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A smiling family walks toward the camera with orange leaves on the ground behind them.
Photo by Karl Rabe

Family + Alumni/ae Weekend Schedule

Please note: This schedule is subject to change.
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Join us for Family and Alumni/ae Weekend 2024!
Friday, October 25, through Sunday, October 27

Friday, October 25

Welcome Reception

4–6 pm
Join families of current students, faculty, and alumni/ae for refreshments. 
Lobby, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Registration

4–6 pm
Visit the registration desk to check in, receive a schedule of events, sign up to attend classes and tours, and get general information about Bard and the campus. If you arrive after 6 pm, you can check in on Saturday between 8:30 am and noon.
Lobby, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Bard Summer Research Poster Session

4–6 pm
One of the most successful extracurricular research experiences for students at Bard is the Bard Summer Research Institute (BSRI), which supports campus-based projects in empirical and quantitative fields including biology, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science, environmental studies, mathematics, physics, and psychology. Students typically spend eight weeks in residence in June and July undertaking individual research projects and being mentored by Bard faculty. We invite you to join the BSRI students as they present their research and engage in conversation about their work.
Lobby, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation
Download the BSRI Brochure

Self-Guided Walk-Through of Current Exhibitions at CCS Bard

4–5 pm
Ho Tzu Nyen: Time & the Tiger
This exhibition marks the first in-depth examination of artist Ho Tzu Nyen’s multifaceted practice in the United States. Widely considered one of the most innovative artists to emerge internationally in the past 20 years, Ho creates compelling video installations that probe reality, history, and fiction rooted in the culture of Southeast Asia. Time & the Tiger features five immersive multimedia installations spanning two decades that draw from historical events, documentaries, art history, music videos, and mythology to investigate the construction of history, myth narratives, and plurality of identities.

Carrie Mae Weems: Remember to Dream
Revisiting the range and breadth of Carrie Mae Weems’s prolific career, Remember to Dream showcases seldom-displayed and lesser-known works that demonstrate the evolution of Weems’s pioneering, politically engaged practice. The exhibition seeks to rebalance an understanding of Weems’s artistic development over 30 years while locating her work in the context of her lived experiences and commitment to activism. Ranging from large-scale installations to serial bodies of photography, these works provide a through line from the civil rights movement to Black Lives Matter, tracing significant moments of racial reckoning in the United States through Weems’s lens.
Hessel Museum of Art, Center for Curatorial Studies
 

Wellness Walk in Tivoli Bays

5–6 pm
Join Bard Wellness Director Annia Reyes for a walk through Tivoli Bays. Located along the Hudson River, the scenic Tivoli Bay trail passes through tidal lowlands and wooded uplands. This approximately one-hour wellness walk welcomes various skill levels and is a great way to enjoy autumn foliage. Please wear comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle. Space is limited. Sign up at registration.
Sosnoff Theater patio, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

Opening Reception, Fund for Visual Learning Art Sale

5–7 pm
Join us for an exhibition and sale of artwork by faculty, staff, and students to benefit the Fund for Visual Learning (FVL), this year marking its 10th anniversary. The FVL was established to improve access to the Studio Arts Program for students experiencing financial challenges. The FVL also awards grants to qualifying seniors for their Senior Project exhibitions. All sales proceeds go to students.

Work is available to view in person and online beginning on Wednesday, October 23. Work can be purchased between Wednesday, October 23, and Sunday, October 27. An opening party will be held in Fisher Gallery on Friday, October 25, at 5 pm. To learn more, please visit bardfvl.com.
Fisher Studio Arts Building

Learn More

Friday Dinner

5–8 pm
Enjoy dinner with other Bard families and alumni/ae. $15 per person; students may use their meal plan cards. Tickets can be purchased at registration or at the door.
Kline Dining Commons

Haunted Annandale: Library and Cemetery Tour

6:30–8 pm
Find out about the spooky ghosts that haunt the library and campus! Hear about local legends and lore! Sponsored by the Bard Library and Bard Houses program. Space is limited. Registration is required.
Meet at Lychgate, Bard Cemetery

Shabbat

6:30–9 pm
The Jewish Students Organization invites families and alumni/ae to a Bard Shabbat experience in the Beit Shalom-Salaam House of Peace meeting room. All are welcome to attend an informal Shabbat (Sabbath) service followed by kiddush and a vegetarian Shabbat dinner with students, faculty, and staff. Advance reservations required. If you would like to attend, RSVP to [email protected] by October 18.
Beit Shalom-Salaam, Basement of Resnick Commons A

The Dream

7:30 pm
The Bard Theater and Performance Program presents The Dream, directed by Jorge Schultz and adapted by Dezi Tibbs and Jorge Schultz. Open to the public; registration required. Free tickets are available through the Fisher Center website.
LUMA Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

The Dream

Cast
Millie Altopp ’28
Arin Andrews ’28
William Axelrod ’26
Sophia Barbatsuly ’25
Chloe Belle Boocock ’26
Aidan Kennedy ’25
Silas Lloyd ’25
Andy McEnroe ’27
Ruby Miller ’25
Elliot Becker Peeler ’28
Lauren Ryan-Holt ’28

Creative Team
Set and prop design by Joshua James Barilla
Costume design by Valérie Bart
Lighting design by Josh Martinez-Davis
Sound design by Max Silverman
Stage management by Ally MacLead

Manor Pub

9 pm – 1 am
The Office of Student Activities welcomes you to the Manor Pub. Come listen to student bands and comedians perform while enjoying food and drinks with families and alumni/ae.
MOVED to the Multi-purpose Room, Bertlesmann Campus Center

