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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 Humanities
In Plain Sight: Finding the Core Where You Least Expect It
The Core Curriculum has a simple job: condensing thousands of years of human thought and culture into 8 semesters of coursework (or really 6, if you don’t count University Writing and Frontiers of Science). One of the many things that … Continue reading
Posted in The Core, The Humanities, Uncategorized
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Horatio and the Core
Near the beginning of Hamlet, the titular character famously says to his stolid and rational best friend, “There are more things on heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” It is easy to imagine the two … Continue reading
Posted in The Core, The Humanities, Uncategorized
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“Why Bother?”: An Answer Found in Fieldwork
“Why do you study Maya?” This is a familiar question for me, given that the language is not commonly taught in the United States. I have a standard answer: I study linguistics at university, I’m curious about languages that are … Continue reading
Posted in Languages, The Humanities
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Learning to Read the Core
As the fall semester approaches, first-years across campus are engaged– excitedly, nervously, or maybe even frantically– in the hallowed Columbia tradition of reading the first six books of The Iliad. SparkNotes has been consulted, copious amounts of highlighter have been … Continue reading
Posted in courses, The Core, The Humanities
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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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A Beginner’s Guide to Sharing Your Research (Part 1: Journals and Publications)
Have you been working on a research project for a few semesters—or even years—and finding yourself ready and willing to share your work? Are you looking to develop your ideas further and to get connected with others in your field? … Continue reading
Posted in major research, New York City, The Humanities, Uncategorized, Writing
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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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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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