College Faculty Committees

The Columbia College curriculum and its academic policies are determined by the following faculty committees:


Committee on Instruction

The undergraduate curriculum for Columbia College, and all attendant policies, are governed by the Committee on Instruction (COI), a joint committee of Columbia College and the School of General Studies. The COI reviews and approves all new courses which CC and GS students can take for degree credit; reviews and approves all new programs of studies (majors and other formal programs of study) as well as all changes to existing programs of study; and determines academic policies that structure the undergraduate academic experience. The COI is composed of twelve faculty members (four from each of the three academic divisions), as well as school faculty representatives from Barnard, Engineering, and the School of the Arts. The COI also has four student representatives, and is supported by the academic deans and several administrators from the College and GS. Questions for the COI can be sent to cc-gs-courses@columbia.edu.

Committee on Instruction Members: 2023-2024

  • Co-Chair: Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
  • Co-Chair: Lisa Rosen-Metsch, dean of School of General Studies
  • Rachel Adams, Department of English and Comparative Literature
  • Matthew Engelke, Department of Religion
  • Stuart Firestein, Department of Biological Studies
  • Heidi Julavits, School of the Arts
  • Seth Kimmel, Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures
  • Qingmin Liu, Department of Economics
  • Barclay Morrison, Department of Biomedical Engineering; vice dean of Undergraduate Programs, School of Engineering and Applied Science
  • Meredith Nettles, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
  • Caterina Pizzigoni, Department of History
  • Laurie Postlewate, Barnard College
  • Valerie Purdie-Greenaway, Department of Psychology
  • Jill Shapiro, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
  • Robert Shapiro, Department of Political Science
  • Teresa Sharpe, Department of Sociology
Student Representatives:
  • Donna Qi, CC'24
  • Kevin Ye, CC'24
  • Valle Garcia Lopez, GS'24
  • Josh Powell, GS'24
Ex-Officio:
  • Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
  • Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, School of General Studies
  • Andrew Plaa, dean of Advising, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering
  • Marlyn Delva, dean of Students, School of General Studies
  • Amy Kohn, senior associate director, Academic Affairs, Columbia College
  • Mandeep Singh, assistant director, Academic Affairs, School of General Studies

Newly Approved Courses

The following new courses have been approved for Spring 2024. As new courses are added to the list frequently, please visit this site for updates. Additional courses and major/concentration requirements may be found in the Columbia College Bulletin.

Spring 2024 Last updated November 20, 2023.

