Division of Social Studies News by Date
December 2018
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Alumni | Subject(s): Bardians at Work,Division of Social Studies |
Meta: Type(s): Event,Faculty,Student | Subject(s): Anthropology Program,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): American and Indigenous Studies Program,Division of Social Studies,Sociology Program | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Early Colleges | Institutes(s): Bard College at Simon's Rock |
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at each location, with a historical presentation by students and remarks by a member of the faculty. Professor Armstead kicked off the event at the marker outside Aspinwall Hall highlighting John Lloyd Aspinwall, an early benefactor of St. Stephen’s College, Bard’s first incarnation. Like many antebellum donors to the nation’s colleges and universities, Aspinwall owed a significant portion of his wealth to commercial ventures that profited from slavery in the Americas.
![Vine Deloria Jr., Bard College Class of 1926. Vine Deloria Jr., Bard College Class of 1926.](https://tools.bard.edu/wwwmedia/pr/features/images/232/DSC0152crop.jpg)
A second placard near the library, overlooking Kline with a view of the Catskills, is dedicated to Vine Deloria Sr., Class of 1926. Deloria was an exceptional athlete at St. Stephen’s whose life and work were defined by a proud Native American cross-culturalism. He became the Episcopal archdeacon of Indian parishes in South Dakota and a vocal advocate for tribal governments.
![Historical marker near the Bard Chapel honoring Matthew McDuffie, Class of 1889. Historical marker near the Bard Chapel honoring Matthew McDuffie, Class of 1889.](https://tools.bard.edu/wwwmedia/pr/features/images/232/DSC0144sm.jpg)
A third placard near the Chapel of the Holy Innocents honors Matthew McDuffie, Class of 1889. Born a slave in South Carolina, he was literate by the age of five. Thanks to the efforts of his diligent parents, McDuffie was able to take advantage of opportunities for Black Americans that opened after the Civil War. He was one of a cohort of four African American students to integrate St. Stephen’s in 1884. McDuffie experienced discrimination from his classmates but he persisted in his education without protest, and went on to become the first resident priest of St. James Episcopal Church in Tampa, Florida.
![Students in Professor Armstead's& Inclusion at Bard course speak at the historical marker dedicated to John Aspinwall. Students in Professor Armstead's& Inclusion at Bard course speak at the historical marker dedicated to John Aspinwall.](https://tools.bard.edu/wwwmedia/pr/multi/images/11906/DSC0060sm.jpg)
Meta: Subject(s): Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,Division of Social Studies,Office of Institutional Support (OIS) | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
November 2018
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Languages and Literature,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
October 2018
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Division of Languages and Literature,Division of Social Studies,Division of the Arts,Early Colleges | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,BHSECs,Center for Civic Engagement,Center for Curatorial Studies |
Poet Elizabeth Alexander and Painter Amy Sherald in Conversation
Creative Process in Dialogue: Art and the Public Today with Elizabeth Alexander and Amy SheraldBard High School Early College Manhattan, October 31 at 6:30 p.m.
Lunch Hour Talk with Amy Sherald and Thelma Golden
Bard at Brooklyn Public Library, November 1 at 12:45 p.m.
Watch Live Starting at 6:30 Eastern Time on October 31:
Bard High School Early College Manhattan (BHSEC) hosts a discussion with poet Elizabeth Alexander and painter Amy Sherald about their creative processes and their commitments to the humanities. This public conversation seeks to diversify perspectives on the arts disciplines and to offer models for collective and inclusive community dialogues. The event is free and open to the public. It takes place on Wednesday, October 31, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at BHSEC on 525 East Houston Street in New York City. Preregistration is required. Register here. A live webcast of the event will also be available.
Poet and president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Elizabeth Alexander and painter Amy Sherald have both produced works critical to marking and reflecting on recent periods of political and social change in the United States. Alexander wrote and recited the poem “Praise Song for Our Day” to usher forward the presidency of the first black American president, Barack Obama, and Sherald painted the official portrait of the first lady, Michelle Obama, one of two works to mark the end of the Obama Presidency. Moderators BHSEC literature professor Brittney Edmonds and Bard Associate Professor of History Christian Crouch will ask Alexander and Sherald four contextualizing questions around the process of patronage and collecting in the arts, artistic practice and black feminism, how their work speaks across artistic media, and how their work engages with the image of body.
