The English Conference - Art and Artifact with Jennifer Egan (ENGL BC3098) available for Fall 2026!

The English Department is offering The English Conference this fall, featuring Jennifer Egan—an acclaimed American novelist and journalist! Please see the flyer and information down below!

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This is a 1-point course that will meet on Tuesdays from 2:10 to 4PM on October 6, October 13, October 20, and October 27.

In this course, you will explore the following: What is fiction, exactly, and why does it matter? In our screen-dominated era, these questions are worth asking and answering afresh. 

The course will examine the ways in which works of literature—likely to include short novels or novellas by Nella Larsen, Jean Rhys, Chester Himes and Philip Roth—offer portals into both the public mores and private experience of their eras. Each work will be examined through four lenses: 1. Technology; 2. Bodies and sexuality 3. Identity and exclusion, and 4. Notions of consciousness. The craft choices that enable their authors to achieve specific effects, with an eye toward physical description, point of view, and characterization will also be studied. The conference will include creative in-class handwritten exercises aimed at accessing the unconscious and generating fruitful material. No previous literary training is necessary, and students of every age and discipline are welcome.

If you're interested in taking this course, please find more information here.

Apply to Fall 2026's Creative Writing Workshops, featuring Jhumpa Lahiri, Paul Muldoon, Maria Hinojosa, Zaina Arafat and more!

  

Fall 2026's instructors, L-R: Zaina Arafat, Farnoosh Fathi, Nellie Hermann, Maria Hinojosa, Brionne Janae, Patricia Spears Jones, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ellen McLaughlin, Paul Muldoon, Idra Novey, Nina Sharma, Weike Wang, and Kate Zambreno

Applications are now open for Fall 2026's creative writing courses, and all Barnard students are invited to apply! Our offerings include workshops in prose, poetry, and playwriting, taught by acclaimed writers including Pulitzer Prize winners Jhumpa Lahiri*, Maria Hinojosa, and Paul Muldoon, Lambda Literary Award winner Zaina Arafat, former New York State Poet Laureate Patricia Spears Jones, and more! All experience levels are welcome, with introductory workshops geared towards beginners and advanced workshops intended for more experienced writers. You can see all of our course offerings here and apply to up to three workshops via the application form. The more workshops you apply to, the higher your chances of being placed in one of your choices. The form will close at 11:59PM on Sunday, August 2nd, and all applicants will be informed of their status on Friday, September 4th. Waitlisting is only required once workshop assignments have been made and applicants notified. If you have any questions, please contact mkumarad@barnard.edu or see our FAQs for First-Year students (login required to view) here.

*Please note that only 30 applications will be accepted to Professor Jhumpa Lahiri's Fall 2026 creative writing workshop, "Fiction and Personal Narrative-For Man is a Centaur: Reading Primo Levi". Please click here to see more information on the workshop and to submit your application. There are still a few application spots remaining!

ENGL BC1349 (Children's Literature) course available for Fall 2026!

Hello!

Please see the flyer down below for information on an upcoming English course available for the Fall 2026 term if you are interested!

Professor Monica Cohen is teaching a lecture called Children's Literature. It satisfies an Arts and Humanities Requirement, and it can satisfy a "Thinking About Social Difference," "Thinking Through Global Inquiry," or a "Thinking with Historical Perspective" Requirement!

Children's Literature

ENGL BC1349

T/R 2:40-3:55

M. Cohen

Much of who we are as adults --what makes us cry and what makes us laugh--

began in the first stories that absorbed us and gave us so much pleasure. Return

to that pleasure from an analytical perspective, exploring fairytales and

folktales, coming-of-age stories, domestic fiction designed to educate girls,

adventure romance marketed to boys, and fantasy. Readings may include

The Adventures of Pinocchio; Little Women; The Lion, the Witch, and the

Wardrobe; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; Treasure Island; Harry Potter;

and selections from the Arabian Nights and European fairytales.