DEPARTMENT/PROGRAMCOURSE NO. & DESIGNATORTITLE
African American African Diaspora StudiesAFAS UN3001SING A BLACK GIRL'S SONG: THE NON FICTION WRITING OF NTOZAKE SHANGE
African American African Diaspora StudiesAFAS GU4033Harlem and Haiti
American StudiesAMST UN3938AMERICAN PRAGMATISM
AnthropologyANTH UN3800Black Death
Art History AHIS UN3463Pastel in 18th-Century Europe
Art History AHIS UN3624Narrative in Chinese Art
Art History AHIS GU4064Arts of the Silk Road
Art History AHIS GU4082Islam In the Making: An Art and Architectural History
Art History AHIS GU4745Re/Building the American Dream
AstronomyASTR UN2910Introduction to Research Skills in Astrophysics
ClassicsCLCV UN1006Aristotle & AI
ClassicsCLCV GU4025ARISTOTLE'S POETICS AND GREEK POETRY
Comparative Literature and SocietyCPLS GU4740The Narratology of “Modernity”
Comparative Literature and SocietyCPLS GU4825Technology and Justice
Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental BiologyEEEB GU4112Ichthyology
EconomicsECON UN3953Causes and Consequences of Inequality
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL UN3269BRITISH LITERATURE 1900-1950
English and Comparative LiteratureCLEN UN3455Pacifism and the Apocalyptic Imagination
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL UN3697"Sally Rooney": Authorship in the 21st Century
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL UN3757The Lost Generation
English and Comparative LiteratureCLEN UN3776A Pre-History of Science Fiction
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL UN3777Geopoetics
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL UN3873Troilus and Criseyde
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL UN3879Global Adaptations of Shakespeare
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL GU4204Swift and the Moderns
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL GU4458Young Romance
English and Comparative LiteratureENGL GU4554Victorian Faith, Form, and Poetry
Ethnicity and Race StudiesCSER UN3522War, Gender, and Migration
Ethnicity and Race StudiesCSER UN3821Archives of Possibility
FilmFILM GU4110Auteur Studies: Agnes Varda
FrenchFREN UN3245French Fiction Into Film
FrenchFREN GU4425Medieval Animals, Human and Other
Germanic LanguagesCLGR UN3456Unland: Writing Utopias
Germanic LanguagesGERM GU4446Berliner Topographien / Berlin Topographies
HistoryHIST UN1942The Year 1000: A World History
HistoryHIST UN3264East Central Europe in the Twentieth Century. An Intellectual and Cultural History
HistoryHIST UN3274Collapse: The Fall and Afterlife of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev to Putin
HistoryHIST UN3726The Crucible of Nations: Race, Migration, and the Modern Mediterranean
HistoryHIST UN3741American Commercial and Business Interests in Turkey Until the 1960s
HistoryHIST UN3798Fighting Inequality: Struggles for Economic Justice in the Global South
HistoryHIST GU4282The Legacies of Division. East-West Entanglements in Contemporary European History
HistoryHIST GU4346Black Sea Virtual Textbook: A Digital Research Seminar
HistoryHIST GU4356Montaigne and the Modern Self
HistoryHIST GU4373Empire and Environment in Eurasia, 1700-2024
HistoryHIST GU4393Trials for history: How should Nazi crimes be judged? WWII and its legacy in Europe (1945-2024)
HistoryHIST GU4682Histories of the Public Sphere in Latin America: History, Justice, and Memory
HistoryHIST GU4729Sources and Methods in Islamic History
HistoryHIST GU4842The City and the Archive
HistoryHIST GU4871History of Asian Communism
HistoryFRHS GU4917French Empires: History and Historiography
HistoryHIST GU4963Nations and Nationalisms
Human RightsHRTS UN3940History of Human Rights
Human RightsHRTS GU4210Equality, Identity, and Rights
Human RightsHRTS GU4940Human Rights and Education
Human RightsHRTS GU4975Borders, Surveillance, Rights
ItalianITAL GU4064INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL HERITAGE. AN ITALIAN PERSPECTIVE
Jewish StudiesJWST GU4153U.S. Civil and Human Rights Lawyers
LinguisticsLING GU4174Linguistics: Languages of Asia
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesCLME GU4214Writing about Love in Arabic
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesMDES GU4243Readings in Arabic Texts
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesMDES GU4360Armenians and the Modern World
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesMDES GU4532Beyond Human in Modern Hebrew Literature
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesCLME GU4630Persian as a Philosophical Language
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesMDES GU4633Decolonial-Queerness & Abolition in SWANA
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesMDES GU4644Muslims and Hindus
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African StudiesMDES GU4945Contested Histories: A Medieval Jewish Empire?
MusicMUSI UN3210Chopin, Pianos, Revolutions
MusicMUSI GU4113Medieval Mediterranean Love Songs
Political SciencePOLS UN3674China's Technological Rise
Political SciencePOLS UN3692Business & Politics in Globalized World
Political SciencePOLS UN3911SEMINAR IN POLITCAL THEORY (Arendt in the Twentieth Century)
Political SciencePOLS UN3911SEMINAR IN POLITCAL THEORY (Political Theory Perspectives on Climate Change)
Political SciencePOLS UN3911SEMINAR IN POLITCAL THEORY (The French Revolution in Political Thought)
Political SciencePOLS UN3961INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR (Peacemaking and Negotiation)
Political SciencePOLS GU4439State and Society in Ukraine
PsychologyPSYC UN2270Perception and Cognition in Social Life
PsychologyPSYC UN2645Moral Psychology
PsychologyPSYC UN3212Psychology of Rewards
ReligionRELI UN3312“The Scientific Buddha”: Buddhism and Science in China and Beyond
ReligionRELI UN3415Climate, Religion, and the Anthropocene
ReligionRELI GU4175Queer Theory Meets Religion
ReligionRELI GU4260Time
ReligionRELI GU4345World Religions
Slavic LanguagesCLSL GU4000Hebrew: History, Politics, Culture, Literature
Slavic LanguagesCLRS GU4113Impossible Worlds in Russian and English Fiction
SociologySOCI UN3651GENDER AND PUBLIC HEALTH: DISPARITIES, PATHWAYS, AND POLICIES SPRING
SociologySOCI UN3661The Politics of Work
Sustainable DevelopmentSDEV GU4670ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: A LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ADVOCACY

