The Committee on Global Thought explores global modernity from an innovative, interdisciplinary perspective, and is designed to reconceptualize the theories and methodologies required to confront the challenges stemming from globalization. Chaired by Nobel Laureate University Professor Joseph Stiglitz and Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, the Committee empirically specifies, investigates, and theorizes our increasingly complex global modernity.
Recognizing that many of the world’s problems, such as poverty, inequality and governance, are interlinked and intractable, President Lee Bollinger appointed distinguished Columbia University faculty to explore, capture, and understand the diverse trajectories of global processes.
Through collaborative workshops, seminars courses, and community events, the resulting analysis and research will be shared and developed by the Columbia community. In so doing, the Committee on Global Thought will augment Columbia’s role as a Global University by fostering a community of scholars and practitioners who integrate and synthesize academic engagement with globalization.
Courses
The Committee on Global Thought's courses encourage new ways of looking at emerging and entrenched global issues. Designed for undergraduate and graduate students by the Committee on Global Thoughts faculty and post-doctoral research scholars, the Committee on Global Thought courses energize interdisciplinary thinking. Titles include Global Governance, Issues of Secularism and Diversity, Globalization, The Law of Violence, and Global Urbanism. New courses are rotated in each year as ideas evolve and canons grow.
Postdoctoral Fellowship
The post-doctoral research fellowship is an opportunity for recent PhDs to start their career working alongside our distinguished faculty. Fellows contribute to the Committee on Global Thought's existing interdisciplinary research agenda and are encouraged to innovate. Post-doctoral research scholars also assist with the planning and teaching of research workshops, conferences and events designed to engage the greater Columbia community in an ongoing investigation of pressing.
IGERT
The Committee on Global Thought also sponsors the Program on International Globalization and Development known as IGERT. PhD students in the IGERT program complete additional coursework to supplement their doctoral programs and have the opportunity to work closely with Committee on Global Thought faculty. The Committee on Global Thought provides students with funding for summer field research.
