News

Professor Myra Young Armstead takes a look at the Hudson Valley cholera epidemic of 1849 from the perspective of freed slave and master gardener James F. Brown, whose life Armstead chronicles in her book Freedom's Gardener.

Can the Olympics afford to be apolitical? Ian Buruma considers the event's history of turning a blind eye to injustice in host countries.

The owner of a previously unknown papyrus made a chance call to an Oxford classicist, who uncovered that the collector possessed texts from two previously unknown poems by Sappho, the ancient Greek poet.

"The celebration of activists and politicians has overlooked another hero in this campaign: the region’s high courts," writes Omar Encarnación. "Their embrace of gay rights has been nothing short of audacious, especially in contrast to recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court."

The Center for Curatorial Studies and the Human Rights Project at Bard College are pleased to announce the Keith Haring Fellowship in Art and Activism. Made possible through a five year-grant of $80,000 per year, the Keith Haring Fellowship is a cross-disciplinary, annual, visiting fellowship for a scholar, activist, or artist to teach and conduct research at both the Center for Curatorial Studies and the Human Rights Project at Bard College.

On Sunday, January 19, Bard's Office of Student Activities held it’s inaugural first-year lecture series, Bard Talks, inspired by the widely known TED Talks conferences. Six students presented on a range of topics that showcased social and political issues of global concern, as well as ways to engage with those issues on campus. Topics addressed included malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, food initiatives at Bard, climate change, organ trafficking, and information security. Bard Talks took place in conjunction with the Martin Luther King Day of Service and the Citizen Science program. The event was well attended by students and faculty at the Bito Auditorium in the Reem-Kayden Center.

Journalist and historian David Andelman talked about the history of the “imperial” president and the changes in power to democratic leaders around the world at BGIA's James Clarke Chace Memorial Speaker Series in December.

Professor Walter Russell Mead selects the most important books on the United States reviewed during the last year, comprising Mark Leibovich's This Town, Stanley McChrystal's My Share of the Task, and Jeffrey Toobin's The Oath.

When Italian professor Joseph Luzzi's wife, Katherine, died suddenly in a car accident, Dante's Divine Comedy took on new meaning as he faced his grief.

Ian Buruma looks at the military tensions over a group of small islands in the East China Sea as they relate to the dynasic politics of China, Japan, and Korea.

Kirkus Reviews lists Ian Buruma's Year Zero among the year's best nonfiction, calling it an "insightful meditation on the world's emergence from the wreckage of World War II."

Bard history faculty member Greg Moynahan has been appointed the new historian for the village of Tivoli, New York. “I look forward to helping develop this history in new formats for new audiences and to building on the wonderful work done by my predecessor, Bernie Tieger," said Professor Moynahan.

This week, the APA recognized Professor Daniel Mendelsohn's contributions to the field of classical studies by honoring him with the 2013 President's Award.

Bard class of 2013 alumni Arthur Holland Michel and Dan Gettinger, founders of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard, argue for an interdisciplinary and nonpartisan approach to drone study.

A Greek tragedy, a retuned piano, and many musical Bardians: Dylan Mattingly '14 discusses his composition of The Bakkhai, to be performed at Bard on December 10.

"You have to know who you are—as a person, but also as a member of a given civilization—in order to speak about a work," says Professor Mendelsohn in this interview.

Environmental and urban studies major Jess Lambert '14 came to Bard from the small town of Liberty, New York. As a student representative for the Bard Sustainability Council, she’s committed to improving environmental practices on campus. "I’m glad I found a place that really recognizes the importance of pursuing the work you’re most excited about," she says. "That’s been really empowering for me."

Professor Mead and former State Department official Nicholas Burns talk about the new, six-month deal with Iran, and the challenges ahead for reaching a long-term agreement.

Bard High School Early College professor Daniel Freund examines the history of our evolving notions of the sun's impact on health and well-being.

The success or failure of Vladimir Putin's strategic plan for Russia depends on whether Ukraine signs a free-trade agreement with the EU at its November 28th summit for eastern countries, writes Walter Russell Mead.

Hazel Gurland-Pooler '99 of Ark Media is coproducing two episodes of The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, a PBS documentary series hosted by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.

"What the humanist education does is both teach us to love the world as it has been handed down to us and also to make it our own," writes Roger Berkowitz.