Important End-of-the-Semester Information for Completion of Coursework

Dear Students, As we come to the end of the spring semester, the Deans’ Office for Advising and Support wants to update you about final exam information and academic resources. We also want to remind you what to do if you experience anything that impacts your ability to complete work for your courses and final exams. One of the most important things to remember if you are experiencing difficulties is to reach out to your instructor and/or Class Dean. Your class dean is available to discuss your specific situation and offer advice and options. Academic Resources Personal Librarians: As you complete your final assignments for this semester, contact Barnard Library’s research and instruction team (Personal Librarians) for any support needed around research-based assignments, including senior projects. Librarians are available for individual consultations about ways to access online research materials and meet citation requirements for your papers and projects. Personal Librarians can assist in finding e-books, full-text articles, and open access sources.  Center for Engaged Pedagogy: The CEP has put together helpful guides for time management, active reading strategies, and a resource map that points you to various supports. Center for Accessibility Resources & Disability Services (CARDS): Students who are registered with the Barnard Center for Accessibility Resources & Disability Services (CARDS) and have accommodations should be in touch with CARDS as needed to ensure that their accommodations align with end-of-term assignments. If a faculty member has specific questions about how to implement accommodations in their courses, CARDS is available for individual consultation at cards@barnard.edu. Deans’ Office Walk-in Hours (exam week only): If you have an emergent situation and need to consult with a dean during exam week, stop by the Deans’ Office for Advising and Support in 105 Milbank any time from 9:00am-5:00 pm (Thursday, May 7 through Friday, May 15, not including weekend days) to see the available dean on call. If you need to walk in via zoom due to illness, please email doas@barnard.edu for the zoom link. FINAL EXAMINATION INFORMATION: All students and instructors are expected to follow the official exam schedule. If you find yourself scheduled for three exams within a 24-hour period or four within 48 hours, you should fill out this form. Individual faculty members have discretion to allow or deny requests to take an exam at a time different than originally scheduled. If you need assistance with communicating with an instructor, you may contact your Class Dean. DEFERRED EXAMS: Students may defer an exam due to acute illness or personal emergency on the day of the exam. Please note our updated guidance for examples of when deferred exams are appropriate. Please also note that deferred exams are not appropriate in the following instances and will not be approved in these cases: Existing travel plans conflict with the exam date Concerns about passing the class Insufficient preparation for the exam More than one exam in a single day, provided that the student does not qualify for exam hardship as defined by the Registrar’s Office: three exams in a 24-hour period, or four exams in a 48-hour period. (This information, along with the form to submit in the event of exam hardship or conflict, can be found here.)  If you need to request a deferral due to acute illness or personal emergency, you must: a) Email your instructor, copying your class dean, on the day of the exam requesting a deferred exam. b) You must also submit an official request for a deferred exam in Slate. Your request will be reviewed, and you will be sent an email with details once a decision has been made. c) For Barnard classes, students should work with their instructor once the request has been approved to go over the details of their deferred exam. For students deferring a Columbia exam or students who receive testing accommodations through CARDS, Deferred exams will be given on Friday, September 11, 2026 and if applicable, Monday, September 14, 2026. Please be aware that deferred exams cannot be requested in advance of exam week. For more information, visit https://barnard.edu/registrar/grades-exams and scroll down to "Final and Deferred Exams."  ILLNESS DURING EXAM:  If you become ill during an examination: a) inform the proctor b) hand in the exam, and c) call Primary Care Health Services at 212-854-2091 to make an appointment. If you've completed less than 40 minutes of a two-hour exam or less than one hour of a three-hour exam, you qualify for a deferred exam (see above.) However, if you leave the exam more than 40 minutes into a two-hour exam or more than an hour into a three-hour exam, you'll be graded on the basis of the work you've completed to that point. INCOMPLETES: Incompletes are to be given only in cases of illness, personal emergency, or other compelling circumstances. If you need to request an Incomplete, and the instructor is amenable, please be in touch with your faculty member via email to obtain their approval. From there, you will need to submit an Incomplete Request Form in Slate. You will need to upload email confirmation from your instructor when you submit the Slate form. Note that these requests should be received by Thursday, May 7 (the end of Reading Period). If your course also has a timed final exam, please work with your class dean and also submit an official Deferred Exam request (see above). As a reminder, the official College deadline for completing Spring 2026 Incomplete coursework is Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Individual faculty may also set an earlier deadline for the work to be completed. Please note that incompletes apply only to coursework exclusive of the final examination. For more information, visit https://barnard.edu/registrar/grades-exams and scroll down to "Incomplete Grades." GRADES: Final grades are indeed final. Grades may be changed only in cases of clerical error or in the rare event that the instructor needs to reevaluate the work of the entire class. Grades may not be recalculated on the basis of reexamination or the submission of additional or revised work.  ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND THE BARNARD HONOR CODE: As you write papers or complete exams, whether in a proctored environment or in the comfort of your residence hall or off-campus residence, keep the College's Honor Code in mind. Under pressure, it can sometimes be tempting to make a regrettable decision, such as using untrustworthy and undocumented sources, collaborating on an exam, not following proper citation methods on a paper, or claiming someone else's work as your own. Doing something that might violate the Honor Code is NEVER the way to respond to a difficult or pressured academic situation. There's always a better choice. Please also be aware that any misrepresentation of your circumstances in order to obtain an exam deferral or an incomplete is a violation of the Honor Code. An additional word of caution: it is your responsibility as a student to be aware of your professor’s individual stance on the use of generative AI (ex. ChatGPT). If you are not sure about whether the use of generative AI is permitted in a course, you must consult with your instructor for additional guidance before using generative AI. Note that the Honor Code states that students must responsibly use electronic, print and other resources. ACADEMIC STANDING: Please be advised that all students should be aware of Barnard’s academic standing policy (please scroll down on this page to “Academic Standing and Degree Progress”) and how incomplete grades, deferred exams and/or withdrawal grades may impact a student’s academic standing. As noted in this policy, three or more incomplete, failing, or withdrawal grades may place a student on academic probation for the following semester. To discuss your academic standing, please contact your Class Dean.  We wish you all the best as you complete your work for the semester, and hope you have a restful, restorative summer. Sincerely, Holly Tedder Interim Co-Dean of the College Assistant Vice President and Vice Dean of the College- Student Support

