Bennington Magazine
New Issue. New Question.
What have you made of this time, during this time?
For the summer issue of Bennington magazine, we invite recent alumni, current students, faculty, and staff to respond to the following question: What have you made during this time, of this time?
For the first time in Bennington’s history, classes were conducted off-campus. Students gathered online. Advising happened at a distance. Commencement, virtual. Everything—from the way we taught to how we learned to how we did our work—was reimagined, quickly, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. And then, during all of this, our country awoke en masse to a long overdue reckoning with American racism after George Floyd was murdered by police. In all corners of our country, we have taken to the streets--and continue to. We are living history and making history at the same time. And even as we live through and make history, classes go on and work goes on and Bennington goes on making, although often the nature of the work and the making has changed. Maybe you had or have more time or less work, maybe your circumstances influenced what you made; maybe the urgency of our time changed why you made work, how you made work, and who you made it for; maybe your work saved you, maybe it saved someone else.
The next issue of the magazine, which will be published exclusively online, will feature the work you made during this historic period of time. As a reminder, each issue of Bennington is organized around a question. Selected responses to the question compose each issue’s features section. We welcome your responses in any and all forms. Please note that while we are publishing online, all submissions will continue to be evaluated for the same editorial quality, clarity, focus, and strength. To be considered for publication, please share your work with me no later than Monday, July 27.