NYU SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES CENTER FOR PUBLISHING & APPLIED LIBERAL ARTS CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS (PALA/CE)

Continuing Education Programs in Publishing, the Humanities, Arts, Producing, Design, Writing, and Translation.

PALACE Student/Alumni News

Ola Salem, MS in Professional Writing graduate, awarded 2020 Professional Writing Impact Award

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The MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) is pleased to announce that Ola Salem has been awarded the 2020 Professional Writing Impact Award. Every year, this award is presented to a graduating MSPW student who has demonstrated a commitment to writing and communication endeavors that seek to impact society in positive ways. 

A recent MSPW graduate, Ola writes in-depth political analyses in ways that seek to foster global understanding and empathy. In addition to her outstanding coursework, Ola covered US news and events for Al Jazeera English from the capital while interning as a Freelance Producer. She has also contributed to a podcast for The Guardian and written for the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and the New York Daily News. Ola’s articles have consistently made their way into “top read” lists, with two of her articles named in the ten “most read stories” of 2018 and 2019 in Foreign Policy. Prior to her graduate studies, Ola earned a BS in Journalism and Mass Communication at UAE University.

Please join us in congratulating Ola on her accomplishments! 

MS in Professional Writing alum, Laila E. Dreidame, publishes “Bringing your whole self to work: Arab or Muslim Welcome” in Medium

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Laila E. Dreidame, an alum of the MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) program, recently published “Bringing your whole self to work: Arab or Muslim Welcome” in Medium. Exploring multiple experiences of what it means to be Arab or Muslim in workplaces across the U.S., Laila was inspired to write on this topic by the timing of the beginning of Ramadan in April, designated as National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM). “I wanted to share the important distinction between the Muslim religion and the Arab people,” Laila explains. “There are so many people from these communities who feel their identity is invisible or misconstrued. With the overlap of NAAHM and the start of Ramadan, I was compelled to share my understanding of these two different groups with my family and friends.”  

Laila hopes that her piece will increase awareness of Muslim and Arab identities and experiences and will create opportunities for discussion across professional networks and workplaces. In 2019, Laila was awarded the Professional Writing Impact Award, presented to a graduating student in the MSPW who has demonstrated a commitment to writing and communication endeavors that seek to impact society in positive ways. 

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To learn more about the MS in Professional Writing, visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw or email sps.mspw@nyu.edu.

CALA “Writing Parenthood” student Holly Rizzuto Palker publishes article on parenting during quarantine

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Adjunct professor Estelle Erasmus has alerted us to the publication of an article, “My 6-year-old has calmed me during quarantine,” by CALA student Holly Rizzuto Palker. Holly worked on the article in Estelle’s “Writing Parenthood” class prior to placing it in the New York Daily News.  

Congratulations, Holly! 

Do you have an experience or reflection to share about parenting in these strange times? This summer could be the perfect time to put your words to paper or to polish up a piece of writing you never quite finished. Join “Writing Parenthood: Writing for a Growing Market,” beginning June 22nd, to workshop your drafts and learn to navigate publishing opportunities. The class is self-paced to fit the busy schedules of parents, many of whom are juggling more responsibilities than ever under quarantine.

MS in Translation Graduate Minxuan Sun Translates Documentary on Chinese Poet Xu Zhimo

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Recent MS in Translation (MST) graduate Minxuan Sun recently took on her first large-scale translation project, creating the English translation of the CCTV documentary Xu Zhimo and His Contemporaries, originally recorded in Chinese. Xu Zhimo was a romantic poet of the early twentieth century whose Western influences and use of vernacular language challenged traditional Chinese poetic forms. Minxuan was selected for the translation position through MST instructor Dr. Yong Ho, who recommended her for the role. In the interview below, she describes her experience working on this project, the challenges she faced, and the lessons learned from her first major translation effort.  

Q:  Tell us a bit about your subtitling project on Xu Zhimo. How did you come to work on this project, and what were your responsibilities?

A:  Xu Zhimo’s grandson Tony Hsu was collaborating with a Chinese director on this documentary and he wanted to have it broadcast in the U.S. He turned to professor Yong Ho to see if he knew any translator who could translate the documentary. 

My job was mostly translating the documentary from Chinese into English. There were cases where Tony wanted to rewrite the English script and I would translate it back into Chinese accordingly. After the documentary was aired on CCTV, we found out that the script we received was incomplete and thus some parts were untranslated or poorly translated. So, in November, we did a second round of translation and revision. This time, an editor would first edit the translations of those parts and have me correct any mistranslations. 

