The Packer Symposium
January 19 – 27, 2022
NOTE: Registration has been extended until the end of the school day on FRIDAY, October 22. Please note, some courses have required afternoon, evening, or weekend activities as noted in the descriptions.
NYC Culinary Expeditions
Creating food is an important form of self-expression, allowing us to find joy and passion through cooking and sharing food with others. We will explore the incredibly diverse culinary worlds that NYC offers and learn essential cooking skills. Every day we will eat delicious food and visit culinary institutions where we will learn to prepare dishes from different cultures, which we can then share and enjoy with family and friends.
Hispanos en New York
25% of New Yorkers are Latinos Yes, 25%! Do you know where to find Latino culture in our city? We are going to encounter, explore, and engage with our city to learn about Latino NYC. From Latino art in museums like El Museo del barrio to Latino cuisine at restaurants such as La Chula, students will experience the diverse array of cultures that contribute to the city's Latinx heritage. Learning about music, plays, movies, religion, politics, education, and architecture students will design a Tourist Guide to showcase and describe this vibrant and integral NYC community.
Where Land and Water Meet
Focusing on the surf and surfers of Rockaway Beach this symposium engages with the city’s coastline and the communities that live there. You will make your own surfboard and learn how to ride it, as we we read, write, and talk about the nature of play and playing in nature. No previous surfing experience is required, but students must be able to swim and be comfortable with the idea of swimming in a wetsuit in January. Note: students will depart via public transportation from Rockaway Beach each afternoon no earlier than 2:45 pm.
Not for Profit, but Good for You
This symposium is dedicated to seven days of reflective and active volunteerism. Students will learn about the ways in which both individuals and organizations engage in the non-profit world, volunteer work, and philanthropy. Students will also think about service learning as an exchange of ideas, services, and skills, as well as a means to forge authentic and sustained relationships with communities. Most importantly, students will have the chance to work with a few organizations in a sustained and focused capacity. Students will receive ACES credit for this symposium.
Caribbean Vybez
This course will explore aspects of Caribbean culture through food, music, dance, and games. Engaging with various members of the Caribbean community, students will participate in a series of experiential activities. Students will learn how to replicate the sounds of the Caribbean by playing the steel pan and practicing Caribbean dance movements. They will have the opportunity to dine at a local Caribbean restaurant and recreate their favorite dish. Students will learn about Caribbean Carnival, the biggest celebration of the year and wildest party around. They’ll create a Carnival headpiece and meet a calypso artist who’s performed and won Carnival competitions. Students will also learn to play cricket and netball, two games popular in the Caribbean. Come join us and feel the Caribbean Vybez!!
Why You Do the Things You Do: Understanding Your Brain — and Yourself
What are emotions and where do they come from? Why do people seek wealth even though it doesn’t bring happiness? Why do our brains have built-in blindspots? Why do you do things that aren’t in your self-interest? And why don’t you do things that are good for you? This Symposium offers a deep dive into the fascinating and baffling human brain. Through hands-on experiments, personality assessments, and insights from experts, we’ll explore cognitive psychologists’ understanding of human flourishing, human motivation, and mental stamina. We’ll examine the surprising habits of history’s high achievers, as well as our minds’ intrinsic downsides, including cognitive biases, our “lizard brain,” and procrastination. You’ll gain a powerful new understanding of yourself, your behavior, and even your potential.
Sacred Spaces
Sacred spaces serve as an oasis of tranquility and provide an antidote to the unrelenting pace of our daily lives. Besides serving as a refuge to regain a sense of equilibrium, they inspire and empower individuals to connect with their own inner “sacred space.” This course will explore the variety of sacred spaces in NYC and the various rituals that take place within—from the emotional intensity of the 9/11 Memorial to the quiet serenity of a Buddhist Temple. Students will explore eastern art at the Rubin and Roerich museums, participate in an authentic Japanese Tea Ceremony, walk a labyrinth, and practice yoga and meditation.
Curtains Up!
As New York’s fabled curtains rise again on plays, musicals, and dance performances on and off Broadway – and as we realize just how much we missed them, we ask deep questions about why live theatre and performance matter. By visiting four shows, by talking with theatre and dance practitioners, by examining in depth the ways in which productions of all - or any - kind come to ‘find their feet’ in front of an audience, we will renew our appreciation for live and life-affirming Art in performance. (Our Symposium will have some evening commitments as we make the most of the city on our doorstep and so those with many evening commitments will sadly not be able to participate.)
