The following list represents a sample of elective courses across NYU that focus on the relationship between the arts and health.
Introduction to Drama Therapy for Non-Majors (MPADT-GE 2214)
This course is designed for non-majors as an introduction to the basic concepts, theory & practice of drama therapy. The course will use experiential learning to familiarize students with drama therapy as an embodied & narrative approach to therapy & as a diagnostic & intervention tool. Course is appropriate for students in the other creative arts therapies, social work, applied psychology interested in enhancing clinical skills & for students in educational theater wishing to examine the boundaries between applied dramatic art & therapy.
Wellness and Human Connection (OT-UE 1404)
Wellness is dynamic and multidimensional. We cannot understand wellness by alone examining biological phenomena and medical knowledge, but instead we must also consider a variety of social, political, economic, racial, gender, and cultural forces in which wellness and illness are produced and understood. Drawing upon literature, art, history, film, and health, in conjunction with a community engagement experiential component, we examine the history of and physical, social, emotional, intellectual, occupational, and spiritual components of wellness and illness from ancient times through the present.
Improv and Mental Health (MPADT-GE 2132)
This course explores the relationship between improvisational theatre and mental health. Students learn core principles and practices of improv and how these can inform the therapeutic process and relationship. Through reading, discussion, group improvisation, and experiential learning exercises students identify aspects of therapeutic improv that promote wellbeing such as co-creation, humor, laughter, and spontaneity. This course supports mental health providers and students with taking creative risks to achieve personal goals and improve mental health.
Performing Personal Narratives: One Person Show (ASPP-GT 2013)
Taught by Professor Anna Deavere Smith, this studio class invites students to create one person shows. The professor is credited with having created a new form of theater. The methodology shared is based on her real world experiences of making new models and new ways of working. The semester will end with a performance for a curated audience. At the core is a question: What is the story you tell about yourself and the world as you see it?
Art and Social Change (COART-UT 304)
This course challenges us to foster a tactile understanding of the relationship between art and social change. How do artists address social issues? Can art transform lives? How can art serve as a force for encouraging ethical dialogue and action within the public sphere? How do we make our ideas and revelations actually matter within our collective place and space? To better facilitate our understanding of this relationship, and in an effort to get inside these key questions and others, this course will unfold in two parts.