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NYU Affiliations Around the World: A Robust Network for Research and Study

Students not only gain perspective and knowledge from time spent away from their home campus but also benefit from NYU partnerships with local institutions in the University’s global network. With one partnership that began before the global site itself was founded and another established over 50 years ago, it’s clear these relationships are invaluable to NYU research, scholarship, and community.

NYU Berlin

The Wilhelm von Humboldt Memorial in front of Humboldt University

Humboldt University in Berlin

NYU Berlin’s first agreement with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin was in 1995, and the partnership remains as strong as ever. Today, students can enroll in courses at Humboldt and access its library. In addition to its partnership with Humboldt-Universität, NYU Berlin has an impressive record of establishing—and continuing—student and faculty exchange programs with other German universities. For example, in 1995 NYU established an agreement with the Freie Universität Berlin. Over 20 years later, in 2019, Freie Universität hosted Radha S. Hegde, NYU professor of media, culture, and communication, as the Dahlem International Network Professor in Gender Studies to teach two seminars. 

 

NYU London

Before NYU London was established in 1999, the University held a partnership with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) for NYU Tisch School of the Arts students. Even as course offerings and programming expanded into the NYU London we know today, that relationship has remained steadfast for over 20 years. Each semester, a small group of NYU students audition for placement in RADA’s Shakespeare in Performance program. Students learn all aspects of performing Shakespeare as they work with a variety of RADA instructors. The intensive program culminates with the performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays. A more recent partnership with the National Film and Television School was established in 2018, with the first NYU students taking Directing the Actor: London in 2019. At the end of the course, students shoot and direct professional actors on a soundstage.

NYU Paris

A young woman on a laptop sits on the steps to the Sorbonne, a building with large columns.

The Sorbonne building houses various Parisian universities including the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Over the years, NYU Paris has established a number of agreements with local universities, including Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Université Paris Cité, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, and Université Paris Sciences et Lettres. These agreements allow NYU Paris students to take courses at these institutions, while Paris-based students have the opportunity to study at NYU’s campus in New York City. The relationship between NYU and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne dates back to the founding of NYU Paris in 1969. Currently, the agreement allows NYU Paris students with advanced proficiency in French to take Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne classes in subjects ranging from art and history to philosophy and mathematics. In addition, the University’s partnership with Université Sorbonne Nouvelle dates back almost as long—to 1975. Eligible NYU Paris students can take courses there in literature, cinema, theatre, and media studies. 

NYU Sydney

A building in the Victorian Academic Gothic Revival style in front of a green manicured lawn

A view from inside the University of Sydney Quadrangle

In November 2021 NYU established a new partnership with the oldest university in Australia, the University of Sydney (USYD). Through the partnership, NYU Sydney students have all the benefits of being a full-time USYD student: living on campus, enrolling in USYD courses, and participating in the Industry and Community Projects Units (ICPUs). ICPUs pair students with an industry partner and academic lead to work on real issues that industry, community, and government organizations encounter. And the partnership benefits are reciprocal—USYD students have the opportunity to enroll in Sydney-based courses taught by NYU instructors or spend a semester abroad at NYU’s campus in New York City or one of NYU’s global academic sites.

 

NYU Tel Aviv

A partnership with Tel Aviv University (TAU) further enriches students taking science courses at NYU Tel Aviv. TAU, Israel’s largest university, is just a short distance from the NYU global academic center. While NYU Tel Aviv offers science courses, including Organic Chemistry II and General Physics II, TAU offers the lab sections for those courses.

Three people in white lab coats and safety glasses in a chemistry lab

NYU Tel Aviv students take a chemistry course at Tel Aviv University’s labs.

In addition, undergraduate students can intern in a research lab through NYU Tel Aviv’s biology internships at TAU. Depending on the type of research conducted at each lab, students may learn different techniques like cell culture, gel electrophoresis, and microscopy. During the internship, students take part in the experimentation, research, and writing processes with at least one PhD student. What’s more, TAU students can also take advantage of NYU’s resources in return by enrolling at one of the University’s global academic sites for a semester.