“This event, the first of a series, is inspired by an ongoing dialogue within Bard’s Africana Studies Program surrounding race and diversity and social engagement in the visual and performative arts. We hope to create the opportunity for public dialogue around creative artistic practice and the humanities, and how artists engage their audience and broader community,” says Director of Africana Studies at Bard and Assistant Professor of Africana and Historical Studies Drew Thompson.
This event is cosponsored by Humanities New York, Bard Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard Center for Civic Engagement, Bard Undergraduate Program in Africana Studies, Bard High School Early College, and Bard American Studies Program.
On Thursday, November 1, from 12:45pm to 2:00pm, Amy Sherald will be in conversation with curator Thelma Golden at Bard at Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), the first New York City Microcollege. In this inaugural Bard at BPL Lunch Hour Talk, Golden and Sherald discuss an understated aspect of the creative process: the relationship between curator and artist. Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, has presided over exhibitions in which painter Amy Sherald’s works were included and was involved in the selection of Sherald to paint the portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. The event is free and open to the public. It takes place at BPL Central Library, Dweck Center, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. Preregistration is required. Register here.
Meta: Subject(s): Division of Languages and Literature,Division of Social Studies,Division of the Arts | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,BHSECs,Center for Civic Engagement,Center for Curatorial Studies |
Meta: Type(s): Alumni,Staff | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Hannah Arendt Center |
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Master of Arts in Teaching |
Meta: Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Hannah Arendt Center |
Meta: Type(s): Alumni | Subject(s): Alumni/ae,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Center for Civic Engagement,Hannah Arendt Center |
September 2018
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
August 2018
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Languages and Literature,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Economics,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): BHSECs |
Community Action Awards Spotlight
My name is Eric Raimondi and I am a joint History and Middle Eastern Studies major in my senior year at Bard. This summer I worked with Samos Volunteers in Greece where I helped refugees living in a former military detention center. My work included registering refugees, sorting donated goods, washing clothing, and cleaning bathrooms at the camp. Working in the camp was physically and emotionally exhausting. I often worked in the mid-afternoon—this meant it was unbearably hot; it also meant that the refugees’ tents were practically uninhabitable, as they heated like saunas. Despite these conditions, I found my work to be extremely rewarding and enriching. I was invited into people’s tents and was often treated as a guest. One time during Ramadan, an old woman gifted me the most delicious stuffed zucchini. In front of the backdrop of injustice, some people continue life as normal for as long as they can. For the first time in my life, I felt completely useful. The experience I had with Samos Volunteers cannot be replicated. I don’t imagine I can see the world the same as before.
Meta: Subject(s): Community Engagement,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
July 2018
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Athletics,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): American and Indigenous Studies Program,Division of Social Studies,Economics,Middle Eastern Studies,Sociology Program | Institutes(s): Levy Economics Institute |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Sociology Program | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
June 2018
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Middle Eastern Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Sociology major Cindy (Sam) Arroyo ’19 was awarded $2,500 toward her participation in “Development, Environment, and Social Change: Contemporary Issues in Central Asia,” Bard Abroad’s Summer Practicum Program at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad or internship program costs with additional funding available for the study of a critical language overseas. The Gilman scholarship supports American undergraduate students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad and, since 2001, has enabled more than 25,000 outstanding Americans of diverse backgrounds to engage in a meaningful educational experience abroad. The program has successfully broadened U.S. participation in study abroad, while emphasizing countries and regions where fewer Americans traditionally study. The late Congressman Gilman, who served in the House of Representatives for 30 years, chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee, and was honored with the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Medal in 2002, commented, “Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates. Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.”