Saturday, October 26

Bardian Birdians: A Bird Tour of Tivoli Bays

7:30–9 am
Start your day off with a bird walk in the beautiful Tivoli Bays, where you are likely to see a wide variety of feathered friends; hawks, eagles, wood ducks, and lots more. Bird enthusiast and member of the Bard College Alumni/ae Association Juliette Zicot ’23 will be your guide. Bring your binoculars, notebook, hiking boots or waterproof footwear;  it may be muddy. Space is limited; sign up at registration.
Meet at the lower-level entrance to the Fisher Center

Women’s Basketball Open Practice

8–10 am
Stevenson Athletic Center

Family Leadership Council Meeting

8:30–10 am
Members of the Family Leadership Council (FLC) play a guiding role in the Bard community by developing and participating in on-campus and regional recruiting and mentoring events, promoting and providing career opportunities for students, and taking part in peer-to-peer fundraising. Families on the FLC contribute to the success of the Bard College Fund through annual gifts of $1,500 or greater. The FLC meets two times each year, once during Family Weekend and once in the spring.

For further information, please contact Mackie Siebens ’12, assistant director of development, family programs, at 845-758-7316 or [email protected].
Room 202, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Registration

8:30 am – noon
If you missed registration on Friday, please stop by to check in, and sign up to attend a class or take a tour.
Lobby, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Hard-Hat Tour of the Future Fisher Center Performing Arts Lab

9–10 am
The building, designed by renowned architect May Lin, in partnership with Bialosky Architects and theater and acoustic consultants Charcoalblue, is under construction. Scheduled to open in 2026, it will provide a home for Fisher Center LAB, the center's acclaimed residency and commissioning program for professional artists. It will also house rehearsal and teaching facilities for Bard's undergraduate programs in Dance and in Theater and Performance.

For safety at the site, no one can tour without closed-toed shoes or with a heel. Space is limited; sign up at registration. 
Meet at Fisher Center parking lot E (lot closest to the Tivoli Bays walking path)

Tour of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

9–10 am
The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts is a premier professional performing arts center and hub for research and education that serves artists at all stages of their careers. In addition to producing original work across genres, the Fisher Center provides an artistic home for the Dance and Theater & Performance programs, as well as Bard’s student orchestras. Once you’ve seen the stunning facade of the Frank Gehry–designed complex, you’ll want to take this guided backstage tour. Space is limited; sign up at registration.
Sosnoff Theater lobby, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

Tour of the Montgomery Place Grounds

9–10:30 am
Enjoy a tour of the Montgomery Place grounds, a 380-acre estate adjacent to the main Bard College campus and overlooking the Hudson River. Montgomery Place is a designated National Historic Landmark set amid rolling lawns, woodlands, and gardens against the spectacular backdrop of the Catskill Mountains. Renowned architects, landscape designers, and horticulturists worked to create an elegant estate consisting of a mansion, farm, orchards, farmhouse, and other buildings. Montgomery Place was owned by the Livingston family from 1802 until the 1980s. The estate was transferred to Historic Hudson Valley in 1986; Bard College acquired the property in 2016.

Meet on the Visitors Center porch. Space is limited; sign up at registration.
Montgomery Place Campus

Pathways to Civic Engagement: Explore Your Options!

9:45–10:15 am
Join the Center for Civic Engagement in a showcase of the many opportunities available to Bard students through our local and regional community partner network. Established pathways include voter outreach and youth mentorship, while students design their own path in the Trustee Leader Scholar program. What will your civic engagement path look like? Come explore the possibilities with us!
Schwab ’52 Atrium, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Men’s Volleyball Open Practice

10 am – noon
Stevenson Athletic Center

Saturday Brunch

10 am – 5 pm
Enjoy brunch with other Bard families and alumni/ae. $14 per person; students may use their meal plan cards. Tickets can be purchased at registration or at the door.
Kline Dining Commons

Fund for Visual Learning Gallery

10 am – 5 pm
The art gallery is open. For more information, see the schedule for Friday, 5 pm.
Fisher Studio Arts Building

Tour of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

10:15–11:15 am
For more information, see the schedule for Saturday at 9:00 am. Space is limited; sign up at registration.
Sosnoff Theater lobby, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

Academic Classes

10:15–11:15 am
All registrants will be emailed a link on Friday, October 25 to sign up for classes. One class per person will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. If you miss online registration, you may be able to sign up in person at registration.

Academic Classes

Biology 316, Animal Behavior
Bruce Robertson, associate professor of biology
Have you ever asked yourself, “Why did that animal do that?” We could seek answers on many levels, from proximal mechanisms (firing neurons and hormonal stimuli) through ultimate mechanisms (the evolutionary selective pressures that produce adaptive behaviors through natural selection). This course is primarily about the latter. We examine why organisms evolve various mating strategies, how organisms use signals, whether those signals contain honest information or whether we expect to see cheaters, and so on. We use lab and field experiments and evolutionary game theory, which provides the framework for understanding the evolution of animal behaviors.

Citizen Science
Mary Krembs, director, Citizen Science Program
Through the lens of the PCB contamination and cleanup in the Hudson River, the Citizen Science Program tackles urgent, present-day questions related to water contamination, and places these conversations within students’ daily lives and imagined futures. We consider how social, historical, and political factors are at work even when we think we are engaged in “objective” science. This year we explore the properties of water, as well as how these properties influence the contamination (and decontamination) of water. Using laboratory investigations and classroom discussions, the focus is on the creation, analysis, and interpretation of scientific evidence. 