NYU Interactive Media Arts Program Hosted Show in Berlin at Art Studio Weise7

This January the Interactive Media Arts low residency program (IMA Low Res) showcased work from their two-week intensive at NYU Berlin. The program, jointly offered by NYU Tisch School of the Arts and NYU Shanghai, gives students the opportunity to complete a master’s degree in one year. Interspersed with online learning are three low-residency sessions at NYU campuses in New York City, Shanghai, and Berlin. Show & Tell was devised by students and instructors from classes during NYU Berlin’s January session: Civic Ecologies, Virtual Worlds, and Radical Networks.

The back of a person viewing games on a screen

A visitor enjoying the show

 

Civic Ecologies with Jamie Allen

IMA Low Res students in the Civic Ecologies class used various mediums to create daily rituals. Their results were a diverse group of works including documentaries, mobile apps, short films, tarot readings, written instructions, and more.

Berlin Ecological Tarot

Two people sit at a candelit table with their eyes closed

Nicole Padilla (right) presents Berlin Ecological Tarot

Breadcrumbs

A sheet of paper with written instructions

Through video and a series of location-based scores, Jamie McCoy’s Breadcrumbs considers the ways in which passing through a city connects inhabitants to each other and their surroundings.

 

Virtual Worlds with Pierre Depaz

Students from Virtual Worlds worked in groups to create virtual worlds and games using the Unity game engine. Visitors experienced these worlds projected on a large screen as well as by immersing themselves in constructed spaces.

Adam Diggler’s Grave

Two people stand in front of a screen with a computer generated image of a city street and church

Yiyang Cao and Renton Lin’s Adam Diggler’s Grave was created using the Unity development platform

Journey to Mars

A computer-generated image of the interior of a spacecraft

Yunshan Jiang and Siri Zhao’s Journey to Mars. Visitors witness their created world: 500 years from now people can easily transport between the uninhabitable Earth and Mars.

 

Radical Networks with Sarah Grant

Using Raspberry Pis, which are single board computers, students in Radical Networks created various interactive works related to networking technologies. Works ranged from public Wi-Fi networks where users could only access a 2012 version of the web, filtered and manipulated unencrypted government sites, and playful explorations of the physicality of signals emitted through connected devices.

PESCA

A smiling person holds a lit LED

Visitors play with Kat Park’s PESCA, a portable mesh network. An LED signals when another node has wandered too far away. The work was programmed with Python and is made with Raspberry Pis, battery packs, Wi-Fi antennae, and LEDs.

Photography by Brian Ho and Renton Ling

The NYU Washington, DC, Music Club: Where There’s No Judgment

An NYU Liberal Studies student describes the value a new music club brings to NYU Washington, DC, students

Written by Saylee Nemade, Liberal Studies (LS), Class of 2026

On a spectacular fall Sunday, the NYU Washington, DC, Chamber Music Collective gathered downtown at the Church of the Epiphany to watch Mina Smith, LS Class of 2026, perform with the DC Concert Orchestra Society (DCCOS) in a program full of classical pieces by composers ranging from Mozart to Holmès. Mina began playing the violin when she was 6 years old. Since then, music has been an integral part of her life. During her time at NYU, she wanted to keep it a focal point. So she auditioned for DCCOS, where she says she’s enjoyed interacting with new people of all ages in a musical environment.

Interior of the Church of the Epiphany. Stained glass windows and people sitting in pews.

The DC Concert Orchestra Society performing at the Church of the Epiphany in downtown Washington, DC

Mina is also a founding member of the NYU Washington, DC, Chamber Music Collective, a student-run club for music lovers of all kinds that launched in fall 2022. Her Sunday concert was one of several events and gatherings the club has organized with support from faculty adviser and violinist Dr. Sydney Boyd. Every Friday, the club holds ShowcaseHour, an open mic, for any NYU Washington, DC, student to share their musical talents. Under Boyd’s direction, the club has also attended events around the DC area (like Mina’s concert) as well as solo performances and guest lectures with pianists such as Dr. Yvonne Chen. There’s a diverse set of talents within the club. Students play myriad instruments from the violin, piano, and guitar to the xiao (a vertical end-blown flute) and the melodica. In turn, the club’s activities involve a variety of genres, styles, and musical affinities. For example, one week ShowcaseHour became KaraokeHour. Students also have plans to invite a variety of musical guests to share their own musical journeys. In everything it does, the club focuses on inclusion and community: no criticism, just applause for a shared passion.

