddhist examples in broader contexts of religious and psychological perspectives, with an emphasis on Freud and Jung’s treatment of dreams. According to Buddhist sources, a dream might be significant because the dreamer understands it to be revelatory, foretelling the future, or it might be recorded simply because the dreamer finds the dream in some way compelling, troubling, or funny. In life writing, dreams often highlight crucial moments in the writer’s life experience. Just as psychoanalysts make use of dreams to engage with analysands, Tibetan medical texts instruct doctors to pay close attention to patients’ dreams in the process of diagnosis. Tibetan ritual texts guide meditators in techniques for lucid dreaming. Visionary dreams are recorded in great aesthetic detail. Narratives of dreams and dreamscapes are an important part of biographies and life writing in general. We will also consider European and American treatments of dreams and lucid dreaming, including psychoanalytic, philosophical approaches to dreaming. A significant element of the course is a daily dream journal.

• Department: Religion
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Dominique Townsend
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 4 points

BAYESIAN STATISTICS

This course introduces the Bayesian paradigm for statistical inference.  Topics covered include prior and posterior distributions: conjugate priors, informative and non-informative priors; one- and two-sample problems; models for normal data, models for binary data, Bayesian linear models; Bayesian computation: MCMC algorithms, the Gibbs sampler; hierarchical models; hypothesis testing, Bayes factors, model selection; use of statistical software.

Prerequisites: A course in the theory of statistical inference, such as STAT GU4204 a course in statistical modeling and data analysis, such as STAT GU4205.

• Department: Statistics
• TR 7:40 p.m.-8:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Dobrin Marchev
  Info
• 3 points

ADV DESIGN OF STEEL STRUCTURES

Review of loads and structural design approaches. Material considerations in structural steel design. Behavior and design of rolled steel, welded, cold-formed light-gauge, and composite concrete/steel members. Design of multi-story buildings and space structures.

• Department: Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
• R 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
• 3 points

ECONOMICS OF NEW YORK CITY

ECONOMICS OF NYC

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT Un1201 This course takes New York as our laboratory. Economics is about individual choice subject to constraints and the ways that choices sum up to something often much more than the parts. The fundamental feature of any city is the combination of those forces that bring people together and those that push them apart. Thus both physical and social space will be central to our discussions. The underlying theoretical and empirical analysis will touch on spatial aspects of urban economics, regional, and even international economics. We will aim to see these features in New York City taken as a whole, as well as in specific neighborhoods of the city. We will match these theoretical and empirical analyses with readings that reflect close observation of specific subjects. The close observation is meant to inspire you to probe deeply into a topic in order that the tools and approaches of economics may illuminate these issues in a fresh way.

• Department: Economics
• MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Donald R Davis
  CULPA: 2 Wikipedia h-index: 31 Info
• 3 points

ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS I

Prerequisites: COMS W3134, COMS W3136, or COMS W3137, and COMS W3203. Introduction to the design and analysis of efficient algorithms. Topics include models of computation, efficient sorting and searching, algorithms for algebraic problems, graph algorithms, dynamic programming, probabilistic methods, approximation algorithms, and NP-completeness.

• Department: Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
• MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Daniel Bienstock
  h-index: 38 Info
• 3 points

ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS I

Prerequisites: (COMS W3134 or COMS W3136COMS W3137) and (COMS W3203) Introduction to the design and analysis of efficient algorithms. Topics include models of computation, efficient sorting and searching, algorithms for algebraic problems, graph algorithms, dynamic programming, probabilistic methods, approximation algorithms, and NP-completeness.

• Department: Computer Science
• F 10:10 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
• MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• None None-None
• Instructor: Eleni Drinea
  CULPA: 8 Info
• 3 points

Love, Labor, and Leisure in Contemporary

Love, Labor in Contemp Ch

This course takes an anthropological perspective on life in China today with special attention to the legacies of the country’s socialist past. We start with a brief look at the ideological and institutional frameworks employed by the Communist Party to organize the daily life of its citizens in the decades leading into the People’s Republic. We will then read about how economic and social reforms instituted since the 1980s, in particular changes to the work unit and household registration system, have resulted in dramatically different opportunities and expectations for Chinese citizens attempting to navigate career opportunities, search for romantic partners, move through communal and private spaces and engage in consumptive activities. Exploring the experiences of rural peasants, urban workers, and laborers who move between countryside and city as well as between nations, we will examine how class, gender, and sexuality come to be refigured as China integrates into the global market economy. Scholarly texts will be supplemented with political speeches, short work of fiction and essays, and films.

• Department: Asian and Middle East @Barnard
• W 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Nicholas A Bartlett
  CULPA: 5 Info
• 3-4 points

EASTERN EUROPE'S COLD WAR

This seminar explores the Cold Wars impact on Eastern Europe (1940s-1980s) and Eastern Europes Cold War-era engagements with the wider world. We will address the methodologies used by historians to answer questions like these: What was the Cold War? What did it mean, and for whom? We will also look at the Cold War as something more than a series of events; we will consider its value, uses, and limits as a device for framing the second half of the twentieth century.

• Department: History
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Elidor Mehilli
  Info
• 4 points

SURVIVAL ANALYSIS

Prerequisites: STAT GU4205 or the equivalent. Survival distributions, types of censored data, estimation for various survival models, nonparametric estimation of survival distributions, the proportional hazard and accelerated lifetime models for regression analysis with failure-time data. Extensive use of the computer.

• Department: Statistics
• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Ashley Datta
  Info
• 3 points

Advanced Algorithms

Introduces classic and modern algorithmic ideas that are central to many areas of Computer Science. The focus is on most powerful paradigms and techniques of how to design algorithms, and how to measure their efficiency. The intent is to be broad, covering a diversity of algorithmic techniques, rather than be deep. The covered topics have all been implemented and are widely used in industry. Topics include: hashing, sketching/streaming, nearest neighbor search, graph algorithms, spectral graph theory, linear programming, models for large-scale computation, and other related topics

• Department: Computer Science
• MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• None None-None
• Instructor: Alexandr Andoni
  CULPA: 2 h-index: 34 Info
• 3 points

DESIGN OF LARGE SCALE BRIDGES

Design of large-scale and complex bridges with emphasis on cable-supported structures. Static and dynamic loads, component design of towers, superstructures and cables; conceptual design of major bridge types including arches, cable stayed bridges and suspension bridges.

• Department: Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
• W 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Theodore Zoli
  CULPA: 1 Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

DESIGN OF LARGE SCALE BUILDINGS

Modern challenges in the design of large-scale building structures will be studied. Tall buildings, large convention centers and major sports stadiums present major opportunities for creative solutions and leadership on the part of engineers. This course is designed to expose the students to this environment by having them undertake the complete design of a large structure from initial design concepts on through all the major design decisions. The students work as members of a design team to overcome the challenges inherent in major projects. Topics include overview of major projects, project criteria and interface with architecture, design of foundations and structural systems, design challenges in the post 9/11 environment and roles, responsibilities and legal issues.

