The New School

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This is about the New York university; for other uses, see New School (disambiguation).
The New School
Motto: To the Living Spirit (unofficial)[1]
Established: 1919
Type: Private, Non-Profit; Doctoral, Research-Intensive[2]
Endowment: US $200,000,000
President: Hon. J. Robert Kerrey
Provost: Benjamin Lee
Faculty: 2,088[3]
Students: 8,695[4]
Undergraduates: 5,382
Postgraduates: 3,313
Doctoral students: 607[5]
Other students: 5,900[6] (continuing education)
Location: Flag of the United States New York, NY
(40°44′08.08″N 73°59′49.08″W / 40.7355778, -73.9969667)
Campus: Urban
Former names: New School University
Affiliations: AACU
Website: http://www.newschool.edu/

The New School is a well-known university in New York City, located mostly around Greenwich Village.

Some 9,300 students are enrolled in graduate and undergraduate degree programs in a variety of disciplines, including the social sciences, liberal arts, humanities, architecture, fine arts, design, music, drama, finance, psychology and public policy.[7] The school is renowned for its avant-garde teaching and houses the well-known international think tank, the World Policy Institute.

From its founding in 1919 and for most of its history, the currently-styled New School was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University. The university and each of its colleges were re-branded to their current names in 2005.

The graduate school of The New School began in 1933 as the University in Exile, an emergency rescue program for threatened scholars in Europe. In 1934 it was chartered by the New York state board of regents and its name was changed to the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, a name it would keep until 2005 when it was renamed New School for Social Research.

Parsons The New School for Design is the university's highly-competitive art school.

The current president of the New School is former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey (D-NE), who assumed his role in 2000. Kerrey drew mixed praise and criticism for his divisive streamlining of the university, as well as censure for his support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, generally opposed by the university's traditionally left-wing faculty. In 2004, Kerrey appointed Arjun Appadurai as Provost. Appadurai resigned as provost in early 2006, but retains a tenured faculty position at the New School. The current provost is Benjamin Lee.

Contents

[edit] History

The Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan building (66 W. 12 St.). Architect Joseph Urban. Built in 1930 for the New School, it is one of the earliest examples of the International Style of architecture in New York City. Houses classrooms and Tischman Auditorium. Also includes several José Clemente Orozco murals.
The Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan building (66 W. 12 St.). Architect Joseph Urban. Built in 1930 for the New School, it is one of the earliest examples of the International Style of architecture in New York City. Houses classrooms and Tischman Auditorium. Also includes several José Clemente Orozco murals.

[edit] Founding

The New School for Social Research was founded by a group of university professors and intellectuals in 1919 as a modern, progressive free school where adult students could "seek an unbiased understanding of the existing order, its genesis, growth and present working."[8] Founders included historian Charles Beard, economists Thorstein Veblen and James Harvey Robinson, and philosopher John Dewey, several of whom were former professors at Columbia University.

The school was conceived and founded during a period of fevered nationalism, deep suspicion of foreigners, and increased censorship and suppression during and after the involvement of the United States in World War I.

In October 1917, after Columbia University passed a resolution that imposed a loyalty oath to the United States Government upon the entire faculty and student body[9], the board of trustees fired Professor of Psychology and Head of the Department James McKeen Cattell for having sent a petition to three US congressmen, asking them not to support legislation for military conscription.[10] Other firings included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana (grandson of the poet) and Leon Fraser. Charles Beard, Professor of Political Science, resigned his professorship at Columbia in protest. James Harvey Robinson, an associate of Beard's at Columbia and Professor of History, commented on the resignation: "It is not that any of us are pro-German or disloyal. It is simply that we fear that a condition of repression may arise in this country similar to that which we laughed at in Germany."[11] Robinson would resign in 1919 to join the faculty at the New School.