Life with Animals
Do you love animals? Do you wear animals? Do you eat animals? What considerations and values inform your decisions? We will visit places that animals live, which may include rescue centers, a zoo, and a race track, to explore the emotional, environmental, ethical, and practical ramifications of our life with animals. We will discuss topics such as: Is the Kentucky Derby exciting or cruel? Is a juicy steak nutritious or torture? Are cats snuggly companions or vicious predators? Our class is a “no-agenda” zone; it is a place to explore and respect all points of view. If you are allergic to animals of any kind, please speak with your dean.
East Meets West
In 1855, there were 38 Chinese nationals in New York City. Since then, NYC has become the home to nine distinct Chinatowns. We will explore family, education, medicine, art, literature, calligraphy, Buddhism, and current events. Through our self-guided walking tours of Chinatowns in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, we will learn about the immigrant experience in America and sample several different Chinese regional cuisines. Most of our days will be spent off campus; guest speakers and visiting artists will engage students during our days on campus.
Why Martial Arts?
Why did people train martial arts in the past? Why do people train martial arts in the present? We will explore possible answers to these questions through a combination of physical movement, reflection/discussion, visits from martial art masters, and field trips to different types of martial art studios and museums. If you have ever wanted a chance try martial arts or to explore a variety of styles - this is the course for you! Whether you have personal experience in martial arts or none, there will be something for everyone.
Digital Storytelling on the LES: The Immigrant Experience in NYC
Students in Digital Storytelling explore the Lower East Side through photography and journaling, with a focus on the immigrant experience, then and now. Excursions include visits to Ellis Island and the Tenement Museum, street photography tours of the LES, and tastings at famous local food establishments such as Katz’s Deli and Lombardi’s Pizza. Guest speakers invited to share their experience range from an author of culinary history to famous photographers who have documented life on the Lower East Side. Students will learn how to tell a visual narrative and become their own documentarians.
NYC in Film
Who are we as New Yorkers? Is there even such a thing as a New Yorker? If so, what are our values? NYC in Film attempts to answer these questions by viewing films set here, visiting the Museum of the Moving Image, inviting industry pros to discuss acting, directing, and producing in the City, the whole cinematic shebang. And to top it all off, members of NYC in Film experience the thrill of writing scripts, scouting out locations, and ultimately acting in and directing New York-centered vignettes, culminating in an intimate film festival meant to admire one another’s work.
The Great Outdoors
E.O. Wilson explored the idea that humans possess an innate tendency to seek a connection with nature. We will make our own attempt to embody this idea in the form of an outdoor adventure to New Hampshire's White Mountains where we will be living and learning outside of the comforts of the built environment. We will do readings and engage in discussions but the bulk of the work will be the experience of being outdoors, working as a team to accomplish goals, engaging in physical activity, and exploring the quietness and peace that comes from an outdoor lifestyle. Please note, this symposium has a multi-day trip to New Hampshire from January 19 – 26.
Pedal to the PVC
What is your vision for a human-powered vehicle? How simple or fantastical will your design be? In this symposium we will custom design and build human-powered vehicles. We will use PVC plastic as our primary construction material and incorporate simple bicycle parts to make pedal-powered go-karts. In small groups, you will engage in a design process through sketching and ideation, getting familiar with PVC materials, learning to use simple and powered hand tools, building small scale prototypes and a final full-scale fabrication. In the end we aim to parade our human-powered go-karts around Packer and beyond...And who knows, we may even have a chance to race some engine-powered karts in New Jersey!
Burning Down the House
New York is a musical crucible, a place where existing styles have been rejuvenated, reinvented, and fused into exciting new shapes that redefined the scope of modern music. This symposium examines how the New York scene was famous for “burning down the house,” and takes an in-depth look at bebop, minimalism, punk, new wave, and hip hop. Whether born, incubated, or perfected in New York, these genres reimagined what came before and are emblematic of New York's transformative influence on music. We will study these styles in a broader cultural context and ask the question: What is it about New York that fuels the fires of creative regeneration?
Lotions and Potions
Natural product usage for skin care, hair and body, and aromatherapy is rising in popularity as more revelations about toxicity, allergic reactions, harshness of certain chemicals pile up. Through learning about skin and hair types, family history and allergies, the chemistry of making perfume, exploring aromatherapy, and Self-care as an Industry, students will become wiser consumers. They will also develop skills that give them freedom to create what they need without any unnecessary additives (chemical or otherwise). Lotions and Potions will enable students to work and play in the intersection between Science, Health, Self-Care, Culture and Creative expression.
