Science at The New School

“I have a lab paper due tomorrow and I have to read this book,” my friend Sarah Nekofaur said to me one late night as we were studying.

Sarah threw a lengthy, hardcover book, titled “The Seven Daughters of Eve, the Science That Reveals Our Genetic History,” in my direction. I opened the first page and began to read a complicated text about DNA structures and genetics. “Sarah, I have no idea what this is saying.” I said.

I have grown accustomed to seeing the typical Lang assignment of 30 page essays. Reading a book with scientific theories in it brought me back to high school: me, a below-average chemistry student, balancing equations and memorizing formulas. I haven’t even seen the word “molecule” in years, yet alone thought about it. I asked Sarah more about her class, both out of curiosity and confusion. She told me she is an interdisciplinary science major. Hold up… The New School has science majors?

To me, science has always been methodical. One answer, one response, one way of doing it or it’s incorrect. The New School is everything but methodical and traditional so how can science classes stray away from the traditional? I remember growing up with every one of my peers wanting to go into the sciences. They went to large, research universities and prepared themselves for four years of research and lab work. I wondered if the liberal nature of the interdisciplinary science curriculum at The New School undermines it. I ultimately had one question: would receiving a degree in interdisciplinary science from The New School hold up in the real world?

Sarah, an Alabama native, always thought she’d be a doctor. She took a multitude of traditional science courses preparing herself for a career in the sciences. But, once she began studying science at The New School, Sarah faced a challenge she hadn’t expected.

“It’s not like other science classes I’ve taken,” she told me. “Everything that I had learned about science has changed. I’ve been forced to learn and understand it. I’m able to apply it and not just memorize it.”

One of the major distinguishers between The New School and other universities is the idea of what an education means. I found myself deciding on Lang because I wanted to be in an environment where others cared more about what to do with the information they learned rather than simply passing a test. Watching Sarah struggle through her class made me realize that reading 30 pages of Kafka isn’t the only difficulty in classes at The New School. As a science major, she faces challenges in her own classes, just in a different way.

Katayoun Chamany, professor in The New School interdisciplinary science department, created the major 17 years ago. After being attracted to The New School for its focus on social justice issues, Chamany immediately saw the difference with New School students compared to those at other universities. Science combined with the foundations that The New School were built on created an interdisciplinary science department that consists of more than just common biology or chemistry classes.

“In some ways, New School students are at an advantage because they have superior training in critical thinking,” Chamany said. “They identify problems that most people ignore, and they can apply a variety of creative practices that allow them to think outside the box.”

The real difference amongst New School students is the lens in which we see the world and the disciplines we study. Rather than solely focus on science classes, New School students have the advantage of being exposed to different aspects of science. Science isn’t just chemistry or biology, but a focus on what science can do to the world, how it can bring upon social justice or equality. With classes like “Genes, Environment, and Behavior” or “Science and Politics of Cancer,” it comes to no surprise as to why students become critical thinkers and learners that question rather than accept. Unlike normal traditional courses, Chamany said, “the relevance pops out immediately creating a desire to learn and a strong sense of motivation.” The New School connects science with real life events, not just theories. This connection with students creates a greater sense of what science can bring.

All science majors I know have only ever wanted to be doctors, or pharmacists, etc. At the New School, it is much more than that. Chamany sent me a list of a multitude of interdisciplinary science alumni with all their biographies: one became involved in environmental activism; another is now a pediatric oncology nurse; one recently graduated from New York Medical College; another works for a health promotion program at the Mexico Ministry of Health at the National Council for Chronic Disease Prevention. The list goes on and on, all filled with both conventional and non-conventional jobs. I realized that being a science student at The New School doesn’t mean you can’t have a traditional science career, but that you can have even more than that.

Sarah saw other possibilities as well.

“I originally wanted to be a doctor, but now I think I want to be an HIV/AIDS specialist,” she said. “Here I’ve learned that there’s multiple possibilities. The New School has a much more progressive view of science. Social justice combined with science helps society move forward.”

Jessica Villagomez

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Jessica is currently a Journalism + Design Major minoring in Literature. A Chicago native, she enjoys arguing with people who think New York style pizza is better than Chicago deep dish, reading anything she can get her hands on, and exploring New York Cities' bakeries.

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