Two masked students pose for the camera in the Church of the Epiphany

Saylee Nemade (left) and a friend attend the DC Concert Orchestra Society’s performance at the Church of the Epiphany

When I chose NYU Washington, DC, as my LS First Year Study Away site, I was elated to have the opportunity to join the Chamber Music Collective. It is a very open, nonjudgmental club. As a musician and dancer myself, music plays an influential part in my life. I have been dancing since I was 3, and I’ve been singing, writing, and composing since I was 8. In addition, I have played a variety of instruments since a young age and continue to play and compose on the piano. As the Chamber Music Collective’s administrative secretary, I enjoy proposing and organizing new events. I love watching and listening to the club members’ varied talents because each person is unique. We’re all from diverse backgrounds, and that brings new perspectives to the club.

NYU and KAIST Celebrate New Partnership

A visit by South Korea’s president and the New York City mayor to NYU marks an important global academic partnership

KAIST President Lee Kwang Hyung with NYU President Andrew Hamilton

KAIST President Lee Kwang Hyung and NYU President Andrew Hamilton celebrate the NYU-KAIST partnership. ©Chandler: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau

New York University and KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) recently celebrated their new partnership at an event that included South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, New York City mayor Eric Adams, NYU board of trustees chair William R. Berkley, NYU president Andrew Hamilton, and KAIST president Lee Kwang Hyung. The event included the City of New York and the KAIST delegation signing a cooperation agreement as well as unveiling signage for the anticipated joint New York City campus.

Collaboration Through Research

The partnership will focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, humanities, and mathematics, commencing with a series of research collaborations involving some 50 faculty members from the two institutions in areas such as biomedical engineering, AI convergence, neuroscience, next-generation wireless communications, cybersecurity, and sustainability, among other areas. In addition, discussions have begun between faculty of the two institutions regarding the possibility of establishing a joint undergraduate engineering degree program, as well as a study away program that would include intensive practical learning and industry experience in both countries.

Joint Programs and Student Exchange

The two universities have already identified dedicated space on each campus for their nascent joint collaborations. In New York City, the NYU-KAIST offices will be located at One MetroTech Center, at the heart of NYU’s Downtown Brooklyn campus specializing in engineering, tech, new media, and arts. KAIST will provide space for NYU personnel on their campus. With the goal of establishing a campus in New York City by 2025, KAIST has also been in discussion with New York City officials about its plans.

A Beneficial Partnership

“We’re proud to have helped facilitate this partnership between KAIST and New York University, which will be a real win for students and help drive continued innovation in our city,” said New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams. “From the time that senior members of our administration learned about this opportunity during a recent trip to South Korea, we have worked closely with KAIST to develop strategies for increasing their presence and investments in New York City. This is the start of a relationship that I am confident will bring even more academic, business, and technological opportunities to the five boroughs.”

“We’re delighted by our newly established partnership with KAIST,” said NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton. “We see great potential in the opportunities to collaborate on the development of courses, research, cutting-edge technologies, entrepreneurship initiatives and industrial partnerships, and exchanges. We believe this partnership is very much in line with NYU’s commitment to global engagement and will make important contributions to New York’s tech sector. It’s exciting to think how much NYU and KAIST have to learn from one another, and how much we may accomplish together.”

“We are very excited to have our institution come together with NYU to begin pursuing a common vision: joining forces to advance technology-based research and education; playing a leading role in addressing global challenges and problems through science and technology; and building stronger ties between Korea and the United States,” said KAIST’s President Kwang Hyung Lee. “This partnership with an institution that shares our sense of cutting-edge research and global social responsibility recalls the spirit of international partnership and assistance that led to the creation of KAIST in 1971.”

