Summer in the City

Sunday, June 24 – Saturday, July 21, 2012

Four Week Program, Residential and Commuter Options

Please browse our courses for Summer 2012. If you would like to receive further information about our program, please join our mailing list.

From Screen-writing to Dance, History to Psychology, whatever you’re into, we’ve got it covered! For budding journalists – write and produce an issue of Barnard’s literary magazine, Echoes!

Classes are held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

On Wednesdays all students participate in Life After College activities, which include visits to centers of Media and Communication, Business and Finance, and International Relations.

NOTE: NEW THIS SUMMER - classes in Africana Studies, Journalism, Studio Art and Religion taught by renowned faculty. 

Select two courses from the following list, one from each time slot:

SUMMER 2012 PRE-COLLEGE COURSE

Click on the titles for a detailed description of each course! 

Morning Courses:

ACTING: PROCESS AND PERFORMANCE

New York's vibrant theatre scene is in our classroom! Students will hone their acting technique while deepening their understanding of the process of developing plays. We will rehearse and perform monologues and scenes and have the option to write short plays and/or perform songs. These hands-on opportunities will alternate with trips to the theatre, a Broadway backstage tour, and visits from guests artists including actors, directors, and playwrights.

Ari Laura Kreith

AFRICAN NEW YORK: A CONTINENT IN A CITY

In this course, students will explore New York and critically examine its geography, history, and urban culture in a city and world shaped by exchanges.  Attentive to the city's multifaceted history, this course will focus on New York as a site of African urban life -- albeit a site thousands of miles from the African continent. Students will use art, archaeology, film, literature, and history to learn about New York's 17th century Congolese landowners and Guinean slaves, its cosmopolitan intellectual and economic communities connecting port cities on four continents, the "New African Diaspora" of the past 50 years, and the city's coveted and challenged 21st century position as the ‘Capital of the World.' Taking advantage of Manhattan, the class will visit the African Burial Ground near City Hall, the Midtown headquarters of the United Nations, Harlem's museums and libraries, and other historical and cultural sites that illustrate Africa's rich and fascinating contributions to New York life, as well as New York's influence on African history and life.

Brandon County

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND VISUAL CULTURE

This course introduces students to the architectural design process through a series of projects formatted similarly to the studio work done within the Barnard and Columbia College Architecture Program. Students will explore the conventions of the representational language of architectural design and visual culture. Both two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional models are used to analyze space and material relationships. Through a series of short design exercises, students will follow a design process of documentation, analysis, and invention in the design of a small-scale intervention in the urban environment. All projects will require creative thinking and refined craft in the service of ideas. No previous design or drawing experience is required - students at all skill levels will find new design and representational challenges in this course.  All students will have their own desk space in the architecture studios.

R. Todd Rouhe

URBAN ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY

Each week will focus on a case study that includes an Urban Site, as well as a Building. Through the week, students will learn how each case study is influenced and defined by the physical components of site or topology (man made vs. natural) and the sustainable materials that have been used, as well as the more nuanced relationships of culture, policy, human use, and psychology that affect the understanding and formation of those physical components. Case study topics may include: Central Park, neighborhood urban parks and gardens, urban medians and bicycle lanes, The High Line and Roof Gardens, the Diana Center, the Times Building, Lincoln Center, and the Solarium. The students will be introduced to the agencies that are making and affecting the use of sustainable methods and materials. For example: The Urban Green Council, Building Green, and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – Fit City Initiative.

Maria Gray

MASTERPIECES OF ART IN NEW YORK CITY

This course will introduce students  to some of the major works of Western Art currently located in New York. We will begin with the Greek period and conclude with the contemporary art scene in New York City. Slide lectures, class discussions, and readings will be supplemented with visits to New York City's world-renowned museums.

Kent Minturn

INTRO TO SCREENWRITING: THE SHORT FORM

From film festivals to cell phones, short films are everywhere. This workshop will demystify the art of screenwriting and give you the tools you need to write a great short script. You will learn how to grab viewers by their collective shirt collar and more importantly, hold their attention until the final credits roll. Emphasis will be placed on visual storytelling, the classic three-act structure, plot, character development, conflict, and dialogue. Through writing exercises, script analyses, and film screenings, students will learn the craft of screenwriting. By the end of the course, each student will have written three short screenplays as well as revised one of these scripts.

Helen Kaplan

WHAT’S SO ‘GREAT’ ABOUT GREAT BOOKS?