Need to talk to a class dean during Finals? Stop by 105 Milbank (or Zoom if needed) any time 9AM-5PM, May 7-8 & 11-15 for Class-Dean Drop-ins

Need help with a time-sensitive issue affecting your ability to take finals, complete coursework, etc.?

• Never fear; your class deans are here!
• There will be a dean available for drop-ins every day of finals week, 9AM - 5PM beginning the last day of reading period. 
• Come see us in 105 Milbank
• Feeling under the weather? Email doas@barnard.edu or call 212-854-2024 to ask for the zoom link.

Junior Class Dean Walk-in Hours now available every weekday afternoon! -- Regular walk-ins for the semester will end on May 6th

NOTE: Wednesday, May 6th will be the last day of regular walk-ins for the semester. There will be walk-in hours for finals week to meet with any available dean on call from Thursday, May 7th - Friday, May 15th from 9AM-5PM. Please see this blog post.

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Got a quick question?

Need to talk to a dean ASAP?

If you have something complicated or want to be sure you can talk at length, please make an appointment via Dean Siegel's online appointment link.

Otherwise, during the semester, you may walk in beginning Friday, Sept 5 at any of the times below.  

Mondays 3:30-4:30pm Eastern Time

Dean Siegel 

• Enter waiting room via this Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank,
  
• We will see students on a first-come, first-served basis. 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

 

Tuesdays 3:30-4:30pm Eastern Time

Dean Grabiner

• Enter waiting room via this Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank,
  
• We will see students on a first-come, first-served basis. 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

 

Wednesdays: Degree Audit Drop-Ins 3:30-4:30pm Eastern Time -- Last regular walk-ins will end on 5/6

Dean Grabiner

• Enter waiting room via this Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank
• We will prioritize students seeking degree audit advice but will see other students if time permits 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

 

Thursdays 3:30-4:30pm Eastern Time

Dean Grabiner

• Enter waiting room via this Thursday Afternoon Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank.
  
• We will see students on a first-come, first-served basis. 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

 

Fridays 2:00-3:30pm Eastern Time

Dean Siegel

• Enter waiting room via this Walk-In Hours Zoom Link or visit 105 Milbank.
  
• We will see students on a first-come, first-served basis. 
• If we run out of time and can't see you, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to schedule an appointment, to try walk-ins on a different day, or for time-sensitive matters, to call the office at 212-854-2024 during business hours.