Content repurposed with permission from NYU News.

The Career Benefits of Studying Away

As graduation approaches, NYU students who are preparing to enter the workforce meet with recruiters to discuss their academic achievements, internship experiences, and extracurricular activities. Another thing recruiters are sure to ask them about: their study away experience.

According to Jonathan Martinez, assistant director of global academic planning at the Wasserman Center for Career Development, students develop an invaluable skill set when they study abroad.

A seated woman turning to look at a colleague

An NYU Washington, DC, student talks to a coworker at their internship at the Mexican embassy.

They learn how to connect with different people, adapt to new environments, and solve difficult problems. They acquire non-English language skills, develop a more nuanced understanding of the world, and transform into culturally sensitive adults. With these abilities, NYU students tend to emerge as top candidates in the workforce.

“Many students have told us their study away skills and experiences have been critical in professional settings,” says Martinez. “Our study away administrators and Wasserman coaches also coach students on how to translate their study abroad experiences into vivid examples that showcase their adaptability, openness to new experiences, ability to work independently, and facility for cross-cultural dialogue.”

The Role of Wasserman in the Global Career Experience

Every semester, Wasserman hosts a career week to provide students with global professional development opportunities, whether they’re interested in internships or postgraduation careers.

This past spring, the Global Career Week was virtual and featured an array of events including a workshop on personal branding, a discussion on the global job search, and a session on volunteering with the Peace Corps. Students heading abroad for a semester, year, or summer have the unique chance to seek out internships that align with their interests and professional goals while gaining global experience, and, regardless of their destination, students can work with Wasserman to find the right opportunity. If students want to head abroad for work after graduating, the Wasserman team can help them

  • secure an international work permit
  • obtain or renew their passport
  • find a place to live
  • connect with a career coach
  • find a country-specific job or internship
  • network with alumni
A student and an adviser seated at a table

Students can consult Wasserman career coaches to learn how to leverage their global study experience.

Study Abroad Resources from the Office of Global Programs

Much like the Wasserman Center for Career Development, NYU’s Office of Global Programs has a range of resources students can use to make the study abroad experience more accessible.

“The Office of Global Programs is committed to breaking down any perceived or actual barriers students may face when submitting interest for study abroad,” says Martinez. “Providing extra funding for students is one thing we do because a financial burden holding students back from studying away is the last thing we want to happen. All students are eligible for the Global Pathways Scholarship, and, in some cases, students can use funding for up-front costs like plane tickets. We also offer many cohort-based programs like the Study Away Internships in which enrolled students are guaranteed an internship!”

Written by Samantha Jamison

NYU Los Angeles Presents: The Hollywood Climate Summit

At the intersection of entertainment and environmentalism sits the Hollywood Climate Summit. Produced by NYU Los Angeles, along with the social impact agency Young Entertainment Activists (YEA!) and Netflix, this year’s conference brought activists, performers, content creators, and young creatives together to address the entertainment community’s role in combating climate change.

Logos of organizations that sponsored the 2021 Hollywood Climate Summit

Over fifteen organizations sponsored the 2021 Hollywood Climate Summit

From September 23 to 26, 2021, attendees gathered to discuss the industry’s collective responsibility to enact more sustainable practices and increase accountability in the face of the climate crisis. The summit, now in its second year, combined virtual and in-person events, examining topics such as climate storytelling, eco-influencing, and sustainability across film, music, and gaming. However, NYU Los Angeles’ Program Director Nina Sadowsky notes, “The Hollywood Climate Summit is not just for Hollywood people. It’s about how anyone can advocate anywhere. In today’s world, NYU students aren’t just hoping to succeed in the industry—they’re trying to change it.”

NYU Los Angeles, launched in the fall of 2019, is the newest NYU global site—but its students are determined to make an enduring impact. Each semester, the program welcomes advanced students interested in pursuing careers in entertainment, media, music, technology, and broadcasting. Through a combination of rigorous coursework, experiential learning opportunities, and one-on-one mentorship, NYU Los Angeles acts as a professional bridge for students launching their entertainment careers.