Common Course 121, Black Aesthetic: Ralph Ellison
Nicholas Lewis, associate vice president for academic initiatives and associate dean 
Ralph Ellison is traditionally known and celebrated as a writer. However, Ellison’s earliest artistic interests resided in classical music, as both a composer and trumpet performer. Over the course of his life, Ellison engaged in serious, extended practice of sculpture, music, and photography. He cultivated relationships with such Black creative forces as sculptor Richmond Barthé, painter Romare Bearden, writer and social activist Langston Hughes, photographer Gordon Parks, and writer and critic Albert Murray. This course invites students to explore Ellison’s crafting of a Black aesthetic, and the worlds he constructed with other Black artists, intellectuals, and cultural producers. 

Dance 103A , Introduction to Contemporary African Dance
Souleymane Badolo, assistant professor of dance
Rooted in contemporary African Dance, using Badolo’s own movement style, this course explores movement over/under/inside and outside the tradition. The class begins with a warm-up that involves both physical and mental preparation. By listening to internal rhythms of the body and the beat of the music, dancers can discover their own musicality and their own movement language. Students will be exposed to the skills of improvisation starting with simple forms.

Economics 100, Principles of Economics
Youssef Ait Benasser, assistant professor of economics
This course is an introduction to the essential ideas of economic analysis. The microeconomics component develops the basic model of consumer and firm behavior, including demand and supply, in the context of an idealized competitive market, and examines how the real world deviates from this model—including monopoly and other forms of imperfect competition, minimum wages and other price controls, taxes, and government regulation. The macroeconomics component studies the aggregate behavior of modern economies—factors leading to economic growth, explanations of booms and recessions, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, and budget deficits or surpluses—and the government’s ability (or inability) to use monetary and fiscal policies to achieve goals such as full employment and price stability.

First-Year Seminar
Robert Cioffi, associate professor of classics
The current moment presents a historical juncture in which assumptions about government and public life, in the United States and beyond, are being challenged in renewed and disconcerting ways. Economic and political stability, once regarded as the dividend of the end of the Cold War, can no longer be taken for granted. Faith in democracy as a form of government, and in free speech, cosmopolitanism, and separation of religion and politics, are in decline. International challenges associated with climate change and global public health pressure a world system built upon independent nation-states. Against this backdrop, students worldwide are confronted with an urgent need to reexamine, articulate, and perhaps rejuvenate what it means to live in a shared society. Students read important works—from literature, philosophy, political theory, science, and the arts—that have shaped how people think about citizenship and civic membership across time and space. In the process, students develop the core skills needed to succeed at Bard, from engaging in active, critical reading and conversation to writing original, thought-provoking, and persuasive essays. 

Literature 233, The Age of Chance: Literature and Accident in the 19th Century
Daniel Williams, assistant professor of literature
In the 19th century, on railways and ships, in factories and mines, the speed of capitalism made accidents more common and forced the law to rethink how to handle injury and accidental death. The rise of statistics revolutionized the study of society and revealed the predictability of apparently unruly phenomena—from births to deaths, marriages to murders. Chance made its way into the sciences, especially in the random variations underpinning the theory of evolution by natural selection. It transformed ideas about the arts, notably in the new (and chance-marked) art of photography. And it gave a renewed emphasis to questions of risk, coincidence, and probability in literature, where topics like gambling and financial speculation were rife. What Keats called the “magic hand of chance” renegotiated basic questions about human life, action, and freedom. The ways these topics were addressed in 19th- and early-20th-century literature and culture also affect how they inflect our understanding of chance today. Authors may include Dickens, Tennyson, Darwin, Brontë, Poe, Melville, Hopkins, Maupassant, Dostoevsky, and Wharton.

Literature 241, Sex, Lies, and the Renaissance
Joseph Luzzi, Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature 
This course examines how the Renaissance changed the world we live in, since this period was one of cultural experimentation and radical change that was only understood hundreds of years after it occurred. Topics range from The Prince, Machiavelli's masterpiece on the relation between deceit and power, to new paradigms for gender and sexuality in writers and artists including Vittoria Colonna and Artemisia Gentileschi. Other topics include the birth of the modern “artist” through the work of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and their pioneering biographer Vasari, and the emergence of international institutions like the Medici banking empire and a highly political—and often sinister—papacy. Overall, we establish the Renaissance as much more than a moment in cultural history; it was and remains a mindset that continues to shape the way we make art and literature.

Music 326, History of Electronic Music
Sarah Hennies, visiting assistant professor of music
This course provides an overview of the musical, technological, and social conditions that contributed to the creation, development, and proliferation of electronic music in the 20th century, and traces the use of electronics in music through historical and contemporary tools and techniques. This includes early electronic and pre-electronic instruments, commercial synthesizer and drum machine, sampling, musique concrète, psychoacoustics, noise, and more. Students will have weekly reading, listening, and writing assignments and a substantial research paper and presentation. This course is required for electronic music majors; prior music experience is preferred but not required.

Philosophy 140, Introduction to Philosophy: Other Animals
Jay Elliott, associate professor of philosophy
We human beings have learned to think of ourselves as animals, and to think of our pets, laboratory subjects, wild animals, and those we slaughter for meat as “other animals.” Yet the lives of these other animals remain profoundly mysterious to us. Can we understand their thoughts, desires, and lives? What do we owe them by way of justice, love, or sympathy? How does the struggle for animal liberation intersect with questions of race, gender, class, and disability? How might our understanding of ourselves be transformed by the thought that we are animals, too? In this course, we approach these questions through various sources, including the philosophy of Peter Singer and Cora Diamond and the fiction of J. M. Coetzee and Margaret Atwood.