• Department: Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
• W 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• 3 points

SAMPLE SURVEYS

Prerequisites: STAT GU4204 or the equivalent. Introductory course on the design and analysis of sample surveys. How sample surveys are conducted, why the designs are used, how to analyze survey results, and how to derive from first principles the standard results and their generalizations. Examples from public health, social work, opinion polling, and other topics of interest.

• Department: Statistics
• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Rongning Wu
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 3 points

SEA LEVEL CHANGE

Pre-requisite: At least a year of calculus and physics; basic programming experience (e.g. EESC3400 - Introduction to Computational Earth Science).
Recommended: EESC2100 (Climate System), EESC2200 (Solid Earth), EESC3201 (Solid Earth Dynamics). 

The course aims to explore sea level changes that take place over a wide variety of timescales and are the result of multiple solid Earth and climatic processes. The course will step chronologically through time starting with long term sea level changes over the Phanerozoic, followed by Plio-Pleistocene ice age sea level variations and lastly modern and future sea level change. This is a cross-disciplinary course, which is aimed at students with interests in geophysics, cryosphere evolution, ocean dynamics, sedimentology, paleogeography, and past and present climate.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
• TR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
• Instructor: Jacqueline Austermann
  h-index: 18 Info
• 3 points

SEA LEVEL CHANGE

Pre-requisite: At least a year of calculus and physics; basic programming experience (e.g. EESC3400 - Introduction to Computational Earth Science).
Recommended: EESC2100 (Climate System), EESC2200 (Solid Earth), EESC3201 (Solid Earth Dynamics). 

The course aims to explore sea level changes that take place over a wide variety of timescales and are the result of multiple solid Earth and climatic processes. The course will step chronologically through time starting with long term sea level changes over the Phanerozoic, followed by Plio-Pleistocene ice age sea level variations and lastly modern and future sea level change. This is a cross-disciplinary course, which is aimed at students with interests in geophysics, cryosphere evolution, ocean dynamics, sedimentology, paleogeography, and past and present climate.

• Department: Auditing
• TR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
• Instructor: Jacqueline Austermann
  h-index: 18 Info
• 0 points

SCIENCE OF URBAN ECOLOGY

Urban ecology is the study of both the interactions between organisms in an urban environment and the organisms' interactions with that environment. This course facilitates learning about 1) basic principles related to ecological interactions of life on Earth, 2) the causes and consequences of biological patterns and processes in urban environments, and 3) how ecology can inform land use decisions and applied management strategies of natural resources (e.g. water, air, biodiversity), particularly in urban environments. This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the ways in which ecological perspectives can contribute to an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems facing human society. Towards that end, this course covers topics ranging from applied ecology and conservation biology to sustainable development. It uses a cross disciplinary approach to understand the nature of ecology and biological conservation, as well as the social, philosophical and economic dimensions of land use strategies. Although in some ways cities may seem to be isolated from what we would otherwise call "nature," they are not, and this is a major theme of this course. This course includes discussion of biodiversity, ecosystem function, evolutionary processes, nutrient cycling, and natural resource availability in cities. Students will acquire an understanding of the ecology of human-dominated landscapes, the theory and study of urban ecology, and the application of ecological principles to building sustainable urban communities. Students will also explore timely and important urban ecology issues including ecological restoration, invasive species, and biodiversity conservation.

• Department: Sustainability Management
• M 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Amy Karpati
  Info
• 3 points

SCIENCE OF URBAN ECOLOGY

Urban ecology is the study of both the interactions between organisms in an urban environment and the organisms' interactions with that environment. This course facilitates learning about 1) basic principles related to ecological interactions of life on Earth, 2) the causes and consequences of biological patterns and processes in urban environments, and 3) how ecology can inform land use decisions and applied management strategies of natural resources (e.g. water, air, biodiversity), particularly in urban environments. This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the ways in which ecological perspectives can contribute to an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems facing human society. Towards that end, this course covers topics ranging from applied ecology and conservation biology to sustainable development. It uses a cross disciplinary approach to understand the nature of ecology and biological conservation, as well as the social, philosophical and economic dimensions of land use strategies. Although in some ways cities may seem to be isolated from what we would otherwise call "nature," they are not, and this is a major theme of this course. This course includes discussion of biodiversity, ecosystem function, evolutionary processes, nutrient cycling, and natural resource availability in cities. Students will acquire an understanding of the ecology of human-dominated landscapes, the theory and study of urban ecology, and the application of ecological principles to building sustainable urban communities. Students will also explore timely and important urban ecology issues including ecological restoration, invasive species, and biodiversity conservation.

• Department: Auditing
• M 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Amy Karpati
  Info
• 0 points

China's Long 1980s: Interrogating the Cu

This course examines experiences and legacies of China’s “long 1980s” (1978-1992), a period of “reform and opening” with lasting impacts on contemporary discourses and realities. It introduces students to a wide range of primary materials (in English translation), including cinema, literature, photography, contemporary art and other social commentaries, along with theoretical readings and secondary literature from a variety of disciplines including literary and media studies, and social, economic, intellectual and art histories. Topics include politics of rehabilitation at the end of the Cultural Revolution; political and artistic movements of the Beijing Spring; cultural productions amidst rural and urban economic reforms; humanism and cybernetic imagination; extractive economies and environmental transformation; gender and financialization; and China’s integration into the world economy.

• Department: East Asian Languages and Cultures
• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Ying Qian
  CULPA: 2 Info
• 4 points

Reversing the Biodiversity Crisis

Course Overview

Often described as “twin crises,” climate change and biodiversity loss are among the most urgent sustainability challenges to be addressed in our modern era. While much focus has rightfully been placed on climate change mitigation actions at local, regional, and global scales, biodiversity loss is less often addressed by governments, institutions, industries, and individuals as a critical piece of the sustainability puzzle. In 2021, COP 15, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, received far less media attention than COP 26, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change. Yet climate change and biodiversity loss are inextricably linked, and without biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services and biospheric resilience upon which human society relies, a sustainable world is not possible. Moreover, certain climate change mitigation actions can actually be to the detriment of biological diversity.

 

Unlike a traditional conservation biology course geared towards ecologists and biologists, this course will be taught through the lens of sustainability management, equipping sustainability managers with the knowledge and direction needed to begin integrating biodiversity conservation and restoration into their professions. This course will illuminate the critical importance of biodiversity to sustainability and human well-being, the science and politics behind the current biodiversity crisis, and proposals, policies, and actions for bending the curve of biodiversity loss to create more sustainable and equitable outcomes for both humans and the non-humans with which we share our planet.

 

Students who seek to deepen their understanding of ecological sustainability and address the biodiversity crisis through the lens of sustainability management are encouraged to take this course. This course is an on-campus (or Hy-Flex) elective offered during the Fall semester and fulfills 3 credits within the Physical Dimensions of Sustainability Management curriculum area in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program. Cross-registration is available to students outside of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program, space permitting.

