GCC”走进哥大“系列首发 | 哥大核心课程

       文学与人文（Literature and Humanities）是哥大所有大一本科学生都需要修的一门核心课程。在课程中，教授带领二十人左右的课堂，共读西方文学经典，包括《奥德赛》、《忏悔录》、《傲慢与偏见》等等。课程的大纲是围绕着阅读的书籍而设计的，在每本书上花两到三节课的时间，探讨每本书背后的历史、文学修辞、主题思想等等。修完这门课后，学生们不仅能对西方历史上最著名、影响力最广的一批文学名著的内容津津乐道，也有理有据地能对其发表自己的看法。虽然有时候Lit Hum中的书籍看起来未免显得古旧，但其实这些书都在潜移默化中塑造了人类如今的文明。荷马史诗中古希腊英雄对尊严与卓越的追求直到如今仍然是人类普遍的诉求，《新约》篇章中耶稣倡导的宽容和博爱的精神仍然是人类共同价值的一部分，而古往今来艺术作品中无数空想者和追梦者的形象都能从《堂吉柯德》中找到原型。

       Lit Hum课堂的小班设置可谓是有利亦有弊。一方面，小班教学能促进学生与教师之间的沟通，在学习与思考上得到更私人化的建议。比如说，我和我第二学期的LitHum老师就成了好的朋友，平常甚至会去他的办公室讨论一些课堂之外的内容，从虚构性行写作到哲学，着实令我受益良多。另一方面，小的课堂意味着LitHum这门课需要大量的教师资源。但由于高水平（教授级别的）教师的数量着实有限，哥大并不能保证给每个班都配备一名优秀、能让学生有所收获的老师。比如说，我第一学期的老师在课堂上几乎没有对学生的发言做过任何comment，也没有通过其它方式加深我们对阅读材料的理解，导致我们对所读书籍的思考还停留在原来的粗浅水平。这样的弊端也就意味着，如果学弟学妹想真的从Lit Hum中有所收获的话，找一个好的教师也是很重要的。

       我在Contemporary Civilization (CC) 这节课上的收获主要有三方面：

1.接触了从古希腊到现代众多思想家的精华内容

2.在短时间内阅读，写作，表达能力的提高

3.分析一套理论的方法，以及自身对于这些观点的接受或拒绝

       在前两点上大家的收获可能都很类似，但是每个人CC不同的体验就是因为每个人的分析角度不同，所以在思想上的改变也不同。以赛亚.柏林是我最喜欢的作者之一。他指出了浪漫主义时期开始个人对于真理认知的不同得到重视，从而否定了在后浪漫时期建立一套完美价值观的可能性。在我21个同学的课上，大家可能来自十几个不同的专业，所以在讨论问题中大家不同的切入点也非常有意思。

      Contemporary Civilization was a course that introduced a wide range of views regarding politics, social organization, and the morals and ethics of what was in between. The authors of the texts we read had varying styles, and as a result some views were more easily understandable than others. I felt as a result of this, certain views were found more agreeable simply because the language was more comprehensible. 

       The instructor of the course provided interesting points and questions to discuss, however I found that at the conclusion of the discussions most people left with the same viewpoint and mentality they did when they went in. As such, the class was more of a forum for debate rather than a place of discussion. This was not the case for every class session, however overall, I do feel this was the result of giving complete discretion to the students over what they wrote. While this promotes a variety of ideas and freedom to contemplate, I do believe it is also crucial for students to argue or at least structure the argument of other viewpoints without adding their own bias or setting it up fail without real contradiction. Several texts, such as The Prince by Machiavelli and The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, had parallels and points that reflect in political and economic events we see today. Adding a direct approach of connecting current events with these texts, would definitely serve to educate and potentially make a difference in our future.

       我对Contemporary Civilization的感觉是又爱又恨的，爱呢，是因为通过阅读CC的书籍，我的人生观和阅读习惯有了很大改变，恨呢，是因为CC的阅读量太重，每天的睡眠时间因为这门课缩短了两个小时 - 我相信许多同学们也有一样的感受。如果问我这门课值不值得上，我会毫不犹豫给出肯定的答案，它不仅给予我们一次和西方思想家对话的宝贵机会，同时也能人在当今信息高速泛滥的生活中喘一口气，让人静下心思考人生、社会、责任。