Founder Charles Beard had in 1899 collaborated with Walter Vrooman at Oxford to start Ruskin Hall, a progressive institution of higher learning for workingmen. The New School would offer the rigorousness of postgraduate education without degree matriculation or degree prerequisites. It was theoretically open to anyone, as the adult division today called The New School for General Studies remains.[12] The first classes at the New School took the form of lectures followed by discussions, for larger groups, or as smaller conferences, for "those equipped for specific research." In the first semester, 100 courses, mostly in economics and politics, were offered by an ad hoc faculty that included Thomas Sewall Adams, Charles Beard, Horace M. Kallen, Harold Laski, Wesley Clair Mitchell, Thorstein Veblen, James Harvey Robinson, Graham Wallas, Charles B. Davenport, Elsie Clews Parsons, and Roscoe Pound.[13] John Cage would pioneer the subject of Experimental Composition at the school.

[edit] University in exile

The University in Exile was founded in 1933 as a graduate division of the New School for Social Research, to be a haven for scholars who had been dismissed from teaching positions by totalitarian regimes in Europe. The University in Exile was initially funded by Hiram Halle and the Rockefeller Foundation. It was later renamed the "Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science", and bore this name until changing to its present one in 2005. The University in Exile and its subsequent incarnations have been the intellectual heart of the New School. Notable scholars associated with the University in Exile include psychologists Erich Fromm, Max Wertheimer and Aron Gurwitsch, political philosophers Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, and philosopher Hans Jonas.

The New School played a similar role with its support of the École Libre des Hautes Études. Receiving a charter from de Gaulle's Free French government in exile, the École attracted refugee scholars who taught in French, including philosopher Jacques Maritain, anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, and linguist Roman Jakobson. The École Libre gradually evolved into one of the leading institutions of research in Paris, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, with which the New School maintains close ties.

Following the collapse of totalitarian regimes in Europe, the University in Exile was renamed the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science. In 2005 the Graduate Faculty was again renamed, this time taking the original name of the university, the New School for Social Research.

I attended The New School for Social Research for only a year, but what a year it was. The school and New York itself had become a sanctuary for hundreds of extraordinary European Jews who had fled Germany and other countries before and during World War II, and they were enriching the city's intellectual life with an intensity that has probably never been equaled anywhere during a comparable period of time.

—Marlon Brando, student, [2]

[edit] Philosophical tradition

The New School for Social Research continues the Graduate Faculty's tradition of synthesizing progressive American intellectual thought and critical European philosophy. True to its origin and its firm roots within the University in Exile, The New School for Social Research, particularly its Department of Philosophy, is one of very few in the United States to offer students thorough training in the modern continental European philosophical tradition known as "Continental philosophy." Thus, it stresses the teachings of Aristotle, Locke, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Freud, Benjamin, Wittgenstein, Foucault, Derrida, Deleuze, et al. [3] The thought of the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School: Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas, et al. holds an especially strong influence on all divisions of the school.

The New School for Social Research publishes the following journals:

[edit] Organization

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Please improve this article if you can.
Major Divisions Founded
The New School for General Studies 1919
The New School for Social Research 1937
Parsons The New School for Design 1896
Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy 1964
Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts 1978
Mannes College The New School for Music 1937
The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music 1986
The New School for Drama 2005
Former Divisions
The Actor's Studio Drama School 1994 - 2005

[edit] New identity

In June of 2005, the university was officially renamed "The New School" and, in order to better promote the common affiliation of the divisions, the academic units were renamed to prominently feature the New School name: The New School for General Studies, The New School for Social Research, Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, Parsons The New School for Design, Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, Mannes College The New School for Music, The New School for Drama and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Some faculty, students, and alumni have expressed concern over the rebranding of the university, and especially the dramatic redesign of the logo from a six-sided shield against a green background to a spray-painted graffiti mark reading simply, in capital letters, "THE NEW SCHOOL" with, in smaller letters beneath, "A UNIVERSITY." They claim that the university's new identity campaign, while maintaining a slick urban edge, does little to suggest academic rigor or collegiate legacy.[14][15]

The name change came about in part to consolidate the divisions under one banner, and in part as an official recognition of the shorthand name for the school used by students, faculty and New Yorkers in general.[16]

My view is that you never argue with the customer about your name.