This course explores the question of “greatness” through close, contextualized readings of four canonical texts from the Western tradition, each of which reflects upon its relationships to the artistic tradition it inherits, affirms, questions, and transforms. We will ask such questions as: What is the nature of artistic influence? What is artistic originality? What is the relationship between art and memory? And what is the relationship between the artist and his or her work? Between the writer and his or her readers? We will explore these questions through text-based class discussion, in-class projects, and two short essays. The course aims to help students develop understanding of the literature of major historical periods while acquiring the reading, writing, and speaking skills appropriate to college-level work.

Walter Johnston

THE CITY AS CHARACTER: NEW YORK IN FILM, PHOTOGRAPHY AND LITERATURE

This is a cultural studies class that focuses on New York as it is portrayed in film, photos and literature, highlighting those pieces that demonstrate how the city has changed throughout the decades. As a class, we will explore how each movie frames the city, how the cityscape functions as a character in pushing the story forward and in the end how these narratives transform the image of the city presented to the world. The course uses movies as primary source material, and includes numerous field trips to locations portrayed in the films. The final project will include an extensive photo essay exploring New York now and then in its historical/fictional context.

Annie Shaw

PSYCHOLOGY OF MEDIA

Explore the psychology behind media and how it affects you, your peers and the public at large. If this sounds right up your blog - our course will examine the internet, mobile media, video games and how learning and media go hand in hand to facilitate understanding and decision-making. You will be introduced to psychological theories and research, as well as the cognitive processes of media development. Guest speakers will include writers from Nick, Jr., MTV and others.

Jamie Krenn

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVIL

From the Hebrew Bible to True Blood, how have people imagined the forces of evil in Western history? This course investigates representations of evil (demons, monsters, gods and goddesses, vampires, etc.) in the history of Western literature, art, film, and theatre. Students will study how the language of evil is marshaled in religious, political, and cultural conversations, both past and present. With close attention to artistic and textual examples, students will consider the complex and confounding language deployed in discussions of evil.

Todd Berzon

INTRODUCTION TO FICTION WRITING: HOW TO FIND YOUR STORY

Many students want to write fiction, but aren’t sure what to write about. They ask themselves whether or not they have a story worth telling, and they’re not sure how to turn the ideas they do have into a piece of fiction. This course will help beginning writers first to generate material, using writing exercises and by reading published works by contemporary authors, and then to craft that material into a story by concentrating on key components like character, setting, and plot. By the end of the course, each student will have written, workshopped, and revised one short story.

Sarah Labarge

WRITING PLACE: NEW YORK CITY IN LAYERS

What makes New York the city we know, or believe, it to be? This course offers students opportunities to make observations about unique locations in New York City, and to use those observations as prompts for creative non-fiction writing. Our goal is to look into the sea of differences that make up this city, and to understand a little better how those differences coexist; as we do so, we will become more adept writers by deepening our thinking about the city. Most weeks, the class will observe a different place in the city and draw on a variety of textual sources – fictional, non-fictional, film, personal experience – to draft and revise short essays that present our individual and shared reflections on the city and urban experience.

Mary Helen Kolisnyk

Afternoon Courses:

ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IN NEW YORK CITY

Design surrounds us in the urban environment. To truly understand and appreciate the complexity of design in this context it must be experienced. In this course, students will travel within New York City to sites and projects that highlight the multiple scales of design at work in the metropolis – infrastructure, urban planning, architecture, and landscape architecture. Sketchbook work, photography, readings on architecture and written analysis will be utilized to develop the ability to communicate about architecture and urbanism. Office visits to some of the most interesting NYC design practices will supplement coursework. All students will have their own desk space in the architecture studios.

R. Todd Rouhe

DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIO

This course will boast a series of short, intensive design projects that will use New York City as a laboratory for digitally developed design research and representation. Design projects are similar to those taught in the Barnard and Columbia College Architecture Program. Students will explore sites in the city, learn about the design process and work with both 2-D and 3-D representation to design their own intervention. This studio will primarily utilize the software Rhinoceros (Rhino), and is appropriate for students seeking to learn new computer skills or enhance their existing knowledge of Rhino; the design projects will allow students to work at various levels of development. The Adobe Creative Suite of software will also be utilized and similarly taught. The course will end with a review and an exhibit of all students’ work in the Gallery. All students will have their own desk space in the architecture studios and will also use the digital design laboratory computers for their work.

Nicole Robertson

THE RIGOR AND ROMANCE OF DANCE

So you think you know dance? This non-studio dance course will examine several major traditions of dance. The class will use Barnard’s excellent Media Services collection and the world-famous Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center as we learn to critically analyze, write, and discuss various forms of dance through film, readings and live performances! In this course, we will look at and discuss stellar examples of classical ballet, modern dance, tap and ballroom dance, and dancing for the camera. We will also attend relevant performances at theaters in the city, perhaps an art or photography exhibition of relevance – and, if possible, take a class in one kind of social dance at Lincoln Center’s annual Midsummer Night’s Swing.

