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Slide 1: Rodin's The Thinker
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Slide 2: iStock photo
Our Student, Mohsen Mahdawi
It has come to the attention of members of the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University that one of our students, Mohsen Mahdawi, was detained in Vermont by agents of the Department of Homeland Security.
We express our horror and dismay at the fact that a legal resident of the United States — someone who has been accused of no crime — should be detained in this manner. We would like to convey our sympathy and our support to Mohsen, to his family, and to his friends.
We call upon the Provost and Acting President of Columbia University to assist by all means, including through the provision of material and legal resources, any Columbia student targeted or detained—and seemingly only for having exercised their right to the free and peaceful expression of political opinion.
UPDATE: We are delighted to learn that a Federal judge in Vermont has ordered Mohsen's release: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/30/mohsen-mahdawi-released-immigration-detention.
Philosophy at Columbia University
Home to a distinguished tradition of philosophical research and teaching, the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University provides a comprehensive academic atmosphere for pursuing advanced study in a wide range of philosophical subjects and methods—systematic, analytic, and historical. The Department has a faculty with an unusually broad range of interests and areas of expertise that span the main periods of the history of western philosophy and nearly every major area of contemporary philosophical debate.
Department News
Professor Akeel Bilgrami receives Center for Political Economy Faculty Grant
Professor Bilgrami’s research project, titled “The Instability of Constraints on Capital,” is affiliated with the Political Economy and Democracy Initiative. The grant is administered through the Columbia World Projects. It supports new knowledge and networks that facilitate the exchange of discoveries, accelerate the identification of key challenges, and open up the methods that scholars use.
Professor Wolfgang Mann is a Scholar-in-Residence at Columbia Global Centers Rio
Professor Mann's research project is titled "Strengthening Global Networks on Ancient Greek Philosophy." Through the Columbia Global Scholars-in-Residence program, faculty and res
Professor Francey Russell receives Barnard’s 2025 Gladys Brooks Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award
Congratulations to Prof. Russell! Established at Barnard in 1989 by the Gladys Brooks Foundation, this award recognizes considerable individual achievements of tenure-track/tenure-eligible assistant professor. Please see this page for more information.