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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: The Canon
From Literature to Philosophy: A Guide for the Perplexed
Literature Humanities, the centerpiece of Columbia’s Core Curriculum, opens with Homer’s Iliad—an immediately absorbing epic of grand scope, jam-packed with irresistible characters (Patrokles anyone?) and dozens of pages of gripping interpersonal drama. Sure, some students might have their patience tested … Continue reading
Posted in Coursework, The Canon, The Core
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Dante, the “Neutrals,” and Us
For many freshmen, the most difficult Literature Humanities text to connect with personally is Dante’s Inferno. This was certainly the case for me. Many of the other second-semester readings—To the Lighthouse, Pride and Prejudice, Shakespeare—are easy to feel invested in: … Continue reading
Posted in Coursework, The Canon, The Core
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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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In Book and Song: Finding Meaning in a New Medium
As part of my Music Humanities course in the Fall, I was asked to write about an object of musical significance. The idea of the assignment is to allow students to summon what they have learned in the class to … Continue reading
Posted in courses, Coursework, New York City, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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Between Classroom and Core Studio: Professor Jennifer Rhodes on Education and the Arts
On a warm Friday afternoon in September, I wandered into my first ever session of the Core Studio, an initiative spearheaded by Professor Jennifer Rhodes. Upon entry, Rhodes introduced the focus of the workshop: Clay vessels inspired by Enheduanna, the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, courses, New York City, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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My Time as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow
The semester is ending soon, and with it, my time as an undergraduate is also coming to a close. As I reflect on my college career—four years fraught with rising climate catastrophes, a global pandemic, and escalating international conflicts—I owe … Continue reading
Posted in Adversity, COVID-19, Funding, Libraries, Life, major research, postgraduation plans, The Canon, The Humanities
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‘Basquiat x Warhol’: Extending the Art Humanities Syllabus
In the 1980s, Basquiat and Warhol, two iconic New York City artists that defined the contemporary art scene during the late 20th century, collaborated on a series of works that were exhibited. Now, these works are back in the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, courses, Coursework, Historic Sites, Media, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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The Core and Creative Conversations: Or, A Vindication of University Writing
My final Contemporary Civilization paper was entitled “Creativity and the Core.” It ran through Plato’s metaphor of the soul as a horse-drawn chariot; Foucault’s description in Discipline and Punish of an execution by dismemberment – being pulled apart by horses; … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, courses, Coursework, Historic Sites, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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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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Modern Approaches to the Canon
On the first day of Literature Humanities or Contemporary Civilizations, you were probably asked to ruminate on what a canon is. Responses to this question vary, yet they typically conform to two distinct categories. Some students hew to the orthodox … Continue reading
Posted in courses, Libraries, The Canon, The Core, The Humanities
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