FIT has been awarded a $100,000 grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for faculty development on the history of business and labor, to be taught to students in the School of Art and Design. FIT is the only college in Manhattan to have received a grant, along with the Library of America, the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Public Library, WNET, and the New-York Historical Society, among other cultural institutions.
Course content for Teaching Labor History to Art and Design Students will explore how this history impacts today’s industries, careers, and professional decision-making, so that art and design majors can use this knowledge throughout their own careers.
As a cross-disciplinary initiative, two faculty from the School of Liberal Arts—Kyunghee Pyun, assistant professor, History of Art, and Daniel Levinson Wilk, associate professor, U.S. History—will lead a team of faculty from the departments of Accessories Design, Interior Design, Communications Design, Illustration, Photography, Fashion Business Management, Fashion Design, Social Sciences, and History of Art over a three-year period starting in fall 2018.
The first year will focus on faculty learning. In year two, new curricular materials will be developed, and approaches to experiential learning will start being implemented in the classroom. The third year will be centered around dissemination and outreach as FIT faculty teach courses and the college hosts two conferences.
The NEH awarded 199 grants totaling $18.6 million.