2011-2012
Pilot Year Projects
Spring 2012 Programs/Events
Pocket Opera Workshop
June 2, 2012 @ 8pm, Film and Media Black Box (Hunter North, Room 543 )
June 5, 2012 @ 8pm, Film and Media Black Box (Hunter North, Room 543 )
The Pocket Opera Workshop presented a program of ten-minute operas by Hunter composers based on librettos written by Hunter students and faculty.
Performances staged June 2 were sung by students from the Department of Music Program in Voice and accompanied by a chamber orchestra conducted by Paul Mueller. A reading of four additional pocket operas and some excerpts from operas by student composers took place June 5.
Click to view programs from June 2 (pdf) and June 5 (pdf).
Emancipating History: The Politics of Memory and the Cultural Geography of Slavery in NY (pdf)
May 11, 2011 @ 1-9pm, 8th Floor Faculty Dining Room (Southeast Corner)
This interdisciplinary colloquium assembled international artists, scholars, and Hunter students to reflect on the politics of memory, monuments, the Africanist and African American presence that have shaped and continue to shape the landscape of the Black Atlantic.
Students presented creative projects occasioned by the upcoming 150-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1st, 1863) alongside talks by Alan Rice (Professor of American Cultural Studies, University of Lancashire and author of Creating Memorials, Building Identities: The Politics of Memory in the Black Atlantic), and Lisa Merrill (Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric & Performance Studies, Hofstra University and author ofWhen Romeo was a Woman: Charlotte Cushman and Her Circle of Female Spectators).
High Tech, Low Life (pdf)
May 9, 2012 @ 7pm, Hunter North, Room 502
Filmmaker Stephen Maing screened and discussed High Tech, Low Life, his documentary about the rise and struggles of two Chinese "citizen journalists. Armed with laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras, they have developed skills as one-man news stations while learning to navigate China's evolving censorship regulations and avoiding the risk of political persecution.
Based in New York, Maing is a Fellow of the Sundance Documentary Institute and Independent Feature Project Labs programs and a grant recipient of the MacArthur Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and the Independent Television Service.
David Eagleman (pdf)
April 30, 2012 @ 6:30pm, Roosevelt House
May 1, 2012 @ 10am, Lang Recital Hall (Hunter North)
In a presentation for students in Lang Recital Hall, best-selling author and neuroscientistDavid Eagleman engaged in a lively, mind-expanding conversation about human memory, time, and other themes from his best-selling book Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives.
Eagleman also met with Hunter faculty at the Roosevelt House on April 30 to discuss "Science as Creative Narrative." Known for his experiments and writings on the subject of human perception and the limitless universe, Eagleman has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times and on The Colbert Report and NPR, among other media outlets.
Click here to learn more about Eagleman's visit to Hunter.
Astrovisualization with Carter Emmart
April 30, 2012, @ 11am, Assembly Hall
Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization for the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), discussed with students "The Art of Presenting the Cosmos."
"The vast layout of the universe is truly mind numbing, innately 3-D, and spans time beyond our comprehension," Emmart said. "So how do we get our heads around it? We do it by visualizing three-dimensionally the data scientists gather and by placing it in context to our place within it. Projected into domes, we can literally move through it and experience the universe we map from this one small place within it."
Emmart's visit was arranged by Assistant Professor Kelle Cruz and instructor Daniele Pinna, who run Astronomy 101, an arts-integrated course coordinated at Hunter.
Summit (pdf)
April 25-26, 2012, Faculty Dining Room
The Arts Across the Curriculum Faculty Committee hosted a Summit to seek perspectives on transforming a pilot arts initiative into a full-fledged, cross-disciplinary program for undergraduates. During a two-day series of presentations and panel discussions, Hunter faculty heard from distinguished guests from Bates College, Vanderbilt University, and Whittier College who work for successful cross-disciplinary arts programs at their schools. Speakers also included representatives from New York cultural institutions that have special partnerships with Hunter as well as faculty and students who are already engaged in integrating the arts in creative ways at Hunter.
Click here to learn more about the summit and to download podcasts from the event.
Notations: The Cage Effect Today, public programming
April 21, 2012 @ 3pm, Central Park West at 81st Street (Mushroom hunt)
Students and faculty took part in the most Cagean of practices - wild mushroom hunting - in Central Park. Wildman Steve Brill lead an expedition of foraging and cooking edible and medicinal plants.
Participants learned a great deal about edible and poisonous plants, including wisteria, violets, sassafras, and poison ivy. Mr. Brill was able to speak scientifically about the plants and their effect on the body, but also touched on culinary subjects, history on the uses of the plants, and Native American folklore.
Thresholds: Place and Margin in Italian Visual Culture, 1950s-Present (pdf)
April 20, 2012 @ 10am-12:30pm/2:30-6:30pm, Lang Recital Hall (Hunter North)
Co-sponsored by the Hunter College Department of Art and the Department of Film and Media Studies, this symposium featured a pool of international scholars discussing the meaning and aesthetics of urban margins and social peripheries in Italian postwar culture. The discussion moved across the disciplines and drew inspiration from the exhibition inPeripheral Visions: Italian Photography in Context, 1950s-Present, at the Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery at Hunter.
