If you look up the middle of the Fifth Avenue side of the new University Center you might notice some words on the ceiling of one of the stairwells that zigzags down the side of the building. It is in fact a sort of inverted waterfall of courses taught at The New School's various divisions over the years, starting from Ruth Van Doren's "Modern Woman: Her Dilemma and Potentialities 1" (1965) on the fifth floor and ending with John Dewey's "Method in the Social Sciences" (1919) next to the door to the street, by way of endless
courses in psychology, design, politics, music, cultural criticism... Twisting and turning, the cavalcade (in the two fonts specially designed for the building) flows from greens through reds and browns to end in
blue. I'm not sure one is supposed to read all these titles too carefully - it is a descending staircase after all! - but it's quite impressive. I'm taking my first years there on Monday: let's see what they make of it.
