On seeing the world through funny glasses. By Rocky Rūb Illustration by Kathleen Halley-Segal Patty Marx is a writer and humorist at The New Yorker, Adjunct Associate Professor in the undergraduate creative writing department, and most recently, my inspiration for all things humor. I met Professor Marx in her highly waitlisted class, How to Write Funny, in which I’ve cultivated, sustained, and have now attempted to transcend a parasocial relationship with her. She is a forme

Lessons from the Lab By Jack Bradner Illustration by Selin Ho At the beginning of my first American Modernism class with Professor Rachel Adams, she asked the room for a quick show of hands: how many prospective or current English majors were present? Aware of a heavy majority of the class, I tentatively raised my hand. Professor Adams then asked how many STEM or Biology majors were present. No hands this time. Before getting into the details of the course, Professor Adams n

The Amazing Dr. Scott By Willow Bradford Illustration by Audrey Wang The first time the fantastical was bestowed upon me, I began by imagining the title of my favorite movie, per Kaufman’s instruction. Kaufman then proceeded to ask me a series of questions like “what is the first letter of the title” and “is the title of the movie one word or two words?” From there the weird turned weirder as he shifted from me to my friend. He asked her to take a wallet out of her pocket and

Barnard English goes “global.” By Iris Eisenman Illustration by Nini Vilac Not too long ago, Professor Atefeh Akbari could be found in the labyrinthine recesses of the LeFrak offices. Now, I had the pleasure of speaking with Akbari in her cozy office on the fourth floor of Barnard Hall, with plenty of natural light flooding the room. The change of environment is a reflection of her career’s progress at Barnard. Akbari is arguably the face of the English department’s recent ef

Unhardening the heart . By Althea Downing-Sherer Illustration by Iris Pope This Valentine’s Day, as some of us face the perils of online dating or despair over unrequited crushes, Achsah Guibbory urges us to reframe love: not as conquest, but as devotion. Achsah Guibbory is a professor of 17th-century English literature at Barnard College, specializing in John Milton and John Donne. She has published multiple books, including Returning to John Donne; Christian Identity, Jews

On the termination of Temporary Protected Status. By Tara Zia Illustration by Jing Geng Over the last few months, the Trump Administration’s terminations of Temporary Protected Status have made headlines on a weekly basis. For Nina Alvarez, these headlines do not go unnoticed: Documenting the story behind this immigration policy and those it impacts represents a years-long effort. A journalist, documentarian, and video photographer, Alvarez has over 20 years of reporting exp

Striking down the bowling pins of diaspora and desire. By Elika Khosravani Illustration by Audrey Wang It is my understanding that at some point in every student’s undergraduate career, they meet a professor who quietly, and then all at once, rearranges their world. For me, that professor is Zaina Arafat. Every Thursday, she takes the train down from her apartment in Harlem to teach Fiction and Personal Narrative at Barnard, and I have the privilege of watching up close the

Leaping between the roles we inherit and the ones we create. By Lucy Mason Illustration by Em Bennett Since the start of her career, Unity Phelan has captivated audiences night after night as a dancer with New York City Ballet. In 2021, she was promoted to the rank of principal dancer, performing in hundreds of ballets and emerging as one of the company’s defining artists along the way. This fall, she brought that experience uptown to teach in the Barnard Dance Department.

Reflecting on 40 years of Shakespeare at Columbia. By Kate Sibery Illustration by Audrey Wang James Shapiro is the Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia where he has been teaching Shakespeare since 1985 and was an undergraduate in the 70s. He has published numerous books including, 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare , Shakespeare in a Divided America , and most recently, The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Makin

Traversing the horror of the domestic sphere. By Caroline Nieto Illustration by Isabelle Oh Eleanor Johnson is a professor of English and Comparative Literature and the author of four books, the most recent of which, Scream With Me: Horror Films and The Rise of American Feminism , was published just last month, on September 30th. Throughout her time at Columbia, Johnson has taught about the earliest depictions of horror in popular literature, specifically in her course “Hist

By Eva Spier Illustration by Derin Ogutcu The Columbia students who dare stray into the Russian department—further than the mandatory two-year language requirement—gather in single-digit numbers in Hamilton classrooms to revel in declensions and verbs of motion. Every two years, these students are offered a literature seminar devoted to foundational scary stories in the Russian tradition, conducted entirely in Russian. I wade through these texts with my classmates under the g

Lessons from a life between the lines . By Bohan Gao Illustration by Iris Pope He saw literature as something living, something that...

Chewing on steak and getting spat out in your twenties. By Josh Kazali Illustration by Iris Pope Sophie Kemp is a writer from Brooklyn...

By Sona Wink Illustration by Phoebe Wagoner I was a jittery sophomore sitting in a hardwood Pupin chair. Professor Casey Blake,...

Will the real author please stand up? By Elika Khosravani Illustration by Em Bennett This May, as Broadway’s trees bloom green, Professor...

On the role of theater in tragic times. By Natalie Buttner Illustration by Iris Pope Every meeting of Ellen McLaughlin’s Playwriting I...

On the 2025 Met Gala Exhibit and Black dandyism . By Ava Jolley Illustrations by Emma Finkelstein For over 75 years, the fashion world...

Do you think it’s a myth? By Shreya Khullar Illustration by Selin Ho Wang’s fiction is infused with liminal tension. I found my way to...

By Anna Patchefsky Illustration by Li Yin Caroline Miller was the editor-in-chief of New York magazine from 1996–2004. Her job was to...

Sea creatures, magic shows, and inner spirits By Sona Wink I came to know Joan Jonas amidst unusual circumstances: We sat side by side...