• Department: Sustainability Management
• M 8:10 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Instructor: Amy Karpati
  Info
• 3 points

Reversing the Biodiversity Crisis

Course Overview

Often described as “twin crises,” climate change and biodiversity loss are among the most urgent sustainability challenges to be addressed in our modern era. While much focus has rightfully been placed on climate change mitigation actions at local, regional, and global scales, biodiversity loss is less often addressed by governments, institutions, industries, and individuals as a critical piece of the sustainability puzzle. In 2021, COP 15, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, received far less media attention than COP 26, the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change. Yet climate change and biodiversity loss are inextricably linked, and without biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services and biospheric resilience upon which human society relies, a sustainable world is not possible. Moreover, certain climate change mitigation actions can actually be to the detriment of biological diversity.

 

Unlike a traditional conservation biology course geared towards ecologists and biologists, this course will be taught through the lens of sustainability management, equipping sustainability managers with the knowledge and direction needed to begin integrating biodiversity conservation and restoration into their professions. This course will illuminate the critical importance of biodiversity to sustainability and human well-being, the science and politics behind the current biodiversity crisis, and proposals, policies, and actions for bending the curve of biodiversity loss to create more sustainable and equitable outcomes for both humans and the non-humans with which we share our planet.

 

Students who seek to deepen their understanding of ecological sustainability and address the biodiversity crisis through the lens of sustainability management are encouraged to take this course. This course is an on-campus (or Hy-Flex) elective offered during the Fall semester and fulfills 3 credits within the Physical Dimensions of Sustainability Management curriculum area in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program. Cross-registration is available to students outside of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program, space permitting.

• Department: Auditing
• M 8:10 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Instructor: Amy Karpati
  Info
• 0 points

Biodiversity, Climate Change and Sustain

Biodiversity, a term popularized in the 1980s, refers to the variety of life at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. It is crucial for sustainability, as it supports ecosystems that underpin human life, economic activities, and ecological stability. The loss of biodiversity threatens essential ecosystem services like clean air, water filtration, climate regulation, and food security. This course explores how climate change, both current and projected, impacts biodiversity and how natural ecosystems influence greenhouse gas concentrations. Human survival depends on these ecosystems, yet there is uncertainty about how much biodiversity loss can be tolerated. Climate change now poses as serious a threat to biodiversity as direct development activities. Understanding the science behind these threats is essential for sustainability students, and this course aims to provide that knowledge.

Simultaneously, tropical deforestation across the globe produces CO2 emissions equal to the total current emissions of the United States.  Forest fires in Canada have produced emissions equal to the total fossil fuel based emissions of that country.  Thawing of permafrost in the arctic north is one of the positive feedback loops, warming leading to more warming that has catastrophic potential. In studying biodiversity, we will examine ecosystems and species such as muskoxen, whales, penguins, primates, tree frogs, and monarch butterflies. We will also explore human practices like agriculture, forest management, hunting, and fishing, which affect both carbon and biodiversity and rely on climate stability. Students will learn how climate and natural ecosystems interact, a crucial first step toward actions needed to sustain life on Earth. While some readings may be challenging for those without an ecology background, support will be available. Students with prior ecology knowledge should find the course particularly informative.

• Department: Sustainability Management
• T 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Ralph C Schmidt
  Info
• 3 points

GREAT BOOKS ON RACE,POLIT,SOC

• Department: Political Science
• R 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Fredrick Harris
  Wikipedia Info
• 4 points

STATISTICAL MACHINE LEARNING

Prerequisites: STAT GU4206. The course will provide an introduction to Machine Learning and its core models and algorithms. The aim of the course is to provide students of statistics with detailed knowledge of how Machine Learning methods work and how statistical models can be brought to bear in computer systems - not only to analyze large data sets, but to let computers perform tasks that traditional methods of computer science are unable to address. Examples range from speech recognition and text analysis through bioinformatics and medical diagnosis. This course provides a first introduction to the statistical methods and mathematical concepts which make such technologies possible.

• Department: Statistics
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Genevera Allen
  Info
• 3 points

ORDER OF MAGNITUDE ASTROPHYSICS

• Department: Astronomy
• MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Frederik Paerels
  CULPA: 21 Info
• 3 points

GEOTECHNICAL EARTHQUAKE ENGIN

Prerequisites: (CIEN E3141) or equivalent Seismicity, earthquake intensity, propagation of seismic waves, design of earthquake motion, seismic site response analysis, in situ and laboratory evaluation of dynamic soil properties, seismic performance of underground structures, seismic performance of port and harbor facilities, evaluation and mitigation of soil liquefaction and its consequences. Seismic earth pressures, slopes stability, safety of dams and embankments, seismic code provisions and practice. To alternate with E4244.

• Department: Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
• M 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Hoe I Ling
  h-index: 45 Info
• 3 points

Evolution of Language (seminar)

EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE

This seminar will consider the evolution of language at the levels of the word and grammar, in each instance, phylogenetically and ontogenetically. Since humans are the only species that use language, attention will be paid to how language differs from animal communication.

• Department: Psychology
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Herbert S Terrace
  CULPA: 29 Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

APPLIED DATA SCIENCE

Prerequisites: Pre-requisite for this course includes working knowledge in Statistics and Probability, data mining, statistical modeling and machine learning. Prior programming experience in R or Python is required. This course will incorporate knowledge and skills covered in a statistical curriculum with topics and projects in data science. Programming will be covered using existing tools in R. Computing best practices will be taught using test-driven development, version control, and collaboration. Students finish the class with a portfolio of projects, and deeper understanding of several core statistical/machine-learning algorithms. Short project cycles throughout the semester provide students extensive hands-on experience with various data-driven applications.

• Department: Statistics
• MW 7:40 p.m.-8:55 p.m.
• R 6:10 p.m.-8:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Alex Pijyan
  Info
• Instructor: Haiyuan Wang
  Info
• 3 points

Hydrosystems Engineering

Quantitative introduction to hydrologic and hydraulic systems, with a focus on integrated modeling and analysis of the water cycle and associated mass transport for water resources and environmental engineering. Coverage of unit hydrologic processes such as precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, runoff generation, open channel and pipe flow, subsurface flow and well hydraulics in the context of example watersheds and specific integrative problems such as risk-based design for flood control, provision of water, and assessment of environmental impact or potential for non-point source pollution. Spatial hydrologic analysis using GIS and watershed models.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Engineering
• MW 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Wenli Zhao
  Info
• 3 points

INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 The study of industrial behavior based on game-theoretic oligopoly models. Topics include pricing models, strategic aspects of business practice, vertical integration, and technological innovation.