Religion 363, Hinduism, Hindutva, Hindu Nationalism
Nabanjan Maitra, assistant professor of the interdisciplinary study of religions 
This course explores the twinned genealogy of Hinduism and Hindu nationalism as two categories of modern India. We focus on these overlapping discourses as they emerge from colonial regimes of governance and knowledge production. In our explorations, we challenge the conventional view that Hinduism marks the domain of private, or communally circumscribed, religious practice whereas Hindu nationalism marks the attempt to wrench the religious from its private sphere into the public arena of political practice. Invoking the third or middle term, Hindutva, we examine how indigenous thinkers have theorized religious nationalism, grounding this concept in a deep history of difference and violence as a necessary precondition to nationhood.

Science 125, Photographic Processes
Simeen Sattar, professor of chemical physics
Topics covered in this course range from the chemistry of silver and nonsilver photographic processes to the physics of CCD cameras. Laboratory work emphasizes the chemical transformations involved in making gum dichromate prints, cyanotypes, blueprints, salted paper prints, and black-and-white silver emulsion prints.

 

Bard College Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors Fall Meeting and State of the College with President Botstein

10:30 am – 12:30 pm
All alumni/ae are invited to join members of the Alumni/ae Association Board of Governors for the annual fall meeting. President Leon Botstein will open the meeting with State of the College remarks. Alumni/ae guests who are interested in the work of the board are welcome to stay for the whole meeting. At 10:30 am coffee and donuts will be served for board members and alumni/ae guests. The meeting will start promptly at 11 am.
Room, 115, Olin Language Center

Pathways to Civic Engagement: Explore Your Options!

11–11:30 am
See schedule for Saturday, 9:45 am.
Schwab ’52 Atrium, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Hard-Hat Tour of the Future Fisher Center Performing Arts Lab

11 am – noon
For more information, see the schedule for Saturday at 9:00 am. For safety at the site, no one can tour without closed-toed shoes or with a heel. Space is limited; sign up at registration. 
Meet at Fisher Center parking lot E (lot closest to the Tivoli Bays walking path)

Tour the Grounds of Montgomery Place

11 am – 12:30 pm
For more information, see the schedule for Saturday at 9:00 am. Meet at the Visitors Center porch. Space is limited. Sign up at registration.
Montgomery Place Campus

Blithewood Garden Open House

11 am – 12:30 pm
You are invited to stroll through the historic Blithewood Garden and take in the views of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains. A member of the Horticulture and Arboretum staff will be on hand to answer your garden questions.
Blithewood Garden

Blithewood Mansion Open House

11 am – 1 pm
Visit this historic Hudson River mansion, now home to the Levy Economics Institute, and explore its collection of German and Austrian paintings from the turn of the 20th century. The paintings were a bequest to Bard College from Dr. Edith Neumann.
Blithewood Mansion

Academic Classes

11:30 am – 12:30 pm
All registrants will be emailed a link on Friday, October 25, to sign up for classes. One class per person will be offered on a first come, first serve basis. If you miss online registration, you may be able to sign up in-person at registration. 

Academic Classes

Anthropology 232, Lost Recipes
Sucharita Kanjilal, assistant professor of anthropology
This course explores how food cultures and histories are shaped, contested, and preserved by examining recipes as cultural artefacts. What is a recipe, and how does it relate to place and territory, memory and archive? In the contemporary food media and restaurant industries, the showcasing of “lost recipes” is a lucrative practice that promises both cultural representation and culinary reclamation. We ask: How and why are some recipes thought to be “lost,” and by whom and in what form are they considered to be found? What happens when the preservation of culinary knowledges becomes unmoored from the questions of dispossession and land loss? Lost (and found) recipes, then, provide an entry point into questions of land and conquest, representational politics and cultural contestation. The course draws on scholarly and multimedia resources from anthropology, food history, anti-caste and Indigenous studies—and, taking a global and feminist perspective, we foreground Indigenous and Dalit efforts toward culinary revitalization.

Biology 145, Environmental Microbiology
Robert Todd, assistant professor of biology
In this introductory course, students examine microbes in their native habitats while covering such basic biological concepts as DNA, RNA, and protein production, cellular replication, metabolism, respiration, and microbial genetics. Topics specific to microbial life include ecological life cycles and microbial habitats, microbiomes, the microbial role in food production, antibiotic resistance, biofilms, and quorum sensing. Students read primary literature and case studies, and have opportunities for in-class presentations on primary papers. During the inquiry-based laboratory, students culture environmental microbes and learn techniques for identification and characterization of novel environmental isolates.

Citizen Science
Mary Krembs, director, Citizen Science Program
Through the lens of the PCB contamination and cleanup in the Hudson River, the Citizen Science Program tackles urgent, present-day questions related to water contamination, and places these conversations within students’ daily lives and imagined futures. We consider how social, historical, and political factors are at work even when we think we are engaged in “objective” science. This year we explore the properties of water, as well as how these properties influence the contamination (and decontamination) of water. Using laboratory investigations and classroom discussions, the focus is on the creation, analysis, and interpretation of scientific evidence. 

Classics 363, The Romans and the Natural World
Lauren Curtis, associate professor of classics
As modern humans grapple with their relationship with nature, this course asks how people in the Roman Empire—whose language, Latin, has given English speakers much of our vocabulary for nature and the natural—understood their relationship with the environment. Rome’s vast imperial infrastructure transformed—and in some cases, ravaged—Europe, North Africa, and the Levant on a scale never before seen (mining, water diversion, road building). At the same time, Romans cultivated natural beauty in poetry (Virgil, Horace), gardens (villas in Pompeii), and the visual arts (paintings for the Roman empress Livia, zoological mosaics from Algeria). This course is for students interested in the relationship between environmental history and the arts, and the debates that arise when a society expands the possibilities for human agency.

