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"Barnard's Pre-College program helped me to grow as a person and an intellectual. The program was an invaluable experience in preparing for college life."
— Katie Warren, Garland, Texas

 

LIBERAL ARTS PROGRAM
4 WEEKS

JUNE 29 – JULY 26, 2008

WHATEVER YOU'RE INTO,
WE'VE GOT IT COVERED!

Classes are held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. 

On Wednesday all students participate in
Life After College activities.

Select two courses from the following list,
one from each time slot:

 Morning:  9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
 Afternoon:  2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

ART HISTORY

Masterpieces of Western Art
This course will introduce you to some of the major works of Western Art. We will begin with the Greek period and conclude with the contemporary art scene in New York City. Slide lectures, class discussions, and readings will be supplemented with visits to New York City's world-renowned museums.
Kent Minturn, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

FILM STUDIES

NYC on Stage and Screen
New York City has the unique distinction of being both the world capital of theatre and the most filmed city in the world.  Using films and plays as diverse as Do the Right Thing, You've Got Mail, West Side Story, Avenue Q, and Angels in America we will explore the various ways New York has been depicted on the stage and on film throughout the twentieth century: as a backdrop, a character, an urban utopia, or a microcosm of the entire nation.  Students will receive an introduction to the language and methodology of film studies and theatre studies and will explore the contrasts and overlaps between the two disciplines.  Films and plays to be studied include works by Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Neil Simon, Arthur Miller, and Tony Kushner, among others.
Jennifer Buckley, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

Filmmaking: From Script to Screen
This is an immersive filmmaking course in which each student will experience all three stages of production. First you will dream up screen stories and get your ideas down on the page, then bring your words to life as you direct your cast, and finally, edit your footage into an original short film. Since film is a collaborative medium, students will crew, act, produce, and shoot each other’s projects in order to experience all aspects of filmmaking. Using New York as both a set and a source of inspiration, students will also attend film screenings and visit organizations that promote and produce cinema.
Helen Kaplan, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

HISTORY

From Reform to Revolution: Youth Culture in the 1960s
This course explores the youth based insurgency of the 1960s. How is it that in a single decade, millions of young people came to believe that a social and political revolution was not only feasible, but a good idea? How did it happen that in the United States — a formal democracy, a prosperous superpower, and the envy of much of the world — so many students and activists concluded that American society was rotten at its core, but ready to be rebuilt anew? Readings, films, discussions, guest speakers, and a walking tour of Greenwich Village will help us to answer these questions.
John McMillian, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

Patriotism, Protest, and Propaganda in Wartime America
This multimedia course uses film, music, and visual art to examine the impact of war on domestic American society since 1940. This wide-ranging seminar considers how international conflict led Americans to reshape the boundaries of political participation and to reconsider how social groups fit into the national community. We will examine topics such as Japanese-American internment, the Cold War dimensions of the civil rights movement, anti-war protest and conservative resurgence during the Vietnam War era, and ethnic relations during the recent Gulf Wars.
Eduardo Canedo, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

JOURNALISM/MEDIA

Introduction to Journalism & Media
This course will teach the basics of writing and reporting using New York City as a living laboratory. Students will craft news stories, write to deadline and develop the art of interviewing. We'll discuss practical journalistic issues such as sourcing, and more theoretical challenges including bias and objectivity. We'll also explore today's media-how it works, its history, and its challenges. The course will involve a mixture of activities, including drills, discussions, reporting in different areas of Manhattan, and field trips to places such as Reuters news agency.
Danielle Haas, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

American Media, American Life
American news today covers an odd mix of events: war, global warming, elections, celebrity scandals, terrorism, hazardous consumer products and natural disasters. This course explores the logic and interests that shape the news agenda. How does the media decide what the American audience needs or desires to know? What is the media’s role in an increasingly a-political and consumerist American culture? In this course we will explore cultural and social theories of newsroom decision-making and use them to analyze and critique various news segments in print, television and the web. 
Zohar Kadmon Sella, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

LITERATURE

The NY Experience in Literature
This course will trace the literary imagination of New York, past and present. We will explore the ways in which writers negotiate issues of identity, memory, and representation, as we consider how the city inspires and troubles different forms of creative expression. Major areas of focus include the 19th-century social satire, the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat Generation, and the postmodern novel. In conjunction with our readings, we will watch films, attend live performances, and take advantage of New York's vibrant cultural scene.
Penny Vlagopoulos, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

From Little Women to Mean Girls: Growing Up in Fiction and Film
How do children become adults? Adolescence was not recognized as a distinct phase of development until the late nineteenth century, but now it is visible everywhere in our culture. Drawing on fiction, nonfiction, and film, this course will explore a diverse range of coming-of-age stories. Class discussions will be supplemented by film screenings, field trips, journal writing, short weekly essays, and group oral presentations.
Victoria Olsen, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

The Mysteries of New York
What makes a mystery? Why are we so fascinated by secrets-and their discovery? This course will explore the secrets of New York through detective stories, suspense films and the biographies of 20th century women who lived and wrote here in the Big Apple. We will unlock the mysteries of New York, as we retrace the steps of our authors and their characters. In charting the fault lines between fact and fiction, we may discover that the greatest mystery in this course lies in distinguishing between story and reality.
Jess Fenn, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

