Arts & Culture | Columbia Journalism School

Arts and Culture

Film. Music. Visual Art. Design. Literature. Subcultures. Criticism.

Rich course offerings in the M.S. and M.A. degree programs bolster cultural knowledge and impart essential tools for covering the arts.

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What We Offer

Journalism students have several opportunities to learn how to produce culture stories that are rigorous yet creative. Class options allow students to deepen their understanding of all branches of the arts, from architecture to dance, hip hop to sculpture.

M.S. students can choose among courses that explore how to report in the cultural realm and how to add perspective on trends and breakthroughs in art, culture and society. These include The Art of the Profile, Food Writing and 800 Words.

Students who enroll in the M.A. Arts & Culture concentration take a nine‐month seminar considering the intellectual and emotional force of the arts. Journalism professors bring in esteemed experts to guide the class through several specialties while pulling out common themes. The seminar blends the concrete (how to decipher arts funding, delineate artistic movements, map essential context) with the more theoretical (how to capture an artist’s personality with nuance and verve).

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Classes

In addition to the specific classes listed here, students have many opportunities to report on arts and culture issues starting in August during multimedia training and running through the Spring seminar and production classes.

Please note: The classes listed here represent recent offerings at the Journalism School. Choices vary each semester depending on faculty availability and other considerations. Classes described now may change or be dropped to make room for new additions.

Book Writing

Criticism Workshop

Food Writing

Journalism of Ideas

Literary Journalism

M.A. Arts & Culture Fall Seminar

M.A. Arts & Culture Spring Seminar

Reporting and Writing Profiles

Writing Social Justice with Style

Student Work

three members of BTS in suits, one speaking into mic

As part of the Fall 2018 Reporting class, Chaewon Chung, '19 M.S., wrote about the K-pop industry and the Korean government’s efforts to monetize on its international popularity despite critics who accuse its stars of misogyny. The piece was published in Korea Exposé.

BTS: Generational Icons or Misogynists?

Faculty

Jelani Cobb

Dean and Henry Luce Professor of Journalism

Alisa Solomon

Professor of Journalism; Director in Arts Concentration, M.A. Program