IT’S THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN, STUPID
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| Laura D’Andrea Tyson |
As debate on the recession moves from “if” to “when” to “how long,” The New School’s Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) and the New America Foundation host a panel entitled “It’s the Economic Recovery Plan, Stupid” with top economists and business executives on Thursday, May 22, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Bob Kerrey, president of The New School and former U.S. senator and governor of Nebraska, will make the opening remarks. The keynote speech will be delivered by Laura D’Andrea Tyson, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Clinton and professor of economics at the Haas Business School at the University of California, Berkeley.
The panel will be moderated by Teresa Ghilarducci, Irene and Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of Economic Policy Analysis at The New School for Social Research. It will include Heidi Crebo-Rediker, co-director of the New America Foundation’s Global Strategic Finance Initiative and former investment banker with Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Bear Stearns; Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute; and Tom Gallagher, senior managing director of theInternational Strategy and Investment Group, Inc. They will discuss the economic and political realities behind the debate on how best to stimulate the economy, including how a major public infrastructure investment might serve as a centerpiece of a longer-term recovery program.
SCEPA will also present a new publication, The Promise of Public Investment, based on its year-long series of forums questioning conventional wisdom on U.S. economic policy.
The event will be held in the Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor. Admission is free, but reservations are required; call 212.229.5662 x3570 or email specialevents@newschool.edu.
For more information about the SCEPA, please visit www.newschool.edu/cepa. For more information about the New America Foundation, please visit www.newamerica.net.
PARSONS HOSTS 2008 GAMES FOR CHANGE CONFERENCE
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| Photograph by Dane Penland, Smithsonian Institution, Courtesy of the Supreme Court of the United States |
Parsons will host the fifth annual Games for Change Conference from June 2-4, 2008. The festival brings together leading nonprofit organizations, game scholars, and industry experts to explore and expand the role of digital games as agents of social change. The conference additionally showcases some of the hottest new games in development during a special game expo. Now in its third year of hosting the Games for Change Conference, The New School has deepened its relationship with the organization through the launch of PETLab (Protyping, Evaluating, Teaching and Learning Laboratory), the first public interest game design and research laboratory for interactive media. Supported by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, the lab connects the work of the public and private sector with educators and designers to build an overall framework for game design as a learning activity.
Highlights of the festival include a closing keynote speech by the Honorable Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who will speak about a new interactive civics education project she is developing, and a one-day workshop funded by the MacArthur Foundation designed to teach non-profit professionals how to use games to fulfill their social missions. The AMD Foundation will also be making a major announcement on this day about a new education initiative involving social issue games.
PETLab will participate at the June 3 Expo Night, hosted by Microsoft, which showcases the latest social issue games in development. Microsoft will present the finalists in the “Xbox 360 Games for Change Challenge”. The finalists, designers from around the world, will present their games. This nationwide initiative to create socially responsible games was launched at last year’s Expo as part of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Competition. The challenge for game designers is using technology to support a sustainable environment. There will also be a showcase of games created by the United Nations, including games about malaria prevention, water conservation, and global poverty. Other non-profits will display games on immigration, Hurricane Katrina and “playing the news.”
Visit the Games for Change website for the full schedule.
THE NEW SCHOOL’S 72ND COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY
On Friday, May 16, 2008, in Madison Square Garden in New York City, 2,867 graduate and undergraduate students received their degrees at The New Schools 72nd Commencement ceremony.
New School President Bob Kerrey addressed the graduates and conferred honorary degrees and special awards. Management educator Henry Mintzberg delivered the commencement address. Honorary Degree recipients included sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, urban planner Majora Carter, theater director Elizabeth LeCompte, and women’s reproductive rights activist Wanda Nowicka who received the University in Exile Award. The student speakers were Michael Edwards, an MFA student from Parsons The New School for Design, and Janine Nabers, an MFA student from The New School for Drama.
To read the speeches and view photos from the ceremony, visit the Commencement website.
WRITING AWARD WINNERS MEET WITH WORLD-RENOWNED ARTIST TO CELEBRATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The winners of the 2007-08 Vera List University Art Collection Writing Award, for best critical essay responding to a piece of art work in the university collection, are six students from Lang, The New School for General Studies, and Parsons who were awarded prizes ranging from $200 to $400.
On April 22, they celebrated their accomplishments in an informal gathering with artist and 2007-08 VLC Fellow Marjetica Potrc, whose work some had analyzed in their essays. In their conversation, they explored the relationship between visual and literary practice and the role of criticism for both.