Image Credit: R: Adriana Annaliese Tampasis
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Sociology Program | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
CHLDC is a community-based organization that offers a range of free support services to residents. Working with the College Success Programs division, Jon and his staff support local college students. "We assist our students in navigating their campuses, troubleshooting issues that impede their success, and technical processes (i.e. completing FAFSA, class registration). I particularly enjoy reaching out to students to develop plans as they start their semesters."
Drawing on his relationships with Bard administrators, Jon graduated from Bard with the opportunity to participate in a weeklong program exploring the field of student affairs in higher education with NASPA. Upon finishing the program, he worked for the Bard Educational Opportunity Programs (BEOP) while conducting his job search over the summer. A fellow alumnus referred him to CHLDC. "They were seeking a college access counselor to help high school seniors apply to college," he recalls. Every year working with the CHLDC, Jon added new projects to his role, which led to several promotions, eventually placing him in the position of director of college persistence.
He credits Bard with helping him develop the skills to guide college students in Cypress Hills. "My field of work is still developing, so many times I rely on my ability to anticipate problems and navigate solutions. Thankfully, my various research courses [at Bard] helped me develop a framework for problem solving. In my counseling, I also use a lot of the techniques I learned from various leadership roles I had at Bard, as a peer counselor with ResLife and peer mentor with BEOP." Jon finds that his work study experiences with the Dean of Student Affairs Office and Change in Action workshops also helped him learn how to navigate a professional office environment and promote leadership among members of his team.
Jon remembers Bard being a challenging environment. "A lot of responsibilities are placed on students: they run some [campus] spaces and lead clubs and activities in addition to maintaining strong grades. ... I am so grateful for the preparation I received at Bard. In my [current] role, I am constantly in positions where I have to learn processes or context very quickly and I have to decipher information to problem solve. My years at Bard helped me find comfort even when I was in uncomfortable situations."
Jon transferred to Bard from community college, and he appreciated the opportunity to devote his time to being a student among other students. "Living on campus is a subtle privilege that is oftentimes taken for granted, but it allowed me to cultivate many valuable relationships that I utilize to this day." His advice for current students? "When you hear about networking, keep in mind that every relationship is a form of networking; the process is easier than people tend to think and a friend or mentor might be your link to a possible job opportunity."
Meta: Type(s): Alumni | Subject(s): Bardians at Work,Division of Social Studies,Sociology Program | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Languages and Literature,Division of Social Studies,Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures Program,Literature Program,Music,Russian and Eurasian Studies Program | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
May 2018
Meta: Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Division of the Arts,Human Rights | Institutes(s): Center for Curatorial Studies,Human Rights Project |
Meta: Type(s): Alumni | Subject(s): Alumni/ae,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Catherine is now a sophomore at Bard studying Human Rights, and plans to become a teacher. She intends to pursue the College’s 4+1 graduate teaching degree through the Bard Master of Arts in Teaching program.
“I wanted human rights to be the lens through which I thought about teaching,” Catherine explains. She sees education as a human right, and an essential component to an educated citizenry and a functional society. Studying human rights gives her new perspective on the classroom, in which she is more aware of the varied backgrounds and struggles of her students, and on her own role as a teacher.
Catherine is a tutor for a long-running Bard TLS project at the Red Hook Residential Center, a low-security juvenile detention center in Red Hook. She visits the location once a week to give students personalized academic attention. “It’s the hardest teaching environment that I’ve been in so far,” she admits. “We read a book with the students and help them with their homework, and also just talk to them and give them some one-on-one time.”
Catherine believes that approaching young students seriously is critical to their sense of worth and their engagement with the learning process. This became apparent to her during her first year at Bard, in a philosophy course taught by Kritika Yegnashankaran. “She was able to make complicated things simple,” Catherine says. “She had high expectations and created an environment where everyone’s contribution was valuable.” Helping her students feel confident and able to access difficult material has become a cornerstone of her approach to teaching.
Catherine has taken advantage of Bard's location to do outdoor environmental education as well. Through a volunteer project during Bard's MLK Day of Engagement last year, she was introduced to the Clearwater. The Clearwater is a replica of a historic Hudson River sloop, an educational vessel that engages people with the life of the river. "Our main thing is bringing school groups on and teaching them. We teach them about the fish, we teach them about the water quality, and we teach them about history." After volunteering on MLK Day, Catherine applied and was accepted as a member of the crew last summer—she lived on the ship for two months.