The program’s partnership with YEA! provides students with networking and career-building opportunities that support social justice and global transformation. The greater NYU arts community is also involved in a variety of environmental efforts, having recently joined the Green Film School Alliance, a collaboration of leading film schools dedicated to incorporating industry-level sustainable production practices into their programs. As an alliance member, the NYU Tisch School of the Arts made a commitment to take specific actions to reduce the impacts of physical production on the environment, share best practices, and further sustainable initiatives. Moreover, Tisch is set to pilot a green production program this fall.

The first Hollywood Climate Summit was an exercise in creativity. Launched mere months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly shifted from an in-person event to an online one. Despite a few technical hiccups, the event was a great success. “We were only able to accommodate maybe 150 people in person,” Sadowsky explains. “But, and here’s the really beautiful thing, by doing it virtually, we actually reached over 15,000.”

This past year, summit highlights included interactive panels with filmmakers, environmentalists, and politicians as well as an outdoor screening of the documentary Youth v. Gov, directed by Christi Cooper. Small workshops, one-on-one networking with industry leaders and activists, and virtual vendors and job fairs rounded out the four-day event.

Panelists and guests included actor Rosario Dawson, Netflix sustainability officer Emma Stewart, and Democratic Senator of Massachusetts Ed Markey. The summit also featured several eco-influencers, known for their eco-friendly social media posts. These included Leah Thomas, founder of @intersectionalenvironmentalist, and Isaias Hernandez, environmental educator at @queerbrownvegan. “Storytellers have a unique power to shape the culture,” Sadowsky concludes. “You’re not powerless. Every single one of us can do something that will affect change. And art can change minds and hearts in a way that argument cannot.”

Content adapted with permission from MeetNYU by Dana Guterman.

The Return of Study Away—An International Education Week Program

Last fall during International Education Week, NYU hosted an array of events that explored the benefits of international study away programs. One of those programs—a virtual roundtable discussion featured four NYU site directors. NYU Tel Aviv’s Benjamin Hary, NYU Accra’s Chiké Frankie Edozien, NYU Berlin’s Gabriella Etmektsoglou, and NYU London’s Catherine Robson discussed the lessons COVID-19 taught them, how they used those lessons to reconstruct their programs, and their hopes for future study away students. NYU’s Associate Director of Study Away Student Support Alejandro Marti moderated the panel.

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Site directors, Chiké Frankie Edozien (top left), Gabriella Etmektsoglou (top right), Catherine Robson (bottom right), and Benjamin Hary (bottom left)

Using the Past to Reshape the Future

When the pandemic first began in 2020, the faculty and staff at NYU’s global sites quickly adjusted. They adopted Zoom technology for virtual classes, planned online events for cultural immersion, and reimagined the scope of their curricula. Unsurprisingly, the lessons they learned in 2020 influenced the trajectory of their programs in 2021. For Chiké Frankie Edozien (NYU Accra), this meant creating new experiential learning trips and adopting new wellness guidelines for students.

“We tried a lot of things during the time of restrictions with our Go Local students who were primarily Ghanaian,” said Edozien. “We tried new excursions based on topics like climate change, taking students to the sea defense wall construction site. We weren’t able to (and we’re still not able to) do overnight trips, so we tried to think of ways we could teach students about Accra outside of the classroom—ways that allowed them to come back safely without the need for excessive travel or hotels. Sometimes we held classes outside so students and professors could be out in the sun, rather than in a confined space, and feel a bit more safe. We also encouraged our faculty to implement what we call ‘mask breaks’ so students can remove their masks for a short time before continuing their work.”

Similar to NYU Accra, Benjamin Hary and his team at NYU Tel Aviv spent the first part of the pandemic redesigning their curriculum to accommodate COVID-19 regulations. They now invite a range of guest lecturers to the classroom, and they developed a robust orientation for students who might need to quarantine upon their arrival in Israel.

