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Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, established in 2011, offers liberal arts education and research opportunities to local communities while supporting young scholars. With a mission to engage various intellectual traditions, the institute aims to provide accessible education and foster active, engaged citizens.

Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

Upcoming Classes at Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

  • Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things: Poetry, Materialism, and Pleasure

    Explore the profound and liberating ideas of Lucretius' On the Nature of Things at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. Dive into the epic world of atoms, voids, and the nature of the soul while examining the role of poetry in conveying materialist teachings. Uncover the secrets of human motivation, free will, and morality in this captivating course.

    Next start date: Wednesday, Apr 10th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $335
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  • Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights

    Unravel Hieronymus Bosch's masterpiece triptych and explore its critique of early modern Europe, engagement with theology, and depiction of race, gender, and sexuality. Delve into politics and aesthetics, and discover the secrets behind the painting's dense and wild invention. Join us on a journey through Bosch's oeuvre and navigate the complexities of endless endings in our own moment.

    Next start date: Thursday, Apr 11th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $335
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  • W.E.B. Du Bois: Black Reconstruction in America

    Uncover the untold history of Reconstruction in America through W.E.B. Du Bois' groundbreaking perspective. Explore the struggles and triumphs of Black people during this transformative period and discover the lasting impact on U.S. democracy today. Supplementary readings by renowned scholars add depth to this thought-provoking course.

    Next start date: Thursday, Apr 11th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $335
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  • Don DeLillo: Fiction, Paranoia, and Empire

    Uncover the intersection of literature, politics, and culture in a thought-provoking course that examines the themes of fear, power, and influence in contemporary fiction.

    Next start date: Thursday, Apr 11th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $335
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  • The Soviet Avant-Garde: Culture, Politics, Aesthetics

    In this course, you'll explore artforms like Russian and Soviet avant-garde, Cubo-Futurism, and Constructivism. Learn the works of influential artists and examine their impact on the shifting ideological and institutional ideas during the early Soviet state. Uncover the avant-garde's quest for a "communistic expression of material structures" and its enduring legacy in the 20th century.

    Next start date: Tuesday, Apr 16th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $335
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15 W 16th St, New York, NY 10011
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research
Union Square, Manhattan
15 W 16th St
Btwn 5th & 6th Avenues
New York, New York 10011

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Description

The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research was established in 2011 in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Its mission is to extend liberal arts education and research far beyond the borders of the traditional university, supporting community education needs and opening up new possibilities for scholarship in the 21st century.

The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research provides liberal arts educational opportunities to local communities. At the same time, it provides material and intellectual support and space for young scholars to teach, write, research, publish and, put simply, work. We are a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization.

Although consciously modeled, in part, after the famous Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany – especially in its heyday under the directorship of Max Horkheimer – we are not all scholars in that tradition, nor is any intellectual, literary or artistic tradition unwelcome in our Institute. As we honor and build upon their extraordinary contributions to human thought and social commitments, we strive to engage the worlds of philosophy, literature, science, the arts and social sciences with the world at large and people everywhere. At a time when the price of traditional higher education reaches ever higher, even as support for scholars and scholarship has substantially diminished, we are committed to the idea that to learn, teach, study, write and think is labor worth doing both for its own sake and for the sake of communities and citizens who are active, engaged and alive.


Reviews of Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

(4.6-star rating across 29 reviews)
  • James Joyce: Ulysses

    Reviewed by Francis D G. on 7/5/2022
    It was not easy, but I didn't expect it to be. I got some very useful insight into the book, which will help in my second reading. I will be looking for more classes taught by Professor Porte.
  • Proust in Time: The Prisoner

    Anonymous review on 2/19/2021
    pretentious, and unwelcoming professor
  • God or Nature: Spinoza’s Ethics

    Anonymous review on 3/31/2020
    This was a great class. I'm excited to continue to take BISR classes every month for the rest of my life! LOL I'm serious.
  • The Singularity: AI & the Post-Human Future

    Anonymous review on 2/27/2019
    Required more structure. Seemed more of a reading review club, than an instructional class.
  • Jorge Luis Borges: Mysticism, Fiction, and Politics

    Anonymous review on 7/31/2018
    Teacher was knowledgeable, good readings, active participants.
  • Signal and Noise: An Introduction to Statistics

    Reviewed by Sergio C. on 6/27/2018
    Excellent class. Excellent instructor. Raphaële breathed life into stats. Very fun class!
  • Mining: Industry, Ecology, and Capitalism

    Anonymous review on 11/8/2023
  • Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition

    Anonymous review on 6/26/2021
  • Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady

    Reviewed by Christine S. on 12/13/2020
  • Don DeLillo: Underworld

    Reviewed by Christine S. on 11/19/2020
  • Freedom, Politics, and the Individual

    Reviewed by Christine S. on 10/10/2020
  • The Mahabharata: From Exile to Apocalypse

    Reviewed by Christine S. on 7/10/2020
  • Feminist Science Fiction

    Reviewed by Matt P. on 3/31/2020
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Evil

    Reviewed by Morgan H. on 2/18/2020
  • An Introduction to Schopenhauer

    Reviewed by Anh T. on 12/11/2019
  • Kant’s Critical Aesthetics

    Reviewed by Blanca Q. on 8/5/2019
  • Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition

    Anonymous review on 7/10/2019
  • Fiction and Inner Life: Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway

    Reviewed by William J. on 3/23/2018
  • Fiction and Inner Life: Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway

    Anonymous review on 3/23/2018
  • Introduction to Music Theory

    Reviewed by Marinis P. on 3/21/2018
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Review Summary by CourseHorse

Students who have taken classes at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research found the classes challenging, but appreciated the useful insight they gained into the material, which helped with their further study. Others specifically praised Professor Porte's teaching and expressed a desire to take more classes with them. Students seemed to enjoyed the class and expressed excitement about continuing their education with BISR. Other students especially recognized the knowledge and expertise of the instructors and appreciated the quality readings assigned in the classes. Direct quotes: 1. "I got some very useful insight into the book, which will help in my second reading." 2. "Excellent class. Excellent instructor. Raphaële breathed life into stats. Very fun class!" 3. "This was a great class. I'm excited to continue to take BISR classes every month for the rest of my life! LOL I'm serious."

Teachers at Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

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