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What actually happens in this course besides reading? Are there essays (and if so, are they in class or more like assignments?), tests, or even a final?
The syllabus doesn't give much besides a list of readings.
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Jesus you took 4 weeks to do an essay in CC? I did all mine the night before
Are you in a current student or prospective? CC requires reading about one book per week, two essays, a midterm and a final. It might not sound like a lot, but typically an essay will take about four weeks to complete. A lot of people do get by reading just the introduction and sparknotes, but the class is easier if you do the reading.
Incoming transfer student. And it's not just excerpts? I better get started
As u/firedroplet said, the texts can be very dense, even if they are just excerpts of the full work. I have a couple pieces of advice to offer:
Before jumping into a particular text, first read a wiki/summary out there of it. This way, you know and understand the philosophical concepts really well, and it can make reading the text much faster because you already know where the author is going with the argument. Here's one that was popular in my CC section.
Don't be ashamed to skim-read when necessary. Remember, it's a seminar-style course, so ultimately your professor will be trying to promote group discussion in class. You'll have limited time, so if your options are to carefully read every single word of chapter 1, or to skim-read chapters 1 through 4 like the professor assigned on the syllabus, I'd do the latter. Just make sure you grasp the overall philosophy promoted so that you can participate in discussion.
For each half of the semester, choose 2-3 works that you will commit to reading closely and thoroughly. For the essays, professors tend to give a set of different essay prompts for students to choose from, and in my experience I have found that the 2-3 texts which I knew front-to-back were ones that I could use to write a great essay. This also was true for the short essay sections on exams.
For the midterm and final exam, focus your studies on how to put the different texts "into conversation" with each other. Know the areas where various authors talk about the same subject, and then be able to speak about the implications of each.
Try to enjoy it! This is coming from someone who graduated from Columbia and loved the Core. To be honest, I don't know if that sentiment is rare or widespread, but I think all would agree that Core classes are a tradition that bind students from CC/GS together (whether out of shared appreciation or out of commiseration, lol).
no, it's full texts for the most part.
Frankly, you shouldn't be concerned about whatever you have besides reading. The reading is the most important part of the courseload, and if you do it, you can easily complete anything else.
However, it's also the most time-consuming. Philosophy texts are dense. Expect at least 1-2 hours per reading.