“She's amazing," Ben Baum says of his sister. "She’s incredible. She’s so much cooler than I am, it’s a problem.”
When Ben was applying to colleges, he hoped to combine a small classroom environment with the opportunity to compete in college athletics. He visited Bard’s campus and learned about the lacrosse team, and he knew it was “the obvious choice.… I applied to a good number of schools. I realized that Bard offered more of the things that I wanted than any other place.”
Ben, now a senior majoring in economics, attended the Bard Globalization and International Affairs (BGIA) Program in New York City the summer after his sophomore year. BGIA students participate in competitive internships while taking Bard courses. While attending BGIA, Ben received an email about an internship opportunity on Zephyr Teachout's congressional campaign. “BGIA was almost over. I had just started as an intern on Zephyr’s campaign in August and then I actually got hired a couple of weeks after that.”
Ben started out at Bard studying politics and economics without a clear idea of where it would lead him. Working on the campaign brought his academic work into the real world, and he loved it. “I can’t really describe how valuable it was,” he observes. “After I started working on the campaign my life took on meaning and intention that I could never have imagined.... I had always wanted to work in politics, but it was being in that world that made it very clear that this was what I wanted to do.”
While working for Teachout, Ben took an academic leave of absence from Bard to commit to the campaign in Washington, D.C. It was through his work on the Teachout Campaign that Ben met his current employer, a New York State congressman.
To keep up with this college credits, Ben has been taking courses at Georgetown University. He will return to Annandale this fall to complete his Senior Project in the Economics Program, which will examine the role of money in politics. The inspiration for his project, Ben says, comes from a Supreme Court case where Justice Louis Brandeis discusses the “curse of bigness.”
“He talks about how the government shouldn’t be larger than corporations and vice versa—that everything has to be proportional in a sense,” says Ben. “That is the inspiration behind this, looking at that proportion, because I think it’s very much out of proportion.”
The flexibility and support system at Bard encouraged Ben to take risks. “Bard requires self-confidence,” he observes. “There isn’t a rigid structure. They’re teaching you, but you have to take initiative to make it your own—Bard is what you make it. I was given an agency that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and that’s allowed me to make some unorthodox decisions, like taking a leave of absence to go work in D.C.”
“It doesn’t really matter what you do as long as it’s something that’s important and meaningful and fulfilling," he adds. "The desire to feel fulfilled in life, in a really deep way, is what the school teaches. And I think that’s what my future holds.”
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Admission,Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
April 2018
Dimitri B. Papadimitriou is president of the Levy Economics Institute, Jerome Levy Professor of Economics, and executive vice president emeritus of Bard College. He has been a member of the Bard faculty since 1977.
Papadimitriou is the author or coauthor of academic articles relating to Federal Reserve policy, fiscal policy, financial stability, employment growth, and Social Security reform. He has provided expert testimony before U.S. Senate and House committees, is a former vice-chair of the Trade Deficit Review Commission (1999–2001), and was a member of the Competitiveness Policy Council's Subcouncil on Capital Allocation from 1993 to 1998. He served as Minister of Economy and Development for the Hellenic Republic from 2016 to 2018. Papadimitriou was a distinguished scholar at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (PRC) in fall 2002. He has edited and contributed to 13 books published by Palgrave Macmillan, Edward Elgar, and McGraw-Hill, and is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Economic Analysis, Challenge, and the Bulletin of Political Economy. In addition, he has served as executive vice president of Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, since 1979; as managing director of Bard College Berlin, Germany (2011–15); and as trustee and treasurer (1992–2013) and chairman (2013– ) of the American Symphony Orchestra. He was a member of the graduate faculty of the New School for Social Research from 1975 to 1976. He is a graduate of Columbia University and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the New School.
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bardians at Work,Division of Social Studies,Economics | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Levy Economics Institute,Levy Grad Programs |