NOTE: 

If you need to schedule an appointment with Dean Siegel, please note that she typically works remotely on Tuesdays, so all meetings will be conducted virtually over Zoom or via phone call ONLY on that day

If you need to schedule an appointment with Dean Grabiner, please note that she typically works remotely on Fridays, so all meetings will be conducted virtually over Zoom or via phone call ONLY on that day

Susan Ratner Speaking Series on May 1st!

The Writing Center is hosting its annual Susan Ratner Speaking Series lecture + workshop on Friday, May 1st, with Emma McMahon Murdock. 

Emma is a fiction writer and member of Bard Prison Initiative's writing faculty. 

The lecture and grammar workshop addresses writing in three scopes: Writing as a career; Writing as a pedagogical centerpiece; Writing as the act of laying words side by side. While exploring our writing processes, we will build writing habits that deepen our practices from both pedagogical and craft perspectives.

RSVP here if you can attend all or part of the event!

Academic coaching drop in hours - Finals prep!

Finals are right around the corner, and the Academic Coaches in the Deans’ Office for Advising and Support are here to help you cross the finish line with tips, tricks, and a space to get stuff done! 

If you are feeling stressed about exams and papers, need help organizing your study plan, or want to learn some new study strategies, come chat with an academic coach. Drop in hours will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons in Milbank 111. 

Sign up for a time that works for you using this RSVP form

Network Science Symposium on April 23rd with special guest, Dani Bassett!

The Barnard Network Science Pedagogy Group is excited to announce its Network Science symposium with keynote speaker, Dani Bassett. Please join them on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:30PM in Milstein LL001 if you are interested in attending!

All members of the Barnard and Columbia communities are welcome — faculty, students, trainees, staff, and others!

Education Program - Program Planning!

Please see the flyer down below for the Education Program Planning taking place from April 6-16 on the 7th Floor of Milstein Hall if you are interested in attending! 

Apply for SIPA course: Inside the Situation Room (Fall 2026) ~ Extended deadline now April 20th!

SIPA is delighted to announce that they will be offering the course, Inside the Situation Room, for this fall 2026 semester and are inviting rising sophomores, juniors and seniors to apply!

The course is designed to teach students to understand why and how foreign policy decisions are made, drawing insights from political psychology, domestic politics, and international relations. The lessons learned from this inter-disciplinary analysis are applicable to leadership roles and decision making in government, business and other fields.

Additional details: This course includes a large lecture and weekly discussion sections. The lecture, led by Dean Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, will include a Q&A for the last 20 minutes or so focused on the topic of the given week. Admitted undergraduate students will also register for a required discussion section with various instructors. Course grades will be assigned by discussion section instructors.

Application Process: Please apply through the application form by Monday, April 20th at 11:59PM. The goal is to notify students by the end of April. Please note that once selected, students will be vetted by the US Secret Service.

Please see the course description down below for more information about the course:

Inside the Situation Room

The lecture is scheduled on Wednesdays from 1:10-2:50 PM. Admitted undergraduate students will also register for a required discussion section at a later date.

In an era increasingly defined by geopolitical competition and change, it is more important than ever for future policymakers to understand why and how foreign policy decisions are made. Inside the Situation Room, co-taught by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo, employs insights from diverse academic fields—including political psychology, domestic politics, and international relations—and the direct experience of high-level principals in the room to understand the key factors which underpin a country’s most crucial decisions. This course allows students to engage with a range of case studies and examine decision-making in a variety of historical and contemporary contexts, from the search for Osama bin Laden, to the 'red line' in Syria, to the war in Ukraine, to negotiating with Iran.

Students will be taught how to analyze and understand the complex interplay between individual psychology, domestic politics, public opinion, bureaucracy, the international environment, and other factors which feed into decisions about foreign policy—from crisis diplomacy to the use of force, signaling and perception, Women Peace and Security, intelligence and its analysis, the deployment of other instruments of statecraft, and more. Through this course, students will think carefully and analytically about how leaders and other actors view the world, how they arrive at their decisions, and how various social, political, and psychological factors shape the policies they devise to promote their interests abroad.