As laptops, phones, and artificial intelligence tools take up residence in classrooms, Columbia University is requiring students in its Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization courses to put devices away for the 2026-27 academic year.
The move is meant to protect face-to-face discussion as schools grapple with distraction and generative AI.
Here's what to know
Columbia Daily Spectator reported that Columbia prohibited electronic devices in all sections of Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization.
The rule is limited to this academic year, and instructors can make exceptions when technology is needed for a specific teaching purpose, a Columbia spokesperson said.
Among the first- and second-year classes in the school's Core Curriculum, these two are the first to get a blanket electronics restriction. Music Humanities has had a similar rule since 2025.
The faculty members Spectator interviewed backed the change, arguing that keeping screens out of class helps students engage in discussion. In the outlet's syllabus review, 11 barred devices in class and 10 referred to coursewide rules. "Columbia College will permit individual faculty members to modify the policy for specific instructional purposes," Spectator stated.
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Lit Hum instructor Clémence Boulouque, an associate professor of Jewish and Israel studies, told Spectator the change ensures the Core "remains a safe haven" for human connection.
More background
Columbia made the change while sorting through generative AI's effect on teaching, and other universities have similarly limited classroom technology.
Dennis Tenen, a professor of English and comparative literature, told the publication that the recommendation came from Columbia's faculty working group on AI in the Core after it consulted students and faculty and drew on survey results.
"I'm not sure that [AI-resistant is] identical always with device-free classes," Nicole Wallack, director of the undergraduate writing program, told Spectator. "So, I want to make sure that we don't conflate these two things."
Boulouque, meanwhile, noted that the policy was a "harder sell" in science classes and added that Art Humanities students benefit from being able to zoom in on artworks on a computer.
The spokesperson said Columbia College would continue providing accommodations for students registered with the disability services office.
What's being done?
Even with the new rule, Tenen told Spectator that professors still have room to use technology when it serves instruction, including for group PDF annotation, and that the working group did not want to enter "policing territory."
Chloë Kitzinger, an associate professor of Slavic languages who teaches Lit Hum, said she welcomed having one rule across the course because it "really does level the playing field," according to Spectator.
Wallack said the undergraduate writing program does not use a single policy for every section and instructor. She also said the program is carrying out several studies on how students read and write to shape future course rules, while the spokesperson said faculty committees overseeing the Core will review the AI working group's full recommendations.
"I think the ban is an opportunity to make it a place of greater intentionality," Boulouque said. "It might be a moment of 'eat your veggies,' and students might be disgruntled, but this is also what we think the humanities should set the standard for."
Where can I learn more?
The presence of AI, computers, and phones in classrooms is a hot-button topic at all levels of education.
• At schools nationwide, AI harms in classrooms are shaping technology debates.
• Students are pushing back as mandatory AI tools reshape classroom work and trust.
• Across U.S. schools, neuroscientists say computers in the classroom may be hurting learning.
• At Boise State, students can earn a digital detox certificate to curb phone dependence.
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