Supplemental Educational Resources
Faculty are encouraged to use the resources of the campus to enhance the instructional experiences of students. Three principal supplemental educational resources to consider as learning “laboratories” are:
Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives (KHRCA)
Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC)
Art Gallery – connections to departmental curricula
Art & Design – Comprehensive tours designed around the medium (painting, sculpture, etc.) used that allows the student to interpret the different characteristics that they hold. In addition to two courses in Museum studies (3 credits) and the Internship program (2 credits), the African Art course (3 credits) is held in the Gallery where students have access to the Permanent Collection to supplement their studies. In the African Art Lecture series, notable professors and collectors present their area of expertise.
Basic Educational Skills – Presently, the department uses the Gallery for Learning to Look tours in conjunction with an essay assignment given by the instructor. In addition, the QCC Literacy program incorporates the Art Gallery into the curricula of the adult and family literacy programs, as well as into a federal grant-funded arts and literacy program.
Biological Sciences and Geology – Using Pre-Columbian artifacts, Geology students can investigate the diversity of the terrain and the development of cultural periods that create the objects. Through carbon dating, archaeological specimens can be compared to different phases of cultural development. With the analysis of rock stamping, students can find possible origins of the artifacts.
Business – Business students will have a chance to understand basic non-profit organization management including budget projection, book keeping, inventory, sales tracking in the Gift Shoppe, national and international export/import, and customs clearance.
Chemistry – Through analysis of paint and other mediums, students have a chance to investigate the chemical makeup of the artwork and prove its legitimacy.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology – The Gallery has a unique temperature control system that students can study through the computer interface. The Gallery also has theatre equipment as well as the kiosks.
English – Using their assignments from class with the Learning to Look tour, students will be able to write about the interplay of literary and visual experiences.
Foreign Languages and Literatures – Through films, students can learn to compare the adaptation of some Latin-American novels. Advanced Spanish students have Learning to Look tours in Spanish. The Foreign Language Film Series features French, Chinese, and Italian films.
Health, Physical Education, and Dance – The Gallery’s digital archives hold many celebrated African ceremonies; Dance students are able to view these videos and observe the traditional dance of African cultures. Using the African Collection, instructors can demonstrate the deformities in African masks that represent sickness and the effect on lives.
History – The African and Pre-Columbian Library allows students to research the development of ancient civilizations and cultures. The African and Pre-Columbian artifacts provide students with hands-on experience.
Mathematics and Computer Science – The Permanent Collection holds various objects that artists designed using elaborate mathematical formulas (e.g., the large collection of Kuba textiles). Math has also played a large role in civilization and Islamic Art. In spring 2010, the Gallery offered two lectures entitled: Islamic Art: Its Beauty, Philosophy, Spirituality and Geometric Nature, and Mathematics in Art: Linear Perspective and Mathematics in Architecture.
Mechanical Engineering Technology and Design Drafting – Directly associated with the Architectural Design Fundamentals course, students can observe change in the spatial atmosphere through object placement. Hands-on experience can be established through maintenance of the temperature control on site. Daily reads are taken of the humidity control per room of the Gallery. Students can monitor these changes and understand how to control them. Architecture students can survey the topography of the land and compare them to the plans of the Oakland building previous to renovation.
Music – The Gallery has a large collection of instruments from Africa and South America, and these instruments can be used for research on the essence of cultural sound. The Gallery’s archives hold a large collection of sheet music from composer Eugene Bruisloff’s collection.
Nursing – Through research, Nursing students can analyze the effect of medium chemicals on the body. With the rise in alternative medicine, students can study the herbs African doctors used to heal.
Physics – Mounting an exhibition involves attention to physical laws (e.g., the thickness of a pedestal required to hold up a piece of artwork).
Social Sciences – The African Art Collection may be used to study how belief systems and social context influence human behavior both within an African village and in relationship to other villages. The College’s diverse population will have a chance to research their family linage through interviews, photography, and video of their ancestors’ history. The project can be presented in an electronic exhibit and in a publication of the interviews and photographs.
Speech Communication and Theatre Arts – Students can be involved with gallery docents and trained to give Learning to Look tours. The Gallery’s archive also consists of costume designs from Randy Barcelo’s collection, as well as over 800 Playbill’s from past Broadway performances.
KHRCA – connections to departmental curricula
Art and Design – There are many intersections between art and design and the Holocaust era, including the Bauhaus and the important cultural work done during the Weimar republic, which was often at odds with the paintings and sculptures promoted by the Nazis. The Nazis created propaganda art, including the Degenerate art traveling show of 1937.
Business –To function, the Third Reich had to turn a profit. Utilizing the concepts of production, utilization of national resources, nationalization of industries and banks, and controlling the marketing of goods, Nazi Germany was able to emerge from the Depression into a modern industrial society. Films of this process are available for viewing.
Economics –This area lends itself well to the exploration of the role of labor as a means of production. The Holocaust was very much dependent on the role of labor in supporting the economic engine of Germany. This led to the introduction of the practice of slave labor. The KHRCA has available for classroom presentations survivors who were forced into slave labor during the war.
