By ALEXANDRA LAIRD
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Fordham University at Lincoln Center, situated in an artistic hub of the culturally rich Upper West Side, has announced the newest class offerings for Fall 2014 that will hopefully spark the interest of many students. Those interested in the fashion and design world or the publishing industry will be satisfied come fall. Associate Dean at Lincoln Center, Mark Mattson explained the addition of these courses, “With the anticipated increase in the number of students due to the new residence hall, [they] were looking for new programs that would be attractive, like the integrative neuroscience and new media and digital design majors,” Mattson said.
As one of the major fashion capitals of the world, New York City is an ideal place to study in order to pursue a career in fashion or design. Not only is Fashion Week hosted just a block or two away from the Lincoln Center campus, but the biggest designer headquarters are also just a subway or taxi ride away. Lincoln Center identifies challenges facing the fashion world: growth in emerging markets, the rise of new media and social networks and increasing pressure to develop new merchandise that is produced and marketed successfully—all of which are important subjects of study within the fashion studies minor. Associate Dean Mattson said, “the fashion studies minor was a natural because we have Fashion Week right across the street, there was a niche for a program with a strong liberal arts basis and there was obvious student interest.”
The courses required for a student minoring in fashion studies include three preliminary, required classes: Introduction to Fashion & Culture, Introduction to Fashion Design and The Business of Fashion. The other three electives required to complete the minor range anywhere from classes on Gender Images in the media to Fashion and Costuming in Film. The curriculum hopes to prepare students to have a broad understanding of the ways in which the world of fashion functions, which includes psychological, sociological, historical, political and economic components. Relevant to majors like public relations, merchandising and retail and marketing, a minor in fashion studies can prepare a student for careers in fashion show production, fashion editing, trend analysis, marketing executive positions and more.
Common to the theme of artistic industry, a new class at Lincoln Center will give students insight on the ever-changing world of publishing. The newest course combines the objective study of the industry with real-life insight from a variety of guest speakers. Mattan said that he hopes to “provide real world knowledge and connections that help students decide if these are the right careers for them.”
The publishing course aims to do just that. The course brings in a variety of speakers including executives, publicists, literary agents, marketing directors and writers to provide a range of insights on the industry. Among these experienced speakers are best-selling authors Mary Higgins Clark, FCLC ’79, well-known mystery author of Where are the Children, and Elizabeth Gilbert, author of well-known novel Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. The nature of the course is to connect students to potential employers and expose them to the industry early on. Aside from exposing students to the specific inner workings of the publishing industry, the class also emphasizes the importance of a degree in the humanities and encourages the incorporation of liberal arts ideas.
Fordham’s new classes aim to support students’ career aspirations and in turn introduce students to valuable connections in such industries. Whether Lincoln Center plans to offer more courses catering to specific tastes is “up to departments and faculty,” according to dean Mattson. There are already “a number of courses, including a course in collaboration with Julliard on the business of performing arts that’s offered each Spring,” Mattson said. Now more than ever, it is an exciting time to be studying at Fordham University.
