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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

7/5/2022
Francis D G.

Attended: James Joyce: Ulysses


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

2/19/2021
Anonymous

Attended: Proust in Time: The Prisoner


pretentious, and unwelcoming professor

God or Nature: Spinoza’s Ethics

3/31/2020
Anonymous

Attended: God or Nature: Spinoza’s Ethics


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

2/27/2019
Anonymous

Attended: The Singularity: AI & the Post-Human Future


Required more structure. Seemed more of a reading review club, than an instructional class.

Jorge Luis Borges: Mysticism, Fiction, and Politics

7/31/2018
Anonymous

Attended: Jorge Luis Borges: Mysticism, Fiction, and Politics


Teacher was knowledgeable, good readings, active participants.

Signal and Noise: An Introduction to Statistics

6/27/2018
Sergio C.

Attended: Signal and Noise: An Introduction to Statistics


Excellent class. Excellent instructor. Raphaële breathed life into stats. Very fun class!

Mining: Industry, Ecology, and Capitalism

11/8/2023
Anonymous

Attended: Mining: Industry, Ecology, and Capitalism


Anonymous gave this class 4 out of 5 CourseHorse stars.

Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition

6/26/2021
Anonymous

Attended: Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition


Anonymous gave this class 5 out of 5 CourseHorse stars.

Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady

12/13/2020
Christine S.

Attended: Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady


Christine S. gave this class 5 out of 5 CourseHorse stars.

Don DeLillo: Underworld

11/19/2020
Christine S.

Attended: Don DeLillo: Underworld


Christine S. gave this class 5 out of 5 CourseHorse stars.

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15 W 16th St, New York, New York 10011
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research
Union Square, Manhattan
15 W 16th St
Btwn 5th & 6th Avenues
New York, New York 10011

Upcoming Classes at Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing: An Introduction to Marx
A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing: An Introduction to Marx
Next start date:

Thursday Feb 1st, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Reading the Iliad
Reading the Iliad
Next start date:

Wednesday Jan 31st, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Frantz Fanon: an Introduction
Frantz Fanon: an Introduction
Next start date:

Monday Jan 29th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Theory and Play: an Introduction to Video Game Studies
Theory and Play: an Introduction to Video Game Studies
Next start date:

Monday Jan 29th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Church and State: Law, Politics, and Religion
Church and State: Law, Politics, and Religion
Next start date:

Monday Jan 29th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Proust in Time: Swann’s Way
Proust in Time: Swann’s Way
Next start date:

Monday Jan 29th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Augustine: The City of God
Augustine: The City of God
Next start date:

Monday Jan 29th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Johann Gottlieb Fichte: Reason, Freedom, and the Ground of Consciousness
Johann Gottlieb Fichte: Reason, Freedom, and the Ground of Consciousness
Next start date:

Tuesday Jan 30th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time

Simone de Beauvoir: Existentialism, Phenomenology, Feminism
Simone de Beauvoir: Existentialism, Phenomenology, Feminism
Next start date:

Sunday Feb 4th, 2–5pm Eastern Time

Artistic Realism: From Representation to Revolution
Artistic Realism: From Representation to Revolution
Next start date:

Sunday Feb 4th, 2–5pm Eastern Time

Samir Amin: Dependency, Development, and the Making of the Global South
Samir Amin: Dependency, Development, and the Making of the Global South
Next start date:

Sunday Feb 11th, 2–5pm Eastern Time

Teachers at Brooklyn Institute for Social Research

Abby Kluchin Adam Elliott-Cooper Adeola Enigbokan Adriana Garriga-López Ajay Singh Chaudhary Alan Turing Alírio Karina Alyssa Battistoni Amrita Ghosh Amy Schiller Andy Battle Angela Roskop Erisman Anna Khanina & julia Den Boer Anthony Alessandrini Artemy Magun Asma Abbas Audrey Nicolaides Barnaby Raine Brendan Barry Bruce King Bruce King & Laura Slatkin Bruce King and Laura Slatkin Cecilia Aldarondo Christine Smallwood Clare Wilderson Danielle Drori Danya Glabau David Sugarman David Pituch Dru Phillips Elizabeth Marcus Elzbieta Foeller-Pituch Frank Shepard Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Geo Maher Heather C. Ohaneson Isi Litke Jamie Parra Jeffrey Escoffier Jeffrey Escoffier Jenny Logan Jessie Kindig Joe Osmundson Jordan Kraemer Joseph Osmundson Joseph Earl Thomas Jude Webre Kate Doyle Griffiths Lauren Letta & Stephanie Mitchell Liane Carlson Lindsay Caplan Loren Dent Lygia Sabbag Fares Mark Firmani Matt Moss Max Ajl Max Ajl Michael Stevenson Michael Brent Nafis Hasan Nancy Smith Nara Roberta Silva Natalie Suzelis Nathan Shields Olena Lyubchenko Orlando Reade Paige Sweet Patrick Blanchfield Pearl Brilmyer R.H. Lossin Rachel Stein Rafael Khachaturian Raphaele Chappe Rebecca Ariel Porte Rotem Rozental Sabine Heubusch Sabine Heubusch Sabine Heubusch Sabine Heubusch Samantha Hill Sami Al-Daghistani Shimrit Lee Sophie Lewis Soraya Batmanghelich Soraya Batmanghelichi Stephanie Rosen Suman Ganguli Suman Ganguli and Frank Shepard Susan Friedlander & Elizabeth Crommett Suzanne Schneider Suzanne Schneider-Reich Szu-Yun Hsu Theodra Bane Timothy Brownlee Turkan Pilavci William Cellini, Jr Yitzhak Lewis
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