Committee on the Core

The Committee on the Core (CoC) is the main consultative body for the curriculum of the Core, for the policies that govern the Core, and for certain operations involved in the mounting of the Core. The CoC is convened by the Dean of Columbia College and is composed of the faculty Chairs of each of the “shared” Core courses — i.e., those with a shared curriculum across all sections: Art Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, Frontiers of Science, Literature Humanities, and Music Humanities – as well as the Director of University Writing, the Director of Frontiers of Science, and the Chair of the Committee on the Global Core. The CoC also has three student representatives from the College and General Studies each year, and is supported by administrators from the College. Questions for the Committee on the Core can be sent to core-curriculum@columbia.edu.

Committee on the Core Members: 2023-2024

  • Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
  • Patricia Grieve, Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures, chair of the Committee on the Global Core
  • Ruben Gonzalez, Department Chemistry, chair of Frontiers of Science
  • Joseph Howley, Department of Classics, chair of Literature Humanities
  • Ivana Nikolic Hughes, director of Frontiers of Science
  • Carol Rovane, Department of Philosophy, chair of Contemporary Civilization
  • Elaine Sisman, Department of Music, chair of Music Humanities (fall 2023)
  • Benjamin Steege, Department of Music, chair of Music Humanities (spring 2024)
  • Zoë Strother, Department of Art History and Archaeology, chair of Art Humanities
  • Nicole Wallack, Department of English and Comparative Literature, director of the Undergraduate Writing Program
Student Representatives:
  • Zac Narimanian, CC'24
  • Mrinalini Wadhwa, CC'24
  • Sarah Bukowski, GS'26
Ex-Officio:
  • Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
  • Larry Jackson, associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of the Center for the Core Curriculum
  • Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, School of General Studies


Committee on Science Instruction

The Committee on Science Instruction (CoSI) is responsible for all matters relating to the Science requirement and for providing leadership on matters related to undergraduate science education. CoSI is chaired by a faculty member and is composed of representative faculty members from each department in the natural sciences, as well as mathematics, statistics, and computer science. CoSI also includes two student representatives from the College and General Studies, and is supported by administrators from the College and General Studies. Questions for CoSI can be sent to cosi@columbia.edu.

Committee on Science Instruction Members: 2023-2024

  • Jim Applegate, Department of Astronomy
  • Maria Diuk-Wasser, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
  • Julien Dubedat, Department of Mathematics
  • Ruben Gonzalez, Frontiers of Science, chair of the Committee on Science Instruction
  • Jae Woo Lee, Department of Computer Science
  • Trisha Lindemann, Department of Psychology
  • Jerry McManus, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
  • Jon Owen, Department of Chemistry
  • Kerstin Perez, Department of Physics
  • Guy Sella, Department of Biological Sciences
  • Gabriel Young, Department of Statistics
Student Representatives:
  • Pranay Talla, CC'24
  • Sarah Wilson, GS'26
Ex-Officio:
  • Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
  • Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
  • Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, General Studies
  • John Foo, senior assistant director of Center for Teaching & Learning
  • Ivana Nikolic Hughes, director of Frontiers of Science
  • Larry Jackson, associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of the Center for the Core Curriculum
  • Amy Kohn, senior associate director, Academic Affairs, Columbia College