Q:  What were some of the major challenges you faced on this project? What were the most rewarding elements of the process?

A:  This project involved many historical events and figures, so doing research was key. Also, it was important to keep in mind that the American audience may be unfamiliar with some terms or figures that I am familiar with, so I had to include some brief introductions in the translation. It was a great learning opportunity for me: I would not have spent so much time studying the history of literature during the Republican era and poet Xu Zhimo if it were not for the project. Of course, nothing is more rewarding than seeing the final product.

Q:  How did your training in the MST program prepare you for your work on this project? Did you have any previous professional or academic roles involving subtitling or translation?

A:  I’ve learned a great deal in the MST program: how to quickly gather useful information, how to prepare glossaries, and, most importantly, how to work with fellow translators and editors. 

Q:  Is there anything else you would like to share about this project or your background? 

A:  I had the opportunity to work with some wonderful editors during this project. When I finished translating each batch, I would send my product to the editors and they would polish it up. One batch could undergo three to four rounds of editing. We learned from each other through the process. Translation projects involve more than just translation and any final product is the result of a joint effort. 

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Thank you to Minxuan for sharing your experience working on this fascinating translation project. 

A translation degree can help you to take charge of your career, whether you are new to the field or already working in the language professions. Apply for CALA’s M.S. in Translation & Interpreting, a fully online, 36-credit graduate degree.

Recent MS in Translation Graduate and AFTI Scholarship Winner Carol Lujan Finds Connection at ATA Conference

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Recent MS in Translation (MST) graduate Carol Lujan, who completed the program in January 2019, found both community and her first post-MST job at the 2019 American Translators Association (ATA) conference in Palm Springs. Her trip was supported by a new annual scholarship from the American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation (AFTI). AFTI has established these student scholarships to defray the cost of attending ATA.   

The AFTI scholarship allowed Lujan to access the professional and intellectual resources of the conference. “I learned a lot more about the translation and localization industries,” she says. Lujan also met with other scholarship recipients and was featured in the ATA Chronicle. 

She used this opportunity to connect with MST classmates and faculty, including MST Academic Director Annelise Finegan Wasmoen. “I even saw a classmate in the pool of the hotel I stayed at, she recalls. “It was such a coincidence!” 

In addition to a stronger professional network, Lujan’s trip to the ATA conference resulted in a job offer. “I met a recruiter with whom I had an interview over the phone a couple of weeks before the conference and I ended up being hired,” she says. In her new role as a Foreign Language Analyst for the government contractor Amentum, Lujan is applying the skills she acquired in the MST while continuing to extend her knowledge of the field. “I love the positive team vibe and everyone is very cooperative,” she reports of Amentum. “I have learned to work with different publishing tools. I write in English with a journalistic style and translate into English as well.” 

“A translator has a huge responsibility towards her audience and her clients and being bilingual is never enough to perform this role with the seriousness that it deserves,” Lujan states. “I strongly believe that obtaining my MS in Translation has opened the door to many opportunities, including attending the ATA conference.” The 2020 ATA conference is scheduled to be held in Boston this October. MST students and recent graduates can apply for an AFTI scholarship in the spring.  

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A translation degree can help you to take charge of your career, whether you are new to the field or already working in the language professions. Apply for CALA’s M.S. in Translation & Interpreting, a fully online, 36-credit graduate degree.

Register for CALA’s Spring 2020 After Effects II Course, Starting Tuesday!

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CALA’s After Effects Level 2 course, with instructor Kalika Kharkar Sharma, is a great way to step up your motion design skills in a dramatic way and create material for your video demo reel, web portfolio or social media feed. Intended for students with basic to intermediate skills in Adobe After Effects, we begin by exploring creative transitions between video or animated scenes using the Effects that the software is famous for. Then we move on to creating a short shape-morph or explainer animation, starting the process with storyboards, working on overall timing/editing with keyframes and the Graph Editors and ending with a completed video with music, sound effects and/or voiceover. Finally, we create a text animation/lyric video, where we dive into 3D layers and innovative ways of having text appear onscreen to spoken word or song lyrics. To watch examples of student work, check out our Vimeo Gallery! https://vimeopro.com/antidotefx/nyu-after-effects-2-examples

The Spring session of After Effects II starts on Tuesday, March 31st. Sign up on our website today: https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/courses/VFXX1-CE9256-after-effects-ii.html

Writing Parenthood Student Nir Eyal Publishes NYT Article: Home-Schooling Tweens and Teens During Coronavirus Closings

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Nir Eyal, a student in Estelle Erasmus’ Writing Parenthood course this Spring, recently published an article in The New York Times providing tips for parents across the country to better navigate school closures as a result of the coronavirus. Eyal emphasizes the importance of maintaining a routine for school-aged kids and suggests that, with some creative planning, the cancellations provide an opportunity for new kinds of self-regulated education.