       CC上下两个学期的主题各不相同，第一个学期的书单主要围绕“正义”、“自由”、“道德”、“信仰”和“政治”等话题展开。第一学期给我印象最深的书是柏拉图的《理想国》，也是整个CC课程的第一本书。柏拉图写了一整本书就为了解答一个问题：正义是什么？对我来说，阅读这本书是我第一次系统地尝试理解哲学问题。我越读越想知道：苏格拉底下一步又会问出什么问题，抛出什么观点。阅读这一本哲学著作犹如读小说一般畅快淋漓，也让我体会到思考哲学问题的乐趣。

       CC的下学期的中心主是“Enlightenment”，中文可以翻译成“启蒙运动”，来自康德发表的短文“What is enlightenment?” 在这一学期里，关于“道德”、“思想解放”、“平等与压迫”等讨论占了上风。我写的印象最深的一篇论文是结合John Stuart Mill对启蒙运动的理解，以及他提出的“多数暴政”来解释18世纪女权主义背后的问题根源。通过阅读这学期的书籍也让我意识到，人一定要在各种情况下要有独立的决策能力，不能盲目的信任外界信息，否则会间接让整个社会失去思考能力，从而导致扭曲的社会环境。CC下学期的书籍从阅读量和难度来说都比CC第一学期大，不过这更能锻炼同学们的思考能力，能帮同学们在课程结束后依然保留阅读的习惯。

       我在的section是University Writing for international students， 教授是Vanessa Guida。 我记得当时学校是用托福成绩来筛选申请者的，所以托福离满分有一定距离我的成功进入了这个班（苦笑）。选课前我主要是觉得因为自己是第一年来美国，觉得对美国社会现状的了解还有限，再加上我在其他sections中也选不出特别尤其感兴趣的课题，所以选择了这个section。果然这个班所分析的问题侧重点是我所期待的，从学习"struggles of biracial speakers," 到 "ideological division that exists over modern U.S. lexicography," 再到 "plagiarism, copyright, inspiration, intellectual property, artistic appropriation (or theft)" 等等，我深入分析了挺多我之前很少接触的话题。但比起这些收获，我觉得这个section更有意思的地方其实在于班上的同学，当时班里的同学来自中国、印度、尼日利亚、埃及、德国等等，大家带着不同的社会经历和宗教背景来探讨对于美国社会问题的困惑、提出与自己背景文化的冲突、并且相互换位思考去理解对方，所以一学期下来，我还从同学身上吸收了很多关于其他国家的见解。

       Hi, my name is Sungbin Kim, a rising sophomore at Columbia University. Though Columbia is known for difficult Core Curriculum, dedicated to enriching every student’s understanding of humanity through intense study of literature, I wanted to study there because the prospect of studying only engineering elsewhere seemed less intriguing. I really wanted to know people better.

       Core Curriculum begins with University Writing to ensure that everyone can handle complex writing assignments of subsequent courses. But it is not a just preparatory writing workshop. It teaches writing while illuminating current issues in our society. In my law section of University Writing, I learned why liberals and conservatives clash often and struggle to understand each other. Simply, they uphold different moralities. According to a paper that I read for class, liberals’ priorities are individual rights, but conservatives’ priority is a group’s wellbeing. What was interesting is the author’s claim that any group’s morality can be characterized by how it prioritizes five kinds of moral issues—issues related to harm, fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity—and thus knowing others’ priorities helps with understanding their moralities. And understanding others is the first step to a more harmonious society. If liberals and conservatives spend more time studying each other’s priority, then they will not call each other immoral but instead appreciate each other’s vision for a better society. 

       Not only have I learned how to write but also how to persuade others, which I consider to be the true gift of University Writing. It taught me the structure of moralities which I can apply to understanding others. If I understand others, then I can think of which sugar-coated words will speak to their hearts. Skill of persuasion—persuasive rhetoric—has enabled me to not only write convincing academic papers but also to make differences in societies I am in.

       University Writing gives special attention to the practices of close reading, rhetorical analysis, research, collaboration, and revision. Rather than approaching writing as an innate talent, this course teaches writing as a unique, learned skill that can be practiced and developed. Over the course of the semester, we read and discuss texts, complete informal writing exercises, write several longer essays, and prepare an editorial for a public audience.

       "活煮龙虾人道吗?"

       在我大学写作的第一堂课，我的教授Professor Jason Ueda向全班提出了这个问题，由此引发了一段关于人文，宗教，文化，科学，和政治的“大杂烩”式探讨。我环顾四周，教室里坐着来自巴黎的法国留学生，来自也门的伊斯兰教徒，在纽约土生土长的美国人, 也有着像我这样的中国人......哥大对多样性(diversity)的重视深刻体现在了学院的多样化，学生的多样化，以及课程的多样化。只有在这种大背景下，我们才能够了解到每一个人不同的见解，集思广益，博采众长。