Tag Archives: NYC

All Settled In

Posted on 09/11/2012 by Elizabeth | 6 Comments

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Con and I am a first year M.A. student at CLACS. I just graduated from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, with degrees in Political Science and International Studies and a minor in Spanish. I moved to New York City three weeks ago and living in Bushwick (Brooklyn) has proven to be a fun and interesting change. The past few weeks, I’ve been busy learning subway lines, checking out touristy spots (while trying to appear as a local), and savoring the last weeks of summer by trying out ice cream shops with my roommate.

As a first year student, new to CLACS, NYU, and NYC, I’m perpetually confused and anxious, but also enthusiastic and eager to be in a new place, to meet new people, and to challenge myself academically and personally.

From how I ended up at NYU and highlights from CLACS lectures to the best coffee shops around campus and goings on around town, I’ll be using this space to reflect on my daily experiences as a grad student. I look forward to sharing some of these experiences with you, and maybe even offering some tips on thriving in the labyrinths of NYU and NYC.

Elizabeth Con is an MA Candidate at CLACS at NYU

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Posted in The Adventures of a CLACS Newbie

Tagged CLACS, MA program, NYC, students

Newcomers in New York: The Interview Sessions

Posted on 08/16/2012 by marcadena | Leave a comment

In keeping align with my methodological approach utilizing multimedia to conduct collaborative ethnography; the latest installments of the project were interview workshops. In general, skill development workshops are a major component of this project. The workshops focus on creative reconnaissance and technological skill building activities. The participants and I work together (and with local experts) to learn more about different aspects of photography, video, and audio equipment and techniques, editing programs, blogging, creative writing, and more. Furthermore, another purpose of the meetings and workshops is to familiarize the participants with the greater New York City area.

Last week, I met with the young ladies, in groups of two, at Washington Square in Manhattan. Throughout the day, each participant was able to enter and observe New York University’s Bobst Library (where they were granted limited access to the stacks and facility!), the Tisch School of Art’s ITP lab (the Interactive Telecommunications Program, where we borrow the 5D camera and audio recording equipment), and the CLACS office and rooms (the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, where the footage was actually recorded). Each pair played artistic directors in setting the stage for their interview session. Unfortunately, a light decided to begin its slow, blinking decline during the “talk show” style interview, but the cameras kept rolling in order to maintain the “flow” of the conversation. Claritza and Valin decided that a conversation style would be the most comfortable and effective approach. Continue reading →

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Posted in Recent Research

Tagged anthropology, Cultural Identity, Dominican Republic, education, gender, immigration, NYC, students, Thailand

Newcomers in New York: The Project

Posted on 07/12/2012 by marcadena | 3 Comments

Graduating high school is an emotional time for any teen. It can be a simultaneously scary and exciting experience, a mix of anxious emotions to embark on a new life outside the confines (and safety) of the school, to tread the waters of the ‘real world.’ The story incurs an added twist when that apprehensive teen happens to be an English Language Learner who immigrated only a few years prior. The opportunities and obstacles that that youth will encounter upon graduation are daunting. Many newcomer youth have had interrupted schooling and have immigrated during their high school years. They have been uprooted for a multitude of reasons by their families (or own volition) and landed in New York City with hopes of finishing their education and commencing a new life full opportunities. The reality they encounter is not an easy one; most have not learned English prior to migration and many have to repeat years of schooling because records or curriculum from the home country do not transfer (Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco and Todorova, 2008). This is all paired with a cultural and linguistic shock on top of the stressful (and sometimes violent) process of migrating. Currently, an estimated 30% of 68 million youth are of foreign descent in the U.S. Subsequently, these youth and their children will have a great impact on the trajectory of higher education and the labor market, as well as the cultural and political landscape of this nation (Rumbaut and Komazie, 2010:45; Flanagan and Levine 2010; Lopez and Marcelo 2008; Stepick, Stepick and Labisserie 2008).

It is important to understand this growing population to ensure they have the chance to positively contribute to the U.S. economy and society, as well as have the chance to accomplish any goal that they set forth. By following the decision-making processes of these youth coupled with an insider view of their lives will provide a vital understanding of what institutional and societal obstacles and opportunities exist to help or hinder them in accomplishing their goals. In my preliminary assessment of the students’ situations and recent research, it has become apparent that there remains a dearth of understanding of the particular needs and experiences of newcomer young adults in the U.S, especially as they transition out of the high school educational institution. Continue reading →

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Posted in Recent Research

Tagged high school, immigration, NYC, students

CLACS Alumni Profile: Franklin Moreno

Posted on 05/05/2012 by vondiaz | Leave a comment

CLACS Alum Franklin Moreno is the Schools Programs Manager at El Museo del Barrio, where he has worked since 2009. El Museo del Barrio is a Latino cultural institution dedicated to promoting Latin American and Caribbean art and culture.

He was recently accepted to a PhD program in Human Development and Education at UC Berkeley, where he will be studying Cognition and Development with Elliot Turiel.

“I feel that museums offer so much, and have been creating spaces to approach education in a more flexible ways. I’m trying to better understand the ways our minds develop to better understand trauma and education, and then connect that to museum practices,” he says.

At CLACS, Franklin’s research focused on museum studies and El Salvador. His thesis looked at El Museo de Arte de El Salvador (MARTE), where he explored the role of the museum in relation to post-war conflict and social and psychological trauma. He graduated from CLACS in January 2011.

He says his experiences at CLACShelped shape his career and future research.