For parents juggling their kids’ schooling with their own remote work schedules, technology can be utilized to supplement parent-taught instruction. Eyal writes, “Enrico Bertini, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at New York University, relies on technology to help home-school his 12-year-old son.” He continues, “Dr. Bertini uses a mix of free and paid sites like Outschool.com, ProdigyGame.com and KhanAcademy.org to give his son a full roster of classes. While many traditional schools provide students with access to online education during a shutdown, supplementing with other tools can help kids explore interests they don’t have time for during the school year.” Social media sites and online games, when monitored and limited appropriately, can also keep students socially active while they’re away from their friends in the classroom.

Read the full article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/well/family/coronavirus-school-closings-homeschooling-tweens-teens.html

Sign up for one of our Writing courses this summer: https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/topics.html#PS0297

“The Trial” and Artists at Risk

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On Sunday March 8th at 1pm, NYU Skirball will host a panel conversation on Franz Kafka’s The Trial, censorship, artistic freedom, and artists at risk, in relation to the continuing global rise of right-wing and populist politics. This will be followed by a marathon reading of The Trial at 3pm. 

These events are in response to the cancellation of Polish director Krystian Lupa’s adaptation of The Trial, which was scheduled to perform at NYU Skirball on March 7 & 8, 2020. In December 2019, the Polish Cultural Ministry withdrew promised financial support for the production and its 46-person company, making it impossible to travel to New York as planned. As Mr. Lupa states: “The declaration… is clear: Artists who do not sympathize with the current leadership’s cultural policy, who criticize its values, decisions and actions will be treated as enemies of Poland and will not be supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in any form.”  

The panel includes Monika Fabijanska, a curator,  former art business student at CALA, and the former director of the Polish Cultural Institute in New York.  Monika notes “My interest in censorship drives a lot of what I curate and, in addition, I brought Krystian Lupa’s Kalkwerk to Lincoln Center Festival in 2009, his first production presented in New York City.” 

RSVP is recommended, but not required. More information here. 

1PM: PANEL “ART IN DANGER, ARTISTS AT RISK”

Monika Fabijanska, Former Director of the Polish Cultural Institute in New York
Holly Hughes, Professor at the University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art and Design, and one of NEA Four,
Felix Kaputu, Resident “Writer at Risk” at Fordham University
André Lepecki, NYU Performance Studies Professor and Chairperson
Krystian Lupa, Director
Julie Trébault, Director, Artists at Risk Connection, PEN America
Moderated by Catherine R. Stimpson

3PM: THE TRIAL MARATHON READING
The first fragment will be read by Krystian Lupa, followed by Salman Rushdie, Kathleen Chalfant, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Zadie Smith, and many more (you can read, too!)

Learn more about the world of visual and performing arts and the challenges faced by today’s arts administrators through NYU’s Certificate in Arts Management. Upcoming courses include: 

Nonprofit Arts Management

Financial Management in the Arts

Managing Museums and Other Cultural Institutions

Development for the Arts 

Other certificate programs of interest: 

Storytelling: Narrative Tools and Applications

Journalism and News Writing

Television and Screenwriting

Filmmaking

MS in Professional Writing student, Suzanne El Khechen, publishes “The Power of Pronouns” in Medium

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Suzanne El Khechen, a student in the MS in Professional Writing program (MSPW), recently published “The Power of Pronouns: “He” Versus the Rest of Us” in Medium. The article is a personal reflection about the impact of pronouns on readers. Suzanne explores the history of debate over third person pronouns and interrogates options for modern writers, ultimately advocating for the use of “they” as the optimal choice.

Suzanne developed “The Power of Pronouns” as part of her Style and Rhetoric course, a core course she completed last spring. “At the end of the Style and Rhetoric course, Dr. Gerben asked us to write two articles about subjects of interest that were covered in the class,” Suzanne recalls. The assignment led her to think about pronouns, and the dynamics of inclusion/exclusion that pronoun selection can create or reinforce.

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To learn more about the MS in Professional Writing, visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw or email sps.mspw@nyu.edu.