Common Course 111, Science of Human Connection 
Michael Sadowski, associate dean of the College; associate professor, Master of Arts in Teaching Program
Elena Kim, visiting associate professor of psychology
Seth Halvorson, visiting associate professor of philosophy 

This course introduces students to theories of relational connection as a foundation of human development, drawing on psychology, sociology, primatology, neuroscience, and other fields. Readings are drawn from texts such as Frans de Waal’s The Age of Empathy (primatology), Matthew Lieberman’s Social (neuroscience), and Carol Gilligan’s In a Human Voice (psychology). We examine the cultural forces that disrupt connection and relationships, and the ways this disconnection manifests across cultures. Patriarchy, racism, homophobia and transphobia, interpersonal conflict, war, and other issues will be examined as manifestations of cultural breaks in relationship. Finally, how do we reconnect as human beings in cultures that drive us to create divisions and alienate us from one another? Perspectives from psychology, education, the arts, and other fields will be considered as students examine ways to cultivate individual and societal resilience to the forces that breed separation and division.

Computer Science 113, Introduction to Computing: Robotics
Theresa Law, assistant professor of computer science
This course introduces students to ideas that are fundamental to robotics and to computing in general. Teams of students design and build shoebox-sized robots, with guidance from the instructor. These rather minimalist robots will be mobile and have multiple sensors. The student teams will use a simple programming language to program their robots to carry out easy tasks, and will move to a more robust programming language and more complex tasks by the end of the semester.

Economics 248, History of Financial Crises
Emanuele Citera, assistant professor of economics
This course provides a historical and institutional account of the development and evolution of finance. In particular, it focuses on the evolution of financial theories and instruments, and analyzes the major crises that have occurred worldwide. The course is divided into three main parts. The first part covers early episodes of financial crises and speculative bubbles, from the 17th-century “Tulip Mania” until the late 19th century. The second part focuses on the Great Depression and its aftermath up to the 1970s. The third part deals with post–World War II financial capitalism, centering on currency and banking crises, stock market crashes, and critical episodes of the 21st century (the Great Recession and eurozone crisis).

First-Year Seminar
Kathryn Tabb, assistant professor of philosophy
The current moment presents a historical juncture in which assumptions about government and public life, in the United States and beyond, are being challenged in renewed and disconcerting ways. Economic and political stability, once regarded as the dividend of the end of the Cold War, can no longer be taken for granted. Faith in democracy as a form of government, and in free speech, cosmopolitanism, and separation of religion and politics, are in decline. International challenges associated with climate change and global public health pressure a world system built upon independent nation-states. Against this backdrop, students worldwide are confronted with an urgent need to reexamine, articulate, and perhaps rejuvenate what it means to live in a shared society. Students read important works—from literature, philosophy, political theory, science, and the arts—that have shaped how people think about citizenship and civic membership across time and space. In the process, students develop the core skills needed to succeed at Bard, from engaging in active, critical reading and conversation to writing original, thought-provoking, and persuasive essays. 

Literature 223, Bad Behavior
Francine Prose, distinguished writer in residence
In this class we will study novels and stories in which characters behave “badly”—eccentrically or in ways that we might consider extreme. We look at social norms and conventions, moral decisions, questions of politeness, race and gender, the influence of history, spoken and unspoken (and evolving) rules, and the influence of conscience and culture. Among the texts we’ll read are: Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights; Thomas Bernhard, Woodcutters; Ivan Turgenev, First Love; Anton Chekhov, In the Ravine; James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”; Tatyana Tolstaya, “Heavenly Flame”; Jane Bowles, Two Serious Ladies; James Alan McPherson, “Gold Coast”; Roberto Bolaño, Last Evenings on Earth.

Literature 2175, Medieval Ireland
Karen Sullivan, Irma Brandeis Professor of Romance Literature and Culture
Ireland is said to have saved civilization at a time when the rest of Europe entered its darkest period. During the pre-Christian era, Ireland developed the most extensive of all Celtic mythologies. After conversion in the fifth century, it developed a distinctive Celtic Christianity, whose monks traveled widely, founding monasteries. This history was recalled in the 19th and 20th centuries by the nationalist movement that fought for Irish independence and by the Celtic Revival, which looked to it for a model of an Irish identity upon which to base the new state. The course will consider what, if anything, is “Irish” and how the medieval past defined and continues to define the present. We will read works from the Historical Cycle (The Frenzy of Sweeney), Mythological Cycle (The Dream of Oengus), Ulster Cycle (Bricriu’s Feast), and Fenian Cycle (Tales of the Elders of Ireland), as well as Christian writings (lives of St. Patrick and St. Bridget) and poetry and prose of W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory.

Music 154, Music and the Spirit
Sean Colonna '12, Associate Director of Language and Thinking and Visiting Assistant Professor in the Humanities
While modern culture is often characterized as secular, many of us may have felt music’s influence on what we might loosely refer to as “the spirit.” The meaning of this term has varied tremendously with the tides of history, as has its relationship to musical experience. This course is animated by the following question: How have humans conceptualized the nature and importance of the spirit, and in what ways has music been understood to be a vehicle for spiritual experience and communication with immaterial or other-than-human forms of consciousness? We will explore this question by studying music that emerges from or speaks to spiritual experiences of various kinds. Students will be introduced to a range of genres, including Medieval chants, Romantic-era symphonies and operas, and various syncretic styles from twentieth and twenty-first century composers. We will also read texts that shed light both on the historical context for the pieces of music under consideration as well as different facets (psychological, philosophical, cultural) of spiritual experience. Our final unit will extend our exploration beyond the West to study the role of music in Brazilian ayahuasca ceremonies. Assignments include several short written analyses in addition to a final research essay. This course is designed for non-majors, and the ability to read music is not required.