“As we prepared for last semester, we created ways to connect students with one another and staff,” said Hary. “What my staff did for orientation, which was totally online because students were in quarantine, is a good example of this. We usually take the students to the famous Tel Aviv market, but since we couldn’t do that, my staff created a video of the market instead. They went to each specific ethnic food place and actually bought all the same food for the students. We delivered it to their doors so when they were watching the video, we could tell them about the food, and they could follow along. They loved it.” In addition, he noted, “With Zoom, it is very easy to invite people, such as guest lecturers and other experts, to participate in our programming, regardless of their physical location.”

Preparing Intentional Coursework for All Circumstances

During the early months of the pandemic, NYU’s global staff worked hard to create a future curriculum that could span multiple formats: in person, online, and/or hybrid. By preparing for various circumstances, NYU’s global locations worked to ensure students never missed a beat in their education.

“Without our faculty, we would not have been able to offer such a good experience for our students,” said Gabriella Etmektsoglou (NYU Berlin). “They showed adaptability and flexibility. They developed so many different options for their courses within a semester. In Berlin, for example, we had times when we were teaching in person and hybrid, and we had times when we had to lock down the site for a few weeks. If you had planned trips to museums or nongovernmental organizations during those weeks, you had to totally rethink your class. The faculty really embraced, very intentionally, the values of equity, diversity, belonging, inclusion, and accessibility when rethinking their sessions. It wasn’t simply, ‘I can’t go to this museum. What do I do now?’ It was, ‘Why was I going to this museum to begin with? Is there any way I can bring this museum to my class?’”

Eagerly Awaiting Cultural Immersion

The pandemic forced educators across the globe to rethink and reimagine the ways in which students learn. While some tactics will remain in place moving forward, such as expanded access to guest lecturers, increased collaboration between study away sites, and new experiential learning opportunities, other tactics will likely fall to the wayside, like learning a new language online or participating in a remote internship—both of which are challenging to accomplish without full-blown cultural immersion.

“In orientation we always talk about immersion in your new culture,” said Catherine Robson (NYU London). “Only by doing that do you start to think deeply about the place you come from. When you’re remote, you’re still in your usual place. You don’t have that experience of sort of turning inward, of being challenged to think about your own country, your own region, your own locality. Only by being in that different environment do you really start to reflect because it defamiliarizes what was deeply unquestioned by you before. And so that is why actually being in person in that different country is so key to what we do.”
And that’s why NYU’s global staff are eager to welcome more and more students back to their centers this year in 2022.

What’s Ahead: Embrace the Unexpected

For students preparing to study abroad in the coming semesters, all four site directors encouraged them to maintain an open mind and a positive attitude.

“Right now I think students need to be adaptable and have a little bit of trust in the future,” said Etmektsoglou. “Twelve years ago when I started at NYU Berlin, it was so much more about traveling. Now it’s about your professional career and your development as a young researcher. Yes, you might miss some traveling, but it’s not the key. Because of the pandemic and because of the way we used the time, the quality of our classes increased. They’re much more focused on addressing the career skills and needs for professional competencies. They’re about applied research; they’re about becoming entrepreneurial young professionals. Students will benefit from the diversity, the guests, and all the things we embraced during the pandemic.”

Written by Samantha Jamison

The Silence of Others: A Best Documentary Award for Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo

 

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Almudena Carracedo (left) and Robert Bahar (right)

Award-winning filmmakers and lecturers at NYU Madrid Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo’s documentary, The Silence of Others, won an Emmy for Best Documentary at the virtual awards ceremony last week. The film, executive produced by Pedro Almodovar, examines the experiences and traumas of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco and the decades-long journeys of individuals seeking justice for egregious crimes committed under the General’s rule. The Silence of Others sheds light on the amnesty law created two years after Franco’s death in 1975 that protects the perpetrators of crimes and prevents victims from pursuing justice in Spain.

Bahar and Carracedo followed several victims and survivors for a period of six years as they organized the “Argentine Lawsuit” in order to fight the amnesty law. The legal battle illuminates  the country’s fascist history and how the crimes against humanity perpetrated by Franco’s regime continue to affect victims and their families. 

