Courses

The anthropological approach to the study of culture and human society. Using ethnographic case studies, the course explores the universality of cultural categories (social organization, economy, law, belief systems, arts, etc.) and the range of variation among human societies.

Municipal jails are one of the most impactful institutions of criminal justice in the United States; and yet many Americans do not even know the difference between a prison and a jail. This course will investigate the conditions of mass incarceration in America by centering the municipal jail. We will begin with the question “what is a jail,” and move from there to interrogate the cultural, economic, political and legal forces that shape the conditions of possibility for the 21st century jail. Taking as objects of study both the jail itself and the practice of incarcerating people in local jails, this course will combine scholarly work on U.S. criminal justice with a variety of non-academic texts including legal decisions, contemporary journalism, and documentary film. Over the course of the semester students will learn to “locate” the city jail in a number of different ways: within the complex political and economic structures of the American municipality, within the criminal justice system writ large, and within the country’s long history of anti-black racism and struggles for freedom. In addition to readings and discussions, students will get to know practices of municipal incarceration first-hand through observations in New York City’s criminal courthouses and other ethnographic excursions in the city. Because we are in New York City, we will pay particular attention throughout the semester to Rikers Island and the city’s proposed Borough-Based Jails Plan.

Municipal jails are one of the most impactful institutions of criminal justice in the United States; and yet many Americans do not even know the difference between a prison and a jail. This course will investigate the conditions of mass incarceration in America by centering the municipal jail. We will begin with the question “what is a jail,” and move from there to interrogate the cultural, economic, political and legal forces that shape the conditions of possibility for the 21st century jail. Taking as objects of study both the jail itself and the practice of incarcerating people in local jails, this course will combine scholarly work on U.S. criminal justice with a variety of non-academic texts including legal decisions, contemporary journalism, and documentary film. Over the course of the semester students will learn to “locate” the city jail in a number of different ways: within the complex political and economic structures of the American municipality, within the criminal justice system writ large, and within the country’s long history of anti-black racism and struggles for freedom. In addition to readings and discussions, students will get to know practices of municipal incarceration first-hand through observations in New York City’s criminal courthouses and other ethnographic excursions in the city. Because we are in New York City, we will pay particular attention throughout the semester to Rikers Island and the city’s proposed Borough-Based Jails Plan.

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: a working knowledge of high school algebra. May be counted toward the science requirement for most Columbia University undergraduate students. The overall architecture of the solar system. Motions of the celestial sphere. Time and the calendar. Major planets, the earth-moon system, minor planets, comets. Life in the solar system and beyond.

Prerequisites:  Chem UN1403 and CHEM UN1404.   Intense laboratory where students desiring an introduction to laboratory skills meet MTWR, 5 hours a day for four weeks in the summer term participating in experimental bench work, data analysis and safe laboratory practice. Grades depend on preparation, participation in the laboratory, short lab reports, critical thinking and experimental skill.  There will be two sections for S4515.  Section 001 begins June 7th and runs through July 1st.  Section 002 begins July 6th and runs through July 29th.  

Prerequisites: High school algebra or the instructor's permission. Recommended: high school physics and chemistry. This course is preparation for CHEM UN1403 General Chemistry I Lecture or the equivalent, as well as for other science courses. It is intended for students who have not attended school for sometime or who do not have a firm grasp of high school chemistry. Topics include inorganic nomenclature, chemical reactions, chemical bonding and its relation to molecular structure, stoichiometry, periodic properties of elements, chemical equilibrium, gas laws, acids and bases, and electrochemistry. Please note that students must attend a recitation section.

Prerequisites: high school chemistry and algebra, CHEM S0001, or the department's permission. Topics include stoichiometry, states of matter, nuclear properties, electronic structures of atoms, periodic properties, chemical bonding, molecular geometry, introduction to quantum mechanics and atomic theory, introduction to organic, biological chemistry and inorganic coordination chemistry. Topical subjects may include spectroscopy, solid state and materials science, polymer science and macromolecular structures. The order of presentation of topics may differ from the order presented here. Students are required to attend the separate daily morning recitations which accompany the lectures (total time block: MTWR 9:30-12:20). Registering for CHEM S1403D will automatically register students for the recitation section. Students who wish to take the full sequence of General Chemistry Lectures and General Chemistry Laboratory should also register for CHEM S1404Q and CHEM S1500 (see below). This course is equivalent to CHEM W1403 General Chemistry I Lecture.

Prerequisites: (CHEM UN1403) Introduction to basic experimental techniques in chemistry, including quantitative procedures, chemical analysis, and descriptive chemistry. To be enrolled in CHEM S1500X you must also register for CHEM S1501 Lab Lecture.

Prerequisites: CHEM S1403 General Chemistry I Lecture, CHEM S1404 General Chemistry II Lecture and CHEM S1500 General Chemistry Lab or their equivalents taken within the previous five years. Principles of organic chemistry. The structure and reactivity of organic molecules from the standpoint of modern theories of chemistry. Stereochemistry, reactions of organic molecules, mechanisms of organic reactions, syntheses and degradations of organic molecules, spectroscopic techniques of structure determination. Please note that students must attend a recitation for this class. Students who wish to take the full organic chemistry lecture sequence and laboratory should also register for CHEM S2444Q Organic Chemistry II Lecture and CHEM S2543Q Organic Chemistry Lab (see below). This course is equivalent to CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I Lecture.

Prerequisites: CHEM UN1500 General Chemistry Lab, CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I - Lecture. Techniques of experimental organic chemistry, with emphasis on understanding fundamental principles underlying the experiments in methodology of solving laboratory problems involving organic molecules. Attendance at the first laboratory session is mandatory. Please note that you must complete CHEM UN2443 Organic Chemistry I Lecture or the equivalent to register for this lab course. This course is equivalent to CHEM UN2543 Organic Chemistry Laboratory.

This course aims to introduce students to the Chinese language and cultivate their basic communicative competence by providing a comprehensive training in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Chinese. In addition, the course will bring real life tasks into classroom and prepare students to use Chinese language to function in an immersive environment.