City College Division of Humanities and Arts

05/06/2026

From diasporic memory and archival art, to the hidden labor of prison mail, to student and alumni creative achievements, this week’s Humanities & Arts newsletter highlights the many ways CCNY artists, writers, students, and graduates are making meaning in the world.

In this edition, we feature Diana Guerra, a CCNY DIAP MFA alumna and current adjunct professor whose Bronx Museum installation reconstructs erased family histories through found footage, photography, and social practice. We also share the second installment of Sophie Torres’s student internship series, which takes readers inside her work with PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program and the fragile systems that connect incarcerated writers to the outside world.

We are also celebrating Black Studies student Ja’Quan Brown, who earned second place in the Margaret Walker Memorial Prize in Creative Writing, and MFA Creative Writing alumna Keisha Gaye-Anderson, who was nominated for a 2026 Pushcart Prize.

Read the full newsletter and follow along with the extraordinary work happening across the Division of Humanities & the Arts at The City College of New York.

Email from The Division of Humanities and Arts-The City College of New York Explore how alum Diana Guerra engages her family's history through art + uncover the hidden life of snail mail The City Coll

04/20/2026

Join us for a midday jazz concert featuring renowned pianist and composer, and CCNY Music professor, Mike Holober!

"In the Wind: Jazz Chamber Works" brings together CCNY students and faculty for an afternoon of original compositions inspired by summer, travel, and friendship.

Thursday, April 23 at 12:30 PM
The Recital Hall, Shepard 95

Come by, take a break, and enjoy live jazz on campus!

04/15/2026

Proud to share the latest edition of the Division of Humanities & Arts newsletter from The City College of New York!

This issue celebrates the extraordinary achievements and stories shaping our community, from Shabnam Pahrand, named Valedictorian of the Class of 2026, to student Stephanie LaBruna's vivid perspective on the Jewish Studies program that captures what it means to truly find belonging on campus.

You’ll also find faculty and alumni highlights, new creative work, and a glimpse into the energy and collaboration that define H&A.

Take a moment to read, reflect, and celebrate with us.

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03/25/2026

What does it really take for a CCNY student to land a meaningful internship?

In our latest H&A newsletter, senior Sophie Torres offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at her journey from uncertainty to securing a competitive role at PEN America. Alongside her story, we also highlight 2025 alum Arsen E. Simkhayev, whose self-directed path at CCNY, shaped by faculty mentorship and Humanities resources, led him to graduate study at Stanford University. Together, these stories reflect the many ways H&A supports students in building purposeful, individualized futures.

You’ll also find updates on student achievements, faculty work, and the continued impact of the humanities in action.

Read the full newsletter and see how H&A students are turning curiosity into opportunity: https://conta.cc/4t04lnH

Email from The Division of Humanities and Arts-The City College of New York See how H&A students turn internships into opportunity through senior Sophie Torres’s experience The City College of New Yor

03/11/2026

The latest Division of Humanities and the Arts newsletter is out!

This edition highlights a student perspective on the Health Communications Career Panel, where CCNY alumni shared insights on careers in public health, communications, and marketing while encouraging students to navigate imposter syndrome with confidence. The issue also features student news from our MFA programs and upcoming arts events across the division.

Read the full newsletter and stay connected with the work, creativity, and opportunities shaping H&A at CCNY.

https://conta.cc/4b3ttnw

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03/05/2026

We are proud to celebrate City College alumnus Dario Mohr (MFA, Art, 2019) for his remarkable international work and artistic leadership.

Dario recently completed his first residency in North Africa at Darb 1718 in Cairo, Egypt. During his time there, he conducted studio visits with local artists and curated the 2nd Annual Echoes of Home: Egypt Edition.

Presented on behalf of AnkhLave Arts Alliance as part of Cairo’s off-Biennale programming, Something Else, the exhibition featured 36 artists from across the BIPOC community. The show celebrated the birthplace of the Ankh, to which AnkhLave’s name pays homage, and followed last year’s inaugural Echoes of Home: Kenya. The exhibition was installed on a prominent second-floor wall inside the Darb 1718 building.

While in Egypt, Dario also led his Happy Planting Day Workshop and hosted a Planting Ceremony for the North African region, marking the culmination of workshops he has conducted across all five regions of Africa.

Congratulations, Dario, on work that is global in scope, historically grounded, and deeply committed to artistic community!

03/04/2026

We are proud to celebrate Art Department Chair Hajoe Moderegger for representing our community on an international stage.

On February 20, Professor Moderegger delivered a talk titled “Objects and Non-Objects: Exploring Materiality in Teaching Digital Art” at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

The presentation was part of the international symposium ENSEIGNER LES ARTS NUMÉRIQUES: CONTEXTES, ENJEUX, MÉTHODES, which brought together scholars and artists from around the world to examine contemporary approaches, challenges, and methods in teaching digital art.

Thank you, Professor Moderegger, for advancing critical conversations about digital materiality and for sharing the innovative work of our Art Department with a global audience!

03/02/2026

We are thrilled to celebrate another extraordinary alum whose scholarship continues to make its mark.

Sasha Whittaker (CCFELL, Art History, Class of 2017) completed her PhD in Art History at Princeton University in May 2025, with a dissertation on Russian-born fashion photographer George Hoyningen-Huene. She is now developing that research into a book, bringing fresh insight to the history of fashion photography.

A highlight of her doctoral journey was a prestigious year-long research fellowship (2023–24) in the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she worked closely with world-class collections and curators.

Now based in the Boston area, Sasha serves as a Visiting Lecturer at Tufts University.

Congratulations, Sasha. We are so proud of the rigor, vision, and dedication you continue to bring to the field of art history!

02/27/2026

We are deeply grateful for English Professor Elizabeth Mazzola’s scholarship, which continues to expand and reimagine the possibilities of Shakespeare studies and early modern inquiry. Her work not only shapes academic conversations but reaches audiences far beyond the university.

Professor Elizabeth Mazzola continues to shape conversations in Shakespeare studies and beyond with a set of recent and forthcoming works:

• “Oceans, Hormones, and Female Flow in Twelfth Night,” published in Textual Practice (2026).
• An essay using Black critical theory to explore the fugitive lives of Romeo and Juliet, forthcoming in Shakespeare Survey 79.
• Her study of the hatted woman in early modern ballads, published in the Early Modern Studies Journal (2023), which has reached audiences outside academia and recently inspired a fashion photo shoot by photographer Ram Shergill at London’s Mayfair Hotel, with details featured in New York Weekly.

Thank you, Professor Mazzola, for modeling scholarship that is rigorous, imaginative, and culturally resonant.

02/26/2026

Division of Humanities & Arts alum Sophia Monegro (MMUF, English, Class of 2016) continues to shape the field of African and African Diaspora Studies with groundbreaking scholarship, digital humanities work, and mentorship rooted in community!

Sophia Monegro (MMUF, English, 2016 grad) earned her PhD in African and African Diaspora Studies from UT Austin in May 2025.

A Fulbright scholar, Sophia is currently the Inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity in St. Louis and was awarded an ACLS Digital Justice seed grant ($25K) for the digital companion to her first book, Cimarronas: A Black Women’s Archive of Ayiti-Quisqueya. Her latest scholarship includes: “Origins of Black Feminist Thought in the Americas: La Negra del Hospital in Colonial Santo Domingo,” Global Black Thought. 2025. Vol. 1(2).

Sophia has also established a mentoring initiative for CCNY MMUFs interested in Dominican Studies.