• Department: Economics
• MW 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Gautam Gowrisankaran
  h-index: 27 Info
• 3 points

Foundations of Environmental Engineering

Foundations of Env Eng

Engineering aspects of problems involving human interaction with the natural environment. Review of fundamental principles that underlie the discipline of environmental engineering, i.e. constituent transport and transformation processes in environmental media such as water, air, and ecosystems. Engineering applications for addressing environmental problems such as water quality and treatment, air pollution emissions, and hazardous waste remediation. Presented in the context of current issues facing the practicing engineers and government agencies, including legal and regulatory framework, environmental impact assessments, and natural resource management.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Engineering
• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Benjamin Bostick
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 44 Info
• 3 points

Cities and Everyday Life in Chinese Cult

Chinese Cities & Everyday

Italo Calvino's imagined Marco Polo cautions in Invisible Cities (1972): "Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased." How, then, can we retrieve from the vanished past the lived experiences of men and women in their built environments? This seminar invites you on a tour of a constellation of cities—as both physical sites and literary creations—from China’s pre-imperial period to the twentieth century, engaging textual, visual, and cinematic media that have shaped, and been shaped by, the palimpsests of urban life in flux.

• Department: East Asian Languages and Cultures
• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Yifan Zhang
  Info
• 4 points

ENVIR DATA ANALYSIS & MODELING

Introduction parametric and non-parametric statistical models applied to climate and environmental data analysis. Time and space data analysis methods will be focused, including clustering, autoregressive models, trend analysis, Bayesian analysis, missing data imputation, geostatistics, principal components analysis. Application to problems of climate variation and change; hydrology; air, water and soil pollution dynamics; disease propagation; ecological change; and resource assessment. The class requires the use of R with hands-on programming applied to a current environmental data analysis problem.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Engineering
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Bolun Xu
  h-index: 17 Info
• 3 points

Embodied AI for Construction and Facilit

EMBODIED AI CONSTR FACIL

Sensor modalities and their applications in construction and facilities management. Deep learning concepts and their application in robot perception. Markov Decision Process (MDP) and its application in planning and control. Formulation of embodied AI perception and control problems as MDP. Application of classic reinforcement learning algorithms to solve MDP problems. Analysis of agents’ performance through objective and subjective metrics. Understanding the critical interactions between users/occupants and embodied AI agents. Hands-on experience with robot simulation and/or collaborative robots in controlled lab environments.

• Department: Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
• R 10:10 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Zhengbo Zou
  Info
• 3 points

RETHINKING MIDDLE EAST POLITCS

This course examines a set of questions that have shaped the study of the politics of the modern Middle East. It looks at the main ways those questions have been answered, exploring debates both in Western academic scholarship and among scholars and intellectuals in the region itself. For each question, the course offers new ways of thinking about the issue or ways of framing it in different terms. The topics covered in the course include: the kinds of modern state that emerged in the Middle East and the ways its forms of power and authority were shaped; the birth of economic development as a way of describing the function and measuring the success of the state, and the changing metrics of this success; the influence of oil on the politics of the region; the nature and role of Islamic political movements; the transformation of the countryside and the city and the role of rural populations and of urban protest in modern politics; and the politics of armed force and political violence in the region, and the ways in which this has been understood. The focus of the course will be on the politics of the twentieth century, but many topics will be traced back into developments that occurred in earlier periods, and several will be explored up to the present. The course is divided into four parts, each ending with a paper or exam in which participants are asked to analyze the material covered. Each part of the course has a geographical focus on a country or group of countries and a thematic focus on a particular set of questions of historical and political analysis. Discussion Section Required.

• Department: Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Timothy Mitchell
  Wikipedia h-index: 34 Info
• 4 points

STATISTICAL METHODS IN FINANCE

Prerequisites: STAT GU4205 or the equivalent. A fast-paced introduction to statistical methods used in quantitative finance. Financial applications and statistical methodologies are intertwined in all lectures. Topics include regression analysis and applications to the Capital Asset Pricing Model and multifactor pricing models, principal components and multivariate analysis, smoothing techniques and estimation of yield curves statistical methods for financial time series, value at risk, term structure models and fixed income research, and estimation and modeling of volatilities. Hands-on experience with financial data.

• Department: Statistics
• S 10:10 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Zhiliang Ying
  CULPA: 1 Wikipedia h-index: 62 Info
• 3 points

19th-Century Social and Political Philos

Hegel and Marx

This course will consider themes in 19th-century social and political philosophy. Central topics may include freedom, recognition, alienation, and exploitation, and the use of such concepts to critically evaluate modern social and political institutions. Figures studied may include G.W.F. Hegel, Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Clara Zetkin, and Lily Braun.

• Department: Philosophy @Barnard
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Caroline D Bowman
  Info
• 3 points

STOCHASTC PROCSSES-APPLICTNS I

Prerequisites: STAT GU4203. STAT GU4207 is recommended. Basics of continuous-time stochastic processes. Wiener processes. Stochastic integrals. Ito's formula, stochastic calculus. Stochastic exponentials and Girsanov's theorem. Gaussian processes. Stochastic differential equations. Additional topics as time permits.

• Department: Statistics
• MW 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Steven Campbell
  Info
• 3 points

AUDITORY PERCEPTION

Prerequisites: PSYC UN1010 PSYC UN1010 or equivalent; background in statistics/research methods recommended How does the human brain make sense of the acoustic world? What aspects of auditory perception do humans share with other animals? How does the brain perform the computations necessary for skills such as soundlocalization? How do we focus our auditory attention on one voice in a crowd? What acoustic cues are important for speech perception? How is music perceived? These are the types of questions we will address by studyingthe basics of auditory perception from textbook readings and reviews, and reading classic and current literatureto understand scientific progress in the field today.

• Department: Psychology
• R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Sarah Woolley
  CULPA: 13 Wikipedia h-index: 31 Info
• 3 points

STOCHASTIC METHODS IN FINANCE

Stochastics Methods in Finance

Prerequisites: STAT GU4264. Mathematical theory and probabilistic tools for modeling and analyzing security markets are developed. Pricing options in complete and incomplete markets, equivalent martingale measures, utility maximization, term structure of interest rates. This is a core course in the MS program in mathematical finance.

• Department: Statistics
• TR 6:10 p.m.-7:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Graeme Baker
  Info
• 3 points

Digital Advocacy for Human Rights: Socia

Digital Advocacy Human Ri

This course examines how digital technologies are transforming human rights advocacy, with primary emphasis on social media campaigning. Students will master hands-on social media platform practices while exploring how open source intelligence (OSINT) methodologies are used to monitor violations and present evidence online through recent case studies. The course prioritizes developing practical social media advocacy and analytic skills, examining how civil society organizations navigate platform policies, content moderation, and political pressures to drive change. Students will analyze how platform policy shifts and content governance changes constrain advocacy strategies, learning to craft campaigns and frame messages for specific audiences. They will analyze cases involving gender, immigration, and trafficking, among others. The OSINT component provides conceptual understanding through contemporary examples including forensic architecture investigations, satellite imagery documentation of mass atrocities, and open source evidence from conflicts like Ukraine. A key component of the course is a research or advocacy project of your choosing. You will develop framing strategies, map relevant networks, and create social media content that demonstrates mastery of digital advocacy techniques. The emergence of these new tools and organizations has produced new ethical dilemmas and reshaped old ones--concerning such fundamental issues as privacy vs. security, the limits of free speech, the trade-off between ethical and pragmatic messaging and fundraising strategies, topics that will be addressed at length in class discussions.

