Our Program
Beginning in 2009, the Center for American Studies has collaborated with the Double Discovery Center on a program that introduces high school students to college-level work in the humanities and prepares them for lives as informed, responsible citizens.
A small group of rising seniors from public high schools come to campus each summer for a rigorous three-week seminar that examines major philosophical works on the meanings of freedom and citizenship from the ancient world to the present. Taught by Columbia faculty, the seminar emphasizes close reading and analysis of works by Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, the American Founders, Lincoln, Du Bois, Dewey, King, and others.
In addition to attending the seminar, students work closely with undergraduate tutors and a graduate student coordinator on improving their reading, writing, and study skills. The tutors and coordinator also join the students on field trips, which have included walking history tours and a visit to the United Nations. We seek in these activities to foster a community of intellectually ambitious students that might not be available in their high schools.
After the completion of the seminar, students work with undergraduate mentors who help them navigate the college application process. They also collaborate on a yearlong project that explores an aspect of civic life in contemporary New York, making use of ideas they encountered in the summer seminar. Students have produced websites showcasing research on city government, immigration, voting rights, mass incarceration, and other issues of pressing public concern.
A small group of rising seniors from public high schools come to campus each summer for a rigorous three-week seminar that examines major philosophical works on the meanings of freedom and citizenship from the ancient world to the present. Taught by Columbia faculty, the seminar emphasizes close reading and analysis of works by Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, the American Founders, Lincoln, Du Bois, Dewey, King, and others.
In addition to attending the seminar, students work closely with undergraduate tutors and a graduate student coordinator on improving their reading, writing, and study skills. The tutors and coordinator also join the students on field trips, which have included walking history tours and a visit to the United Nations. We seek in these activities to foster a community of intellectually ambitious students that might not be available in their high schools.
After the completion of the seminar, students work with undergraduate mentors who help them navigate the college application process. They also collaborate on a yearlong project that explores an aspect of civic life in contemporary New York, making use of ideas they encountered in the summer seminar. Students have produced websites showcasing research on city government, immigration, voting rights, mass incarceration, and other issues of pressing public concern.
Our Members
Quite simply, we're the future voters of America. We're gadflies to the nation and pursuers of justice everywhere. We come from all over the city and we're going to college across the country, but the one thing that unites us is our belief that our voices matter.
Our ThanksThis program would not have been possible without tireless support and encouragement from:
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Our WordsThroughout the year we came together to watch the presidential debates either in person or online. As we talked we learned to see issues from multiple perspectives and discovered the issues that matter to our friends and fellow citizens.
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