College of Arts

Cities survived the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the disease could prompt healthier cityscapes, such as more public parks. Photo by Mathias Wasik/picture alliance via Getty Images

Cities don’t spread disease. Inequality does.

Many predicted a severe exodus from cities at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the highly contagious disease would savage areas with more people. But Northeastern architecture professor Sara Jensen Carr says there's been a historical bias against cities and super-spreader events are caused by poor conditions like access to ventilation and clean water.

by Hillary Chabot July 21, 2021

A hand sketching a comic book style face.

How queer comics made their mark on history

Northeastern professor Hillary Chute has studied themes of gender, sexuality and conflict in nonfiction comics for more than two decades. She recently worked on a documentary about the history of queer comics and the groundbreaking cartoonists who first depicted LGBTQA lifestyles. The film “No Straight Lines” premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival June 12.

by Hillary Chabot June 10, 2021

News reporter in front of a video camera

Global experience helps yield collegiate Emmy awards for Northeastern video journalists

A video package on Panama and a segment on Northeastern’s response to the pandemic were among the winning entries that propelled students to four Emmy awards. A TikTok-like demand for visual content is fueling a rise in video storytelling.

by Peter Ramjug June 8, 2021

Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Close out the semester with these virtual events

Examine the comparative history of post-slavery liberation. Pitch an entrepreneurial idea. Discuss the role of design in creating equitable infrastructure. These events and more are on the schedule for the end of April.

by Alison Booth April 16, 2021

Art handler Elena Brunner installs a piece from artist MAR for the Dream Boston exhibition at Gallery 360. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Gallery 360’s new exhibit, ‘Dream Boston,’ addresses COVID-19, racial justice

It wasn’t difficult to discern the two major issues that impacted 2020, says Gallery 360 curator Amy Halliday: “Both the pandemic and the heightened attention to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement all came together at the same time." The gallery's new exhibit, she says, brings these global and national themes local.

by Peter Ramjug February 22, 2021

The writing exercise that changed these student reporters for the better

Journalism students from Northeastern wrote short elegies of people who died from COVID-19 for The Boston Globe. Many of the deceased were walled off from friends and family, left to die alone in nursing homes and hospitals. The class assignment captured the essence of their subjects and prompted students to realize the value of life.

by Peter Ramjug December 22, 2020

Amera Youssef, a student of architecture, installs temporary art using stencils to paint a series of anthropomorphic masks on Northeastern’s Boston campus. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

This new art installation fosters connection despite physical distancing measures

Amera Youssef, a student of architecture, is the mastermind behind a temporary art installation on Northeastern’s Boston campus featuring a series of anthropomorphic masks. The concept was inspired by a couple she saw kissing through face masks while riding a train on the city’s Red Line through South Boston.

by Khalida Sarwari December 4, 2020

Zeke Martin, a music professor in the music department, plays the drums during a live jazz quartet behind 716 Columbus Avenue on Oct. 27, 2020. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

You’re not hearing things, a jazz quartet is jamming live on campus

Northeastern drumming instructor Zeke Martin used to perform in 200 live jazz concerts a year. Then COVID-19 hit, and he’s down to about 25 gigs, some virtual. Undeterred by shuttered jazz clubs, he rounded up his buddies, and they found a way to bring the music to the people. “Man, I just want to play,” he says.

by Peter Ramjug November 1, 2020

Northeastern’s Racial Literacy series takes on Boston’s troubled history

A diverse panel of Northeastern faculty assembled to present a side of the city that visitors might not know from travel reviews—a history of slave-trading, violent opposition to desegregation in public schools, and an historical dearth of leadership roles for people who aren’t white.

by Peter Ramjug September 29, 2020

Will young voters show up to the polls (or the mailbox) for this election?

Ever since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote, turnout among young people has been largely underwhelming. Northeastern graduates Emily White and Melanie Shark are working to change that.

by Peter Ramjug September 4, 2020