Fall 2024

Professional Practices: Demystifying the Art World — VA4324.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Beverly Acha

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

What does it really look like to pursue being a professional artist? What exactly is the "art world"? How does what I am learning in college apply to life afterwards? This seminar course will address and explore why there is no clear or singular path to "becoming an artist" and offer students the tools to navigate shaping their artistic path from an empowered position.

Visual Arts

Projections – Animation Projects — MA4202.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Sue Rees

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

The course will be for sustained work on an animation or projection design project, and should be a space for both experimentation, ambition and consistent endeavor. Students will be expected to create a complete animation, a series of experiments, interactive project, projection mapping etc. The expectation is that students will be fully engaged in all aspects of the class

Drama Visual Arts

Psychology of Gender and Sexuality — PSY2385.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

This course will examine the categories of gender and sexuality within and beyond the psychological discipline and aims to familiarize students with major theoretical perspectives on gender including social constructionism, feminism, queer theory, and decolonization. The program will draw from psychological empirical research on gender and sexuality across history and culture

Society Culture and Thought

Public Policy Forum: Saving Democracy Together — APA2356.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Eileen Scully

Days & Time:

Credits: 1

Almost a century ago, Franklin D. Roosevelt alerted Americans to the impending global conflict pitting democracies founded on individual liberty against rising fascist dictatorships pursuing “final solutions.” Drawing inspiration from John Dewey’s progressive philosophy, FDR emphasized, "In this conflict the part which education plays in each ideology is crucial. Democracy

CAPA Society Culture and Thought

Queer Asian Pacific American Literature — LIT2529.01) (cancelled 4/23/2024

Fall 2024

Instructor: Franny Choi

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

To be LGBTQIA and AAPI is to occupy two disparate, marginalized identities that seem constantly to be shifting. What might the literature of this intersection teach us about larger questions of community, belonging, and resistance? This 2000-level class attempts to locate a Queer Asian Pacific America through literature, from the work of early Chinese American lesbian poets

Literature Society Culture and Thought

Race in Publishing — LIT4599.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

That writers of color earn less than their white peers in advances and fees is anecdotally well known. But we lack exhaustive data. Gearing up for such data collection the next few years in a faculty-driven project at Bennington, this course provides an overview of the broader ethical and social landscape around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in publishing. Major

Literature

Rakugo and Humor: The Art of Storytelling — JPN4505.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Ikuko Yoshida

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

This is the fifth term Japanese course. Rakugo is one of the traditional Japanese art and storytelling entertainment which became extremely popular during the Edo period (1603-1868). Rakugo is a rather unique storytelling performance because a storyteller sits on a seat on the stage called “kooza” and tells humorous stories without standing up from the seat. Moreover, the

Cultural Studies and Languages

Rare and Common: Advanced Reading in Conservation and Ecology — BIO4321.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

Quantifying and monitoring the abundance of particular organisms is often the major endeavor in conservation and ecology research. We work to protect endangered species, facilitate the recovery of threatened species, reduce invasive species, and restore historically present species, but we also understand that even absent human pressures, some species are more rare than others.

Science and Mathematics Environment

Reading Writing Fiction: ESLit — LIT4594.01) (day/time updated as of 5/10/2024

Fall 2024

Instructor: Mariam Rahmani

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

Reversing the typical shame around so-called "ESL" speakers, this course explores the rich history of modern and contemporary Anglophone literature written by authors who learned English as a second language or within a bi/multilingual context. This rigorous reading list is then used as a springboard for cultivating diverse voices and stories in the classroom. The course’s

Literature

Reading Writing Poetry: Revision as Play — LIT4593.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: An Duplan

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

The point of revision, we’re told, is to make our writing better. No wonder (framed this way) the idea of revision can often provoke annoyance, boredom, or even fear. But what if the revision process was closer to John Cage’s “chance operations,” a completely spontaneous and open-ended experience of creativity? Or, what if, through revision, we could explore yet-undiscovered

Literature

Reading and Writing Nonfiction: Childhood and Its Aftermaths — LIT4521.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Jenny Boully

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

In this course, we will read and write nonfiction that, while not entirely focused on childhood, examines the self and present circumstance through a reexamination of the child self. Through reading works such as When You Learn the Alphabet and Fruit Punch by Kendra Allen, Heart Berries by Terese Maire Mailhot, What About the Rest of Your Life by Sung Yim, The Boys of My Youth

Literature

Rebetiko Ensemble: Songs of the Greek Underworld — MPF4359.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Joseph Alpar

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

Rebetiko was an urban underground music genre that flourished in Greece in the early 20th century. A kind of outlaw blues, rebetiko emerged from the poorest quarters of Athens in the 19th century, its songs typically dealing with themes of exile, wandering the streets after dark, taking drugs and drinking to excess, loving the wrong person, imprisonment, death, and the harsh

