Life of the Mind in the Heart of the City

Aristotle teaches us that human beings require the city to achieve the fullness of their potential. In fact, the life of the city is integral to human happiness. But what of the myriad New York City skyscrapers that seem to dwarf the space of the classroom? What of the millions of citizens who move, animated by countless differing purposes, through the streets of the five boroughs? What do these facets of the city have to do with the liberal arts? At The Erasmus Collegiate Summer Program students learn how cities function as the very seat of our culture. Universities, libraries, museums, and theaters all were born in the cradle of the city. The task of modern students, then, is neither to surrender to the bustle of urban chaos nor to renounce the city and what it might offer. They must engage it on many levels.

At The Erasmus Summer Program, students are given the opportunity to explore some of America’s most significant landmarks and cultural scenes. On carefully designed tours throughout the city, students are guided from Wall Street to Broadway, from the Statue of Liberty to Ground Zero, through some of America’s most celebrated museums and churches and back into the shared space of the classroom. As a result, all are able to reflect on some of the most enduring questions that face human beings. What is the role of technology in our lives? What are the tensions that exist between the individual and democratic culture? How should beauty inform the structures where we dwell? What makes a city a good city? What makes a city beautiful?

The explorations of these questions in conjunction with the firsthand experiences and the intellectual journeys of the four disciplines constitute the unique vision presented by The Erasmus Institute. The students enter into and participate in “the life of the mind in the heart of the city” whose insights and joys they will carry with them always.