This year, the prizes were awarded to the following students:
First Prize Creative Response: Julia Hermannsdottir, “The Butcher” (in response to Rirkrit Tirjavanjia, Untitled)
First Prize Critical Response: Hannes Steen Thornhammar, untitled text (in response to Earl Staley, Triumph of Bacchus)
Second Prize Creative Response: Brandon Johnson, “Warriors” (in response to Marjetica Potrc, Warriors)
Second Prize Critical Response: Kyle Garson, untitled text (in response to Rachel Harrison, Perth Amboy)
Honorable Mention Creative Response: Nicole Dular, “Somewhere Between” (in response to Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Untitled)
Honorable Mention Critical Response: Veronica Cassidy, “Trapped in the Intestinal Tract: Kara Walker’s Event Horizon”
The winners were selected by a jury composed of the following members:
Neil Gordon, dean of Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts
Carin Kuoni, director of the Vera List Center for Art and Politics
Joshua Mack, member of the Vera List Center Advisory Committee; writer for Time Out New York and Modern Painters
Rosemary O’Neill, associate dean of Faculty Affairs and associate professor of art history, Parsons The New School for Design
Robert Polito, director of the Writing Program and the MFA in Creative Writing, The New School for General Studies
Silvia Rocciolo, co-curator of the New School Art Collection
The Vera List University Art Collection Writing Award honors the best critical and creative essays written by students in response to the university’s collection of more than 1,800 artworks. Established in 1996 by the late Vera List, a life trustee of The New School, it is presented once a year.
For further information on the award or the VLC, please contact Carin Kuoni, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, at kuonic@newschool.edu.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SERVICES HOSTS RECEPTION FOR GRADUATES
On Tuesday, May 12, International Student Services (ISS) held a reception for international students and their families to celebrate the many achievements of the hundreds of international students who were among the spring 2008 New School graduates.
Monique Ngozi Nri, director of ISS, welcomed students and their parents. She expressed the hope that students had been able to learn firsthand about Americans and American culture through their classes, their residence in New York City, and the programs offered by ISS. She went on to remind students searching for a job to continue using the university, career services, the alumni office, and ISS as resources. She also asked them to remember that they are still in F-1 status, so the travel signatures and checking in are not over quite yet! Nri warned those returning home of the possibility of reverse culture shock and asked them to stay in touch with the university to share successes and struggles so that we in turn can share those experiences with the New School community and future generations of international students. Nri thanked the staff at ISS, in particular assistant director Heather Beaton and ISS student ambassadors Camilla Ronderos and Nicole Pontes, for their work in organizing the celebration and congratulated the students and their families on their success and achievements.
One of the graduates, Xavi Menos from the New School for General Studies’ Media Studies program, spoke eloquently of his experience at The New School. He began his speech by quoting Stephen Spielberg in his movie Artificial Intelligence, where he defined New York as the place where “dreams are born.” Menos suggested that New York had been that place for him and many other graduating internationals. He described his journey from feeling like a character in Lost in Translation to the point where the city started to circulate through his veins. Menos was thankful for the opportunity to realize his dream of becoming a journalist and for his family’s understanding. He closed his remarks to the graduates by saying, “Congratulations! Felicidades! Or, as we say in Catalunya, Felicitats! Thank you and best of luck out there!”
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR SIMON CRITCHLEY HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS IN PHENOMENOLOGY
The Phenomenology Roundtable and the Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought at Temple University will honor The New School’s Simon Critchley at their eighth annual meeting, beginning May 9 at CUNY’s John Jay College. The award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding contributions in phenomenology.
Since 2004, Critchley has been a professor of philosophy at the New School for Social Research, where he has focused on continental philosophy, the history of philosophy, literature, ethics, and politics. He also teaches part-time at the University of Essex in England, where he received his PhD in 1988.
Critchley’s recent works include On Humour (Thinking in Action), Things Merely Are: Philosophy in the Poetry of Wallace Stevens, Infinitely Demanding: Ethics of Commitment, Politics and Resistance and his upcoming book, The Book of Dead Philosophers.
The Phenomenology Roundtable was founded in 2000 at a meeting of the Radical Philosophy Association at Loyola University in Chicago to provide a creative and supportive community for phenomenologists to meet and discuss their ongoing work.
Phenomenology, as developed by Edmund Husserl, is a philosophical discipline that investigates consciousness and subjectivity.
NEWS FROM MILANO THE NEW SCHOOL FOR MANAGEMENT AND URBAN POLICY
THE HYPERPARTISAN ERA IN WASHINGTON: CAN FEDERAL BIPARTISANSHIP BE REVIVED?
The inaugural Bill Green Lecture will be presented by Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy and the Center for New York City Affairs on Wednesday, May 28, from 6-7:45 p.m., featuring Ronald Brownstein, political director of Atlantic Media Group (publisher of the Atlantic, National Journal, Congress Daily, and the Hotline) and author of The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America (Penguin Press, 2007).
The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion with Jenny Backus, Democratic consultant (unaffiliated in the 2008 presidential race); David Chalian, political director of ABC News; and David Greenberg, professor of history at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
The lecture will take place in Swayduck Auditorium, Albert List Academic Center, 65 Fifth Avenue. Admission is free but reservations are required. Call 212.229.5418 or email milanoevents@newschool.edu.
The Bill Green Lecture Series memorializes Bill Green (1929-2002), who represented the East Side of Manhattan in Congress from 1978 to 1992. Rep. Green, a Republican, was an independent thinker who frequently crossed the aisle to collaborate on critical issues such as the environment, urban policy, and affordable housing. He served as a trustee of The New School and a board member of Milano. This lecture series pays tribute to his commitment to bipartisanship, and is generously funded by the Taconic Foundation on whose board he also served.