Music

Reckless Desire — LIT2545.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Manuel Gonzales

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

I'm not a scientist, but I'm going to full-throatedly argue, scientifically and unimpeachably, that every living creature harbors a desire, whether conscious or instinctive, often more than one desire at a time. A bevy of tree nuts. A good place to take a winter's-long nap. A cup of coffee. A better job. An easier time of it all. Life is rife with desire. And what's more,

Literature

Redefining Scenography — DRA2308.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Michael Giannitti

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

In her book What is Scenography?, Pamela Howard states: “Scenography is the seamless synthesis of space, text, research, art, actors, directors and spectators that contributes to an original creation.” While the term “scenography” was regarded for centuries as synonymous with “theater design,” Howard’s definition does not mention theater or a stage, and other artists and

Dance Drama

Reproductive Justice in Latin America — ANT4239.01) (day/time updated as of 5/10/2024

Fall 2024

Instructor: Cecilia Salvi

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

This course explores the movement for reproductive justice throughout Latin America since the 1970s, and focuses on the international and interregional cooperation among non-state actors to decriminalize abortion and end violence against women. Topics include reproductive rights versus reproductive justice, obstetric violence, ‘la ola verde’, and post-dictatorship political

Society Culture and Thought

Research in Applied Mathematics — MAT4289.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Katie Montovan

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

In this research-based course, students will work in teams to apply their mathematical and other relevant skills to a problem coming from a business, industry, or government (BIG) partner. The goal will be to creatively and collaboratively develop a solution for the problem, and professionally present the results of their work to the partner organization. The partner

Science and Mathematics

Resilience: Analysis and Practice — APA2353.03) (cancelled 9/2/2024

Fall 2024

Instructor: Susan Sgorbati

Days & Time:

Credits: 1

The course will focus on social ecological systems integration framework to determine community resilience, enable smart design processes at the nexus of climate, food, energy and water systems and learn practical skills, such as ; the role of smart approaches to climate literacy and citizen science, digital storytelling, early warning systems and community based experiential

CAPA

Rock and Metal Technique for Band Vocalists — MVO4252.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Virginia Kelsey

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

This class focuses on contemporary singing styles such as rock, heavy metal, and pop, specifically pertaining to students' work with bands on campus. We will explore the fundamental concepts of singing through the preparation of repertoire for the students’ bands. Students may occasionally be assigned other repertoire relevant to specific technical goals. Group warm-ups and

Music

Sankofa: Archiving - Finding your history in order to go forward — DAN2412.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

In this course, we will be uncovering, re-positioning, and affirming historical legacies and traditions that stand the risk of being lost forever. We will explore the history and the effects of colonization in select regions of the world, i.e. Sénégal, Gambia, and other countries in West Africa. We will focus on how specific dance practices intersect with systems of race,

Black Studies Dance

Saving Democracy Together — APA2026.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Eileen Scully

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

CAPA Society Culture and Thought

Screenwriting: Story Studio — LIT2509.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

A good movie begins with a good script. A good script begins with a good story. In this class, we will explore the basics of structure and format for a feature-length screenplay, but the majority of the course we will be focused on storytelling, the development and polishing of good, strong stories. We will ask what goes into a good story, and how do you take those elements and

Literature

Sculptural Equilibrium: Contemporary Context of Ikebana — CER4206.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Yoko Inoue

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

Understanding the form of a container is an integral part of the aesthetic reconfiguration of nature in Ikebana. The concept of activating an interior architectural space with collected cut plants and their arrangement stems from ancient Japanese animism. The container is considered a mysterious receptacle for the sustainability of life and acts as a symbolic focal point in its

Visual Arts

Sculpture Studio/Advanced practice — SCU4217.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: John Umphlett

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

This course asks each student to work in a self-directed way among a community of critical thinkers. Finding one’s voice, as a maker, requires research sources of influence and inspiration. Students are expected to undertake a significant amount of work outside of regular class meetings. At this point in your Visual Arts Education you must be able to represent serious attention

Visual Arts

Senior Projects in Literature — LIT4498.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Franny Choi

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

This class is for seniors writing extended manuscripts in a unified genre: literary criticism, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama, screenwriting, or a hybrid form that combines genres. We welcome entirely hybrid-form manuscripts, but mixed collections, i.e. some poems with some prose, are not acceptable in this class, for we privilege extended immersion in a single

Literature

Senior Seminar — DAN4802B.01

Fall 2024

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

BFA students only This seminar course explores and enacts multidirectional modes of research in and through dance. The course moves through lectures, workshops and experiments that activate processes of creation/performance and guide each student in the development of a portfolio of documents related to professional practice. Students will create social and public platforms

Dance (BFA)