Mindy Aloff

FILMMAKING: FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN

This immersive filmmaking course will give you the tools you need to make a great short film. You will dream up screen stories and get your ideas down on the page during pre-production. During production, you will shoot and direct your cast, bringing your words and images to life. And finally, you will edit your footage into an original short film during post-production. Since film is a collaborative medium, students will crew, act, produce, and shoot each other’s projects in order to experience all aspects of filmmaking. Using New York as both a set and a source of inspiration, students will also attend film screenings and visit organizations that promote and produce cinema. Previous experience shooting and editing is highly recommended.

Helen Kaplan

MEDIA AND SOCIETY TODAY: FROM PRINT TO FACEBOOK

We all find ourselves ridiculing “The Media” from time to time. Put some academic clout behind your arguments! This course introduces students to the basic methods, concepts, and theoretical approaches central to the study of mediated communication. We will look at factors that influence media production with visits to New York City-based television studios, print newsrooms, and digital media companies, and we will discuss how the media influences our own values and behavior. Our goal is to become more informed, articulate, and savvy critics of the media that surrounds us today. This is an ideal introductory course for students interested in journalism, communication, and media studies.

Ruth Palmer

PSYCH 101

Psychology can be defined as the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. While psychology is most often associated with clinical issues (i.e. abnormal, personality), this makes up only a small portion of the field. This is a broad survey course covering topics such as physiological, social, organizational, and developmental psychology. The course will develop one’s understanding of seeing psychology as a science of human thought and behavior. Topics covered will be a helpful tool for most university introductory psychology courses.

Jamie Krenn

CRIME AND SOCIETY

This course provides a critical introduction to the criminal justice system. We will explore the various dimensions of the law as a social institution, specifically as an expression of societal values, norms, and expectations. Such an exploration necessarily involves the examination of law’s relationship to other social institutions and the overarching cultural influences, with international comparisons, historical referents, and alternative approaches to traditional legal responses to crime. Particular emphasis will be placed on examining the purported goals of the justice system and whether its outcomes align with those goals. Students will be introduced to new approaches to criminal justice, including restorative justice and offender accountability, as well as crime victims' rights. The course involves interactive work, including visits to courts, a police station, a criminal justice research library, and in-class workshops. Students will become acquainted with the standards of university-level academic work through the writing of short essays, participation in guided class discussions, and analysis of scholarly texts.

Roz Myers

INTRODUCTION TO WORKS ON PAPER IN NEW YORK CITY

New York City has one of the largest and most extraordinary art communities in the world. Through trips to contemporary art galleries and museums, visits with working artists, creative workshops, and in-depth discussions, students will gain an understanding of the art world and what it is like to make work within this diverse and creative community. Students will execute their own creative projects based on ideas that we have discussed and experienced during the course. Fundamental techniques for drawing will be paired with more experimental projects in works on paper (including collage and photo-based material).  An emphasis will be placed on contemporary art happening in the City today and how it relates to historic art movements of the 20^th century, among them Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Appropriation Art and Pop Art. 

Julia Westerbeke

OUR TOWN: 400 YEARS OF WOMEN IN NEW YORK HISTORY

This course delves into the fascinating world of women’s history in New York City. We will investigate the role of women as shapers and players in New York history, starting with colonial New York, continuing into Revolutionary New York. The main focus will be on 19th and 20th century history, including the Harlem Renaissance and the 1960s political and artistic movements. The class will read a combination of fiction and non-fiction, and we will examine other documentary evidence (including film and visual art), to discover how women’s lives have been presented throughout the city’s history. We will visit sites that tell us about women’s role as blue-collar workers, housewives, society dames, artists, politicians and professionals. Students will hone their analytical skills and rhetorical skills through assignments.

Julie Bleha

WRITING OUR LIVES: WRITING MEMOIR AND PERSONAL NARRATIVE

The writer Anais Nin once wrote, “And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” As the high school student prepares to make the transition from high school to college, she or he is faced with many challenges. One of these challenges is finding a voice and telling a story. In "Writing Our Lives" students will read important collegiate-level essays and develop nuanced observations to improve their own techniques in writing the personal essay. The intensity of this class makes it a perfect space to create a multi-draft, workshopped (in different ways) essay fit for public sharing. By making a piece public, the student can feel comfortable with how she or he wants her or his voice to sound. Students will also have the option to read their pieces aloud in a NYC public venue.

Jill DiDonato