Center
The Center for the American Experience (CAE) at The New School is a faculty-led initiative that brings together design, the performing arts, the social sciences, and the humanities in examining the complex past, present, and future of the United States and its place in the world and in our lives. CAE is dedicated to interdisciplinary scholarship, creative practice, innovative pedagogy, and bold civic engagement.
Guided by the complementary perspectives of a historian and a media sociologist, CAE explores the ideas, histories, myths, cultures, and debates that have shaped American life. At a moment defined by political polarization, challenges to democracy, and profound changes in the way information is created, shared, and understood—from social media to artificial intelligence—the center examines the forces shaping American culture, public life, and democracy. By connecting perspectives across disciplines and communities on campus and beyond, CAE embraces the heterogeneity of the American experience.
Building on The New School's long-standing commitment to cultural pluralism—a concept articulated by philosopher Horace Kallen, one of the university's earliest faculty members—CAE brings diverse perspectives into conversation not to sharpen divisions but to cultivate understanding, discover common ground, and imagine new possibilities.
In public programs, exhibitions, performances, and collaborative research, CAE convenes scholars, artists, students, and the broader public to explore the American experience and its enduring questions together.
Faculty Co-directors
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Professor of History
Julia Sonnevend, Associate Professor of Sociology
To learn more, visit cae.newschool.org or contact [email protected].