New School (2011-2012)

Partner Benefits | News |2012-2013 Courses | 2011-2012 Courses | 2010-2011 Courses | 2009-2010 Courses

News

August

2012 New School Block Party

Museum Related Courses

FALL 2011

LARS 2871 Himalayan Art and Culture

This course introduces students to the traditional visual art forms of the Himalayan region and emphasizes the various styles and aesthetics found within this extremely diverse area. The course considers how geography, topography, politics, religion, history, and ethnicity play a role in the artistic traditions of this vast stretch of land comprised of the world’s highest mountains. The focus here is on the visual forms and artistic styles. By training the eye to distinguish regional and historical differences, this course provides an intimate familiarity with and substantial knowledge about the fine characteristics of approximately two millennia of Himalayan art history. This course also fosters a deep appreciation for the artistic processes employed and the importance of the artists and patrons and, through learning to identify and decode the iconography of Himalayan art, an understanding of the role and function of this visual culture in Himalayan societies.  This course explores the traditional visual art forms, including those of Hindu, Buddhist, and Bon religious philosophies and practices, of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, China, Mongolia, and Bhutan. This four credit course meets for fewer in-class hours but  will include numerous trips to the Rubin Museum of Art on West 17th Street, as well as trips to the Latse Library on Perry Street.

LARS 2027 Responding to Non-Western Art
Susan Hambleton

Non-Western art has been a rich and continuous resource for the creative mind since the end of the 19th Century. This course has a three-fold function. The first is to expand the student’s understanding of this aesthetic, spiritual, societal, and political force. The second is to demonstrate non-Western art as a vehicle for modern Western creators.  This is accomplished through 4 museum lectures, readings, and classroom discussions.  Lastly, students work in the studio in response to what they’ve seen.  Three projects achieved over the semester provide ample opportunity to merge this extraordinary spiritual world with the student’s unique and creative ideas.

LREL 2030 Religions of South Asia
Michael Sheehy

Exploring the plurality of religious expression in South Asia, this course examines the philosophical, creative, and contemplative life of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Islam. Special attention is given to themes of power, knowledge, and liberation within each tradition. In class discussions are concerned with questions about existence, the nature of consciousness, and the path of spiritual transformation at intersection with the art, ritual, yoga, mythology and literature found in the rich religious matrix of South Asia. Readings draw from seminal texts in translation. Several class sessions will be conducted on the gallery floors at the Rubin Museum of Art.

LREL 2011 Pilgrimage
Serenity Young

This course will explore pilgrimage in five religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism and will conclude with an examination of the meaning of pilgrimage in America and contemporary life.  The course will be held in conjunction with the Rubin Museum of Art’s exhibition “Pilgrimage and Faith.”

LREL 3067 Buddhism and Cognitive Science
Christopher Kelley

This course is designed to explore and critically evaluate the central concepts and theories that are at the intersection between Buddhism and cognitive science. Students will examine seminal books and articles from the fields of social and clinical psychology, moral philosophy, phenomenology, neuroscience, and Buddhist studies. This course will touch on themes within those disciplines such as: intersubjectivity, the empathy-altruism hypothesis, the nature of self and other, the application of experimental methods to study of human emotions and behavior, and meditation. In addition to regular exams and writings assignments, students will have the opportunity to experiment with various techniques of meditation.

Back to Top

Leave a Reply