NEW PERSPECTIVES ON CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION
EUGENE LANG COLLEGE THE NEW SCHOOL FOR LIBERAL ARTS
ANNOUNCES INTERDISCIPLINARY LECTURE SERIES
HENRY LEVIN, FEBRUARY 18
Followed by Ron Scapp, March 11 and James Fraser, April 22
New York, February 18, 2010—The Education Studies department of Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts is hosting New Perspectives on Contemporary Education: An Interdisciplinary Lecture Series with three prominent scholars of education. The series, which opens with Henry Levin, followed by Ron Scapp and James Fraser, affords Lang students and The New School community a chance to hear these esteemed professors discuss some of the most debated topics of the day. In a climate of reduced resources, educational concerns are at the center of national political conversations. The New School’s tradition of finding solutions to daunting problems is the perfect platform for these exchanges.
The first of the series' three lectures will be delivered by Columbia University economist Henry Levin titled, "The Economic Payoff to Investing in Educational Justice," on Thursday, February 18 at 2:00 p.m. at the Hirshon Suite, 55 W. 13th, 2nd Floor. In his lecture, Levin will suggest that improving educational justice will provide substantial returns to taxpayers. He will discuss his quest to reduce educational inequity in the United States, identifying it as a moral imperative in a society where education is a crucial determinant of success.
Ron Scapp of the College of Mount Saint Vincent will discuss the “anti-urban bias” prevalent in education today and the effects of these insidious attitudes. Wrapping up the series, New York University’s James Fraser will shed light on why history is of no interest to many high school students and what can be done to remedy this damaging situation.
Schedule:
Thursday, February 18, 2010, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Henry Levin, Teachers College, Columbia University
"The Economic Payoff to Investing in Educational Justice"
Hirshon Suite, 55 W. 13th, 2nd Floor
What’s the payoff to investing in educational justice? Could more, and better education, actually be a boon to the taxpayer? Columbia University economist Henry Levin brings his economic analysis to bear on these provocative questions, suggesting that improving educational justice provides substantial returns to taxpayers that exceed the costs.
Thursday, March 11, 2010, 2-4 p.m.
Ron Scapp, College Of Mount Saint Vincent
"They Skool: The Anti-Urban Bias In Urban Education"
Hirshon Suite, 55 W. 13th, 2nd Floor
Urban educators and students face a constellation of known challenges, but they also teach and learn under circumstances that are informed and influenced by a less acknowledged "anti-urban bias." Cultural critic Ron Scapp will focus on the New York City school system to argue that even some advocates of urban public schooling—including many self-identified education reformers, the Department of Education and even the United Federation of Teachers—play into this dynamic. In formally identifying this bias, Scapp’s research begins a crucial dialogue.
Thursday, April 22, 2010, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
James Fraser, New York University
"Don't Know Much About History and Don’t Want To: Why High School Kids Hate History”
Location TBA
New York University’s James Fraser will discuss the myriad of reasons students are not interested in history and offer some remedies that can be implemented in the classroom.
ABOUT EUGENE LANG COLLEGE THE NEW SCHOOL FOR LIBERAL ARTS
With a diversity of students, faculty, and academics, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts is a seminar-style liberal arts college located in New York City that was established in 1985. Remaining faithful to its founding philosophy, Eugene Lang College grew out of a highly progressive freshman-year program developed at The New School in 1973. Lang offers intensive liberal arts study as well as a faculty committed to teaching undergraduates in an interdisciplinary context. Majors include culture and media, literary studies, the arts, philosophy, interdisciplinary science, psychology, economics, environmental studies, and philosophy. Areas of study include religious studies, urban studies, social inquiry, and education studies. For more information, visit www.lang.newschool.edu.
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