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DRAMA
DRAMA FACULTY MEMBERS RECEIVE BACKSTAGE READERS’ CHOICE AWARD
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| Patricia Fletcher |
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| Eddie Guttman |
Two faculty members at The New School for Drama received Readers’ Choice Awards in Backstage’s recent survey. Dialect teacher and voice coach Patricia Fletcher was named Favorite Dialect Coach. A former actor, Fletcher believes that when it comes to dialects, less is more. “What surprises people, really,” she says, “is the variety within the dialect that depends on the particular character you’re playing, what happens in the scene, and where that person is in the whole economic strata.” Fletcher applies this philosophy in teaching MFA in Acting students at Drama. She is also known for customizing her approach to the students in her classes, making sure that everyone is progressing at the same rate and that no one feels left behind.
Drama music accompanist Eddie Guttman was surprised to be selected as Favorite Accompanist because, he says, “the less somebody has to say about you as an accompanist, the better. In a way, you don’t want to be noticed. You just want the vocalist to shine and let them get the compliments.” Guttman assists in Drama’s voice classes and provides individual class and coaching sessions; he has also served as accompanist for Lincoln Center’s Meet the Artist series for more than a decade.
“He takes an interest in his students and really cares about them,” notes Drama alum Rachel Dorfman. “He’s available all the time to answer questions, a fantastic artist, and a great teacher.”
Each year, Backstage surveys its readers and asks them to select their favorites in categories such as acting coaches, headshot photographers, and talent agencies, as well as bars, bookstores, and places to shop for clothes.
NEWS FROM EUGENE LANG COLLEGE THE NEW SCHOOL FOR LIBERAL ARTS
LANG PROFESSOR PUBLISHES NEW BOOK ON THEATER
Bonnie Marranca, a professor of theater at Eugene Lang College, is the author of a new collection of writings entitled Performance Histories.
The book includes essays and interviews addressing performance and ethics, art as spiritual practice, and avant-garde legacies in theater and visual art performance. Also featured is extended commentary on Wallace Shawn, the Wooster Group, Robert Wilson, and Gertrude Stein, as well as Marranca’s interviews with Susan Sontag, Robert Jay Lifton, and Peter Sellars.
In addition to teaching at Lang, Bonnie Marranca is co-founder and editor of the Obie Award-winning PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art. Performance Histories is her 14th book.
NEWS FROM PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN
PARSONS MFA STUDENT AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS GRANT
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| Farewell |
Cecile Chong, an MFA student at Parsons, has been awarded a grant from the The Joan Mitchell Foundation. The Annual MFA Grant Program was created in 1997 and is given in recognition of artistic quality. The grant aids exceptional MFA painters and sculptors to further their artistic creers and transition from academic to professional studio work. Chong was one of 15 students who were chosen from a nationwide body of candidates.
Chong was born in Ecuador of Chinese parents. Her work has been included in exhibition at El Museo's (S) Files, Corridor Gallery, and Kenise Barnes Fine Art. Upon graduating she will participate in the Emerge Program at Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art in Newark, New Jersey. In July, she will be part of an art residency at Vermont Studio Center. Prior to her MFA at Parsons she obtained an MA in Education from Hunter College, and a BA in Studio Art from Queens College. Her early schooling took place in Ecuador, Macau, and mainland China.
The Joan Mitchell Foundation was established in April, 1993 as a not-for-profit corporation following the death of Joan Mitchell in October, 1992. The Foundation strives to fulfill the ambition of Joan Mitchell to aid and assist contemporary artists and to demonstrate that painting and sculpture are cultural necessities.
PARSONS THESIS EXHIBITIONS NOW ON VIEW
Parsons thesis exhibitions continue this week at venues across Manhattan. Work by students in the Design and Technology (BFA and MFA) and Product Design programs is now on view. Communication Design and Technology MFA students’ work is on view beginning Friday, May 30 through June 7. Communication Design and Technology BFA students’ work is on view through Saturday, May 24. Product Design students’ work is on view through Sunday, May 25. For detailed information on individual thesis exhibitions, please visit the Parsons event calendar at www.parsons.edu/events
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Michael Hoefler, |
Parsons BFA Communication Design and Technology Thesis Exhibition
On view through May 24, 2008
Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York
For admission information and hours of operation, please call 212.255.0719 or visit www.chelseaartmuseum.org.
A Good Life: Parsons BFA Product Design Thesis Exhibition
On view through May 25, 2008.
Press and industry open house: May 20, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Felissimo Design House, 10 West 56th Street, New York
For admission information and hours of operation, please call (212) 956-4438 or visit www.felissimo.com.
Parsons MFA Design and Technology Thesis Exhibition
Opening Reception: May 30, 6-8 pm; through June 7, 2008.
Chelsea Art Museum, 556 West 22nd Street, New York
For admission information and hours of operation, please call 212.255.0719 or visit www.chelseaartmuseum.org.
