Macaulay Honors College Curriculum

All students in the Honors College take four required seminars, one each during their first four semesters. The Honors College Seminars combine traditional scholarly activity with hands-on experiences designed to stimulate interest in and deepen understanding of the institutions and people of New York City. The curriculum of the seminars is enhanced by special events, visits to New York City cultural institutions, and the opportunity to meet and work with artists, scientists, and other distinguished professionals. Through the use of instructional technology and intensive reading and writing, students sharpen their analytical, writing, and research skills. Each seminar emphasizes original research or creative work. University Scholars present their research and creative projects to the entire class at the end of each semester.

Seminar 1 (course number CHC 100) introduces University Scholars to the arts in New York City and the Cultural Passport. During the semester, students attend theatrical, operatic, and musical performances, exhibitions of visual art, and other highlights of the current cultural season. To enhance their appreciation of these experiences, students investigate the social, historical, and aesthetic context of the cultural work being performed and exhibited. By writing frequently about these and other examples of the visual, performing, and literary arts, students develop their analytic and communication skills. In addition to experiencing these art forms as an audience, students are encouraged to examine performances and exhibitions from the multiple perspectives of scholarship, creativity, and production.

View syllabi of Hunter sections for Seminar 1 from the current semester, as well as past semesters.

During Seminar 2 (course number CHC 150), University Scholars investigate the role of immigration and migration in shaping New York City's identity - past, present, and future. Seminar topics include: the factors that have driven and drawn people to New York since the 17th century; the different ways that religion, race, gender, and ethnicity have shaped immigrant encounters with the city; the formation and social organization of immigrant communities in such neighborhoods as the Five Points, the Lower East Side, Harlem, Little Italy, Chinatown, Astoria, and Flushing; the impact of successive waves of newcomers on urban culture and politics; and the continuing debate over assimilation and Americanization. Extensive reading and writing assignments are enriched by visits to archives and other important sites.

View syllabi of Hunter sections for Seminar 2 from the current semester, as well as past semesters.

In Seminar 3 (course number CHC 200), University Scholars analyze science and technology's impact on contemporary New York. Topics may include the computer, urban health issues, the environment, and energy. The seminar addresses the intellectual and historical roots of the semester's topic, as well as its ethical, legal, social, and economic ramifications. Students read scientific literature and learn the technical concepts necessary to understand their readings. Seminar 3 also engages students in the process of scientific inquiry as they investigate questions relevant to the seminar and to their lives. In-class work and homework assignments are enriched by visits to such institutions as the Hayden Planetarium, the Mount Sinai Medical Center, and other important research centers.

View syllabi of Hunter sections for Seminar 3 from the current semester, as well as past semesters.

The purpose of Seminar 4 (course number CHC 250) is to analyze the ongoing interplay of social, economic, and political forces that shape the physical form and social dynamics of New York City. University Scholars study certain important historical moments in the formulation of social policy, such as the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, welfare reform, and the formation of the Health and Hospitals Corporation. The seminar addresses major events in the creation of public space, such as the implementation of the Grid Plan, the redevelopment of Times Square, the creation of Central Park, and the construction of the World Trade Center and Battery Park City. By studying the institutional agents of change in the city - federal, state, and city government, public authorities, private sector interests, community boards, and community-based organizations - students come to appreciate the roles people take or are given in the process of government and the ways in which these roles are affected by patterns of inequality and power. Seminar 4 also considers New York City in the larger context of the region, the nation, and the world. Throughout the semester, students engage in a team research project on a current planning or policy issue to understand where the city is going, who will make the decisions, and how fair the outcome is likely to be.

View syllabi of Hunter sections for Seminar 4 from the current semester, as well as past semesters.