MUSIC

 Sounding Off: Music and Counterculture in NYC
This course will focus on the role of music in various countercultures associated with New York City. Topics include the Beat Generation, the Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War Movements, Punk, and Hip-Hop. We will examine the jazz and avant-garde scenes in the city and explore the connection of counterculture music to other art forms. Class outings will include walking tours, concerts, and visits to research libraries and museums.
Johanna Devaney, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Human Rights in Theory and Practice
Human rights have been invoked everywhere from the Declaration of Independence to the U.N.’s founding documents. But what are human rights? Where do they come from, and how are they justified? Should the United States pressure countries that ignore human rights? How might concern for human rights affect our relationships with the developing world? In this course, we will examine the theory and the practice of human rights by looking at philosophers’ arguments justifying human rights and how these arguments bear on global problems like poverty and genocide.
James Ethan Bourke, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology of Media
Explore the psychology behind media and how it affects you, your peers and the public at large. If this sounds right up your blog—our course will examine the internet, mobile media, video games and how learning and media go hand in hand to facilitate understanding and decision-making. You will be introduced to psychological theories and research, and the cognitive processes of media development. Guest speakers will include a writer from Nick, Jr., an MTV producer and an advertising coordinator.
Jamie L. Giglio, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

Pediatric and Adolescent Health Psychology
Health Psychology is the subdiscipline of psychology that focuses on the impact of behavior on health as well as the influence of health and diseases states on psychological factors. We will examine health issues specific to pediatric and adolescent populations, from asthma and diabetes to eating disorders and depression.
E'mett McCaskill, Term Associate Professor, Psychology, Barnard College

RELIGION

Religions of New York
Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and Christians make their home in New York City. This course will introduce students to these faiths through texts, architecture, art, food, music and one-on-one conversation with practitioners. Students will have the opportunity to learn about differences between and within faiths. Each week will be devoted to a different religious group and will incorporate slide lectures, a site visit, a walking tour, and a guest speaker. At the end of this course students will have a broad understanding of the religious landscape of America and specific impressions of how religion is experienced by a wide range of practitioners.
Tamara Mann, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

SPANISH & LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE

The Experience of Latin American Culture Through Short Fiction
Explore magical realism, forbidden love, detective stories, female protagonists, and monsters in the work of some of Latin Americas most exciting and best- known writers: Garcìa Màrquz, Isabel Allende, Rosario Ferre, Laura Esquivel, Carlos Fuentes, and Borges. All readings will be in English. We will take advantage of New York City's cultural resources with outings to El Museo del Barrio, The Hispanic Society, and local restaurants significant to the culture explored in the classroom.
Carlos Riobo, Assistant Professor, Spanish and Latin American Cultures, Barnard College

THEATRE

Acting Process and Performance
Hone your acting skills while exploring the diversity of theatrical offerings available in New York City! This course offers a supportive, energetic approach to the fundamentals of acting for the stage and an introduction to the world of New York Theater. Through exercises, structured improvisations, open scenes and scripted scenework, students will gain familiarity with the Stanislavski acting process. Topics explored will include objectives and actions, defining the conflict, developing a character, and freeing the voice and body. The course will also feature visits by guest artists including actors, directors, and playwrights, as well as opportunities to attend a wide variety of theatrical productions.
Ari Laura Kreith, Instructor, Pre-College Programs, Barnard College

URBAN STUDIES

Exploring New York Landscapes
In this course we will explore the built environment of the United States, and New York in particular. We will think critically about how the natural environment, immigration, political decisions, urban planning assumptions and corporate profits have shaped the neighborhoods of New York City. Letting our location frame our studies, we will take to the streets to understand how cities develop and change. From Barnard's Campus to Central Park, the Lower East Side, Battery Park City and a controversial Brooklyn development project, we will explore New York's present and past on foot, in historical documents, newspaper articles and secondary sources.
Elizabeth Pillsbury, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

WRITING

Introduction to Fiction Writing: How to Find Your Story
Many students want to write fiction, but aren't sure what to write about. They ask themselves whether or not they have a story worth telling, and they're not sure how to turn the ideas they do have into a piece of fiction. This course will help beginning writers first to generate material, using writing exercises and by reading published works by contemporary authors, and then to craft that material into a story by concentrating on key components like character, setting, and plot. By the end of the course, each student will have written, workshopped and revised one short story.
Sarah Labarge, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

Transforming the Ordinary: Introduction to Fiction Writing
When does writing become art? How do writers transform ordinary moments into extraordinary ones? This workshop will address questions like these and introduce beginning writers to the basic elements if fiction writing though writing exercises and reading published works. By the end of the course, each student will have written and revised one short story.
Andrea Lawlor, Instructor, Pre-College Program, Barnard College

Poetry in New York
In this class we will read and discuss poetry that inspires us, and use these poems as a catalyst for our own writing. Through in-depth analysis of and intuitive response to what we read, we will explore issues in poetics and style, such as: What makes an interesting, vital poem that is verbally, intellectually, and emotionally interesting? What are contemporary poets writing about, and how are they shaping that writing? And: How can we use these various models to inspire and enrich our own writing?
Frances Richard, Lecturer, English, Barnard College

LIFE AFTER COLLEGE

EXPLORE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Every Wednesday, students spend part of the day visiting professional or community service organizations or attend on-campus seminars. These sessions introduce you to different fields and the education or professional training they require. 

In past summers, students have met professionals from organizations such as the New York Philharmonic, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Wall Street Journal, film centers, photo studios, and television networks such as CNN and MTV.

Through hands on community service opportunities like Coalition for the Homeless, you can become more fully involved with neighborhood life.