1917

Student Army Training Corp "war issues" course at Columbia College.

1919 

January: Faculty proposes course in Contemporary Civilization.

1919

September: Contemporary Civilization commences.

1920

John Erskine's General Honors course established.

1928

April: Faculty creates two-year Contemporary Civilization course.

1928

September: Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West (CC-A) begins.

1929

Spring: Last semester of Erskine's General Honors course.

1929

September: Introduction to Contemporary Problems in the United States (CC-B) begins.

1932

February-March: "Modern Marriage" controversy in CC-B. Major revision of CC-B syllabus.

1932

September: Colloquium on Important Books established.

1934

Discussions about freshman humanities course begin.

1936

Committee work on Humanities sequence.

1937

Humanities A (later Literature Humanities) requirement begins. Humanities B (music and fine arts) begins as optional sequence.

1941

CC-A adopts primary sources as basis for course Revision of Humanities B into Humanities B1 (music) and Humanities B2 (fine arts).

1945

Harvard University publishes General Education in a Free Society (the Redbook).

1946

Humanities B1 and Humanities B2 abandon lectures in favor of Humanities A format. Columbia College publishes A College Program in Action.

1947

Humanities B1 and Humanities B2 become required courses. Oriental Humanities seminar begins.

1950

Oriental Civilizations course established.

1954

Columbia University Press publishes Chapters in Western Civilization.

1957

The Educational Future of Columbia University (MacMahon Report).

1960

Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West. Third edition.

1960

October: "Report of the President's Committee on the Contemporary Civilization Courses in Columbia College" issued (Truman Report).

1963-64

Deliberations of Stern Committee on the Humanities.

1966

Daniel Bell, Reforming of General Education (Bell Report).

1968

Arden House meeting on syllabus for Contemporary Civilization.

1970

Faculty votes down Belknap Committee recommendations for ending CC and Humanities requirements.

1975

Heyman Center for the Humanities established.

1977

Columbia University Press publishes Robert Belknap and Richard Kuhns, Tradition and Innovation. General Education and the Reintegration of the University: A Columbia Report.

1983

September: First women enter Columbia College.

1988

Report of the Commission on the Core Curriculum (de Bary Report).

1990

Extended Core (later Major Cultures) requirement established