Journalism – How does one use the local newspapers to win over a point or a people to partake knowingly and willingly in an enterprise such as the Holocaust? The Center examines the role that journalism played in perpetuating basic concepts of anti-Semitism and undying loyalty to Hitler.
Literature – The library of the Center has almost 5,000 volumes and 1,200 videos dealing with biography, poetry, diaries, scientific studies, factual documentation, cartooning and almost every aspect of the Holocaust.
Nursing – In the rise and expansion of the Nazi state, the idea of a “super person” was always in the forefront of its propaganda. Anyone less than a perfectly functioning human, Jew or otherwise, was a blemish on the Aryan race. To remove this blemish, a massive and effective euthanasia program known as the T-4 project was established. Documentation and visuals are available for this topic.
Psychology – To unify and mobilize the Nazi government. it was necessary to indoctrinate the German people into accepting their philosophy. This included swearing allegiance to the party, government, and Hitler and accepting the concepts of racism and genocide as legal extensions of society. The KHRCA has exhibits and films dealing with this process.
Religion – As religion serves as a unifying factor of society, the church leaders of Germany undertook an oath to serve the Nazi party in general and Hitler in particular. The concept of Hitler’s theologians and their practices is represented in both documents and DVDs.
Science – The concept of Germany ’s racial superiority needed a scientific basis to be accepted by its people. Available at the KHRCA is documentation as to how science was subverted to establish this concept of superiority.
QPAC – connections to departmental curricula
Art and Design – The visual arts have worked closely with the performance arts; this is something that this committee would like to encourage. As an example: The late modern dancer and choreographer Mercer Cunningham coordinated with his visual art contemporaries, including Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Cunningham was also a pioneer in working with the computer in his performances. Both painting and computer art are studies that are active in the department of art and design.
Business and Economics – The role of performing art companies in the local economy and the rationale for state support for the arts has been among the longest running economic issues in our culture. A project focusing on a QPAC event can a) provide students with a broad understanding of the manner in which the live performing arts are financed, b) encourage a study of an advanced industrial economy in which material needs are being met creating a shift in the nation’s pursuit of cultural enrichment, c) prompt an analysis in categories of income and revenue (donations, box-office income, etc.), and d) study the relationship between the arts and a region's economic development.
Chemistry – Project 1: What are theatrical cosmetics, costumes, and scenery made of? A theatrical chemist spends a lot of time in the lab trying new products, mixing, researching, testing, and concocting the exact formulas to make the products that are used in the theater non-toxic, fire retardant, safe and useful. QPAC can produce theatrical products for students to research and test. Project 2: Smoke, fog, haze, and mist machines create some exciting special effects. Have you ever wondered what makes the smoke? These types of theatrical effects are still chemically created. QPAC utilizes dry ice (frozen CO2) and hot water. But the gaseous CO2 product can decrease the O2 levels in the air, so only certain amounts can be used at a time. Students are invited to work alongside QPAC’s technical team to learn how these special effect machines operate.
Literature – Romeo and Juliet, Animal Farm, As I Lay Dying, The Iliad, The Odyssey, To Kill A Mockingbird, Death of a Salesman, The Catcher in the Rye—works of fiction have affected the thinking and culture of our world. As a result, many classic works have been re-written for the stage. Students consider how the events of an author’s life affect the development of a literary voice and make predictions about the content of the writing based on such considerations. Students interview writers to explore how one goes about transposing a written piece for the stage.
Marketing and Advertising – Effective advertising is persuasive advertising, and while not all advertising seeks to persuade, in a competitive situation those who best persuade are those most likely to win. A project focusing on a QPAC event might examine: a) why some ads work and others don't; b) what the advertiser is getting for its money; c) working with agencies, media buyers, and media reps; d) budgeting for advertising; e) key factors in developing an advertising plan; f) how to determine which media to advertise with; and h) how to measure the success of an advertising plan.
Mathematics/Mechanical Engineering – The intersection between mathematics and theater has grown substantially in recent years. Theatres use math in many different areas. Costume, set, and props could not be created without math skills in measurement, geometry, proportion and basic calculations. The technical director collects, records, and reads data to plan events and budget accounts. Playwrights and directors edit scripts for time. QPAC’s productions deal with these concepts.
Psychology and Theatre – The interface of psychology and theater is examined. For psychology students: a) encourage an understanding and appreciation of the power of theatrical techniques in psychology in general and in therapy more specifically; b) explore the application of psychological theories to theater and performance. For theater students: a) provide further tools and insight for the actor in character and play analyses, b) explore the application of theater techniques to goals beyond performance for personal insight and empowerment. For example, in a “psychodrama,” you take a life situation—conflict with the boss, being ill-treated as a child, a problem with a partner, etc.—and act it out, using people from the group as characters in your play. QPAC can set up workshops/interviews with actors exploring these techniques.