Physics, Demystifying Quantum
Paul Cadden-Zimansky, associate professor of physics
The year 2025 marks 100 years since the formulation of quantum mechanics, an anniversary that prompted the United Nations to officially proclaim next year The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. At the same moment, governments and corporations are spending billions of dollars to develop "quantum computers," Hollywood screenwriters are invoking the workings of "the quantum realm" to fill sci-fi plot holes, and the press and YouTube creators are regularly describing quantum as "weird," "spooky," "strange," and "impossible to understand." With politics, money, and hype swirling around the topic, the average person is left to wonder what all this fuss is about and if they'll ever have hope of comprehending any of it. In this course, intended for non-science majors, we'll begin at the beginning -- historically and conceptually -- to figure out what is so interesting and important about quantum science and technology. Along the way, we'll aim to separate science fact from science fiction, genuine philosophical questions raised by quantum mechanics from incoherent sophistry, and future possibilities from unfounded hype. By the end of the course, students will come to see that the quantum realm isn't a fictional place. It's the world they've been living in all along.

Psychology 141, Introduction to Psychological Science
Sarah Dunphy-Lelii, associate professor of psychology
How does the mind create the reality we perceive? How do experiences shape the brain, and how do processes in the brain influence thought, emotion and behavior? This course investigates these and similar questions by studying the science of the human mind and behavior. The course covers topics such as memory, perception, development, psychopathology, personality, and social behavior. A focus is on the biological, cognitive, and social/cultural roots that give rise to human experience. Additionally, the course will consider how behavior differs among people and across situations.

 

Trustee Leader Scholar (TLS) Workshop: Empathic Communication and Resilience

11:30 am – 12:30 pm
“Empathic Communication and Resilience” is the name that Paul Marienthal, dean for social action and director of the TLS program, gives to interpersonal communication that promotes honest talk and positive connection between people. Getting things right when important relationships are at stake requires specific skills and practices. This workshop is a short introduction to the kind of interpersonal communication work done in the TLS program. 
Room 213, Bertelsmann Campus Center

Bard Jazz Studies and Bard Music Program Present: A Concert by Jazz Faculty Members

11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Join Bard jazz faculty for a concert: John Esposito, piano; Jo Fiedler, trombone; Greg Glassman, trumpet; Peter O’Brien, drums; Pamela Pentony, vocals; Eric Person, saxes and flute; Steve Raleigh, guitar; Rich Syracuse, bass; Sumi Tonooka, piano.
Bard Hall

Capital Projects Presentation

Noon – 1 pm
Join representatives from Student Affairs, the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Athletics and Recreation, and Bard Prison Initiative to hear about Bard’s capital projects. The presentation will include updates on ongoing construction. Also offered will be information about plans to build a new field house and wellness center next to the Stevenson Athletic Center, and to renovate Drill Hall next to Blithewood Mansion.
Bitó Auditorium, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Admission Campus Tour

Noon – 1 pm
Enjoy a tour of campus led by one of our student tour guides. The tour begins with an information session by an admission counselor and ends with a Q&A session. Space is limited; sign up at registration.
Meet at Hopson Cottage

Pop-Up Apple Tasting

Noon – 2 pm
Nearly 70 varieties of apples are grown at Montgomery Place and you can sample some of them at our pop-up tasting, thanks to a generous donation of produce from Doug and Talea Fincke at Montgomery Place Orchards. This event will be hosted by The Office of Sustainability and staffed by BardE3 students.
Schwab ’52 Atrium, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Guided Tour at CCS Bard

Noon – 5 pm
Ho Tzu Nyen: Time & the Tiger
Carrie Mae Weems: Remember to Dream

Self-guided tours of two exhibitions. For more information, see the schedule for Friday at 4 pm. Gallery tours will also be offered at the top of each hour from 11 am to 3 pm. The museum closes promptly at 5 pm. Space is limited; sign up at registration.
Hessel Museum of Art, Center for Curatorial Studies

Second Annual Golf Tournament

Noon
Raindate: Sunday at noon
This scramble-style event, which begins with a shotgun start, will consist of golf with food and drink provided. A silent auction will cap off the event. All proceeds support Bard Athletics, helping fund special team travel opportunities and other enhancements to the student-athlete experience. For more information on the tournament, please visit bardathletics.com
Casperkill Golf Club, 110 Golf Club Lane, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601

Study Away Opportunities

12:30–1:30 pm
An overview of study away opportunities. Learn about Bard’s programs in New York City, Berlin, and Bishkek; study abroad programs via myriad tuition exchanges, including with our Open Society University Network partners; international online courses and the International BA designation; and options for foreign language study. This event will also be livestreamed.
Olin Hall, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Watch Livestream

Experimental Humanities Portable Sound Booth and Tour

12:30–3:30 pm
Record your thoughts about the election and become a part of Bard history in the Portable Sound Booth at the Center for Experimental Humanities. The booth–designed, built, and managed by Bard students and faculty–is timed to coincide with the 2024 election cycle. We hope to record as many community members as possible in this important moment. Interviews or self-recordings will be archived and remain anonymous.
New Annandale House