Senior Julia DeFabo's Bard experience has taken her to unexpected places. A student athlete playing for Bard's tennis team, she came to the College planning to study sociology or human rights. Instead she developed an unexpected interest in African art, particularly how it is curated and discussed from a Western perspective. The Pennsylvania native has since studied in France and Senegal and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in African art history after graduation.

Professor Danner reflects on the violence in the region, U.S. intervention, and the new book The Syria Dilemma, edited by Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel.

What really caused World War I? Professor Richard Aldous looks at The War That Ended Peace, by Margaret MacMillan.

In the New York Review of Books 50th anniversary issue, Daniel Mendelsohn finds feminism in the cultural phenomenon that is Game of Thrones.

Ian Buruma looks at how Europe and Asia rebuilt after the war's devastation to people, infrastructure, and institutions in his new book Year Zero: A History of 1945.

Bill Emmott, former Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, will present and discuss his new documentary film Girlfriend in a Coma on Thursday, October 17, at 6 pm in the Jim Ottaway Jr. Film Theater, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Center at Bard College. Called “beautiful and cruel” by Le Monde, Girlfriend in a Coma—cowritten by Emmott with Annalisa Piras, the film’s director—deals with the current political and economic crisis in Italy.

What goes into a good translation? Professor Mendelsohn considers the fine balancing act of bring a work to life in a different language.

Ian Buruma considers Edward Snowden's claim that he acted in accordance with his own conscience in light of recent remarks by Pope Francis on the importance of individual conscience to living morally.

Daniel Mendelsohn asks what the Greek poet Constantine Cavafy can tell us about the U.S. government shutdown.

Ian Buruma "depicts heroism, exultation and gratitude, but also brutality, venality, injustice, deceit, hypocrisy—and crushing disappointment" at the end of World War II.

Elena Ferrante is "so gifted that by the end she has you in tears," writes Italian professor Joseph Luzzi on Ferrante's newest novel.

What does it mean to be an educated citizen? Bard's Roger Berkowitz talks about the upcoming Hannah Arendt Center conference, "Failing Fast: The Educated Citizen in Crisis" (October 3–4).

Charles Simic reviews Professor Ian Buruma's new book about the end of World War II, Year Zero: A History of 1945.

Richard Aldous spoke about the legacy of President John F. Kennedy at the Kennedy Summer School in Ireland. Professor Aldous is writing a biography of Arthur Schlesinger, JFK’s special assistant.

Do humanitarian interventionists get Syria wrong? Bard's Walter Russell Mead weighs in.

Bard history professor Richard Aldous's new biography Tony Ryan: Ireland's Aviator chronicles the life of the billionaire philanthropist. This article offers a taste of the new book.

Ian Buruma considers the implications of President Obama's "red line," and the distinction between chemical weapons and conventional weapons.

As the tennis season comes to a close, Professor Joseph Luzzi performs an annual ritual of rereading John McPhee’s Levels
 of the Game, about the historic 1968 U.S. Open semifinal between Arthur Ashe and Clark
 Graebner.

Last week the New York Times announced a new back page for its Book Review, called Bookends, in which two writers tackle a provocative question. Daniel Mendelsohn and Francine Prose are among the columnists.

Richard Aldous lends his expertise to an ongoing series on the history of British conservatism. This episode looks at the controversy around Free Trade in the 1840s.

"The thing to get rid of first is the notion that there is such a thing as the East. Because there isn’t," says Professor Buruma.

Arthur Holland Michel '13, of the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard, met with all manner of drones at a recent convention in Washington, D.C.

"The Obama administration had a grand strategy in the Middle East," writes Professor Mead. "It was well intentioned, carefully crafted and consistently pursued. Unfortunately, it failed."

Stephen Mucher explains the motivations behind the first teacher observations of the 19th century.

Arthur Holland Michel '13, of Bard's Center for the Study of the Drone, examines the many possible uses of drone technology, and the ethical implications of drone development.

Stellar Bard volunteer Karimah Janelle Shabazz '15 brings her passion for civic engagement and education to Ghana this week, on a service trip funded by Episcopal Relief & Development.

Professor Berkowitz examines the controversy over Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem, and her insight "not that Eichmann was just following orders, but that Eichmann was a 'joiner.'''