Committee on the Global Core

The Committee on the Global Core (CoGC) is responsible for all matters relating to the Global Core requirement, including determining the list of courses approved for the requirement. The CoGC is chaired by a faculty member and is composed of 6-10 faculty members from departments and programs across the humanities, all of whom have experience in designing courses for the specific parameters and goals of the Global Core requirement. The CoGC also includes two student representatives from the College and General Studies, and is supported by administrators from General Studies and the College. Questions for the Committee on the Global Core can be sent to globalcore@columbia.edu.

Faculty interested in proposing new courses for the Global Core requirement can view information regarding the process.

Committee on the Global Core Members: 2023-2024

  • Chair: Patricia Grieve, Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures
  • Courtney Bender, Department of Religion
  • Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Department of French and Romance Philology and Institute of African Studies
  • Madeleine Dobie, Department of French and Romance Philology
  • Kevin Fellezs, Department of Music and Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies
  • Frank Guridy, Department of History and Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies
  • Mana Kia, Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies
  • David Lurie, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
  • Matthew McKelway, Department of Art History and Archaeology
Student Representatives:
  • Victor Omojola, CC'24
  • Sara Wahedi, GS'27
Ex-Officio:
  • Josef Sorett, dean of Columbia College
  • Lisa Hollibaugh, dean of Academic Affairs, Columbia College
  • Larry Jackson, associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of the Center for the Core Curriculum
  • Shannon Marquez, dean of Undergradauate Global Engagement
  • Caroline Marvin, dean of Academic Affairs, General Studies


Student representatives to the undergraduate curriculum committees


Each of the undergraduate curriculum committees includes 1-2 student representatives from Columbia College. Student representatives are current juniors or seniors of the College who can bring to bear their experiences to date of the Core Curriculum and of their major programs of study, as well as the many conversations they have had with their peers throughout their years at Columbia. While students are not voting members of the committees, they play a crucial role in advising faculty members on the student experience of the curriculum and in presenting to faculty members the typical questions and concerns of undergraduate students.

Apply to be a student representative

Columbia College students who are interested in serving as a student representative on a curriculum committee should write to cc-academic@columbia.edu with the following information:

  1. What is your name, your class year, your major field(s) of study, your uni, and your email address?
  2. Why are you interested in serving on a curriculum committee? What are you hoping to learn more about from the committee discussions? What are you hoping to share with faculty committee members?
  3. Which committee is of particular interest to you, and why? And for those committees that deal with a particular piece of the undergraduate curriculum (the Core, the Global Core requirement, the Science requirement), what have been your chief impressions of that part of the curriculum so far?
  4. What initial questions do you have about the work of the undergraduate curriculum committees?
  • Please note: In order to serve on a particular curriculum committee in the 2023-2024 academic year, students must be available to meet in person at the scheduled meeting times:
    • Committee on Instruction: every Friday morning from 10:00 to 11:30am in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters
    • Committee on the Core: Friday, October 27, 2:00-3:30pm; and Wednesday, December 13, 1:45-3:15pm (Spring 2024 meetings to be scheduled)
    • Committee on the Global Core: Monday, October 16, 12:00-1:30pm; Friday, November 10, 3:00-4:30pm; and Friday, December 1, 12:00-1:30pm (Spring 2024 meetings to be scheduled)
    • Committee on Science Instruction: meetings to be scheduled, likely either on Wednesday mornings or Friday early afternoons (Spring 2024 meetings to be scheduled

Interviews for student representatives are held early in the Fall semester, and students who are selected are expected to serve as a representative for the full academic year.