Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

145 results found

children's literature

(Encyclopedia)children's literature, writing whose primary audience is children. See also children's book illustration. The contributions and innovations of the 19th cent. continued into the 20th cent., achieving...

city planning

(Encyclopedia)city planning, process of planning for the improvement of urban centers in order to provide healthy and safe living conditions, efficient transport and communication, adequate public facilities, and a...

pacifism

(Encyclopedia)pacifism, advocacy of opposition to war through individual or collective action against militarism. Although complete, enduring peace is the goal of all pacifism, the methods of achieving it differ. S...

birth control

(Encyclopedia)birth control, practice of contraception for the purpose of limiting reproduction. Although contraceptive techniques had been known in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the modern movement for birth ...

mystery

(Encyclopedia)mystery or mystery story, literary genre in which the cause (or causes) of a mysterious happening, often a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine; this is accomplished through a mixture o...

nutrition

(Encyclopedia)nutrition, study of the materials that nourish an organism and of the manner in which the separate components are used for maintenance, repair, growth, and reproduction. Nutrition is achieved in vario...

Obama, Barack

(Encyclopedia)Obama, Barack (Barack Hussein Obama 2d), bəräkˈ ho͞osānˈ ōbäˈmə [key], 1961–, 44th president of the United States (2009–17), b. Honolulu, grad. Columbia (B.A. 1983), Harvard Law School ...

Elizabeth I, queen of England

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth I, 1533–1603, queen of England (1558–1603). After the Armada, Elizabeth's popularity began to wane. Parliament became less tractable and began to object to the abuse of royally grante...

novel

(Encyclopedia)novel, in modern literary usage, a sustained work of prose fiction a volume or more in length. It is distinguished from the short story and the fictional sketch, which are necessarily brief. Although ...

Browse by Subject