“I am still working out a lot of ideas that came out of my time at CLACS, and drawing on work by some of the authors I read,” he says.
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Posted in Alumni Achievements

Tagged El Museo del Barrio, El Salvador, museums, NYC

CLACS Alum at September 11th Tribute Center

Posted on 03/20/2012 by vondiaz | Leave a comment

Esther Mares is a CLACS graduate who is now a Collections Assistant at the Tribute World Trade Center Visitor Center.

Esther graduated in January 2012 with an MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies with a concentration in museum studies. She landed a job in her field before she even completed her last semester.

Esther came to NY from Las Vegas, New Mexico, and where studied archaeology and Spanish at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She has also previously interned at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

At CLACS, her MA thesis investigated the Museum of the City of Las Vegas and its role in producing local culture and Hispanic narratives. While at CLACS she also interned at the Rubin Museum and the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY).
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Posted in Alumni Achievements

Tagged memory, museums, New Mexico, NYC

Profile: David Hanna of the CLACS Teacher Residency Program

Posted on 03/09/2012 by vondiaz | Leave a comment

As part of our K-12 Outreach, CLACS hosts a teacher residency program, attracting local educators who are interested in enhancing the Latin American studies curricula in their classrooms.

David Hanna, a history teacher at University Neighborhood High School in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, teaches Regents prep courses in both Global and U.S. History, as well as AP United States History. In 2011 he participated in the CLACS Teacher Residency Program.

During his time in the program, he worked with NYU faculty and CLACS staff to research rural to urban migration in Brazil. He also developed curricular materials about this topic, aimed for high school-aged students. In January 2012, at the K-12 educator conference that marks the closing of the program, he and other participants presented their curricular materials to their peers. These curricular materials and others are available on the CLACS website for teachers around the world to use free of charge.

According to David, his students responded well to the curriculum, and had a lot to say during the activities. “They were probably the best conversations we had in class all semester,” David says. He plans to teach the curriculum to future students.

David is an avid history lover, which inspired his career choice. His interest in history spans much farther than Latin America. This year he published his first book, titled Knights of the Sea, which chronicles the lives of two young naval officers in Maine during the War of 1812.

David says that he had a great experience participating in the teacher residency program, and that he would definitely recommend the program to other educators. “I grew as a teacher by broadening my understanding of Latin America. I also got to share my efforts with teachers from across the city both at the conference, as well as online,” David says.

In addition to the residency program, David is also contributing to the “Teaching Global History” book project, a project that brings educators and scholars together with the common goal of making recent research on global history more accessible to educators and students.

Visit the CLACS website to learn more about the Teacher Residency Program, or to access free K-12 curricular materials.

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Posted in K-12 Outreach and Education

Tagged Brazil, education, NYC, teacher residency

CLACS Hosts Over 100 Free Events Each Year

Posted on 02/29/2012 by vondiaz | Leave a comment

CLACS is located on the south side of Washington Square Park, in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village

Each year, CLACS hosts over 100 events that are free and open to the public. These Latin America and Caribbean-themed events range from film screenings to lecture series, art exhibits to book readings. Most of our events are followed by a reception, where students, faculty, and community members have the opportunity to connect and discuss. CLACS events are listed on the events page of the CLACS website, the CLACS google calendar, and are also highlighted on the CLACS Facebook page.

You can receive emails about CLACS events that match your interests by signing up for a CLACS email list. CLACS offers more than 20 unique email lists, each focused on a region or topic. You can subscribe to any email list by entering your email on the CLACS homepage, or through this link to our email management system. Some of the email list options include a weekly digest of all events, K-12 Outreach Program, thematic – such as race and gender, or regional – such as the Andes or the Caribbean.

This semester, CLACS is hosting several extra-exciting events. The Spring 2012 CLACS Research Colloquium focuses on “Latin American Independence in the Age of Revolution,” and features lectures on current research in the area. Scholars such as Robin Blackburn and Sara Johnson are among the list of esteemed speakers. From March 22 through April 11, CLACS and ILAS will host Mundos Andinos, an event series pertaining to the Andean region (details to follow – watch the CLACS website). And on March 26th CLACS will have a screening of the film Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, about human rights abuses in Guatemala, followed by a discussion with Pamela Yates, Paco de Onís, and NYU Historian Greg Grandin.

To see a list of all upcoming CLACS events, visit the events page on the website. To receive CLACS email updates, click here to sign up now!

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Posted in CLACS News

Tagged CLACS, NYC

Teachers in Residence Present at K-12 Educator Conference

Posted on 02/16/2012 by vondiaz | Leave a comment

Teaching Latin America’s migration history in the classroom can be a challenge. The most recent K-12 Educator Conference focused on just this issue, bringing scholars and educators together for a day of learning and exchange.

Two educators participating in the CLACS Teacher Residency Program spoke at the event. David Hanna currently teaches at University Neighborhood High School, and presented on “The Great (Quiet) Migration: Brazil.” Ariela Rothstein is a teacher at East Brooklyn Community High School, and she gave a presentation on “Perspectives on the Cuban Revolution: Social class, equality of opportunity and equality of outcomes before and after the Cuban Revolution.”

CLACS piloted its first Teacher Residency Program in 2010. Through this program, select teachers work closely with NYU faculty members, NYU Bobst Library resources, and CLACS K-12 outreach staff on Latin American research topics. Residents receive expert support, and have the opportunity to develop curricular materials for use in their classrooms.
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Posted in K-12 Outreach and Education

Tagged Brazil, Cuba, immigration, NYC