• Department: Institute for Study of Human Rights
• W 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Ted Perlmutter
  Info
• 3 points

COGNITIVE PROCESSES

Prerequisites: For undergraduates: one course in cognitive psychology or cognitive neuroscience, or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Metacognition and control processes in human cognition. Basic issues include the cognitive mechanisms that enable people to monitor what they know and predict what they will know, the errors and biases involved in self-monitoring, and the implications of metacognitive ability for peoples self-determined learning, behavior, and their understanding of self.

• Department: Psychology
• T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Janet Metcalfe
  CULPA: 31 h-index: 70 Info
• 3 points

Psychology of Procrastination

Why do we put off things until later—even things we know are important; even in cases where we know the cost of delaying; even when doing the work more gradually over time would be less unpleasant; even sometimes on tasks we anticipate enjoying? Everyone procrastinates sometimes, but why do some people seem to procrastinate a lot while others don’t have much of an issue with task delaying? This course reviews current research on selected cognitive and motivational theories of procrastination, as well as interaction of task delay with mental health and neurodiversity. We will close with an examination of some potential interventions that may help people reduce or avoid procrastination, both at the individual level and in academic settings such as course design.

• Department: Psychology
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Katherine T Fox-Glassman
  CULPA: 6 h-index: 4 Info
• 3 points

Issues Facing the Water Industry

Principles and practice of water treatment and utility management will be presented.  Project-based class where students will work in teams to solve an issue for a water utility.  Variety of external experts will lecture and serve as a resource for students for the project.  Allows students to better understand the role of the water utility in providing safe drinking water in a sustainable manner. Students will become familiar with the challenges facing water utilities, gain knowledge in the design and operation of water treatment systems, and learn how to develop solutions to water supply and water quality issues which will allow them to pursue productive careers in the consulting, utility, or regulatory fields.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Engineering
• M 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• Instructor: William Becker
  Info
• 3 points

CORPORATE FINANCE

Prerequisites: ECON UN3211 and ECON UN3213 and STAT UN1201 An introduction to the economics principles underlying the financial decisions of firms. The topics covered include bond and stock valuations, capital budgeting, dividend policy, market efficiency, risk valuation, and risk management. For information regarding REGISTRATION for this course, go to: http://econ.columbia.edu/registration-information.

• Department: Economics
• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• TR 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Tri Vi Dang
  CULPA: 9 h-index: 10 Info
• 3 points

Rationalizing the World: Am. Soc. Scienc

This course will cover the development of modern social science and its relation to American history and culture. The different strands of the course are indicated by its title, where “rationalizing” refers both to attempts to understand society through rational means and to the role of social science in providing a justification or rationale for existing social structures. 

Quantitative thinking and social science have become increasingly prominent in our society. But modern discussions of the political relevance of social science do not always account for the ups and downs of particular ideas. For example, Freudianism was huge in mid-century, both within psychology and in the culture at large, but has faded for both intellectual and economic reasons. The Keynesian revolution dominated economics from the 1930s through the 1960s but then was contested by later paradigms in response to the stagflation of the following decade. Trends in criminal justice policy have followed ideas from anthropology, psychology, and economics, and political theories of international relations have affected and been informed by developments in foreign policy. This course provides students with an opportunity to learn about these and other examples of the development and influence of theories in social science, and to form a larger connection between intellectual, social, and political history. 

It is common for students to learn about just one or maybe two social sciences and not to see the way that different social sciences fit together intellectually and how they compete for influence. There’s a tendency to think of any field of study as being a static set of truths as laid out in textbooks or else a steady march of progress. In contrast, this course presents a series of booms and crashes: unsustainable enthusiasms for new ideas followed by disillusionment and controversies that are often never fully resolved. Through readings, class discussion and activities, and final projects, students should learn to see social science as a process that proceeds both internally and with reference to society. 

By the end of the course, students should gain a broad understanding of the development of modern social science and its connection to American politics and society. They will read different sides of academic disputes involving figures from Margaret Mead to Milton Friedman and will gain a historically informed sense of how social science has been influenced by and has influence

• Department: Political Science
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Andrew Gelman
  CULPA: 6 Wikipedia h-index: 112 Info
• 4 points

Rationalizing the World: Am. Soc. Scienc

This course will cover the development of modern social science and its relation to American history and culture. The different strands of the course are indicated by its title, where “rationalizing” refers both to attempts to understand society through rational means and to the role of social science in providing a justification or rationale for existing social structures. 

Quantitative thinking and social science have become increasingly prominent in our society. But modern discussions of the political relevance of social science do not always account for the ups and downs of particular ideas. For example, Freudianism was huge in mid-century, both within psychology and in the culture at large, but has faded for both intellectual and economic reasons. The Keynesian revolution dominated economics from the 1930s through the 1960s but then was contested by later paradigms in response to the stagflation of the following decade. Trends in criminal justice policy have followed ideas from anthropology, psychology, and economics, and political theories of international relations have affected and been informed by developments in foreign policy. This course provides students with an opportunity to learn about these and other examples of the development and influence of theories in social science, and to form a larger connection between intellectual, social, and political history. 

It is common for students to learn about just one or maybe two social sciences and not to see the way that different social sciences fit together intellectually and how they compete for influence. There’s a tendency to think of any field of study as being a static set of truths as laid out in textbooks or else a steady march of progress. In contrast, this course presents a series of booms and crashes: unsustainable enthusiasms for new ideas followed by disillusionment and controversies that are often never fully resolved. Through readings, class discussion and activities, and final projects, students should learn to see social science as a process that proceeds both internally and with reference to society. 

By the end of the course, students should gain a broad understanding of the development of modern social science and its connection to American politics and society. They will read different sides of academic disputes involving figures from Margaret Mead to Milton Friedman and will gain a historically informed sense of how social science has been influenced by and has influence

• Department: Auditing
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Andrew Gelman
  CULPA: 6 Wikipedia h-index: 112 Info
• 0 points

INTRO TO QUANTUM COMPUTING

• Department: Computer Science
• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: James L Bartusek
  Info
• 3 points

Rationaling the World: Discussion

Rationalizing the World D

Discussion section for POLS GU4280, Rationalizing the World: American Social Science

• Department: Political Science
• R 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• F 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• Instructor: Anupam Raj
  Info
• 0 points

ADVANCED DATA ANALYSIS

Prerequisites: STAT GU4205 and at least one statistics course numbered between GU4221 and GU4261. This is a course on getting the most out of data. The emphasis will be on hands-on experience, involving case studies with real data and using common statistical packages. The course covers, at a very high level, exploratory data analysis, model formulation, goodness of fit testing, and other standard and non-standard statistical procedures, including linear regression, analysis of variance, nonlinear regression, generalized linear models, survival analysis, time series analysis, and modern regression methods. Students will be expected to propose a data set of their choice for use as case study material.

