Syllabus for Arts in New York City Fall 2008 IDC Seminar
CHC/IDC 1001H KM 24 Bernstein
Fall 2008–T/TH 11:10 AM–12:25 PM VC: 12-170
Professor Roslyn Bernstein:
Office Hours: Tuesday, 1 PM to 3:00 PM (By Appointment)
Room 7-270, Vertical Campus (1 Bernard Baruch Way)
Tech Fellow: Craig Willse
The Arts in New York City:
Cultural Encounters
This class will explore the theme of cultural encounters. How do works of art in theater, opera, film photography, and visual art depict, describe, and decode cultural encounters? How do the arts bridge differences and create cultural connections. How do diverse artistic genres, by relying on acting, singing, stage directions, editing, and visual techniques, engage audiences? Supported by the CUNY Honors College Cultural Passport, we will look at major artistic works, studying their components and reflecting on the ways that the arts contribute to the rich cultural landscape of New York City.
How does an artistic work define and illuminate a cultural encounter? How does a playwright, a composer, an artist mold materials to expose an audience to new and challenging ideas? How do different texts and media illuminate the human condition –the twisting and turning, the metamorphosis, which we all experience as we struggle to understand who we are and why we exist? How do artists bring together disparate elements to create magical creative collages?
Texts: South Pacific
Who She Was by Samuel Freedman
Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Arts Section New York Times (daily and weekends)
Additional materials will be distributed in the course of the semester, including articles and background material on Dr. Atomic and background reading on photography and the visual arts. Please read The Arts section of The New York Times daily.
Assignments in the syllabus are always due on the date for which they are listed.
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Thursday, 21. Aug. Performance of South Pacific. Lincoln Center
UNIT 1: Theater in the city: The Audience as Critic.
Thursday, 28 Aug. Introduction to the course theme: Cultural Encounters
In-class writing sample on South Pacific.“You’ve Got
to be Carefully Taught” says that racism is learned.
Do you agree?
Tuesday, 2 Sept. Musical Theater: Rogers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific and
James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific.
Assignment: Read James Michener, Tales of the South Pacific
Fo’ Dolla pp. 165-226
Thursday, 4. Sept. Theatrical Genres: The ingredients of a review
Building a theatrical vocabulary
Bring in New York Times Theater Review for Discussion
and five words with definitions.
Tuesday, 9. Sept. Contemporary Theater:
Irena’s Vow by Dan Gordon
Wednesday 10 Sept. Baruch Performing Arts Center
Irena’s Vow: 8 PM
Thursday 11 Sept. Social Commentary as Drama: Irena’s Vow
Tuesday, 16 Sept. Artistic Interpretations of Lives on the Edge:
The Immigrant Experience in NYC:
Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss (Chapter 1-4)
Thursday, 18 Sept. Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss (Chapter 5,10, 14)
Tuesday, 23 Sept. Contrasting Two Worlds: Desai (Chapters 15-end)
Thursday, 25 Sept. Lahiri and Desai: The Namesake and The Inheritance of Loss
Assignment: Paragraph Describing your Collage Theme.
Due Oct. 2.
Thursday, 25 Sept. Culture Project: In Conflict
27 Barrow Street 8 PM
Macaulay HC Lincoln Center Programming
Sunday, 28 Sept. Meet the Artists
10:00AM-11:30 AM
Tuesday, Sept 30 No Class
Thursday, 2 Oct. Collage Project Theme Presentations/Viewing Old Sites
Discussion of Collage Assignment: Design a one page (8 ½ x 11) collage on the theme of a cultural encounter.. You may use any materials—paper, cloth, found objects. Give the collage a name and write a paragraph or paragraphs describing your creation. (Text and collage must be input and scanned in by Nov. 21 for our weblog.)
Reading Assignment for Oct. 7: See URL for Dr. Atomic
Thursday, 2. Oct. Waltz with Bashir 6PM
Ziegfeld Theater, 141 West 54th Street.