—New School President Bob Kerrey

[edit] The New School Institutes and Research Centers

There are several important Institutes and Research Centers at The New School which are focused on various study fields. Their work is concentrated in the following areas:

  • International Affairs and Global Perspectives
  • Philosophy and Intellectual Culture
  • Politics, Policy, and Society
  • Art, Design, and Theory
  • Environment
  • Urban and Community Development
  • Education

[edit] Labor movement

In 2003, adjunct faculty in several divisions of the New School began to form a labor union chapter under the auspices of the United Auto Workers. Though the university at first tried to contest the unionization, after several rulings against it by regional and national panels of the National Labor Relations Board the university recognized the local chapter, ACT-UAW, as the bargaining agent for the faculty. As a result of a near strike in November 2005 on the part of the adjunct faculty, the ACT-UAW union negotiated its first contract which included the acknowledgment of previously unrecognized part-time faculty at Mannes College The New School for Music.

[edit] US politics

John McCain's speech at the graduation ceremony of 2006 generated a large amount of media attention, due to vocal student opposition in print,[17] radio, [18] and television[19] media, and the speech of Jean Rohe, a graduating senior who spoke before McCain and directly confronted the controversy, saying that the senator "does not reflect the values upon which the university was founded."[20]

In 2007, New School trustee and long-time Clinton fundraiser Norman Hsu was arrested after being found to have skipped out on a felony theft conviction.[21] In 2008, he was convicted and sentenced to three years prison for defrauding millions of dollars of investors' money in an intricate Ponzi scheme. In response, the Hillary Clinton campaign returned $850,000 of his campaign contributions.[22]

[edit] 2008 Presidential elections

In the early 1960s, the New School offered the father of Senator Barack Obama a generous scholarship package that would have paid for his immediate family (including wife Ann Dunham and son, the future Senator; then residents of Hawaii) to join him in New York City, where he would complete his PhD. He declined and instead abandoned his family and departed for Harvard University, where he had a less-generous scholarship with no family allowance.[23] The couple would divorce shortly afterward, leaving Obama with conflicted feelings about his father (detailed in his autobiographical Dreams from My Father). A school-age Barack Obama and mother Ann Dunham would move to Jakarta, Indonesia after her marriage to Lolo Soetoro. There, he attended various public schools, including Basuki school. In 2008, New School President (and Hillary Clinton supporter[24]) Bob Kerrey would comment that he wasn't troubled that Obama had "spent a little bit of time in a secular madrassa"[25][26]–a statement he would later apologize for, given its factual inaccuracy and innuendo. Kerrey also made negative comments about John Edwards while speaking of his Hillary Clinton endorsement in January 2008: "Even before John Edwards was chasing ambulances in North Carolina and Barack was voting ‘present’ in the Illinois state senate, Senator Clinton was involved in major policy initiatives" [4] There has been some speculation[27] in the media whether Kerrey is under consideration by Clinton for Vice President should she win the Democratic nomination for President.

Leo Hindery, a New School trustee, had donated nearly $270,000 to the John Edwards campaign by late 2007. Other politically involved New School trustees include Howard Gittis, who is a "bundler" for the John McCain campaign, and George Haywood, part of Senator Barack Obama's inner fund-raising circle.[28] Fred P. Hochberg, Dean of Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, is a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and liaison to the gay community.[29]

[edit] Media

The Bravo television program Inside the Actors Studio, hosted by James Lipton, was filmed at The New School until a contract with the Actors Studio concluded in 2005; it is now filmed at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University.

Project Runway, another Bravo program, prominently features Parsons The New School for Design's elite fashion design department.

Stacey Farber, who currently plays the role of Ellie in Degrassi: The Next Generation is also enrolled in this school.