Along with receiving the Emmy for Best Documentary, it was also awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. “We are incredibly happy,” wrote Bahar and Carracedo in an email. “These two awards help culminate the 2.5-year impact campaign of The Silence of Others and show that the issues we highlight in Spain resonate powerfully all over the world. We dedicate these awards to the protagonists in the film and to everyone, all over the world, who have fought and are fighting for truth, justice and redress.” 

The Silence of Others premiered at the 2018 Berlinale (widely considered to be one of the top 5 festivals in the world) where it won both the Panorama Audience Award and the Berlinale Peace Film Prize. The film’s awards and prizes include being shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature for the 91st Academy Awards and it won a 2020 George Foster Peabody Award for Documentary and a 2019 Goya Award for Best Documentary Film. It has been seen by more than 1.5 million viewers and has been credited for increased dialogue about the past and the legacy of crimes. The Silence of Others has generated press across the political spectrum and has been acknowledged in op-eds, essays, books and other sources as helping to change public opinion, generate support for the victims, and reframe the debate around “historic memory” issues.

Read more about Bahar and Carracedo’s Emmy win here, and watch the film here.

 
 
 
 
 
 

NYU LA’s Program Director Nina Sadowsky Launches New Book

 

“The book was fueled by my rage about a post-truth society, in which facts are no longer facts, science is under attack, and behaving with honesty and integrity seems downright quaint,” said Nina Sadowsky author, film producer, and program director of NYU Los Angeles about the inspiration for her latest book, Convince Me

Examining a man’s death, Convince Me reveals the deeply-held secrets that are intrinsic to the psychosis of an unrepentant pathological liar. An author of psychological thrillers, Sadowsky noted that she uses writing to process her own “fears and furies about the world.” It was the current political context that sparked her interest in exploring “what makes a sociopath in the age of untruth?”

She explained that once she began pondering the construction of sociopathy and proliferation of untruth, “the plot for the book came into my head like an arrow, right down to the final twist!  Trust me, this is unusual; my normal process involves plodding along like a mule, as I outline, revise, and revise yet again and again. But with Convince Me, I felt clear with purpose and feverish with the need to write. And I did so, in explosive bursts whenever I could scratch out even a few minutes. It felt like I pulled that arrow right out of my forehead and into my computer one inch at a time. I realized that through the writing I was exorcising my rage.”

Preparing to write Convince Me involved extensive research. Sadowsky explained that “research is always one of the best parts of writing a book, because I get to take a deep dive into new arenas.” To develop the background knowledge for particular aspects of the storyline, Sadowsky examined “Virtual Reality technologies and their implications for both gaming and medicine, as that tech is important to the plot.” Creating the main character’s psychological profile required extensive study of a range of mental illnesses. Probing the symptoms and outward expressions of psychological disturbances enabled her to flesh out the “narcissistic pathological liar whose funeral opens the book. Which is not a spoiler! As soon as I created the character of Justin Childs I knew I wanted to kill him before the story began so he would be unable to deflect or defend himself as the truth about him is exposed.”

Launching Convince Me during a pandemic required Sadowsky to adapt the way she would typically publicize a new book. “Normally a book launch includes talks at bookstores (I launched The Empty Bed at the NYU bookstore in New York last February) and speaking at libraries or conferences.” While the live events she had planned in connection with Convince Me were cancelled due to COVID-19, she worked with her publisher to quickly pivot to online platforms. 

“I’m doing virtual events hosted out of New York, Rhode Island, San Diego and Indiannapolis. I’m appearing on podcasts and writing articles for appropriate publications (all of which is the norm, but all of which also takes on special significance now). When the Killer Nashville conference was cancelled I recorded a special video for Nashville’s Parnassus Books, the city’s preeminent Indie bookstore. Social media has played a big role in all book sales since it came on the scene and that is truer than ever now. Book people are fierce! They love books and they love to promote them on social channels; the blogger community is key. The release of a book is much like everything else these days; we have our assumptions about how things work upended and then we try to be flexible and adapt.”