Bard Makers Art and Craft Fair

12:30–3:30 pm
Join us for the second annual Bard Makers Art and Craft Fair. Shop unique handmade wares and discover the diversity of creativity among Bard students and alumni/ae. Get some early holiday shopping done!
Multipurpose Room and George Ball Lounge, Bertelsmann Campus Center

Alumni/ae Lunch

12:45–2 pm
Alumni/ae are invited to join fellow Bardians and members of the international student community for a casual lunch in Kline. Alumni/ae and guests should go through the cafeteria line and head to the alumni/ae section of the dining room (by the north-facing windows on the left-hand side). Hard and soft cider, beer, coffee, and dessert are included. Tickets are $14 per person.
Kline Dining Commons

Meet the Deans: Academic Life and Advising

1:30–2:30 pm
David Shein, dean of studies, and staff from the Dean of Studies Office will answer questions about the academic life of the College and discuss one of Bard’s most distinctive and essential assets: academic advising. Our faculty and supplemental advising systems exemplify Bard’s commitment to the personal care of students’ intellectual development. Come hear about what supports are available to help your Bardian make the most of Bard’s distinctive curriculum and the network of which it is a part.

More about the Dean of Studies Office: The deans of studies support students in their academic programs of study and assist them in finding and meeting academic and intellectual challenges. They help students develop fluency in the many forms of discourse required by the College’s rigorous curriculum; guide them in charting their larger academic careers; provide guidance on academic enrichment opportunities, including independent studies, tutorials, and study abroad programs; and help them identify and apply for competitive postgraduate opportunities like Watson Fellowships, Fulbright Scholarships, and Rhodes Scholarships.
Bitó Auditorium, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Politics Roundtable with the Bard Debate Union

1:45–2:45 pm
Join members of the Bard Debate Union for a roundtable discussion on current affairs, the state of debate in society, and how young people can find their voices in the contemporary political landscape. This event will also be livestreamed.
Olin Hall, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Watch Livestream

Men’s Soccer Game and Senior Day

1:45–4 pm
The Raptors men’s soccer team plays its last home game of the regular season against Hobart in a Liberty League contest. The team’s seniors will be honored at 1:45 pm, with the kickoff set for 2 pm. This event will be livestreamed. 
Lorenzo Ferrari Soccer and Lacrosse Complex, Stevenson Althetic Center

Alumni/ae Tea with Leon

2–3 pm
After lunch, alumni/ae are invited to join Leon for tea on his porch.
President's House

Student Jazz Performance

2–3 pm
Enjoy an afternoon student jazz concert by the Steven Bonacci Group.
Bard Hall

Meditation Walk at Montgomery Place

2–3 pm
Join Tatjana Myoko von Prittwitz und Gaffron CCS ’99, Soto Zen priest, Buddhist chaplain, and artist and scholar in residence at the Bard Center for Curatorial Studies, for a mindful walk on the bucolic grounds of Montgomery Place. In the tradition of Japanese forest bathing, we will open our senses, relax the mind, and use our breath to feel our complete interconnection.
Meet on the Visitors Center porch. Space is limited; sign up at registration.
Montgomery Place Campus

The Dream

2 pm
The Bard Theater and Performance Program presents The Dream, directed by Jorge Schultz and adapted by Dezi Tibbs and Jorge Schultz. Open to the public; registration required. Free tickets are available through the Fisher Center website.
LUMA Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

Women’s Volleyball Game

2–4 pm
The Raptors women’s volleyball team is hosting Clarkson for a Liberty League matchup. For those who aren’t able to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed.
Stevenson Athletic Center

Will Students Vote?

2:45–3:30 pm
Join us for a conversation with Election@Bard’s student leadership team and Jonathan Becker, Bard’s executive vice president and director of the Center for Civic Engagement, reflecting on factors that influence turnout and the barriers that exist to student voting. What do these barriers look like? What does they mean for the future of voting more broadly? And what role should institutions play in protecting students’ right to vote? The event will also be livestreamed.
Olin Hall, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Watch Livestream

Ask the President

3:45–4:45 pm
Come hear Bard College President Leon Botstein speak about the College and answer questions from families, students, and alumni/ae. This event will also be livestreamed.
Olin Hall, Franklin W. Olin Humanities Building

Watch Livestream

Spirits of Annandale

4:30–5:45 pm
Join us for a tour of the Bard College Cemetery. Alumni/ae docents will tell you the stories of some of the cemetery’s illustrious inhabitants, which include members of the Bard family, political philosopher Hannah Arendt, empath Jean Grey, filmmaker Adolfas Mekas, novelist Philip Roth, and many more. Thematic libations and treats provided. Timed admission slots available at registration.
Lychgate, Bard Cemetery

Saturday Dinner

5–8 pm
Enjoy dinner with other Bard families and alumni/ae. $15 per person; students may use their meal plan cards. Tickets can be purchased at registration or at the door.
Kline Dining Commons

Hudson Valley Cities Party and CCE Alumni/ae Mixer

5:30–7 pm
The Hudson Valley Cities Party is hosted by Peter Criswell '89, Catherine Dickert ’94, Joel Griffith MFA '03, Bill Hamel ’84, and the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). All visiting and local alumni/ae  are invited to meet and mingle with each other while also having an opportunity to connect with current students. CCE engages some of Bard’s most involved students who are keen to introduce themselves to alumni/ae and widen their networks. On display is work by Joel Griffith MFA ’03. Cash bar with free soft drinks and snacks.