• Department: Statistics
• F 10:10 a.m.-12:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Gabriel Young
  CULPA: 7 Info
• 3 points

COMPUT MATH:INTRO-NUMERCL METH

Programming experience in Python extremely useful. Introduction to fundamental algorithms and analysis of numerical methods commonly used by scientists, mathematicians and engineers. Designed to give a fundamental understanding of the building blocks of scientific computing that will be used in more advanced courses in scientific computing and numerical methods for PDEs (e.g. APMA E4301, E4302). Topics include numerical solutions of algebraic systems, linear least-squares, eigenvalue problems, solution of non-linear systems, optimization, interpolation, numerical integration and differentiation, initial value problems and boundary value problems for systems of ODEs. All programming exercises will be in Python.

• Department: Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
• MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• None None-None
• Instructor: Kui Ren
  CULPA: 2 Info
• 3 points

COMPUT MATH:INTRO-NUMERCL METH

Programming experience in Python extremely useful. Introduction to fundamental algorithms and analysis of numerical methods commonly used by scientists, mathematicians and engineers. Designed to give a fundamental understanding of the building blocks of scientific computing that will be used in more advanced courses in scientific computing and numerical methods for PDEs (e.g. APMA E4301, E4302). Topics include numerical solutions of algebraic systems, linear least-squares, eigenvalue problems, solution of non-linear systems, optimization, interpolation, numerical integration and differentiation, initial value problems and boundary value problems for systems of ODEs. All programming exercises will be in Python.

• Department: Video Network
• Instructor: Kui Ren
  CULPA: 2 Info
• 3 points

The Just City: Global Debates in Urban P

THE JUST CITY

Urbanization is inherently unequal, inscribing social, economic, environmental, and political unevenness into the spatial fabric of the city. But the distribution of such inequality is not inevitable. Urbanization is a product of the collective decisions we make (or choose not to make) in response to the shared challenges we face in our cities. And, thus, the patterns of urbanization can be changed. This is the task of urban planning and the starting point for this advanced seminar, which asks how we can reshape our cities to be more just—to alleviate inequality rather than compound it. In embarking on this effort, we face numerous “wicked” problems without clear-cut solutions. The approaches one takes in addressing urban inequality are therefore fundamentally normative—they are shaped by one’s place in the world and one’s view of it. The central challenge in addressing inequality is thus establishing a basis for collective action amongst diverse actors with differing—and sometimes conflicting—values and views. In other words, planning the just city a matter of both empathy and debate. In this course, we will endeavor to develop informed positions that can help us engage with others as a basis for taking collective action.

The course is organized into four 3-week modules, each of which addresses a dimension of the just city: equity, democracy, diversity, and sustainability. In the first week of each module, we will discuss how the issue has been understood in history and theory (with an emphasis on tradeoffs between different priorities and values); in the second week, we will apply this discussion to a global case study prepared and presented by a team of students; and in the third week, we will hold an in-class debate to determine what should be done. Specific case studies vary each year.

• Department: Architecture @Barnard
• R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Nick R Smith
  h-index: None Info
• 4 points

Corporate Finance and Valuation

Corporate Finance & Valua

This course introduces the fundamental principles of corporate finance and their application to real-world business decisions. Students will examine how companies determine value, measure risk, and make financing choices, while developing the tools to analyze corporate investments and capital structures.

Intellectual Goals and Rationale
The course addresses core questions that drive business decision-making:


How do we determine what a company or investment opportunity is worth?

How do we value financial securities in an uncertain world?

What is risk? How do we measure it, and how does it affect the cost of capital?

What is the appropriate balance between debt and equity?


Course Content and Learning Approach
Through a combination of theoretical frameworks, case discussions, and Excel-based financial modeling, students will build the ability to analyze complex financial scenarios. Lectures provide the foundations of valuation and financing, while case work applies these tools to real business challenges.

Why This Course Matters
Valuation, investment evaluation, and financing decisions are central to careers in finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, and management. The skills gained—financial modeling, risk assessment, and valuation analysis—are directly relevant to roles in investment banking, private equity, corporate development, consulting, and executive leadership.

Who Should Take This Course
This introductory finance course is open to students from all academic backgrounds who seek to strengthen their financial literacy and analytical capabilities. It is particularly valuable for:


Students considering careers in finance, consulting, or general management

Entrepreneurs who need to understand funding and valuation

Students in other fields interested in how businesses create and measure value

Those planning to pursue graduate business education


Prerequisites


Economics:
 ECON UN1105 Principles of Economics

Statistics (one of the following):


STAT UN1001 Intro to Statistical Reasoning

STAT UN1101 Introduction to Statistics

STAT UN1201 Calc-Based Introduction to Statistics

PSYC UN1610 Introductory Statistics for Behavioral Science




Cours

• Department: Mendelson Center
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Haran Segram
  Info
• 3 points

Graduate Design

Team-based iterative design sequence to create a novel invention made to meet a well-defined need.  Students will identify a need through research, develop a novel (in a patent sense) solution, create a proof-of-concept low-fidelity prototype, and finally create a refined prototype.  Students will utilize theory, simulation, and experimentation to validate key design choices.  The course will include ideation techniques, intellectual property, standards, advanced 3D modeling, rapid prototyping, kinematics, dynamic simulation, finite element analysis, optimization, and experimental design.

• Department: Mechanical Engineering
• T 1:10 p.m.-3:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy
  h-index: 7 Info
• 3 points

NUMERICAL METHODS/PDE'S

Numerical solution of differential equations, in particular partial differential equations arising in various fields of application. Presentation emphasizes finite difference approaches to present theory on stability, accuracy, and convergence with minimal coverage of alternate approaches (left for other courses). Method coverage includes explicit and implicit time-stepping methods, direct and iterative solvers for boundary-value problems.

• Department: Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• None None-None
• Instructor: Qiang Du
  Wikipedia h-index: 67 Info
• 3 points

NUMERICAL METHODS/PDE'S

Numerical solution of differential equations, in particular partial differential equations arising in various fields of application. Presentation emphasizes finite difference approaches to present theory on stability, accuracy, and convergence with minimal coverage of alternate approaches (left for other courses). Method coverage includes explicit and implicit time-stepping methods, direct and iterative solvers for boundary-value problems.

• Department: Video Network
• Instructor: Qiang Du
  Wikipedia h-index: 67 Info
• 3 points

FRENCH LIT OF THE 17TH CENTURY

A one-semester survey of seventeenth-century French literature, with an emphasis on the relationship between literature and the major cultural, philosophical, and religious developments of the period.

• Department: French
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Pierre Force
  CULPA: 12 h-index: 11 Info
• 3 points

METHODS IN COMPUTATIONAL SCI

Introduction to the key concepts and issues in computational science aimed at getting students to a basic level of understanding where they can run simulations on machines aimed at a range of applications and sizes from a single workstation to modern super-computer hardware. Topics include but are not limited to basic knowledge of UNIX shells, version control systems, reproducibility, Open MP, MPI, and many-core technologies. Applications will be used throughout to demonstrate the various use cases and pitfalls of using the latest computing hardware.

