SEEN & HEARD OCTOBER A two-day symposium on “War and the Intellectual” was held at Preston Theater on October 4 and 5. Speakers included Bard faculty members Mario Bick, Bruce Chilton, Tabetha Ewing, and Thomas Keenan on Panel 1; and Michael Donnelly, Robert Kelly, Joel Kovel, and Justus Rosenberg (emeritus) on Panel 2. Alan Sussman, visiting associate professor of philosophy, moderated the Division of Social Studies event.
Bard President Leon Botstein at the opening of the new Center for Film, Electronic Arts, and Music in the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Center
Chinese Studies at Bard High School Early College When Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) first opened its doors in 2001, it offered classes in Spanish, Latin, and Chinese. That very spring, the American Forum for Global Education invited two BHSEC students to study in China. Elizabeth Dempsey, one of the participants in that three-week inaugural program, is scheduled to graduate from Bard College in 2005, with a concentration in Asian studies. The American Forum has continued to send two BHSEC students to China each summer, and plans to expand the program. Lori Lee, a second-year college student at BHSEC, is one of the most recent travelers. Her observations appeared in The Horizon, BHSEC’s student newspaper. Following is an excerpt. My father, fueled by his loyalty and his love for his homeland, always told me passionate stories about China and its history. On July 18, 2004, I was going to China! It didn’t take long to realize I had been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The pleasure and wonder of being in China was captured in walking the downtown streets of small cities at night, sleeping in Mongolian yurts, playing volleyball with townspeople, riding tandem bikes on the ancient city wall of Xi’an, and horseback riding in Inner Mongolia. It was hard saying good-bye to China. It is my history, my culture, my love. On August 8th, 2004, I stepped off a plane and walked into LaGuardia Airport and thought, “I’m home?” I walked through two large sliding doors to the rest of my life, as a new me.
Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Philosophy and Religion and executive director of the Institute of Advanced Theology, spoke about his recent book, Rabbi Paul: An Intellectual Biograhy, at a public discussion and book signing in the Weis Cinema of the Bertelsmann Campus Center on October 7. Fresh Triviality, an exhibition of works by artist and photographer Arlene Becker, was on display at the Campus Center from October 8 to October 24. Becker’s work explores icons of everyday American life, such as fast food restaurants, churches, and public festivals. The American Symphony Orchestra presented a free concert of American orchestral works at The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on October 8. The program, conducted by Leon Botstein, president of the College, featured works by Aaron Copland, George Perle, Bernard Rands, and Roger Sessions. Scholar and performer Richard Nunns gave a lecture/demonstration on the traditional instruments of New Zealand’s Maori people on October 14 in Robbins Lounge. Nunns, considered the world’s leading authority on the subject, also played duet improvisations with Richard Teitelbaum, whose World Music Seminar at Bard sponsored the event. The Bard Economics Program presented the panel discussion, “Feminist Economics: A Different Approach to the ‘Dismal Science,’” on October 14. Among the panelists were three leading scholars on feminist economics: Diane Elson, University of Essex (UK); Elissa Braunstein, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and Rania Antonopoulos, New York University and The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College.
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