NEWS FROM MANNES COLLEGE THE NEW SCHOOL FOR MUSIC
SUMMER 2008 INSTITUTES, FESTIVALS, AND SEMINARS
Mannes College The New School for Music presents a number of not-to-be-missed classical music institutes, festivals, and seminars that go beyond the usual “light” summer fare. These include The Eighth Annual Mannes Beethoven Institute, June 1-8; The Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance, June 10-17; Mannes Summer Institute of Art Song in Spanish, June 13-22; The Eighth New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes, June 25-29; and The Ninth Annual International Keyboard Institute and Festival, July 13-27.
Here are details for the first two institutes:
The Eighth Annual Mannes Beethoven Institute (June 1-8)
The eighth annual Mannes Beethoven Institute will explore Beethoven's sonatas, piano trios, and string quartets in a week of intensive study. Students work closely with distinguished faculty and participate in public performances at the end of the Institute.
Participating faculty includes: pianists Yuri Kim, Jacob Lateiner, Robert McDonald, Thomas Sauer, Ignat Solzhenitsyn; the Brentano String Quartet; violinists Soovin Kim, Sylvia Rosenberg; cellists Colin Carr, Michael Kannen; theorist Dr. Joel Lester, musicologist Scott Burnham; and recording archivist Allan Evans.
The Beethoven Institute will be held at Mannes College of Music at 150 West 85th Street. A complete schedule of events can be found on the institute’s website. For more information, call 212.580.0210 x4879 or email BeethovenInstitute@newschool.edu.
Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance (IFCP): Focus on Strings, Piano, and Voice (June 10-17)
The 2008 Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance will focus on two musical giants, Georges Aperghis and Elliott Carter.
Virtually unknown in this country, Georges Aperghis has become a phenomenon in Europe. Some of his most personal works are described as “miniature operas.” With his work, Aperghis has created a unique universe, based on a striking relationship between music and theater. He explores recent developments in the expressivity of music, speech, and interactive physical movements with a personal and imaginative semiotic narrative. His operas are considered some of the most important productions of IRCAM at the Pompideou Center in Paris..
Elliott Carter is an honorary advisor of IFCP and will be celebrated beginning with the unveiling of a book of essays which have been published by Pendragon Press. The contributors include Pierre Boulez, Paul Griffiths, Charles Rosen, Frederic Rzewski, Louis Karchin, Richard Wilson, John Ashbery, Fred Lerdhal, Alvin Curran, Sanford Weill, and Walter Zimmermann.
For detailed information on the Institute and Festival for Contemporary Performance, visit their website or call 212.580.0210 x4884. All concerts are at 8:00 p.m. and will be preceded at 7:30 by symposia or conversations with composers and performers.
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR GENERAL STUDIES
TRUTH BE TOLD: DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
The Department of Media Studies and Film presents three nights of final work by the Graduate Certificate in Documentary Media Studies class of 2008 Tuesday-Thursday, May 27-29.
The films, which the students recently finished producing, directing, and editing, are the product of a year of intensive work in documentary production, history, and theory. This year’s class explores religious, gender, and racial identities and the people and places of New York City—from an octogenarian activist to a 17-year-old trapeze artist to Staten Island pigeon racers.
The New School’s program in Documentary Media Studies is a one-year, full-time graduate-level certificate. The program offers students the unique opportunity to study documentary history, theory, and practice in a small, intensive program in New York City, the documentary capital of the world.
Screenings will take place 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street. Admission is free, and no tickets or reservations are required. Seating is first come, first served. A reception will follow the screening on May 29.
Visit the Documentary Media Studies website for a complete list of films in the festival.
NEWS FROM THE NEW SCHOOL FOR JAZZ AND CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
ONE NIGHT ONLY: THE BIRD AND THE BEE AND ROBERT GLASPER TRIO
A Benefit Concert for The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music will be held on Monday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. The evening features performances by two well known alumni pianists: acclaimed jazz pianist Robert Glasper, and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin of the pop-psychedelic band the Bird and the Bee. Blue Note recording artists who cross musical genres, Glasper is a star of the new jazz generation and Kurstin a leading figure in contemporary music. The Robert Glasper Trio opens the program, followed by Kurstin's group, the Bird and the Bee, whose hit song "Again and Again" was recently featured on the television show Grey's Anatomy. This will be the first New York City show for the Bird and the Bee since the release of their new album, “One Too Many Hearts.”
“Robert’s and Greg’s careers truly embody the school’s mission, which immerses our students in the jazz tradition while enabling them to craft a singular creative voice,” said Martin Mueller, executive director of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. “Greg and Robert have taken what they have learned at The New School to create innovative and provocative music that is receiving critical acclaim and audience attention.”
The concert will be performed in Tishman Auditorium, Johnson/Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street. For tickets, please call 212.229.5662 x3829 or visit www.jazz.newschool.edu, where you can download the ticket order form. General admission is $60 and VIP seating is $350. VIP tickets include a post-concert reception with the artists. Proceeds from ticket sales will support scholarships and academic initiatives at the school.
UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
THE NINTH TCDS DEMOCRACY AND DIVERSITY GRADUATE INSTITUTE IN CAPE TOWN,
SOUTH AFRICA
The New School’s Transregional Center for Democratic Studies will be conducting its ninth Democracy and Diversity Institute in Cape Town, South Africa, January 6-22, 2009. During the intensive two-week program, up to 40 junior scholars and graduate students from sub-Saharan Africa, the United States, Latin America, and central and eastern Europe will gather to examine challenges to democracy in the host region and beyond. The institute will offer seminar courses in political science, anthropology, economics, sociology, and gender studies, to be co-taught by faculty from The New School for Social Research and South African academics. Students will select two of the four seminar courses; they will also attend a series of master classes conducted by scholars and intellectuals from South Africa and other countries in the region. The program includes evening guest speakers and study tours to socially and politically significant sites in the Cape peninsula.
New School students will receive credits upon successful completion of their coursework (three credits per course). This graduate program is also open to advanced students from Eugene Lang College.
The following seminar courses will be offered at the 2009 institute:
Democracies and Boundaries: Conflicts About Membership, Borders, and Diversity
Prof. David Plotke,Department of Political Science, The New School for Social Research
Gender and Democracy
Profs. Elzbieta Matynia, Department of Sociology and Liberal Studies, The New School for Social Research, and Shireen Hassim, Department of Political Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Democracy and Africanism
Prof. Hylton White, Department of Anthropology, The New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College, and guest speakers
Shifting Power in the Global Economy: Rethinking Development Strategies
Profs. William Milberg, Department of Economics, The New School for Social Research, and Stephen Gelb, executive director, the EDGE Institute, Johannesburg, and Department of Development Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
Applications, with full instructions, will be available beginning in September at www.newschool.edu/tcds. The deadline for applications is October 17, 2008.
For a full program description, contact TCDS at 212.229.5580 x3136 or tcds@newschool.edu, or visit www.newschool.edu/tcds.
INTERNATIONAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
BUILDING LATIN AMERICAN BICENTENNIALS IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION
The New School’s Observatory on Latin America (OLA) and the Programa Bicentenarios of the Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo, Universidad de Buenos Aires (FADU-UBA) are launching a research project, Building Latin American Bicentennials in the Age of Globalization. A number of Latin American countries will be celebrating the bicentennial of their national independence, including Argentina, Chile, and Mexico in 2010 and seven other countries in the next 15 years. These bicentennials offer an excellent opportunity for comparative and multidisciplinary research on how governments and civil society in these countries are constructing their commemorations and how they will use this historical moment to address urgent issues of social inclusion and institutional reform.
As part of this project, the OLA and FADU, in collaboration with the Centro de Estudios del Patrimonio (CEPAT) of the Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Paisaje, Universidad Central de Chile, are issuing a call for submissions of papers and visual presentations to the Latin American and English-speaking scholarly community and to civil society. The intention is to stimulate thinking and action on the Latin American bicentennials as well as communication and interaction among peoples in the region.
An evaluation committee will review the submissions and select the recipients of five awards for the most distinguished works, along with seven honorable mentions. The award winners will receive flight and accommodations for four days to participate in an international conference to be held at The New School in New York on February 26 and 27, 2009. In addition, their works will be included in the forthcoming book Construir Bicentenarios Latinoamericanos. Works by the winners of the honorable mentions will also be included in the book.
The deadline for abstracts is June 17, 2008. Final presentations must be received by September 29, 2008. For submission information, visit the Observatory on Latin America website.
TIME OUT NEW YORK DISCOUNT OFFER
Start your year off being in the know about things free or fancy. Time Out New York is offering all students, faculty, and staff at The New School a full year's subscription for just $20! That's 51 issues for the entire year and only 39c an issue. Steal this deal for yourself or a gift to another.
THE BEST DEAL FOR AFFORDABLE THEATER, Dance, and concert TICKETS:
THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND
An exciting spring theater, music and dance season is under way: Why pay $100 or more, when you can pay $20-$36 for Broadway shows and Off-Broadway shows, dance performances and concerts? An inexpensive way to enjoy the best of New York culture is to join Theatre Development Fund (TDF).
To be eligible, you must be a full-time student or teacher, senior citizen (62+), civil servant, union member, staff member of a not-for-profit organization, performing arts professional, or member of the clergy or armed forces. Annual membership fee is $27.50, and you can join online.
A small sampling of performances recently available to TDF Members for $20-36 per ticket include: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A Bronx Tale, A Chorus Line, Altar Boyz, American Ballet Theatre, August: Osage County, Avenue Q, Big Apple Circus, Celia, The Color Purple, Come Back Little Sheba, Crimes of the Heart, Curtains, The Fantasticks, The Farnsworth Invention, Forbidden Broadway, Gypsy, The Homecoming, In the Heights, Is He Dead?, Les Miserables, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, November, Passing Strange, Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, The Ritz, Rock 'n' Roll, The Seafarer, Sunday in the Park with George and Xanadu.. So don't miss this great opportunity to see great theater at great prices.
The New York Times is offering a 60 percent discount ($.40/per day Monday-Saturday, $2.00 on Sunday) for home or office subscriptions to all faculty, staff, and students.
