Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, commonly referred to as Lang, is the seminar-style, undergraduate,

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...

of The New School. It is located on-campus in Greenwich Village in New York City on West 11th Street off 6th Avenue.

History

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts was founded as the Freshman Year Program at The New School in 1972 as a pre-college program for high school graduates. Three years later, in 1975, the program was expanded to a full undergraduate program and renamed The Seminar College. In 1985, following a generous donation by Eugene Lang and his wife Theresa, the school was renamed Eugene Lang College. The college currently has an enrollment of over 1,345 students. In 2005, the phrase "The New School" was inserted into the name of each division of The New School as part of a unification strategy initiated by the university's President Bob Kerrey; thus, Eugene Lang College was renamed Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts. In 2015, The New School rebranded again by renaming the schools to better clarify the relationship between the university and its schools. Eugene Lang College's formal title is The New School's Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts.

Curriculum

Academics

The only required classes are an introductory course on New York City, taught from the perspective of the relation of philosophy to the physical; two lecture hall courses; and two semesters of Writing the Essay for first-year students. These intensive writing classes – part composition class and part linguistics – have titles such as "Going Underground," "What's Love Got to Do With It?," "Comedy as Critique," and "Cruel Shoes: A Trek Through the Absurd." Students are encouraged to tailor the program to their own interests and academic goals. Eugene Lang College hosts some of The New School's most experimental and avant-garde courses, including: "Heterodox Identities", "NYC: Graphic Gotham", "The Mind-Game Film" (taught by Silvia Vega-Llona), "The Illusion of Color", "Punk & Noise", "Masculinity in Asia," "Queer Culture", "Theories of Mind", and "Play and Toil in the Digital Sweatshop". The college places emphasis on

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

learning with a "student-directed" curriculum. All of its courses are

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...

. Students at Lang may also cross-register for courses sponsored by other divisions of The New School, especially

Parsons School of Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

and the School of Drama's new BFA program. Students are allowed to double-major and apply for the university's honors program.

Student publications

Several of The New School's major publications are produced by Lang students. Among these are:
New School Free Press''
, a student-run newspaper published by the journalism concentration of the Writing department, has grown from a DIY zine-style pamphlet to a professionally printed

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

in the years since its founding in 2002, when it was known as ''Inprint''. It is published monthly in print and it aims to serve both Lang and the wider New School community. The Free Press operates a blog and makes digital copies of the newspaper available on the Lang website.
''12th Street''
nationally distributed literary journal; contains works from undergraduate writers in The New School's Riggio Writing & Democracy Honors Program
''Eleven and a Half''
the literary journal of Eugene Lang College * ''The Weekly Observer'', an online newsletter showcasing major student and alumni achievements, special program announcements, and other university-wide news. Distributed via MyNewSchool web portal.

Notable alumni and faculty

Alumni

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...

, musician * Elisa Donovan, actress * Karen Maine, director and screenwriter * Matisyahu, musician *

Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...

, musician * Jake Shears, musician * Emily Gould, former co-editor of

Gawker ''Gawker'' is an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers and based in New York City focusing on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month as of 2015. Founded in ...

* Mike Doughty, musician *

Jude Ellison Sady Doyle Jude Ellison Sady Doyle (formerly Sady Doyle; born June 11, 1982) is an American feminist author. Profile In 2005, Doyle graduated from Eugene Lang College. He founded the blog Tiger Beatdown (a punning reference to ''Tiger Beat'') in 2008. ...

, feminist writer *

Graeme K. Graeme K. (b. Graeme Kennedy) is a musician, producer, and owner of Mckeenstreet Music, a small, independent record label based in Portland, Maine. As an artist, he is known for dense, highly orchestrated compositions utilizing electronics and li ...

, musician *

Stacey Farber Stacey Farber (born August 25, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She is known for playing Ellie Nash in seasons 2 through 8 of the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. From 2010 to 2011, she starred in the CBC series ''18 to Life ...

, actress * Melissa Febos, writer *

Travis Jeppesen Travis Jeppesen is an American novelist, poet, artist, and art critic. He is known, among other works, for his novel ''The Suiciders''; a non-fiction novel about North Korea, ''See You Again in Pyongyang''; and for his object-oriented writing work, ...

, writer * Paul Dano, actor * Robert Schwartzman, musician and actor *

Bethany Cosentino Best Coast is an American rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. The band consists of songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Bethany Cosentino and guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Cosentino, a former child actress, began w ...

, musician of Best Coast * Borzou Daragahi, journalist * Nina Arianda, actress *

Anita Glesta Anita Glesta (Birth name#Maiden and married names, née Curtis born January 21, 1958) is a New York City-based multimedia artist best known for her public art, installations in the public and alternative venues internationally. The arch of Glesta� ...

, artist

Faculty

Jennifer Baumgardner Jennifer Baumgardner (born 1970) is a writer, activist, filmmaker, and lecturer whose work explores abortion, sex, bisexuality, rape, single parenthood, and women's power. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the Executive Director/Publisher at The Fem ...

