Dr. Dent's Update

Global NY hits the ground running in search of Monuments, Landmarks, and Memorials

By Goddard Writing Faculty member Dr. Michelle Dent

The Global NY stream at Goddard Residential College recently finished its first series of site visits to a host of New York landmarks. Some of our destinations were to iconic monuments of the American Dream. At the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island we quoted favorite scenes from our earlier screening of The Godfather: Part II, and as we waited on long lines and crowded ferry boats, we felt ourselves transported back to a time when New York Harbor was packed with anxious and hopeful newcomers. Yet, through our time-traveling, we were also made more aware of the contemporary rituals of security checkpoints that have become a part of our current travel landscape. With helicopter surveillance in the harbor and hi-tech screeners at Lady Liberty’s threshold, we wondered amongst ourselves about the ways in which this iconic “gateway” has changed in our lifetime. Later in the week, on a unique a podcast walking tour sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, we visited historic landmarks of heroism and grief such as the East Coast Memorial for WWII servicemen, the Merchant Marines Memorial, and the Irish Hunger Memorial. By the time we arrived at Ground Zero, the poignancy of these lesser known memorials created a compelling frame of reference. We contemplated the seven-year anniversary of the September 11^th attacks while overlooking the site from within the marble opulence of the World Financial Center. The complexity of this hallowed ground, which continually is blurred with commercial and political interests cannot be underestimated.

Some of our other site visits were to monuments that are so off the beaten path that a large part of the experience was taken up in simply finding our destination. Did you know, for example, that there is a section of the Berlin Wall on display in Battery Park City? It not, then welcome to the club – you are not alone! But Global NY takes great pride in the fact that its stream members persevered, so if you’d like directions, or photos contact our blog or our Facebook group for the inside scoop. We rounded out this calendar of events with a trip on the 7 train to the Queens Museum of Art in the Flushing Meadows Park, the site of not one, but two former World’s Fairs (1939/1964). At the Queens Museum, we toured the Panorama of the City of New York, with NYU Writing Professor Blagovesta Momchedjikova, who wrote her doctoral thesis on the massive scale model. We are currently arranging a Panorama talk-back with Dr.Momchedjikova where we will also discuss her essay “My heart’s in the small lands: Touring the miniature city in the museum.” Our trip to the Panorama was arranged in collaboration with Goddard Writing Faculty Marion Wrenn, and the Writing New York Stream. Global NY is especially grateful to Dr. Wrenn for organizing our post-Panorama nosh at the scrumptious Delhi Palace Indian Restaurant in Jackson Heights.

Thanks to the awesome energy of my Global NY partners, our fabulous Grad RA Jarett Gilbert and our gracious and all-knowing CDE Ty Crisman. And remember, Global NY is nothing without YOU, its Residential College members, so a big shout out to the entire stream for such great spirit and intellectual curiosity. Here’s to more traipsing around the city in the weeks and months to come!