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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: Libraries
Literature as an Archive
In recent years, I have wrestled with certain dilemmas historical scholarship poses. A central one is how do we contemplate, write about, and represent people who do not appear within the archive? In the past, historical scholarship have been very … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Libraries, major research, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Uncategorized
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Meditations on the Archival Turn
Ann Laura Stoler described the shift in historical studies from “archive-as-source to archive as subject” as the “archival turn,” a shift in the intellectual paradigm necessitated, in part, by desires to write subaltern histories. Rather than reading archives along the … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Historic Sites, Libraries, major research, Senior Thesis, The Humanities, Writing
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Reflections from the Archive: Stanford’s M0618 Arturo Islas Papers Collection
This winter break, as I pieced together the beginnings of my senior thesis on Arturo Islas’s novel The Rain God (1984), I stumbled upon an archival treasure trove—M0618, the “Arturo Islas Papers.” Comprising a hefty 56-box collection, M0618 chronicles four … Continue reading
Posted in Adversity, Archives, Coursework, Libraries, Life, major research, Senior Thesis, The Humanities, Uncategorized, Writing
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Senior Thesis Research: A Case Study Involving Two Case Studies
The first challenge I faced when I began formulating ideas for my senior thesis at the start of this semester was deciding on a project that could involve both my major fields of study. Classics and East Asian studies do … Continue reading
Posted in Coursework, Libraries, major research, Senior Thesis, The Humanities, Uncategorized, Writing
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Me and Research – A Mostly Affectionate Relationship
Whether it has been for a long-term project like my senior thesis or for a final paper, conducting research always has its highs and lows. I remember distinctly the first time I had to write a final paper for a … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, courses, Coursework, Faculty Mentors, Libraries, major research, Senior Thesis, The Humanities
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A More Concrete Guide to Research Using Columbia Libraries
Thanks to contributions from former CC Research Ambassadors, this blog can already provide you with useful information about the libraries’ resources and how those resources can enrich your studies as you move through the Core. As a former student employee … Continue reading
Posted in Coursework, Libraries, major research, New York City, The Humanities, Uncategorized
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“What is the one thing that you hate the most about the research experience?”
I will speak candidly here: my mother did not attend college, neither did her parents or her parents’ parents. When forms ask me to input my parents’ education level, I leave my father blank (don’t ask, I am just as … Continue reading
Posted in Adversity, Archives, Coursework, Libraries, Life, The Humanities, Uncategorized, Writing
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Dressing for the Core
You are a typical Columbia College undergraduate student. CDC guidelines permitting, in your first year you live and breathe Columbia’s neoclassical (or Beaux-Arts, depending on who you ask) -style campus; and as far as academics go, the Core is all … Continue reading
Posted in courses, Coursework, Historic Sites, Libraries, New York City, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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Where is the FUN in Funding? – Finding Funding as an Undergraduate Researcher in the Humanities
As Researchers in the humanities, we are all well aware that our noble pursuits, unfortunately, require one thing: money. We are also well aware that filtering through multiple databases to find that one niche fellowship that aligns with your … Continue reading
Posted in Coursework, Faculty Mentors, Funding, Libraries, Life, New York City, postgraduation plans, Senior Thesis, Study Abroad, The Humanities
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Visiting Libraries at other Universities for Research: A Guide!
This summer, I had the opportunity to conduct research for my senior thesis that I’m writing for the Department of History on the topic of Zhang Ailing, a transnational Chinese writer with support from Columbia’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute. As … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, Libraries, Senior Thesis, Summer Research, The Humanities
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