As an educator, Sadowsky said that she hopes her work will spark discussion. “I recognize that there is often not one absolute truth in any situation as perspective is always a factor, but there is absolute value in honesty, integrity, and respect for facts.”  

Find Convince Me here. And learn more by reading the Book Club Kit which includes questions that readers may ask themselves about their own relationship to lying and liars (as well as recipes, cocktails, and Sadowsky’s Top Ten Songs about Liars and Lying Spotify Playlist). 

 
 
 
 
 

NYU Washington DC student Brianna Hall Hosts Dialogue on Inequity in Education

Brianna HallInequality in the education system is often debated and increasingly in the media due to COVID-19 and the global transition to remote learning. NYU Washington, DC recently hosted a virtual discussion to participate in the conversation on inequity in education and education reform, with special attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. Entitled The Education Divide: Inequity in the Age of COVID-19, this event was conceived of by former DC Dialogues Executive Board Student Member Brianna Hall, a rising Steinhardt sophomore. The dialogue aimed to bring attention to the inequalities in the United States K-12 education system that hinder higher education being an opportunity for all.  

Finding that the COVID-19 crisis made existing inequalities, such as access to technology and the uneven distribution of resources, even more apparent, Hall explains that she wanted to organize this dialogue “because educational equality is the cornerstone to social equality.” Hall believes that a quality education is a crucial “building block to a brighter future” regardless of background. And further believes that those fortunate enough to obtain a higher education have a responsibility to have discussions about and consider solutions to the enduring inequalities in the education system. “We must never stop talking about those that the education system leaves behind,” says Hall, “and those future children the education system will continue to leave behind unless reform is implemented.”

One reform that Hall believes is “critical” to improving the education system is “educating the whole child.” This includes teaching children practical life and personal skills alongside the academic curriculum so that students leave school with the tools necessary to move forward in all areas of life. Hall also believes that it is important to “emphasize the value of each student’s individual culture and identity” from an early age to foster confidence and self-acceptance. Another reform that Hall sees as key is “increased public school funding and increased teacher pay.” With this increased funding, she would like to see “high standards of dedication, quality and professionalism” and believes teachers should receive summer training on how to support students emotionally and socially as well as academically.

graduation caps and bricksThe discussion naturally focused on possible solutions to mitigate inequalities and also ideas to better prepare school systems for future, similar extenuating circumstances. The panel included notable experts including Dr. Martha Kanter, Executive Director of the College Promise Campaign and a Senior Fellow at NYU Steinhardt’s Institute for Higher Education Policy; Dr. Tiffany Jones, Senior Director of Higher Education Policy, The Education Trust; Dr. David Kirkland, Executive Director, NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, Associate Professor of English and Urban Education, NYU Steinhardt; and Dr. Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, Associate Professor, International Education, NYU Steinhardt. Hall moderated the discussion.

Hall found moderating the event a meaningful experience and was impressed with the passion and knowledge of the panelists. One aspect of the discussion that she considered “illuminating” related to the COVID-19 pandemic because “people largely view the transition to remote learning and the closure of schools as the crisis, however, there has always been a crisis of inequality in education – COVID-19 just makes this crisis impossible to ignore.” In exploring this theme, Dr. Kirkland emphasized the structure of vulnerabilities that create what we often call “marginalized children.” These vulnerabilities can be related to a child’s socio-economic status – living in poverty, food or housing insecurity, insufficient adult support at home, coming to school hungry or with inadequate clothing, needing to work before and after school. Prejudice is another common structural vulnerability. Students facing assumptions or bias at school must study in a hostile environment, which compromises their abilities to learn or grow successfully. Discussing these vulnerabilities and the obstacles children face was “not an easy discussion to have,” according to Hall, but she believes it is important not to shy away from those difficult or uncomfortable conversations. 

 Hall was pleased with the discussion, saying, “It was everything that I anticipated and hoped for.” She hopes that this dialogue will continue to spur conversations generating ideas and solutions about how to improve the education system.