UNIT 2: Opera in the City: Dr. Atomic
Tuesday, 7 Oct. Dr. Atomic
Macaulay HC Meet the Directors
Tuesday, 7 Oct. 6:00 PM-8:30 PM
Thursday, 9 Oct. No Classes. College Closed
Tuesday, 14 Oct. No Class. Follow Monday Schedule
Thursday, 16 Oct. Francine Prose: Reading Like a Writer
Tuesday, 21 Oct. Francine Prose, Reading Like a Writer
Tuesday, 21Oct. Francine Prose, Sidney Writer-in-Residence Reading
5:45 PM Newman Conference Center
151 East 25th Street/7th floor.
Reception from 5:00 to 5:45 PM. Reading at 5:45 PM.
Writing Assignment: 250-500 word mini-review of event, 10/28.
UNIT 3 Photography in New York City
Thursday, 23 Oct. Establishing a critical vocabulary: photography
Open City: Street Photographers Since 1950
The Street Photography Project
Tuesday, 28 October Reading Assignment: Photography Articles
Thursday 30 Oct. MET OPERA: Dr. Atomic
MEET AT MET AT 7:40 PM
( PERFORMANCE AT 8:00 PM)
Thursday 30 Oct. Class Discussion of Dr. Atomic
Assignment:
Tuesday 4. Nov. Class Visit by Photographer Jeff Mermelstein
Street Photography: Conveying Cultural Encounters
Wednesday, 5 Nov. Performance of CLAY 8 PM
Thursday 6, Nov. Photo Gallery Visit: International Center of Photography
1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street 11:45 AM
Tuesday 11 Nov. New York: Capital of Photography
Team Oral PowerPoint Presentations on New York Photographers:
. (10/12 minutes maximum)
Walker Evans
Berenice Abbott
Lewis Hine
James Van Der Zee (Alix Dejean)
Diane Arbus
Lisette Modell
Philip-Lorca DiCorcia
Weegee
Thursday 13 Nov. Team Presentations Continue
Reading Assignment for November 20: Who She Was (Freedman)
Tuesday 18 Nov. Street Photography Project Presentations I
Street Photography Project
Show and Tell: Present your album/CD of street images (approx. 12)
Do include a one-line photo caption for each image.
Writing Component: A journalistic /1st person account
describing your theme and the challenges you faced in shooting this street photography project (750 Words).
Wednesday, 19 Nov. BAM: 7:30 PM Gilman Opera House
Les ecailles de la memoire
Thursday, 20 Nov. Street Photography Presentations II
Tuesday, 25 Nov. Guest Speaker: Author/NYT columnist Sam Freedman
Who She Was
Thursday, 27 Nov. No Classes. Thanksgiving
UNIT 4. The Visual Arts in the City
Tuesday, Dec. 2
Who She Was/Who He Was Projects
Class on the Art of Interviewing.
Weaving in quotes and background research
Assignment: All reviews to be submitted
in Cultural Passport Portfolio due: December 16, 2008
Thursday, Dec. 4 Visit to MET MUSEUM:
Meet at Entrance 11:45 AM SHARP
Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street
Tuesday, Dec. 9 Critical Discussion of MET Exhibits
Thursday, Dec. 11 Who He Was/ Who She Was Presentations I
Read Excerpt from your paper and talk about the person and the project.
Tuesday, Dec. 16 Who She Was/ Who He Was Presentations II
Looking Forward and Backward: Evaluating the CHC/IDC course
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND PERCENTAGES OF FINAL GRADES:
*ORAL PRESENTATIONS, CLASS PARTICIPATION, AND BLACKBOARD DISCUSSION /BLOG: (10% of your grade)
CULTURAL PASSPORT/ REVIEWS/WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: (40 %)
Reviews of South Pacific, Irena’s Vow, Dr. Atomic, ICP Exhibit, MET exhibits, and talks by Prose, Mermelstein, and Freedman
[All reviews are to be included in your Cultural Passport Portfolio due 12/16]
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT: 15 %
COLLAGE PROJECT: 15 %
WHO SHE WAS/WHO HE WAS PAPER: 20 % [Due 12/11]
Baruch Policy on Academic Integrity:
I fully support Baruch College’s policy on Academic Honesty which states, in part:
“Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college’s educational mission and the students’ personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned.”
Academic sanctions in this class will range from an F on the assignment to an F in this course. A report of suspected academic dishonesty will be sent to the Office of the Dean of Students. Additional information and definitions can be found at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html
Please see the discussion of this subject The Little Brown Handbook, 10th Edition (Longman/Person) See Chapter 45, Avoiding Plagiarism and Documenting Sources, pp. 629-638.