, feminist writer and speaker *

Laurie Collyer Laurie Collyer (born 1967) is an American film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Summit, New Jersey, she grew up in Mountainside, New Jersey and attended Oberlin College. After working at a series of odd jobs, she went to film school ...

, director/actress *

Siddhartha Deb Siddhartha Deb (born 1970) is an Indian author who was born in Meghalaya and grew up in Shillong in northeastern India. He was educated in India and at Columbia University, US. Deb began his career in journalism as a sports journalist in Calcu ...

, novelist *

Jill Eisenstadt Jill Eisenstadt (born June 15, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, teacher and freelance journalist. Biography Eisenstadt was born in Queens, New York and attended Bennington College, graduating in 1985. She was considered part of the " ...

, novelist, screenwriter, and journalist *

Jennifer Gilmore Jennifer Gilmore is a Swiss-born American novelist. Early life Gilmore was born in Geneva, Switzerland. Education Gilmore received her Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University in 1992 and her Master of Fine Arts in fiction from Cornell Univ ...

, novelist *

Mark Greif Mark Greif (born 1975) is an author, educator and cultural critic. His most recent book is ''Against Everything''. One of the co-founders of ''n+1'', he is a frequent contributor to the magazine and writes for numerous other publications. Greif curr ...

, co-editor of

n+1 N1, N.I, N-1, or N01 may refer to: Information technology * Nokia N1, an Android tablet * Nexus One, an Android phone made by HTC * Nylas N1, a desktop email client * Oppo N1, an Android phone * N1, a Sun Microsystems software brand now mostly ...

* Shelley Jackson, novelist and short story writer * Margo Jefferson, former theatre critic at '' The New York Times'' * Hettie Jones, poet *

Barrie Karp Barrie Karp (February 10, 1945, in Laredo, Texas – September 27, 2019, New York City) was an artist, independent scholar and academic. Karp grew up first in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre and then, in the later part of her childhood, in Williams ...

, artist * Greil Marcus, music critic *

Dominic Pettman Dominic Pettman is a cultural theorist and author. He is University Professor of Media and New Humanities aThe New School teaching within theCulture and Media programaEugene Lang Collegeand also thLiberal Studies Programat thNew School for Social R ...

, writer and theorist *

Kristin Prevallet Kristin Prevallet (b. 1966) is an American poet, essayist, and teacher. Her poetic work incorporates conceptual writing and trance, and her performances are rooted in feminist performance art and spoken word. ''Everywhere Here and in Brooklyn'', ...

, poet and writer * Katy Pyle, dancer and choreographer * Sara Ruddick, feminist philosopher *

Lynda Schor Lynda Schor is an American writer known for her satirical feminist short fiction including the collections ''Appetites'', ''True Love & Real Romance'', and her latest, ''The Body Parts Shop''. Her stories have appeared in many literary journals, ...

, short story writer and literary editor *

Christopher Sorrentino Christopher Sorrentino (born May 20, 1963) is an American novelist and short story writer of Italian and Puerto Rican descent. He is the son of novelist Gilbert Sorrentino and Victoria Ortiz. His first published novel, ''Sound on Sound'' (1995), ...

, novelist, short story writer *

Mark Statman Mark Statman (born 1958) is an American writer, translator, and poet. He is Emeritus Professor of Literary Studies at Eugene Lang College the New School for Liberal Arts in New York City, where he taught from 1985 to 2016. He has published 11 book ...

, writer, translator, poet * Sekou Sundiata, Grammy-nominated performance artist, poet * Elizabeth Swados, writer, composer, musician, and theatre director * McKenzie Wark, virtual media theorist *

Caveh Zahedi Caveh Zahedi (; born April 29, 1960) is an American film director and actor. Early years Zahedi was born in Washington, D.C., to Iranian immigrant parents. He studied philosophy at Yale University. Upon graduation, Zahedi moved to Paris, Fr ...

, director/actor

Rankings

In some college ranking programs, The New School's eight divisions are ranked separately, since their attributes and standards of admission differ significantly. The Princeton Review ranks Eugene Lang among "America's 371 Best Colleges" and the "Best Northeastern Colleges.". Miriam Weinstein also cites the Eugene Lang division in her book, ''Making a Difference Colleges: Distinctive Colleges to Make a Better World''. Lang has also appeared on The Princeton Review's following national lists: * "Dodgeball Targets" (#1) * "Great College Towns" (#1) * "Intercollegiate Sports Unpopular Or Nonexistent" (#1) * "Class Discussions Encouraged" (#1) * "Long Lines and Red Tape" (#1) * "Students Most Nostalgic For Bill Clinton Politics" (#2) * "Least Religious Students" (#2) * "Nobody Plays Intramural Sports" (#2) * "Birkenstock-Wearing, Tree-Hugging, Clove-Smoking Vegetarians" (#3) * "Most Politically Active" (#7) * "Town-Gown Relations Are Great" (#11) * "Gay Community Accepted" (#13) * "Most Liberal Students" (#16) * "Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid" (#18) * "Lots of Race/Class Interaction" (#19)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts The New School Liberal arts colleges in New York City Universities and colleges in New York City Universities and colleges in Manhattan Educational institutions established in 1985 1985 establishments in New York City Private universities and colleges in New York City