Category Archives: Undergraduate

Courses for All IMA Students

Spring 2024

Arab Theatre & Film: (MEIS-UA 747)

Examines recent trends in contemporary Arab theatre and film, contextualizing these within a broader history of Arab performance. Particular attention is given to how experimental practitioners have explored issues of human rights and the control of territories under the modern state. Strategies addressed include the conflation of the past and present as a means of exploring the persistence of the colonial power structure in the modern Arab world; the use of the parable to speak truth to power; the incorporation of the populist entertainment forms that directly engage the audience; and the use of familiar tales to explore new political realities.

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2024)

MEIS-UA 747-000 (13271)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Mon,Wed12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Atrach, Naila

Expressive Culture Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate
Spring 2024

Science in Our Lives: Environmental Issues (SCIED-UE 212)

Introducing the notion of citizen science, this course provides students with opportunities to use scientific information to solve real-world problems related to environmental & public health. By exploring the practices of science from observing & measurement to analyzing & explaining data, students learn to use data & produce scientific knowledge for the public. Liberal Arts Core/MAP Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Natural Sciences

Science Education (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2024)

SCIED-UE 212-000 (18146)01/22/2024 – 05/06/2024 Mon,Wed8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by Milne, Catherine

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Physical Science OR Life Science Undergraduate

Ruins, Fragments, and Archives (IDSEM-UG 1748)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Thu

Traces of time passing, ruins are time that has turned into space, duration ossified and broken up into fragments. Fragments are things we carry out of ruins, relics rescued from the abyss of lost time. We create archives to organize the rescued and the abandoned, compiling catalogs and designing systems that are often ruins themselves. Drawing on literature, painting, film, and installation art, this class will explore the entanglement of nature and history and of the recent and deep past in representations of architectural and social decay in stories and images of ruined cottages, “picturesque” abbeys and castles, partially buried woodsheds. We will examine representations of objects redeemed from the ruins of history as well as the ruined sites in which such objects find refuge (arcades, museums, libraries). And we will consider what it means for something to outlive its usefulness, to survive itself and live on in its own afterlife. Students will write several analytic essays, building toward a research project in which they will explore and interpret a ruin of their choice. Texts may include essays by Uvedale Price, Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer, Sigmund Freud, Michel Foucault, Douglas Crimp, Robert Smithson, Marguerite Yourcenar, and Hal Foster; engravings, films, and installations by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Jacques Tourneur, Chantal Akerman, Ilya Kabakov, Tacita Dean, and Pat O’Neill; poetry and prose by William Cowper, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Virginia Woolf, H.D., Louis Aragon, Susan Howe, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha.

Interdisciplinary Seminars (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Expressive Culture Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate

History of French Philosophy (PHIL-UA 9026)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Thu

Offered only at NYU Paris. An overview of important developments in French philosophy from the 16th century to the 1950s. We will look at the epistemological and metaphysical debates that followed the rediscovery of Ancient philosophy and the Copernican revolution, with Montaigne’s skepticism, Descartes’ rationalist theory of knowledge, and Condillac’s empiricism. We will then focus on developments in French political philosophy in the 18th and 19th centuries, closely intertwined with political events. We will read Rousseau, an important influence on the French revolutionaries, before turning to 19th-century debates about equality, with Proudhon’s anarchist criticism of property rights, and Tocqueville’s cautious liberal perspective on the political consequences of equality. Finally, we will look at two key movements in French philosophy in the first half of the 20th century, Bergson’s attempt at understanding the temporal duration conscious beings inhabit, and Sartre and de Beauvoir’s distinctive development of existentialism, a philosophy that grapples with the consequences of human freedom.

Philosophy (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Societies & the Social Sciences Spring 2026 Texts and Ideas Undergraduate
Spring 2021

Senior Seminar: (JOUR-UA 401)

An elective for students who wish to explore concentrated issues such as sex and American politics, literary nonfiction, and photojournalism and war. Each section concentrates on a different topic chosen by the instructor, a member of the full-time faculty. Such offerings include Ethnography for Journalists; The Art of Opinion Writing and Polemic; and The Journalism of Empathy.

Journalism (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Undergraduate

Global Media Seminar: Media Activism and Democracy (ITAL-UA 9513)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Tue

The course on “Media, Activism & Democracy” aims at, first, introducing students to the complex and fascinating topic of civil society activism; second, at illustrating them the linkages between activism and media; third, at showing them the impact of civil society’s advocacy on contemporary political systems. In a nutshell, the course aims at providing students with a closer understanding of the civil society activism-media-politics conundrums at the national and global levels.

