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.
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.
Brooklyn Institute for Social Research
Union Square, Manhattan 15 W 16th St Btwn 5th & 6th Avenues New York, New York 10011
Reviews of Brooklyn Institute for Social Research
(4.6-star rating across
33 reviews)
Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina (In-Person)
Anonymous
• March 12, 2025
The Subway: Urbanism, Infrastructure, and Social Life
Neeraj P. • October 18, 2024
Vergil’s Aeneid: Myth, Empire, and Ruin
Janine W. • October 11, 2024
Vergil’s Aeneid: Myth, Empire, and Ruin
Nancy H. • October 10, 2024
First, I was really out of my element. I was lost from the start! I found the reading difficult….and I think I had the wrong book. Second, the discussions were tedious and baffling. The “class” was filled with Aeneid groupies who tried one-upping each other at every turn; I didn’t get anything out of that except being annoyed that everyone was trying to impress each other with their academic prowess.
It just was the wrong class for me. I’m sure the students I’m referring to loved it! But it was really beyond me. And that’s on me.
Mining: Industry, Ecology, and Capitalism
Anonymous
• November 8, 2023
James Joyce: Ulysses
Francis D G. • July 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.
Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition
Anonymous
• June 26, 2021
Proust in Time: The Prisoner
Anonymous
• February 19, 2021
pretentious, and unwelcoming professor
Henry James: The Portrait of a Lady
Christine S. • December 13, 2020
Don DeLillo: Underworld
Christine S. • November 19, 2020
Freedom, Politics, and the Individual
Christine S. • October 10, 2020
The Mahabharata: From Exile to Apocalypse
Christine S. • July 10, 2020
Feminist Science Fiction
Matt P. • March 31, 2020
God or Nature: Spinoza’s Ethics
Anonymous
• March 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 Good, the Bad, and the Evil
Morgan H. • February 18, 2020
The Worst of All Possible Worlds: an Introduction to Schopenhauer
Anh T. • December 11, 2019
Kant’s Critical Aesthetics
Blanca Q. • August 5, 2019
Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition
Anonymous
• July 10, 2019
The Singularity: AI & the Post-Human Future
Anonymous
• February 27, 2019
Required more structure. Seemed more of a reading review club, than an instructional class.
Jorge Luis Borges: Mysticism, Fiction, and Politics
Anonymous
• July 31, 2018
Teacher was knowledgeable, good readings, active participants.
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."
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