[edit] Noted faculty

[edit] Past

[edit] Present

[edit] Noted alumni

[edit] Fictional alumni

  • Myra Breckinridge, protagonist of Gore Vidal's novel of the same name, mentions she studied the classics at the New School.
  • Elaine Benes takes a drawing class at the New School in "The Doodle" episode of Seinfeld.
  • On the television series, Friends, multiple episodes feature references to or scenes at The New School. Monica and Joey take a culinary course in one episode, while Rachel and Pheobe take a literature course together in another.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ [I]n 1937, Thomas Mann remarked that a plaque bearing the inscription “To the Living Spirit” had been torn down by the Nazis from a building at the University of Heidelberg. He suggested that the University in Exile adopt that inscription as its motto, to indicate that the “living spirit,“ mortally threatened in Europe, would have a home in this country. Alvin Johnson adopted that idea, and the motto continues to guide the division in its present-day endeavors. link, New School for Social Research. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  2. ^ According to Middle States. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  3. ^ http://www.newschool.edu/admin/oir/factbook2006.pdf [New School Factbook 2006]. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  4. ^ Middle States data. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  5. ^ http://www.newschool.edu/admin/oir/factbook2006.pdf [New School Factbook 2006]. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
  6. ^ Constellations Magazine, New School publication. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  7. ^ Programs A-Z retrieved 29 April 2008.
  8. ^ "Research School to Open". New York Times (30 September 1919).
  9. ^ For more information on Columbia University's role in the repression of dissent in this period, please see Lee Bollinger's speech on academic freedom. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  10. ^ Cattell would later sue the university and win an annuity. Biographical information.
  11. ^ "Quits Columbia; Assails Trustees; Professor Charles A. Beard Says Narrow Clique Is Controlling the University. Free Speech the Issue; Resignation Grows Out of Expulsion of Professors Cattell and Dana." New York Times (9 October 1917).
  12. ^ "Research School to Open". New York Times (30 September 1919). Pg. 20.
  13. ^ Display Ad 489. New York Times (21 September 1919). pg. 96.
  14. ^ Business Week: " A Bad Move on a New Logo." Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  15. ^ HitorMiss.org: "The 'New' New School." Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  16. ^ The New York Times: "To Woo Students, Colleges Choose Names That Sell." Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  17. ^ David M. Herszenhorn, "Protesters Object to McCain as New School Commencement Speaker." The New York Times (10 May 2006). Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  18. ^ Brian Lehrer Show, "On the Fence." WNYC (16 May 2006). Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  19. ^ Amy Goodman, "Controversy Brews at New School Over Pick of McCain as Graduation Speaker." Democracy Now! (11 May 2006).Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  20. ^ Amy Goodman, Student Takes on McCain Over Iraq War Support at New School Graduation, Democracy Now! (9 June 2006)
  21. ^ Arenson, Karen W. "Fugitive Scandal May Pose a Hurdle for the New School". New York Times (9 September 2007). Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  22. ^ Marshall, Carolyn. [1]. New York Times (5 January 2008). Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  23. ^ Sailer, Steve. "Obama's Identity Crisis", The American Conservative (26 March 2007). Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  24. ^ "Kerrey Supports Clinton". Journal - Gazette. Ft. Wayne, Ind. (18 December 2007). pg. 9.A
  25. ^ Louis, Errol. "Hillary Clinton team throws racially-tinged mud at Barack Obama nonstop". New York Daily News (14 January 2008). Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  26. ^ "Democrats' Dirty Tricks Aimed at Obama". Indystar. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  27. ^ Baehr, Richard. Hillary Found Her #2?. Realclearpolitics. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  28. ^ Marshall, Carolyn. Supporter of Democrats Is Sentenced in California. New York Times (5 January, 2008). Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  29. ^ Horowitz, Jason. "What’s Pink, Green? Senator Clinton Hauling Gay Cash". New York Observer (18 March 2007). Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  30. ^ New School for Old Students Time (24 February 1967)
  31. ^ Alan Wolfe, The Mystique of Betty Friedan Atlantic Monthly (September 1999)
  32. ^ Johnson, Ken. "Herman Rose, 98, Painter of Cityscapes, Is Dead", New York Times, 2007-12-28. Retrieved on 2007-01-04. 
  33. ^ Online Encyclopedia" Jack Kerouac
  34. ^ A Home for the Exiled, a Haven for the Arts
  35. ^ New School for Old Students Time (24 February 1967)

[edit] Bibliography

  • Peter M. Rutkoff; William B. Scott. New School: a history of the New School for Social Research. New York: Free Press, 1986. ISBN 0029272009

[edit] External links

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