• Department: Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Marc W Spiegelman
  CULPA: 15 Info
• 3 points

INTRO TO CLASSICAL CHINESE II

Prerequisites: CHNS W3301: Classical Chinese I; completion of three years of modern Chinese at least, or four years of Japanese or Korean. Please see department. Prerequisites: CHNS W3301: Classical Chinese I; completion of three years of modern Chinese at least, or four years of Japanese or Korean.

• Department: East Asian Languages and Cultures
• MWF 11 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
• Instructor: Lening Liu
  CULPA: 9 Info
• 3 points

CARBON CAPTURE

Major technologies to store carbon dioxide, geological, ocean, and in the carbon chemical pool. Carbon dioxide transport technologies also covered. In addition to basic science and engineering challenges of each technology, full spectrum of economic, environmental, regulatory, and political/policy aspects, and their implication for regional and global carbon management strategies of the future. Combination of lectures, class debates and breakout groups, student presentations, and independent final projects.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Engineering
• T 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Xiaoyang Shi
  Info
• 3 points

ADVANCED THERMODYNAMICS

Advanced classical thermodynamics. Availability, irreversibility, generalized behavior, equations of state for nonideal gases, mixtures and solutions, phase and chemical behavior, combustion. Thermodynamic properties of ideal gases. Applications to automotive and aircraft engines, refrigeration and air conditioning, and biological systems.

• Department: Mechanical Engineering
• T 1:10 p.m.-3:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Michael Burke
  h-index: 22 Info
• 3 points

Turbomachinery

Introduction to basics of theory, design, analysis, and selection of turbomachinery. Turbomachines are widely used in myriad engineering applications such as energy conversion, HVAC, and propulsion, in the forms of pumps, compressors, gas turbines, jet engines, wind turbines, etc. Variety of such applications used as examples to illustrate important concepts.

• Department: Mechanical Engineering
• S noon-2:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Sean Nolan
  Info
• 3 points

SEMINAR IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Prerequisites: BIOL W4300 or the instructors permission. A weekly seminar and discussion course focusing on the most recent development in biotechnology. Professionals of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and related industries will be invited to present and lead discussions.

• Department: Biological Sciences
• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Lili Yamasaki
  CULPA: 5 Info
• 3 points

CO2 UTILIZATION AND CONVERSION

Introduction to various CO2 utilization and conversion technologies that can reduce the overall  carbon footprint of commodity chemicals and materials. Fundamentals of thermodynamics, fluid  mechanics, reaction kinetics, catalysis and reactor design will be discussed using technological  examples such as enhanced oil recovery, shale fracking, photo and electrochemical conversion of  CO2 to chemical and fuels, and formation of solid carbonates and their various uses. Life cycle  analyses of potential products and utilization schemes will also be discussed, as well as the use of  renewable energy for CO2 conversion.

• Department: Earth and Environmental Engineering
• MW 1:10 p.m.-2:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Robert Farrauto
  h-index: 52 Info
• 3 points

Applied Stochastic Analysis

Provides elementary introduction to fundamental ideas in stochastic analysis for applied mathematics. Core material includes: (i) review of probability theory (including limit theorems), and introduction to discrete Markov chains and Monte Carlo methods; (ii) elementary theory of stochastic process, Ito's stochastic calculus and stochastic differential equations; (iii) introductions to probabilistic representation of elliptic partial differential equations (the Fokker-Planck equation theory); (iv) stochastic approximation algorithms; and (v) asymptotic analysis of SDEs.

• Department: Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics
• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• None None-None
• Instructor: Liliana Borcea
  Info
• 3 points

Applied Stochastic Analysis

Provides elementary introduction to fundamental ideas in stochastic analysis for applied mathematics. Core material includes: (i) review of probability theory (including limit theorems), and introduction to discrete Markov chains and Monte Carlo methods; (ii) elementary theory of stochastic process, Ito's stochastic calculus and stochastic differential equations; (iii) introductions to probabilistic representation of elliptic partial differential equations (the Fokker-Planck equation theory); (iv) stochastic approximation algorithms; and (v) asymptotic analysis of SDEs.

• Department: Video Network
• Instructor: Liliana Borcea
  Info
• 3 points

INTRO TO AERODYNAMICS

Principles of flight, incompressible flows, compressible regimes. Inviscid compressible aerodynamics in nozzles (wind tunnels, jet engines), around wings (aircraft, space shuttle) and around blunt bodies (rockets, reentry vehicles). Physics of normal shock waves, oblique shock waves, and explosion waves.

• Department: Mechanical Engineering
• M 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Peter A Levoci
  Info
• 3 points

JEWISH PHILOSOPHY & KABBALAH

Mysticism and philosophy are often seen as opposing modes of thought. Yet while Kabbalah emerged partly in response to Jewish philosophy, it bears clear traces of Neoplatonic and Aristotelian influence. This course explores the origins and core principles of both traditions, their roles within Judaism, and their intersections with non-Jewish thought. Particular attention will be given to key moments in Jewish intellectual history and to differing treatments of concepts such as myth, law, heresy, evil, and the divine.

• Department: Religion
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Clemence C Boulouque
  CULPA: 4 Info
• 4 points

VIROLOGY

The basic thesis of the course is that all viruses adopt a common strategy. The strategy is simple:

1. Viral genomes are contained in metastable particles.

2. Genomes encode gene products that promote an infectious cycle (mechanisms for genomes to enter cells, replicate, and exit in particles).

3. Infection patterns range from benign to lethal; infections can overcome or co-exist with host defenses.

Despite the apparent simplicity, the tactics evolved by particular virus families to survive and prosper are remarkable. This rich set of solutions to common problems in host/parasite interactions provides significant insight and powerful research tools. Virology has enabled a more detailed understanding of the structure and function of molecules, cells and organisms and has provided fundamental understanding of disease and virus evolution.

The course will emphasize the common reactions that must be completed by all viruses for successful reproduction within a host cell and survival and spread within a host population. The molecular basis of alternative reproductive cycles, the interactions of viruses with host organisms, and how these lead to disease are presented with examples drawn from a set of representative animal and human viruses, although selected bacterial viruses will be discussed.

• Department: Biological Sciences
• MW 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Vincent R Racaniello
  CULPA: 11 Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

EXPERIMENTAL FILM & MEDIA

This course provides an overview of experimental film and video since the early 20th century European art movements (abstract, Dada, Surrealism), including the emergence of American experimental film in the 1940s, post-World War II underground experimental films, structuralist films and early video art in the 1960s and 70s, post-1960s identitarian experimental work, the emergence of digital video in museums and online in the 1990s to the present. The course surveys and analyses a wide range of experimental work, including the artists Hans Richter, Luis Bunuel, Salvador Dali, Joseph Cornell, Maya Deren, Andy Warhol, Stan Brakhage, Michael Snow, Martha Rosler, Vito Acconci, Barbara Hammer, Su Friedrich, Julie Dash, Isaac Julien, Matthew Barney, Ilana Harris-Babou, and others. The course will study the structural, aesthetic and thematic links between mainstream and avant-garde cinema, theater, and art movements, and will place the films in their economic, social, and political contexts.

