Month: March 2014

Dispatch from Madrid

Martha J Bekink

James FernandezOur classic course “Masterpieces of the Prado”, which meets weekly at one of the world’s greatest art museums (taught by Julia Domenech and Carmen Ana Sierra), is perhaps the best example of how our faculty and students take advantage of what Madrid has to offer. But virtually all of the courses in Madrid offer exciting co-curricular activities. Here are some recent highlights.

The students in Juan José Tenorio’s “Introduction to Finance” enjoyed an outing to the auditorium of the European Commission, where they heard the eminent economic analyst Ignacio de la Torre speak about “The Case of Spain.”…

Sharing great world texts with the local community in Buenos Aires

Martha J Bekink

In Fall 2013, an ongoing program from New York was brought to NYU’s global site in Buenos Aires. NYU Gallatin’s Great World Texts program has been running for six years in New York. The program involves NYU students going to New York City public schools as mentors for the younger students as they read an annually selected great work of world literature and develop their own creative expressions in response…

Michelle Boularès – Flaming Passion for French at NYU Paris

Martha J Bekink

Michelle BoularèsEntering her 24th year at NYU Paris, Michelle Boularès is one of the most senior members of the teaching and administrative staff at the site. “Madame Boularès” to the thousands of students who have learned French under her keen and demanding eye, she has helped establish language learning as a centerpiece of students’ experience at NYU Paris, and developed the language program from a small offering of courses to a model of rigor and excellence.

The author of several widely used grammar books, Professor Boularès came to NYU Paris from the elite national school of public administration, the Ecole Nationale de l’Administration (ENA), where she oversaw program development for the school’s international students and taught French as a foreign language. In her tenure as Director of the Language Program at NYUParis she has created innovative courses and helped build a solid and dedicated team of outstanding specialists in teaching French as a foreign language. The program has contributed greatly to the serious academic environment for which NYU Paris is known…

NYU Shanghai Student Cited by U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama in China Speech

Martha J Bekink

First Lady of the United States of America Michelle Obama spoke in Beijing on Saturday about the importance of education as part of her official visit to China. Speaking to a group of Chinese and American students, she emphasized the transformative power of education, as well as the benefits of a cross-cultural educational experience.

The First Lady highlighted the role of education in promoting the cross-cultural understanding and communication necessary to confront global challenges.

Dispatch from London

Martha J Bekink

Gary SlapperIn 1777, the English writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson said “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Certainly, NYU London has been socially rich over the last few months. We have added to our curriculum new courses on epidemiology, Irish history, childhood and adolescent development, fashion texts, fashion history, and the fashion industry. We now have 85 different courses including the sciences, and a great range in arts, social science, humanities and business.

To our splendid array of 90 internationally distinguished faculty, who also teach at London University or other universities and are eminent in their fields of business, journalism, and the arts, we recently said hello to several new colleagues.

President Bill Clinton to speak at NYU Abu Dhabi Commencement

Martha J Bekink

On May 25, 2014, the first class will graduate from NYU Abu Dhabi. President Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States and founder of The Clinton Foundation, will deliver the keynote address at commencement.
Read more:http://nyuad.nyu.edu/news-events/salaam/2014/03/president_bill_clint.html

Dispatch from Prague

Martha J Bekink

Jiri PeheIt is an exciting time as the Prague program continues to expand and opportunities for collaboration with New York and other sites increase.

Our Music Program is about to get a further boost from our new faculty coordinator, Tony Ackerman. Tony is a highly-respected jazz musician. Tony’s mission is to make the music program more unique to Prague and take advantage of Czech music’s rich history and the numerous world class musical events Prague offers. One of his hopes is to develop a core class on Czech music compulsory for all music students.

Dispatch from Florence

Martha J Bekink

Ellyn Toscana
We have been busy as ever at NYU Florence. We continue to have a diverse student body, including students from CAS, Stern, Steinhardt, Liberal Studies and Global Liberal Studies, Tisch, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Gallatin and NYU Abu Dhabi as well as from other universities.

A key component of academic studies at NYU Florence is the opportunity for site visits that allow students to experience the cultural resources of Florence and Italy. Last semester, Professor Salvatore Sberna developed an intensive four-day module of study for students in Palermo, Sicily for his course The Politics of Organized Crime: Italian Mafias in a Comparative Perspective. Students met law enforcement officials, community activists, and local businessmen involved in anti-Mafia activities. Given the trip’s success, Professor Sberna is developing a similar initiative for Naples in Spring 2014.

Dispatch from Buenos Aires

Martha J Bekink

Anna Kazumi StahlBuenos Aires vibrantly contrasts New York. It is capital of Argentina, one of the Earth’s Southern-most territories. Yet, though they sit at opposite ends, both great cities share the hemisphere of the Americas and, hence, look towards one another over the diverse terrain and all the echoing American histories in between.

As NYU Buenos Aires is the one global site in the region of Latin America, I thought well of focusing this note on those at NYU Buenos Aires who this fall showed us ways to collaboratively engage with disparate cultures, communicating across a language gap, at times even speaking despite a situation of conflict.