Seminar Syllabus 2011-2012
The Columbia Journey Seminar, modeled after the Core classes, combines presentations and small discussion sections facilitated by a Graduate Student Mentor (GSM). It offers students the opportunity, while developing community among peers, to develop research skills and discover the campus resources that will support academic and community engagement throughout each student's tenure at Columbia.
In this introduction to principles of inquiry and the practice of research students gain an analytical framework for formulating, researching, and assessing academic questions, and exposure to key resources in the university and surrounding city. The class develops skills in unpacking arguments, in developing counterarguments and devising research questions. We consider how to establish the epistemic authority of authors, the scope and impact of journals (and university presses), and the legitimacy of online material (websites, blogs, fora). We consider how to conduct interviews with people, and how to access places in New York City, from archival libraries to cultural centers. An annual theme, in 2011-12 it is the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG), provides a lens through which to pursue these goals. Over the course of the year we read short pieces from a range of academic disciplines (and genres) on the MDG. The pieces form the basis for group discussion, written responses, presentations, and more.
Learning Outcomes:
- Create an interdisciplinary community that allows Scholars to explore contemporary issues from a variety of viewpoints utilizing multiple research methodologies
- Provide an institutional foundation to help Scholars take intellectual risks as they learn about the process of academic research and the resources available at Columbia and in New York City
- Introduce Scholars to the library and other informational resources available on campus
- Help Scholars devise an effective research question and plan for their year-long projects
- Develop Scholars’ research skills, including in-person interviews and the organization and analysis of information
- Assist Scholars in presenting findings from their projects in an elegant and effective manner.