• Department: Film
• W 9:10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Ronald Gregg
  CULPA: 2 Info
• 3 points

PRAC-INNOVATV SUSTAIN LEADRSHP

This course deals with a fundamental question of sustainability management: how to change organizations and more complex systems, such as communities, industries, and markets, by integrating sustainability concerns in the way that they operate. The course poses this question to a dozen leading sustainability practitioners, who answer it by discussing management strategies that they use in their own work. Through these guest lectures, extensive class discussion, readings, and writing assignments, students identify and simulate applying practical ways for transforming how organizations and complex systems work. The practitioners, who work in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and in a wide variety of organizations, make presentations in the first hour of the course. Students then have time to ask questions and speak informally with the guest practitioners, and will participate in an instructor-led class discussion, geared toward identifying management strategies, better understanding their application, and considering their effectiveness. By the end of the course, the students gain an understanding of management tools and strategies that they, themselves, would use to integrate sustainability in organizations.

The course complements the M.S. in Sustainability Management program’s required course, Sustainability Management (SUMA K4100). In that course, students study management and organization theory. In the Practicum, students learn directly from leading practitioners, who confront sustainability management issues daily.

• Department: Sustainability Management
• W 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• 1-3 points

PRAC-INNOVATV SUSTAIN LEADRSHP

This course deals with a fundamental question of sustainability management: how to change organizations and more complex systems, such as communities, industries, and markets, by integrating sustainability concerns in the way that they operate. The course poses this question to a dozen leading sustainability practitioners, who answer it by discussing management strategies that they use in their own work. Through these guest lectures, extensive class discussion, readings, and writing assignments, students identify and simulate applying practical ways for transforming how organizations and complex systems work. The practitioners, who work in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and in a wide variety of organizations, make presentations in the first hour of the course. Students then have time to ask questions and speak informally with the guest practitioners, and will participate in an instructor-led class discussion, geared toward identifying management strategies, better understanding their application, and considering their effectiveness. By the end of the course, the students gain an understanding of management tools and strategies that they, themselves, would use to integrate sustainability in organizations.

The course complements the M.S. in Sustainability Management program’s required course, Sustainability Management (SUMA K4100). In that course, students study management and organization theory. In the Practicum, students learn directly from leading practitioners, who confront sustainability management issues daily.

• Department: Auditing
• W 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Wendy J Hapgood
  Info
• 0 points

CONTEM AMER JEWISH WOMEN'S LIT

CONTEM AMER JEWSH WOMEN'S LIT

The seminar will focus on trends that have emerged over the past three decades in Jewish American women's writing in the fields of memoirs, fiction and Jewish history: the representation and exploration through fictive narratives of women's experiences in American Jewish orthodox communities; reinterpretation of Jewish history through gender analysis; the recording of migration and exile by Jewish women immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Morocco, Iran, and Egypt; and gender transformations. Texts will be analyzed in terms of genre structures, narrative strategies, the role of gender in shaping content and Jewish identity, and the political, cultural and social contexts in which the works were created. The course aims for students to discuss and critically engage with texts in order to develop the skills of analytical and abstract thinking, as well as the ability to express that critical thinking in writing. Prerequisites:
Both
one introductory WGSS course
and
Critical Approaches to Social and Cultural Theory,
or
Permission of the Instructor.

• Department: Women's, Gender, Sexuality Studies @Barnard
• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Agnieszka Legutko
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 4 points

ADVANCED MODERN ARMENIAN II

• Department: Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies
• F 11:10 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Instructor: Charry Karamanoukian
  Info
• 3 points

Peptide and Protein Chemistry

The goal of this course is to explore how chemical methods and concepts have impacted our ability to understand and manipulate protein structure and function. We will navigate this subject through a combination of lectures and structured discussions on research articles from the literature. The course is divided into three segments: (1) In the first part, we will review the rudiments of protein structure and function, then delve into various aspects of enzyme chemistry and polypeptide biosynthesis. (2) In the second part of the course, we will cover synthetic methods to produce and chemically modify peptides and proteins. (3) In the final part, we will discuss chemical approaches to control protein function and monitor protein activity, focusing on methods that use small molecules and mass spectrometry proteomics.

• Department: Chemistry
• TR 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Neel H Shah
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 20 Info
• 4 points

Decarbonizing Buildings Studio: Energy s

Building Energy Systems S

Historical co-evolution of building energy systems and fuels. Classifying existing buildings into typologies that are a prevalent combination of building size, age, fuels, equipment, distribution, and zoning controls. Fuels, electricity, furnaces, boilers, heat pumps. Overview of common heat
and hot water distribution systems. Case-study based approach to evaluate retrofit options for each typology. Considerations of location, stagingupgrades, envelope efficiency, retrofit cost structure, paybacks with a view towards decarbonization.

• Department: Mechanical Engineering
• R 1:10 p.m.-3:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Marc Zuluaga
  Info
• 3 points

COMMUNICATION CIRCUITS

Principles of electronic circuits used in the generation, transmission, and reception of signal waveforms, as used in analog and digital communication systems. Nonlinearity and distortion; power amplifiers; tuned amplifiers; oscillators; multipliers and mixers; modulators and demodulators; phase-locked loops. An extensive design project is an integral part of the course.

• Department: Electrical Engineering
• R 4:10 p.m.-6:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Emily Naviasky
  Info
• 3 points

REAL ESTATE FINANCE III

• Department: Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• W 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Jake Pesci
  Info
• 3 points

Realisms

The seminar will explore the genealogies, key debates, and transmutations of cinematic realism: the diverse “realisms” on which it draws, and the range of meanings, uses, and abuses of the term. Questions of realism have been carried over from the traditional arts and literature, but have undergone a sea-change with the advent of photography and cinematography. While the concept of realism seemed bracketed by post-modern discourses and digital culture, the realist aspiration still haunts the cinematic imagination and the media at large. The claim to presence; the cultural conventions of mimesis and illusionism; the shifting values of document, witness, testimony; the relation of the material and the referential, of the authentic and the simulated – all ensure the continued fascination with realism in its myriad forms through our time. Traversing fiction and documentaries, mainstream and experimental forms, the seminar will consider both classical cases and challenging examples from diverse cinemas and cultural moments, and examine the political implications of realism and its capacity for transmutation and revival. Screenings will include Wyler’s Best Years of our Lives, Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, Kiarostami’s Life and Nothing More, Jia Zhangke’s The World, Leigh’s Meantime, Farocki’s Workers Leaving a Factory, and more.

• Department: Film
• W 2:10 p.m.-4:40 p.m.
• Instructor: Noa Steimatsky
  Info
• 3 points