Humanities Spring in New York

Humanities Spring in New York (HSNY) is a full-immersion American language and culture, travel-study program with its home-base in a beautiful townhouse in Manhattan. Students have 3 hours of discussion-based classes in the morning; they review all of English grammar by reading NYC magazines and newspapers as well as the 20th and 21st century poets, painters, architectural historians, song-writers and (and more!) who have helped to create and define this wonderful city. And classes help students to connect with what we see on trips. For example, they read Hart Crane's famous poem To Brooklyn Bridge in the morning and then walk across the bridge at sunset, from the Brooklyn side towards all of Manhattan's sparkling lights. Trips also reinforce what we do in morning classes. Afternoons, we set off on adventures-- to see Ground Zero, St. Paul's Chapel, Wall Street and City hall, or to take the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and the cosmopolitan museum of gardens at Snug Harbor. That same day we read Edna St. Vincent's famous poem about the ferry in the gardens, and study the simple past forms, both irregular and regular, she uses in her poem. Or, at Ground Zero, students write mini-compositions about their reactions to this moving funerary monument. We teachers correct everyone's compositions on the spot and work on pronunciation individually; then students read them out loud to the rest of the group. And so it is every afternoon when we are out and about New York; classes continue and consolidate what we have discussed in the morning. We go to all the great museums and to Central Park, but to the Conservatory Gardens and the lesser known but fascinating Museum of the City of New York, as well. Students get to know the more and the less touristy neighborhoods and sights, as well as clubs and hangouts those that are central to the life of New Yorkers. English all day long -- because conversation is at the heart of the HSNY experience, between students and students, students and staff, and staff and staff, too! HSNY also gives all students metrocards (for all city buses and subways in all 5 boroughs) for the duration of their stay to encourage them to explore the city on their own, especially on weekends. All afternoon trips and museum visits, all concerts and events we attend together, are included in the HSNY 2018 price, as are all meals (except for two meals out on the weekends).

Course leader

Jane Oliensis, a poet and professor from New York, with degrees from Harvard and Columbia Universities. Our staff is all mother-tongue and includes painters and architects, modern art historians and guides all of whom live and work in New York.

Target group

High school. college and graduate students interested in improving and perfecting their English while exploring the exciting and inspiring city of New York and it modern (and contemporary!) art, architecture, poetry and prose.

Course aim

Our aim at HSNY is to make your English (both spoken and written) fluent, colloquial and accurate and to give you a direct, firsthand experience of NYC. Classes are small and all students get a lot of individual attention. We are a small, lively community. Students and staff have coffee and breakfast and read the paper together in English (each student has to summarize one article for the rest of the class!) study and exchange together during classes and on visits, walks, and excursions, and have wonderful Italian meals together at our townhouse. Students are of course welcome to go out for dinner if they prefer. Weekends are also free, with organized optional outings both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Our first Sunday after classes start, for example, we go to a gospel mass in Harlem, have brunch in one of the local restaurants, and then attend a jazz concert at the Harlem Meer (the northernmost part of Central Park. Students are welcome to come along for part of all of the day, or to spend their free time anyway they like.

Fee info

EUR 2: The fee includes:
* Roundtrip flight to New York;
*Accommodation in Manhattan townhouse
* City-pass to Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Circle-Line Cruise, and more!
* NYC bus and subway passes for the whole stay
* Classes and all course materials
* Walking tours in 4 boroughs and guided visits to museums and parks (all in English, of course)
* All admission fees to museums, galleries & events, including concerts, classical and jazz and Shakespeare in the Park
* Breakfast , lunch and dinner 6 days a week (one lunch and one dinner out on weekends)
+35 Students also pay a 35 euro Humanities Spring membership fee. We are a not-for-profit cultural association and participants must belong to the association to take part in HSNY.
EUR 250: optional add-on: Extra week in New York, from the 17th of August to the 24th of August.
Students are free to organize this last week as they like.
The metro-card for this extra week is included.
Breakfast is included, too, and students are free to use the Humanities Spring kitchen to prepare lunches and dinners.
HSNY also organizes optional excursions during this free week.

Scholarships

HSNY offers some limited work-study and merit scholarships.