Here's how it works. Unlike traditional subscriptions, the education rate can be set up by semester or in a combination that best reflects your schedules for both delivery and billing. New School faculty, staff, and students can have a subscription Monday-Friday, Sunday only, weekends only, or any combination.
To take advantage of the special discount to the Times or to change a current subscription, students, faculty (full-time and part-time), and staff should contact the customer service center at 888.NYT.COLL, to order a single subscription or a classroom subscription of up to eight copies for required reading in the classroom.
To order a classroom subscription of eight or more copies for required reading in the classroom, contact the education program's customer service center at 800.631.1222.
WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO SAVE TIME AND MONEY ON ENTERTAINMENT?
As a member of The New School, you have access to exclusive entertainment benefits through Plum Benefits! From theater and dance to sports and comedy, you can use this benefit to save time and money when ordering tickets for great seats to the hottest events in town! Log on 24/7 to enjoy:
Exclusive offers for premiere entertainment
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Helpful Customer Service at www.plumbenefits.com, 212.660.1888, or contact@plumbenefits.com
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CATCH THE LATEST EXHIBIT AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART FOR FREE
Did you know that you could get into this exciting museum for free? In order to receive your free admission, go to the lobby information desk and show them your valid New School ID. Students, faculty, and staff receive one free admission for themselves. Faculty and staff may also obtain an additional two tickets for their guests. Enjoy!
UPCOMING EVENTS
TICKETS: In person purchases can be made at The New School Box Office at 66 West 12th Street, main floor, Monday–Friday 1:00–7:00 p.m. The box office opens the first day of classes and closes after the last paid event of each semester.
SCREENplay 2008
Monday, May 19, 7:00 p.m.
The New School for Drama Theater, Drama Building, 151 Bank Street, 3rd floor
Admission: Admission is free and open to the public; reservations required. For reservations, please call 212.229.5859 x2630 or email at hoytr@newschool.edu.
SCREENplay is an opportunity for the graduating writers of The New School for Drama’s MFA Playwriting program to introduce their screenplays to a community audience and industry professionals. Each student will present one current project along with a brief project description and a short staged reading of a scene from the screenplay. Reception to follow.
NEW SCHOOL JAZZ AT SWEET RHYTHM: ARMEN DONELIAN TRIO
Monday, May 19, Sets at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue (south of Christopher Street)
Admission: [Sweet Rhythm]$10 cover + $10 food and drink minimum, no cover + $5 food and drink minimum for students with ID
Donelian Trio heralds new CD Oasis on Sunnyside Records
Armen Donelian on piano, David Clark on bass, and George Schuller on drums
An eclectic musician of Armenian parentage who has appearedinternationally as a pianist, composer and bandleader since 1975, Armen Donelian has worked with Sonny Rollins, Mongo Santamaria, ChetBaker, Paquito D’Rivera, Jackie Paris, Billy Harper, Night Ark and others.
Oasis (SSC 4007), Armen Donelian’s new trio CD due out May 6th, is his 11th as a leader and his eighth for the Sunnyside label,featuring him in a set of six originals and two standards accompaniedby David Clark on bass and George Schuller on drums, his band-matesfor the past four years.
Donelian's piano playing reveals a masterful command rooted inclassical and jazz studies, clean articulation, a deft, swingingtouch, access to a broad dynamic spectrum, a virtuosic harmonicvocabulary and a boundless source of creative ideas. Without force orpersuasion, he invites the listeners to join the trio in verypersonal and reflective explorations.
Clark is an experienced professor of bass at Berklee College of Musicin Boston. Schuller, the son of noted composer Gunther Schuller, is a New York City-based bandleader and record producer with a pedigreemusical upbringing.
ROAD TO INGWAVUMA - FILM SCREENING
Wednesday, May 28, 7:00 p.m.
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue
Admission: Free; no tickets or reservations required; seating is first-come first-served
Join The New School’s Department of Media Studies and Documentary Certificate program for a sneak preview of the acclaimed documentary Road to Ingwavuma. Following the screening will be a panel discussion and Q&A with Barbara Rick, Peabody- and Emmy-winning maker of the film; Deborah Santana, the film’s executive producer and narrator; and special guests. The discussion will be moderated by Michelle Materre, assistant professor of media studies and film at The New School. The event will conclude with a reception.
Road to Ingwavuma chronicles an extraordinary journey to the heart of postapartheid South Africa by a delegation of some of America’s most respected artist activists and their families. Appearing in the film are Carlos Santana, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Alfre Woodard, CCH Pounder, Jurnee Smollett, and Artists for a New South Africa..The film includes special appearances by former President Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and other heroes in South Africa’s fight for freedom and the continuing war on HIV/AIDS.
For more information, visit www.southafricamovie.com.
WHAT'S FOR DINNER? THE RISE OF FOOD LITERACY
Tuesday, June 3, 6:00 p.m.
