Current Student Profile:
Jonathan Lee
Jonathan has certainly brought as many singular experiences to his time in the MALS program as he is poised to take away from it. Before re-emerging in New York to begin his studies, he founded and spent several years directing the non-profit Maine Speakout Project, which “trained and deployed volunteer speakers…to share personal experiences about being gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender at Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, churches, schools, and workplaces” throughout the Pine Tree State.
While at CUNY Jonathan has involved himself in a wide variety of subjects, including literature, sociology, and film. In so doing, he has “found the faculty to be very accessible and the school in general to have a very decent, civilized social democratic ethos—a tradition that I value.” He is currently writing a thesis under the supervision of Prof. Morris Dickstein on the life and work of the late social critic and self-described ‘man of letters’ Paul Goodman, about whom he is also in the process of making his first film, the documentary PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE (www.paulgoodmanfilm.com). Goodman, the “author of Growing Up Absurd…was considered the philosopher of the New Left and was extremely important to me and many young people who came of age in the 1960s. I felt that the Liberal Studies program would give me an anchor outside of the filmmaking and enable me to take courses that would intersect with themes and issues of the film.”
Jonathan will be moving on again after completing his thesis, this time to northeast Brasil, where he will work to help impoverished local communities create projects for sustainable development. Having already spent some time in the country Jonathan is quick to acknowledge, “Brasil has become a second home to me, and this next phase of my life will certainly bring music, alegria, and real intellectual challenges as well.” There may also be a well-deserved martini or two somewhere in the mix, according to his taste.
Spring Newsletter written by Joel Jennings, MALS student in the American Studies concentration.
Faculty Profile:
Professor Robert Singer
A lifelong New Yorker, Professor Singer studied as an undergraduate at NYU and later went on to do his PhD work there in Comparative Literature. Prior to starting his academic career at CUNY he spent much of his time nourishing a love of cinema by making urban films, some of which were screened at the Anthology Film Archives and other places around the city. “To me,” says Professor Singer, “paradise was a 16mm camera and lots of new Kodak film.”
Not in the least, however, did he leave film behind. In fact, his involvement with the MALS program began with advisory work he did for some students through classes he taught in the Graduate Center’s Film Studies Program. A committed interdisciplinarian, Professor Singer has since created the “American Culture and Values” course for the program, and he works closely with other faculty on development issues. “One of the MALS program’s greatest strengths involves its interdisciplinary approach to the structural foundation of its courses. This interdisciplinary principle has led me to believe that the MALS program offers an exceptionally motivating, critically sound and contemporary set of methodological practices for its students. In MALS, I can preach what I practice!” On this score,
Professor Singer’s “intellectual inclination has always been toward the analysis of the creative and the abstract as it is expressed in various narrative formations. Therefore, I privilege neither the purely academic nor the creative in my work at MALS, and I try to establish for my students an appreciation of both means of expression.”
Professor Singer’s publications include books on Zola and film, Brooklyn films and the borough’s performing arts institutions, as well as numerous articles. Currently, he is delving into naturalist and dystopian film narratives while also “working in new areas of research that have been inspired by my MALS students; for example, I am finishing an article on the American filmmaker Joseph Lewis and his noir narratives, which developed out of a discussion from a MALS class last year.” Professor Singer’s emphasis on open and sustained classroom exchange leads, then, to welcome results for all involved.
Alumni Profile: Terry Weber
Terry with Malika Evans, one of his students
Terry arrived in the MALS program in the midst of a career change that saw him move from Verizon, where he had spent twenty-four years, to become a teacher in the NYC public school system. Currently teaching at the Urban Academy Laboratory High School, Terry has fully plunged into the opportunities and responsibilities that come with the job. At the Urban Academy he oversees the math department, trains incoming teachers, and serves as the chapter chairperson for the United Federation of Teachers—all while teaching courses that range from “Maps and The World’s Geography” to “Toy Design”.
Speaking to Terry’s aspirations during his transition, “The MALS program at CUNY was very attractive to me, a newcomer to teaching, as it allowed me to explore issues in urban education—such as whether making all students take the New York State regents will raise standards. In addition, the interdisciplinary focus of this program allowed me to pursue a passion for the history of science through two of the courses I took. I am still learning and using information from these ideas in my high school teaching.” To enhance the learning experience and build historical perspective in a trigonometry class, for example, Terry asks his students to compare the trigonometric method of measurement they are learning with that developed by a Grand Prefect in ancient China—a method which many of them actually favor.
Terry was also able to bring his professional experiences to bear on his academic life by interviewing colleagues and charting student progress as part of his thesis, Active Learning at a Public High School: Urban Academy’s Authentic Assessment. From this process, Terry achieved “a deep understanding of not only performance assessment but also how a successful school culture is developed and maintained.” His students and colleagues, surely, have been the first to profit.