Italian (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Fall 2025 IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Seminar/Studies) Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate

The Future of the Music Streaming Economy (REMU-UT 1231)

On demand music streaming caused a major paradigm shift in the music industry and its monetization. The Nordic countries have since the beginning been at the forefront of this technological trend and has been a testing ground over the past ten years with services like Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal. In 2023, the third year of Covid, the US recorded music industry generated USD $15.9 billions. Streaming music made up 84% of total American record industry’s revenue to a record high $13,3 billions. All major formats of music grew versus the prior year with the exception of digital downloads. On a global scale the digital music market has continuously expanded since 2008. And new market places develops fast. The average time spent listening to music each week has grown from 20.1 hours per fan in 2022 to 20.7 hours in 2023. 32% of that listening is on audio streaming services and 31% on video streaming services. The list of the most streamed artist in the world 2023 was led by superstar Taylor Swift followed by Drake. The world is streaming and the future looks both interesting and bright. We love music! It is still quite a young technology and for the users and creators a new experience. There is still little dedicated research and that gives way to a lot of strong opinions and views. Through this course we will closely follow the discourse that goes on outside academia and tap into ongoing research and exiting developments. Over the years streaming has been a hot topic in the music and mainstream media with high profiled artists such as Taylor Swift, Thom Yorke, The Black Keys, David Byrne and many others speaking out against the payout of streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Pandora and Tidal. And with new ways to distribute money from the DSPs its looks like 2024 will be anything but boring. Through this course you will be guided through the history of streaming and the technology that made it possible. You will be introduced to the storefronts of online music made possible by this technology, and we will investigate how the digital marketplace can streamline both sales and marketing. Beyond exploring the effects of the technology on music and media startups, we will explore how artist development and career growth has been effected. Streaming offers exciting new opportunities and challenges when marketing and promoting music online, and you will learn specific techniques and tools to maximize your visibility, help you connect with fans and increase the chances to be discovered. You will master the techniques of the online streaming marketplace and working technology through “launching” your own release through The Orchard. This course will give you the wider historical context of the streaming economy and give you a broader understanding of this rapidly changing landscape. During this course, the students will meet guests with great knowledge and up-to-date insight on different topics.

Undergraduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 2665
Section #: 001
Meets: MW 12-3:30p

IMA Electives Spring 2026 Summer 2025 Summer 2026 Undergraduate

Global Culture Wars (HSED-UE 1033)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed

This course will examine the origins, development, and meanings of so-called cultural conflict in the United States. Topics will include abortion, gay rights, bilingualism, and the teaching of evolution in public schools. Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Cultures & Contexts for Steinhardt students.

History of Education (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Fashion as Art: Contemporary Collaborations (ARTS-UG 1437)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Fri

Presently, the distinctions between fashion and art have begun to fray, revealing a dynamic cultural nexus that has propelled new concepts, processes, materials and modes of presentation. Artists, designers, curators and critics alike recognize the wide-ranging appeal of locating fashion within Fine Art and vice versa. This malleable exchange between the two mediums is illuminated in landmark exhibitions like Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty and in the profusion of artist to brand collaborations that continue to transform the fashion world. In this arts workshop, students will have the opportunity to explore fashion as art through a range of material investigations. Questions that the course will engage include: how has the confluence of fashion and Fine Art both challenged and enriched the cultural significance of dress, shifting the industries course and altering the way the world sees value, gender and even identity? “Additionally, how can merging these mediums expand and enhance one’s own studio practice? Students can choose from a variety of mediums, including, but not limited to: illustration, painting, collage, textile design, sculpture, photography and performance. This course is open to students of all artistic backgrounds with an interest in expanding their experiences in visual culture and the visual arts.

Arts Workshops (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Expressive Culture Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Storyboarding (FMTV-UT 1033)

Students will create a storyboard from an assigned literary property (i.e., fairy tales, folk tales, famous short stories, etc.) and research the chosen material visually in picture libraries, print and photo archives, museum/gallery libraries and online. From this basic research, the student will create and develop all the visual elements that lead to a final production storyboard; these elements include character model drawings; styling sketches for costumes and sets; experimental “inspirational” sketches exploring mood, color, and character relationships and experiments in animation and color test footage. Each week, students will “pitch,” (i.e. present material) as it is being developed. Through weekly critiques from the instructor and students, elements and shape of the production storyboard is refined to its final form. The approved storyboard at the end of the semester should be ready to go into production, and must reflect character ,attitude, design, entertainment, mood, expressions, feeling and type of action. It must use dialogue, music/sound effects, and tell the story in the best possible way. This course allocates as a Craft for Film & TV majors.

Undergraduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 12804
Section #: 001
Meets: M 11a-1:45p


Class #: 12805
Section #: 002
Meets: M 4:55-7:35p


Class #: 12806
Section #: 003
Meets: F 11a-1:45p


Class #: 20959
Section #: 004
Meets: R 2-4:45p

Fall 2025 Fall 2026 General Elective Spring 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate
Fall 2023

Journalistic Inquiry: The Written Word (JOUR-UA 101)

Journalism (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

JOUR-UA 101-000 (8832)at Washington SquareInstructed by

JOUR-UA 101-000 (23456)

JOUR-UA 101-000 (10147)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Tue,Thu9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by De La Hoz Arias, Felipe

JOUR-UA 101-000 (9303)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Evening)at Washington SquareInstructed by Borak, Donna

JOUR-UA 101-000 (8735)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Mon,Wed6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Evening)at Washington SquareInstructed by Reed, Anika

JOUR-UA 101-000 (8677)at Washington SquareInstructed by

JOUR-UA 101-000 (9796)

JOUR-UA 101-000 (20665)09/05/2023 – 12/15/2023 Tue,Thu6:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Evening)at Washington SquareInstructed by Surico, John

General Elective Undergraduate

History of Italian Cinema (ICINE-UT 1103)

The Italian Cinema is a good way to study the whole Italian history, society, ideology and behaviours. The students will have the opportunity to know such authors as Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini, Antonioni, Visconti, Pasolini, Bertolucci, who are well known in the US. The course will also focus on the difference between auteur films and genre films (comedy, roman-mythological, western, melodrama); it will stress the gender point of view, the problem of a national identity, the role of the film industry. Strong attention will be paid to the relationship between Italian film and literature, art history, television and other disciplines.

Undergraduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 4377
Section #: F01
Meets: M 3-5:45p; F 3-5:45p


Class #: 19235
Section #: F02
Meets: M 6-8p

Expressive Culture Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2025 Spring 2026 Summer 2025 Summer 2026 Undergraduate

The Gardens and Landscapes of Tuscany (ARTH-UA 9653)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Thu

To provide the student with an awareness and appreciation of gardens and landscapes of Tuscany from early Roman precedents to the 21st century. The design of the Italian landscape and garden is studied as a means of cultural communication–an expression of a society’s values, philosophy and understanding of the environment. Emphasis is placed on historic precedent, sustainable design techniques utilized in Italian gardens and classic Renaissance design concepts. The format includes lectures, class presentations and field trips.

Art History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Expressive Culture Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Florentine Villas: An Interpretation Based on Historical and Social Factors (ARTH-UA 9308)

This course introduces to the many villas surrounding the city of Florence. It aims at illustrating their origins, their history from the Middle-Age to the twentieth century, as well as their economic and ideological factors in the relationship with the city of Florence. The course draws on many disciplines, such as architecture, history, economy, social history, history of art, and landscape art.

Art History (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2025)

ARTH-UA 9308-000 (10808)08/28/2025 – 12/02/2025 Mon9:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at NYU Florence (Global)Instructed by Edelstein, Bruce

Fall 2025 Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate

Global Fashion Industry: Italy (PRACT-UG 9200)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed

THIS COURSE TAKES PLACE AT NYU-FLORENCE. Global Fashion Industry: Italy will provide students with a deep understanding of the contemporary fashion industry in Italy, as well as of Italy’s position in the global fashion arena. The course will drive students through the entire lifecycle of the fashion business, from forecasting trends to retailing, through design, sourcing, product development and production. Particular attention will be dedicated to different marketing aspects of the process, such as: identity building, brand positioning, merchandising, buying, costing, communication. All levels of retail, from luxury to mass market will be covered. The course will end with an analysis of the new challenges, such as sourcing globalization, emerging markets, sustainability and growing significance of technology. A strong effort will be put into organizing site visits to studios, showrooms and factories, as well as meeting with professional players. Each session will be structured to give students an overview of a particular stage of the Industry, through a mix of lectures from the course leader and visiting professionals, studio and showroom visits, walking tours, reading assignments and practical projects. Conducted in English.

Practicum (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Cultures and Contexts Expressive Culture Fall 2025 Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Spring 2026 Undergraduate
Fall 2022 Fall 2023 Spring 2024

Images (PHIL-UH 2416)

Images depict, words describe. A picture of the cat of the mat depicts the cat as being on the mat. The sentence ’the cat is on the mat’ describes the cat as being on the mat. Both represent the world as being in a certain state, but they do so in different ways. What is the difference in these ways of representing? What does it take for an image to depict? This course covers most major theories of depiction, including resemblance, experience, recognition, pretense, and structural theories. We then expand the scope of inquiry to include topics such as systems of depiction, analog vs. digital representation, maps, film, comics, maps, mental imagery, and relations to the cognitive science of vision.

Philosophy (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 16 Weeks

Sections (Spring 2024)

PHIL-UH 2416-000 (5805)01/22/2024 – 05/10/2024 Tue,Thu11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Abu DhabiInstructed by Rabin, Gabriel

IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Art & Design) Liberal Arts & Sciences - Electives Societies & the Social Sciences Undergraduate