School of Media Studies

CELEBRATE 100 YEARS AT THE FESTIVAL OF NEW: 10/1-10/6

The Festival of New, The New School’s weeklong centennial celebration, will take place October 1-6, 2019, and faculty + staff now have priority access to sign up for individual events within the Festival!

Rock out with alumni performers in Union Square. Delve into the future of design with Anna Sui. Stay up all night listening to mind-expanding philosophy and experimental jazz. The Festival of New is your rare chance to engage with world thought leaders as they critically explore “the new.”

Start building your dream schedule today. If you haven’t already, create an account to register for upcoming talks, performances and exhibitions.

With 100+ events to take advantage of, we’ve curated a list of some you won’t want to miss. Due to the popularity of events listed here and on the festival website, seating is limited and may already be in waitlist mode. Individuals are still encouraged to sign up for the event.

Be sure to join the celebrations and conversations across social media using the hashtag #100YearsNew

Tuesday, October 1 at 11:00AM
Centennial Opening Ceremony
Join university leadership in kicking off The Festival of New with a lively discussion on the future of higher education, hosted by President David Van Zandt and Provost Tim Marshall. This event will be livestreamed, tune in here.

Wednesday, October 2 at 2:00PM
Alumni Filmmakers: From the Classroom to the Big ScreenKaren Maine, BA Liberal Arts ’08, writer and director of Yes, God, Yes, and Stephan Bailey, MA Media Studies ’15, producer of Strange Negotiations, discuss the complexities of filmmaking, including topics like the creative process, pitching, funding, and more. Both alumni premiered their films, respectively, this year at SXSW.

Wednesday, October 2 at 2:00PM
The Future of Writing: Storytelling Across Platforms The answer to the question “what is literature?” is increasingly informed by portents and forecasts, and the expansion of creative capabilities through technology. This event features current faculty members of The New School from creative writing and media studies: Luis Jaramillo, Mira Jacob, Fabiola Hanna, and Steele Filipeck, and current practitioners who, together, divine the future of storytelling.

Thursday, October 3 at 6:00PM
Birthing a Nation: History, Memory, the Artist Self
What happens when an artist’s behavior as a “private” citizen overshadows the critical acclaim of their artistic endeavors? Using Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation,” this screening and panel discussion aims to dissect some of the complex forces at play that determined the outcome of this film and the resulting career pathway of its director.  Beset by scandal, its proximity to the #metoo movement, and systemic racism, the film is simultaneously a recipient of the Sundance Film Festival’s prestigious Audience Award and Grand Jury Prizes, as well as a record-shattering acquisition by Fox Searchlight. The panel will include one of film’s lead actors, Aunjanue Ellis, and Michelle Materre, Tracyann Williams, Marcus Turner, New School faculty members – in the areas of filmmaking and media history, as well as gender and African American studies – who will consider whether it is possible to determine the value of a work of art as a distinctive element, rather than as a convergence with the artist’s personal history. Are we able to consider the artist and their work separate from their personal mistakes and misjudgments? These tensions will be explored through the lens of race and access in artistic production.

Thursday, October 3 at 4:00PM
The New School in the Square: Concert in Union Square Park
This breakout Union Square concert features some of The New School’s most heralded and relevant performers to date, including pop artists Lion Babe (with Jillian Hervey ’11), singer Morgan Saint ’16, pianist James Francies ’17, and DJs Marco Weibel ’17 and Dion Anike McKenzie (TYPGAPAW) ’06 of The Lot Radio, created by School of Media Studies Alum, Francios Vaxelaire ’13. Warm-up dance lead by Viva Soudan ’08 of Haus of Sweat.

Friday, October 4 at 6:00PM
The Future of Ethics for an AI, Data Driven Media Industry
Can media companies create effective ethical codes and standards in our increasingly data-dominated, attention economy? In this session, four expert panelists—and the audience—dialogue and brainstorm to explore and suggest ideas that can lead to answers to this question. The session includes examinations on whether, given the growing power of AI and intense competition among media outlets, media can still create workable codes of ethics. If so, what should these new codes look like? If not, does society need to figure out brand new media business models? Allow or encourage more government regulations? Cultivate new types of information entities that will serve the public good to supplement what traditional media companies have traditionally been charged with? Featuring School of Media Studies Alum, Lauren Moraski ‘15 organized by SMS Faculty Robert Berkman. 

Saturday, October 5 at 1:00PM
Women’s Legacy at The New School: A Celebration
“The Women’s Legacy Project” recognizes women – scholars, artists, educators, philanthropists – who have been erased from the official history of The New School:

The Founding Mothers, ten eminent women who helped to establish this progressive institution in 1919; Women creators of other schools and programs that now form part of the university, ranging from the Mannes School of Music (Clara Damrosch Mannes) to Eugene Lang College (Elizabeth Coleman);Visionary feminists who have worked consistently at the cutting edge, both in the humanities (as anthropologists, social scientists, philosophers) and in the arts (as actors and playwrights, musicians and composers, photographers and fashion designers).