Teaching Tuesdays: Making Museum Visits Work (pdf)
March 20, 2012 @ 12-2pm, Charlotte Frank Room, 1203E
Some of New York City's best resources are also its most underutilized: museums. Educators from the Rubin and Metropolitan museums discussed creative ways to integrate their collections and resources into college coursework. Hunter professors added to the conversation by sharing how they've used museums to reinforce and broaden classroom lessons.
Speakers included Laura Lombard, the Rubin Museum's Manager of University Programs, and the Met's managing museum educators Marcie Karp (academic programs), Jackie Terrassa (gallery and studio programs), and Jo Loh (public and exhibition programs). Hunter Religion Lecturer Wendy Raver and Dara Meyers-Kingsley, director of Arts Across the Curriculum and Muse Scholars, also spoke. Co-sponsored by the Academic Center for Excellence in Research & Teaching.
Notations: The Cage Effect Today, public programming
March 13, 2012 @ 8pm, Lang Recital Hall (Opera and guitar solo)
James Ilgenfritz presented his 2011 opera, The Ticket that Exploded, based on William Burroughs' 1962 dystopian science-fiction novel. Elliott Sharp opened for the opera with a performance of Quadrature for electroacoustic guitar solo. Both artists participated in a question and answer session after the show.
Chantal Akerman (pdf)
March 5, 2012 @ 1-4pm, Lang Recital Hall
Chantal Akerman, the Michael & Irene Ross Distinguished Visiting Professor of Film and Video and Jewish Studies at the City College of New York, met with students from various disciplines - film, women's studies, French, art and creative writing - to discuss her creative process and show excerpts of her films. Akerman's work spans scriptwriting, feature films, documentaries, and installations. This event was organized by Prof. Ivone Margulies (Film and Media), an Akerman scholar and author of Nothing Happens: Chantal Akerman's Hyperrealist Everyday, who led the discussion with Prof. Joe McElhaney (Film and Media).
Fall 2011 Programs/Events
An Evening of Poetry, Memoir, Dementia and Healthcare Policy (pdf)
September 22, 2011
The fields of medicine and creative writing are merging in exciting new ways. Poet and memoirist Rachel Hadas spoke about Strange Relation: A Memoir of Marriage, Dementia, and Poetry, in which she explores her husband’s struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Rita Charon, founder and director of Columbia University’s Program in Narrative Medicine, offered insight into the powerful role storytelling can play between caregivers and patients. Co-sponsored by the Center for Health, Media & Policy, The Writing Center, and theRoosevelt House.
Arts Across the Curriculum: It's Easier Than You Think (pdf)
Teaching Tuesdays
October 25, 2011
English Prof. Rebecca Connor, Chair of Arts Across the Curriculum's Faculty Committee, presented on her popular inter-disciplinary course, The Gothic in Literary and Visual Culture. Professor Connor discussed the persistent iconic significance of the famous monster from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, using images and objects from 19th century art, contemporary popular culture, film and children's Halloween decorations. Arts Across the Curriculum Project Director Dara Meyers-Kingsley joined and the two led a lively conversation with faculty about how to integrate the arts into their classrooms. Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Aspen at Roosevelt: Arts and Community
November 7, 2011
Think-tank The Aspen Institute visited the Roosevelt House at Hunter College for a discussion highlighting the crucial role of the arts in society. Representatives from the Arts Across the Curriculum initiative attended this educational conversation between Damian Woetzel, The Aspen Institute’s director of Arts Programs, and Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Sponsored by The Aspen Institute at theRoosevelt House.
Open Forum
November 12, 2011
Following an overwhelming response from faculty to her inquiry about how professors already integrate the arts into their curricula, Hunter College Provost Vita C. Rabinowitzheld an open forum seeking more ways to infuse the arts throughout Hunter's disciplines, programs, and courses. Leading the discussion and answering questions was Professor Rebecca Connor, Acting Associate Provost and Chair of the Arts Across the Curriculum Faculty Committee. Dozens of faculty members attended, with representatives from departments ranging from public health and biology to history and Oriental studies.
How Chemistry Makes Art: An Olfactory Self-Portrait
November 30, 2011
Donna McGregor, a doctoral lecturer in chemistry at Hunter College, joined independent artist Martynka Wawrzyniak to present the final concept of Wawrzyniak's upcoming exhibition: An Olfactory Self-Portrait. To distill the "essence of the artist," Wawrzyniak worked with four chemistry students in the lab for five months to extract, isolate, and concentrate the scent from her sweat, hair, and tears. The extraction was then be used to create a "perfume" that Wawrzyniak planned to exhibit as her "olfactory self-portrait."
Teaching Tuesdays
Hooking Up: A Historical Timeline of Courting & Mating Practices Through Sociology and Dance (pdf)
December 6, 2011
Often lumped into categories like entertainment and exercise, dance is actually a deeply rooted cultural bellwether revealing shifting gender roles, social norms, and courting and mating practices. Hunter College professors Erica Chito-Childs (Sociology) and Kathleen Isaac (Dance), both members of the Arts Across the Curriculum Faculty Committee, gave a presentation on the multiple layers of this art form, including an illustrative student dance performance. Co-sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning.
The Artist's Institute
December 14, 2011
Curator Anthony Huberman, director of The Artist's Institute, discussed the exciting work of this experimental platform for thinking about contemporary art. A Hunter College project, The Artist's Institute highlights a single artist each season while inviting additional artists to respond to the work of the "anchor artist" (pdf). Hunter's MA and MFA students help direct programming that is open to the general public.