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The CCRA blog is authored by Columbia undergraduate researchers, who are invited to reflect on all aspects of the research process and their own undergraduate research experiences, beginning (but not ending) with the Core.
Category Archives: Faculty Mentors
Collaboration, Research, and the Senior Thesis Seminar (Part Two)
In Part One (link) of this series, Julia and Sarah spoke with our seminar instructor, Hannah Farber, about the role of collaboration in a long-term, independent research project like the senior thesis. Professor Farber shared with us how, from the … Continue reading
Posted in Faculty Mentors, Senior Thesis, Uncategorized
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Collaboration, Research, and the Senior Thesis Seminar (Part One)
Research can be a lonely endeavor. Many of the crucial steps—reading, writing, mulling things over—are best executed individually. Spending excessive time pondering a niche, strange question can have an isolating effect. And long hours in the lab, library, or archive … Continue reading
Posted in Faculty Mentors, Senior Thesis
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In Search of an Original Contribution
When I began the senior thesis process, my seminar instructors made it clear that my project should address a “gap in the scholarship” in order to make an “original contribution.” This terrified me. I had serious doubts that I, at … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Faculty Mentors, Libraries, Senior Thesis, Uncategorized
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Finding Mentorship at Columbia: Advice from a Professor
The benefits of mentorship from a professor are very clear, but the steps to finding a mentor are not always so obvious; Columbia is a large school in an even larger city, and it’s easy to feel lost in the … Continue reading
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Senior Spring Reflections: The Early Days
As the Class of 2025 prepares to take on its last semester of college this spring, Rose Research Fellows Alan Chen and Janus Yuen (CC‘25) discuss how they first found their way to their programs of study and areas of … Continue reading
Posted in Faculty Mentors, major research, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Study Abroad, Summer Research, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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Researching in Small Archives: Sample Emails
In my previous blog post, I wrote about researching in small archives. This week I am sharing tips for making contact with small archives. While the art of the cold e-mail may differ somewhat depending on who you write, think … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Faculty Mentors, Historic Sites, Libraries, major research, New York City, Summer Research, The Humanities
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Preparing to Prepare to Write a Senior Thesis in History
Officially, the preparation for writing a thesis in the history department begins in the spring prior to the yearlong process of writing a thesis. Every March or so, the department will reach out to declared history majors and call for … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Faculty Mentors, major research, Senior Thesis, The Humanities
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FLI @ Columbia: Losing Your Mind In Seminar? Some Tips & Tricks
As the sixth week of the fall semester wraps up, I return to a feeling of frustration with my History seminars I know all too well. Despite enrolling in at least one History seminar every semester since my sophomore spring, … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, courses, Faculty Mentors, major research, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Uncategorized
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Exploring Paris through Its Archives
Archival research is already demanding enough as is, so the challenge can only mount when researching in a foreign language in a foreign archive. If you find yourself in this situation, however, fret not! In the blog post that follows, I … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Faculty Mentors, Funding, Libraries, major research, Summer Research, The Humanities
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My HRSP (Humanities Research Scholars Program) Journey: The Fruits of a Failed Project
Okay, I might be exaggerating a little when I say that I “failed” in my research, but bear with me, and I’ll explain why I think the failure of my project was more fruitful than if it had “succeeded.” In … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Faculty Mentors, Funding, Historic Sites, major research, Summer Research, The Humanities
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