As a public-history initiative, the Columbia University and Slavery Seminar aspires to do more than the standard undergraduate seminar, guiding students through the process of creating a piece of original research that is made accessible to a broad audience. Student research is at the core of this ongoing work, and is also a critical part of the Residence Halls Historical Markers project.

Students explore Columbia affiliates and their connections to the slave economy, examine race science at Columbia and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, investigate Columbia during slavery and the era of Jim Crow, and assess Columbians’ involvement in antislavery movements and the impact of Columbia scholars on the study of slavery.