Wollman Hall, Eugene Lang Building, 65 West 11th Street, 5th floor (enter at 66 West 12th Street)
Admission: $8; free to all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID
Americans are slowly but surely becoming more aware of their food and how it gets to their tables. In recent years, the terms locavore, foodshed, and community supported agriculture (CSA) have entered the popular lexicon. This heightened cultural and economic awareness has highlighted previously obscure problems of our food system . We are becoming better cooks, more informed consumers, and, in the words of the Slow Food movement, "co-producers." Our panel will explore the lexical contours of the changing American “foodscape.”
Panelists include Brian Halweil, publisher of the new magazine Edible Manhattan; Anne Saxelby, proprietor of Saxelby Cheesemongers; and Michael Anthony, executive chef of Gramercy Tavern.
Co-sponsored by Edible Manhattan and The New School Food Studies Program.
VIN SCELSA'S IDIOT'S DELIGHT
Friday, June 6, 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue
Admission: Free; no tickets or reservations required; seating is first-come first-served
Vin Scelsa's Idiot's Delight has quite a cult following in the NYC area -- Vin's been on the air here for 40 years on 90.7 WFUV. What Vin does is like no other show on the radio dial -- or on television, the Internet or anywhere else, for that matter. Listening to Idiot's Delight is like eavesdropping on a private intimate visit between friends, complete with impromptu studio performances. Israeli film-maker Issi Dayan (who first met Vin at a live broadcast on location from the New School!) has created a documentary about Vin and his fans. Issi will be present for
this first public screening of his film. The film will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
ANTISEMITISM: A DISCUSSION
Wednesday, June 11, 7:00 p.m.
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue
Admission: $8; free to all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID
Antisemitism is a central problem in Western civilization. Its emergence in the late nineteenth century and horrific consequences in the Holocaust, cast doubt on the very foundations of the modern Western world and values. Using Steven Beller’s new book on anti-Semitism, we look at the main theoretical debates of the daunting and often ironic complexities of the subject. Was prejudice only part of a complicated historical context that enabled the discrimination, persecution, and extermination of Jews in the Holocaust? We examine developments since 1945: anti-Semitism’s diminution in the Holocaust’s aftermath, the emergence of new forms of anti-Semitism, and the question of whether “anti-Zionism” is the “new anti-Semitism.”
Speakers include: Steven Beller, author of Antisemitism: A Very Short Introduction, and Edmund Leites, author of The Puritan Conscience and Modern Sexuality and Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College and author of Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus and The Aryan Jesus: Christians and the Bible in Nazi Germany.
Sponsored by The Wolfson Center for National Affairs.
JULIA CHILD, CULINARY REVOLUTIONARY
Thursday, June 12, 6:00 p.m.
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue
Admission: $8; free to all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID
Julia Child didn't start cooking until she was 39, but no other chef influenced late-20th-century American cooking more than she did.Forty-five years after the debut of her groundbreaking PBS show, The French Chef, this panel will discuss the profound effects of her books, television shows, and entertaining and accessible persona on our cuisine and culture.
Panelists include Judith Jones, Julia Child's editor at Knopf and author of The Tenth Muse; My Life in Food; Molly O'Neill, former New York Times Magazine food columnist and author of The New York Cookbook; Joan Reardon, author of M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child and Alice Waters: Celebrating the Pleasures of the Table; and Laura Shapiro, author of the Penguin Lives book, Julia Child. Moderated by Andrew F. Smith, editor of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. This event is offered in conjunction with the New School course, Julia Child: Culinary Revolutionary, that will commence on June 10.
Please visit www.newschool.edu/generalstudies/foodstudies.aspxfor more information. Sponsored by The New School Food Studies Program in association with the Culinary Historians of New York.
CONFERENCE ON ELDER ABUSE
Wednesday, June 18, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th Street
Admission: For a complete program and registration information, contact the IRP at irp@newschool.edu or 212.229.5682 after May 1.
Mistreatment of the elderly is a problem that affects all segments of society, regardless of socioeconomic status, living environment, race and ethnicity, and physical or cognitive condition of the aged individual. Its scope extends beyond physical abuse to include psychological and emotional harm, neglect (abandonment or failure to provide proper food, shelter, companionship, medical care, or other necessities of life), sexual abuse, exploitation, and fraudulent diversion of property. Perpetrators include victims’ relatives, professional caregivers, friends, and neighbors. Too many victims and witnesses do not know how to report elder abuse or where to go for help.
This New York-area conference brings together experts in gerontology and advocates for the elderly. Panels and lectures focus on exposing the realities of elder abuse in New York City and around the country, describing the kinds of responses and services that currently exist to protect the older people from abuse, and discussing ways of improving public and personal responses to abuse in all its forms.
Co-sponsored by the Institute for Retired Professionals at The New School and the New York City Department for the Elderly.
GAY RIGHTS AND THE POLITICS OF 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue
Admission: $8; free to all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID
Efforts to overcome discrimination based on sexual orientation have been part of a more generalized agenda of civil rights. These efforts have been played out in the streets, in major institutions, and in the courts. What do the politics of statewide elections and the presidential race of 2008 tell us about efforts to remedy the effects of discrimination on gays, lesbians and transgendered individuals?