Seena and Arnold Davis ’44 Living Room, Anne Cox Chambers Alumni/ae Center

Community Pumpkin Painting (Campfire cancelled due to a fire ban)
 

6–8 pm
The Office of Student Activities invites you to the pumpkin patch. Come paint a pumpkin while savoring local cider donuts and cider with families and alumni/ae.
Bertelsmann Campus Center Lobby
 

Bard Conservatory Orchestra Concert

7–9:30 pm
Leon Botstein, Music Director
Bard College Conservatory Orchestra


Leon Botstein, Music Director
Bard College Conservatory Orchestra

Richard Strass (1864–1949)
Don Juan, Op. 20 (1888)

George Crumb (1929–2022)
Echoes of Time and the River (1967)

Franz Liszt (1811–86)
A Symphony to Dante’s Divine Comedy (1857)

Free, with a suggested donation of $20 orchestra/$15 parterre and balcony. Ticket sales benefit the Bard Conservatory Scholarship Fund. You may reserve tickets online, by calling 845-758-7900, or in person at the box office in the Sosnoff Theater lobby, Monday-Friday, 10 am – 5 pm, and one hour prior to performance.
Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

The Dream

7:30 pm
The Bard Theater and Performance Program presents The Dream, directed by Jorge Schultz and adapted by Dezi Tibbs and Jorge Schultz. Open to the public; registration required. Free tickets are available through the Fisher Center website.
LUMA Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

Sunday, October 27

Sunday Brunch

10 am – 5 pm
Enjoy brunch with other Bard families and alumni/ae. $14 per person; students may use their meal plan cards. Purchase tickets at registration or at the door.
Kline Dining Commons

Apple Gleaning at Greig Farm

1–4 pm
Join Bard community members for apple gleaning at Greig Farm, three miles from the Bard campus. All apples collected will be donated to Red Hook Responds, a nonprofit that organizes volunteers in the Red Hook and Rhinebeck communities to support those in need. Make sure to wear clothing and durable shoes that you won’t mind getting a little dirty! Please arrange your own transportation. For further assistance and directions email Cole Ewalt, student chair of BardEATS, at [email protected]. All are welcome!
Greig Farm, 227 Pitcher Lane, Red Hook, New York 12571

Hallway Halloween

1:30–3 pm
Bring your festively costumed children to get candy and treats, handed out by Bard Houses, the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, athletic teams, and student groups.
Lobby, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Center for Science and Computation

Bard College Conservatory Orchestra Concert

2–4:30 pm
Leon Botstein, Music Director
For details, see the schedule for Saturday at 7:00 pm.

You may reserve tickets online, by calling 845-758-7900, or in person at the Box Office in the Sosnoff Theater lobby, Monday through Friday, 10 am – 5 pm, and one hour prior to performance. Ticket sales benefit the Bard Conservatory Scholarship Fund.
Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

The Dream

4 pm
The Bard Theater and Performance Program presents The Dream, directed by Jorge Schultz and adapted by Dezi Tibbs and Jorge Schultz. Open to the public; registration required. Free tickets are available through the Fisher Center website.
LUMA Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts

Land Acknowledgment for Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson

Developed in cooperation with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.

In the spirit of truth and equity, it is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are gathered on the sacred homelands of the Munsee and Muhheaconneok people, who are the original stewards of the land. Today, due to forced removal, the community resides in Northeast Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. We honor and pay respect to their ancestors past and present, as well as to Future generations, and we recognize their continuing presence in their homelands. We understand that our acknowledgment requires those of us who are settlers to recognize our own place in and responsibilities toward addressing inequity, and that this ongoing and challenging work requires that we commit to real engagement with the Munsee and Mohican communities to build an inclusive and equitable space for all.

Slavery Acknowledgment

The College acknowledges that its origins are intertwined with slavery, which has shaped the United States and American institutions from the beginning. Starting in the 16th century, European traders trafficked approximately 12 million Africans to the Americas, where they were held as property and forced to work as enslaved laborers. Their descendants were also held as slaves in perpetuity. The exploitation of enslaved people was at the foundation of the economic development of New York and the Hudson Valley, including the land now composing the Bard College campus. In the early 18th century, Barent Van Benthuysen purchased most of this land and was a slave owner. Later owners of the property also relied on Black workers they held in bondage for material gain. Montgomery Place, which became part of the College in 2016, was a working farm during the 19th century that likewise profited from the labor of enslaved people.

The founders of Bard College, John Bard (1819–99) and Margaret Johnston Bard (1825–75) inherited wealth from their families and used it to found the College. That inheritance was implicated in slavery on both sides. John’s grandfather Samuel Bard (1742–1821) owned slaves. His father William Bard (1778–1853) was the first president of the New York Life Insurance Company, which insured enslaved people as property. Margaret’s fortune derived from her father’s commercial firm, Boorman and Johnston, which traded in tobacco, sugar, and cotton produced by enslaved labor throughout the Atlantic World. Other early benefactors of the College, such as John Lloyd Aspinwall (1816–73), also derived a significant proportion of their wealth, which they donated to the College, from commercial ventures that depended on slavery. John and Margaret Bard devoted their lives and monies to educational pursuits. In his retirement John Aspinwall redirected his fortune and energies toward humanitarian pursuits.

Recognition and redress of this history are due. As students, teachers, researchers, administrators, staff, and community members, we acknowledge the pervasive legacy of slavery and commit ourselves to the pursuit of equity and restorative justice for the descendants of enslaved people within the Bard community.
Bard Alumni/ae
Office of Alumni/ae Affairs
Anne Cox Chambers Alumni/ae Center
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
845-758-7089
[email protected]
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