By Morgan Aguilar
The Wagner way of learning just hits differently.
This month, students from "LC 9," one of the Fall 2023 First-Year Program Learning Communities, visited the New York Public Library's Archives and Manuscript Division at the Schwarzman Building in Bryant Park in Manhattan. They spent the day exploring archival documents from the prohibition-era Committee of 14, whaling voyage logbooks, records from the New York Times Foreign Correspondence Bureau, and more.
The college's nationally recognized academic program, the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts, combines learning communities with service learning, internships, and research. Students explore, expand your knowledge base, and apply what they learn.
"Students in LC 9 learned the art of doing primary-source research, how to handle documents and their provenance; understanding how ordinary New Yorkers contribute to history through the objects and sources they donate," said Karim Malak, visiting assistant professor in the History Department.
Wagner's First-Year Program allows students to explore a common theme from different perspectives, going outside the classroom to learn through experience. Students take three related classes with one group of students and engage in real-world problems and fieldwork that is directly related to their coursework. The experiential learning component includes service learning, field trips, participatory learning and community research.
LC 9 is titled, "Music & Global History: From Discovery to Decolonization," and is named after Beethoven's nine symphonies. In addition to the New York Public Library Archives, students will attend concerts and visit cultural institutions that exemplify the integration of world history and music history.