The panelists who will deal with issues of marriage and the family, employment, health and well-being to assess electoral politics and the interests of a gay constituency include Judith Stacey, professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, Sociology Department, NYU Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality and author of In the Name of the Family: Rethinking Family Values in the Postmodernage; Shannon Minter, legal director of The National Center for Gay Rights; and Richard Goldstein, journalist and author of The Attack Queers: Liberal Society and the Gay Right. Moderated by Christopher Atamian, writer and President of the Armenian Gay and Lesbian Association - New York.
Sponsored by the Wolfson Center for National Affairs in partnership with the Alliant International University's Rockway Institute for Science and LGBT Public Policy.
ADMINISTRATIVE REMINDERS FOR STUDENTS
STUDENT ACCOUNTS INFORMATION
To ensure that you receive correspondence from The New School in a timely manner, please review your official address in MyNewSchool to make sure that it is current. If it is not, you can change your address online. This is especially important for students who are expecting to receive a refund.
STUDENTS: ACCESS GRADES AND REGISTRATION FEES THROUGH MYNEWSCHOOL
The New School does not automatically mail copies of semester grades. If you need a printed copy of your grades, you can request a copy through MyNewSchool (click the Student tab; then, in the Self Service channel, click Student Academic Information). Your semester grades will be mailed within two weeks. You can also access registration fees through MyNewSchool.
STUDENTS: REQUEST YOUR OFFICIAL ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPT ONLINE
Students can request an official transcript through MyNewSchool. Click the Student tab; then, in the Self Service channel, click Student Academic Information). Transcript requests are processed five business days after they are submitted. There is no fee for regular five-business-day service. Next-day transcript service is available only to students who submit requests in person. Transcripts of students with library or financial holds of any kind will not be released.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES
2008-09 Student Health Insurance
All degree, diploma, online only, visiting, mobility (study abroad), Lang and Parsons consortium, graduate certificate program, and both graduate and undergraduate degree program non-matriculating students are automatically charged a Student Health Services Fee and a Student Health Insurance Fee. Milano branch campuses and Parsons Decorative Arts program, Washington, DC, are excluded. Depending on course load and status, students may be eligible to decline these services by submitting a completed Online Waiver Form by September 29, 2008.
Students may access the Online Waiver Form and select the “New School” link. Students may also access the Online Waiver Form via a link in their MyNewSchool Online Services account located in the “Forms” box under the “Student” tab.
For additional information on fees, deadlines, policies and procedures regarding the Student Health Insurance program, please visit the New School website at www.newschool.edu (click on “Student Services”, then “Health Services”).
A FEW MINUTES FOR YOUR LIFE: TAKE THE HIV TEST FOR FREE-SPRING 2008 HOURS
Hispanic AIDS Forum, in collaboration with New School Student Health Services and the Office of Student Development and Activities (OSDA), will be offering FREE confidential HIV testing every week on
Thursdays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in June, July, and August. The testing site will be at Loeb Residence, 135 East 12th Street, 2nd floor. For further information, please contact Student Health Services at 212.229.1671, option 1 or 2.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM STUDENT DISABILITY SERVICES
Student Disability Services Newsletter
The latest edition of the spring 2008 Student Disability Services newsletter has been posted online. The newsletter spotlights deafness and hard-of-hearing, and features a story about the award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, who is deaf. The newsletter also includes tips on final exams and test taking as well as information about career guidance for people with disabilities.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SERVICES (ISS)
I-20 END DATES
Section 5 on your I-20 indicates the date when the validity of your I-20 ends. If you will be completing your studies by that time, please be advised that you will have a 60-day grace period after the program end date on your I-20 in which to either depart from the United States or transfer to another college or university. You will not be able to reenter the United States using your current I-20 during this grace period. If you find that you will not be able to finish your current degree by the completion date on your I-20, you can request a program extension. You must make your request at least 30 days before the completion date. Visit the student services website to find out what documents you need in order to request a program extension. If you plan to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), you must attend an OPT workshop before you apply and USCIS must receive your application before the last day of class. If you have been admitted to pursue a different degree at the New School, you must apply for your new I-20 before the end date on your current I-20. Contact iss@newschool.edu if you have any questions.
CHANGE OF MAJOR OR EDUCATIONAL LEVEL REQUIRES NEW I-20
Please note that if you change your major (e.g., from a BA in Fashion Design to a BA in Product Design) or your educational level (e.g., from MA to PhD), you MUST request an update to your I-20 to reflect your current degree and program information.
Deadlines:
Change of major: By the end of the add period (for spring 2008, this date is Monday, February 4)
Change of education level: You must apply for the new I-20 BEFORE you begin your new program.
Failing to request the changes in your I-20 for a change of major or educational level in a timely manner may jeopardize your I-20 status.
The Weekly Observer, The New School online publication, is sent to everyone with a University email account. It is also available on the University web site. To add an external address to the email list, please send a message from the account you wish to add to majordomo@newsite.newschool.edu. In the message, on a line by itself, type "subscribe observer".
To submit at item for publication in The Observer, please email observer@newschool.edu.
Submissions deadline for the Observer:
Submissions for the Observer must be received by Wednesday afternoon to appear in the following issue.
