Illan’s Profile

The first seminar introduces Macaulay students to the arts and their roles in the life, history, and expression of New York. The seminar provides students with a foundation in the critical liberal arts skills and attitudes that will support their learning throughout their college years and beyond. During the semester students attend performances, exhibitions of visual art, and more. 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. The seminar will include examples and discussions of artistic endeavors from people of diverse racial, ethnic, class, national, religious, gender, sexuality, and other identities, specifically including Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), with attention to the intersectionality of these identities. The historical and contemporary uses of works of art to inform and propel social change and protest will also form part of the seminar. Students from all campuses will attend arts-related events at NYC cultural institutions, promoting critical attention, creative analysis, and clear communication through conversation.

The first seminar introduces Macaulay students to the arts and their roles in the life, history, and expression of New York. The seminar provides students with a foundation in the critical liberal arts skills and attitudes that will support their learning throughout their college years and beyond. During the semester students attend performances, exhibitions of visual art, and more. 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. The seminar will include examples and discussions of artistic endeavors from people of diverse racial, ethnic, class, national, religious, gender, sexuality, and other identities, specifically including Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), with attention to the intersectionality of these identities. The historical and contemporary uses of works of art to inform and propel social change and protest will also form part of the seminar. Students from all campuses will attend arts-related events at NYC cultural institutions, promoting critical attention, creative analysis, and clear communication through conversation.