Spring 2027

This course introduces students to econometric approaches to asking and answering questions about the economy, with a specific focus on labor markets. We will analyze data sets to explore socioeconomic questions centered around labor such as: What factors affect a person’s income, and how do we know? How might we investigate the main causes of

This course explores climate change through economics while also asking a deeper question: how do economic tools shape what we see, measure, and ultimately value about the climate crisis?

Food, Place, and Politics. This course investigates food in a globalized world by considering political economy, the history of colonialism, and cultural identity. Focusing on various geographical locales, we examine the economic factors, socio-political structures, and cultural implications that determine a crop’s value based on power

This course will serve as an introduction to working with circuits in a lab setting. We will learn about the relatively simple rules necessary for working with analog circuits and how those rules can be used to build objects of growing complexity. We will then move on to understanding how to build circuits that can measure properties of and interact with their

This post-fellowship seminar is designed for students who have completed their Endeavor Environmental Action Fellowship. Building upon the knowledge, professional skills, and foundational concepts introduced in the pre-fellowship seminar, this course provides fellows with an opportunity to critically reflect on their experiences, examine the work and impact of their host

How do we protect our planet while ensuring a just and prosperous world for all? This course addresses this question by drawing from environmental studies, political economy, ecological economics, economic sociology, and environmental history, seeking to investigate the vibrant global history of environmental movements and contemporary, successful practices of sustainability

This is a studio class for any discipline intended to deepen the understanding of your own moving body. We will be studying kinesthetic anatomy by approaching the material through visual, cognitive, kinesthetic, and sensory modes. Class time will be divided between discussion of anatomy and kinesthetic concepts, and engagement with the material experientially through

Mahjong (麻将 / 麻雀) is a lively and engaging game that originated in China and is widely played in Taiwan. It is common to see people playing Mahjong in parks, tea houses, or with friends in a relaxed social setting. The game uses tiles marked with Chinese characters and symbols, making it a unique and interactive way to connect language with play. In this course,

Feminism imagines a world free of gender-based oppression and injustice. But what exactly does such freedom involve? In this course, we’ll investigate the interplay between gender, feminist theory, and philosophical views about freedom. Some prompting questions include: Is individual freedom enough? What does ubiquitous pornography mean for sexual

In his re-interpretation of psychoanalytic structures, Jacques Lacan described the feminine position not as a gender or an identity but as a form of “jouissance”, a word that is related to enjoyment, but in his use is more akin “getting off on”. This feminine jouissance is available to any subject regardless of gender. According to this proposition, the

For the experienced (3+years of playing) violinist/violist. Lessons in traditional styles of fiddling – Quebecois, New England, Southern Appalachian, Scandinavian, Cajun, Irish, and Scottish. This course is designed to heighten awareness of the variety of ways the violin is played regionally and socially in North America (and indeed around the world) and to give practical

This is an intensive seminar on films about film, films that undo themselves, films that analyze their own methods of construction, and films that examine the assumptions of filmic grammar. The course is a primer on film theories through the work of the filmmaker-as-theorist such as  Harun Farocki, William Greaves, Straub and Huillet, Jean-Luc Godard, Laura Mulvey,

This class explores how to make fine art black and white and color inkjet prints from digital files. Students will learn how to edit digital media with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom by using non-destructive workflows to preserve the integrity of their files. The course will emphasize developing technical proficiency along with making

Virtue is a habit. To be ethical is to choose the mean between extremes. Happiness is not a goal, but a state. In popular culture, Aristotle's ethical views are often represented in slogan form. In this seven-week course, we will interrogate and unpack the meanings of and ideas behind these slogans. We will carefully investigate the theory embodied in

This course will discuss practices and ethics around digital photography, and experiment with foundational tools and techniques, aiming to create space for students to develop their own interests within the possibilities of the medium. Classes will combine practical exercises, readings on the development of digital photography and its impact on society, discussions mostly on

In this course, students will study and practice social conversation structures modeled in French-speaking contexts. From palabres to salons, from débats to theatrical dialogues, students will develop their understanding of various oral cultural practices, their subtexts and implicit codes, and the ways in which meaning is negotiated through tone, gesture, and context.

This course will closely examine various modes in which poetry is commonly written, including the elegy, the ode, the ekphrastic, the prose poem, the pastoral, the aubade, and the litany. Students will also be introduced to the vocabulary and practice of traditional prosody, acquire a familiarity with writing in meter and using rhyme, and attempt prescribed forms such as the

To Do or Not To Do? The decision itself is already a mystery. Moments of choice are often ambiguous, unstable, and uncomfortable—yet full of possibility. This course approaches improvisation as a laboratory for investigating the emergence of movement, subjectivity, and choreography. The question is not simply whether to act, but how an action begins to take

MFA in Music candidates will attend and observe weekly classes across the music discipline, and have individual meetings with faculty throughout the semester to discuss pedagogical approaches.

This course is designed to assist graduate students with the research and development of their work. The MFA candidate meets weekly with their primary advisor and select core faculty. Students are expected to spend considerable time each week in active, ongoing creative research and practice. Projects and works-in-progress will be presented in public forums, such as

This course is designed to assist MFA candidates with the research and development of their new work. The weekly format is determined with the candidates. In class, they show works-in-progress, try out ideas with their colleagues, and discuss issues involved in their creative processes. Though the class meets only once a week, candidates are expected to spend considerable

This course is designed to assist MFA Research Fellows with the research and development of their new work. The weekly format is determined with the candidates. In class, they show works-in-progress and discuss issues involved in their creative processes. Though the class meets only once a week, candidates are expected to spend considerable time each week in active, ongoing

This course is required for all graduate students enrolled in the MFA in Public Action program. In-depth research connected to their Plan, their professional work and their teaching is required. This research can take the form of reading, writing, archival work, interviews and creative practice. A body of research is required at the end of each term related to their studies.

The Graduate Seminar in Public Action is required of all students in the MFA in Public Action program. This seminar focuses on their current professional work. Each student will identify at the beginning of each term the professional work to be accomplished. This can be located at Bennington College or in another professional venue anywhere in the world. This professional

Those who hold a Graduate Teaching Assistantship in Dance are integrated into the Dance Program as assistants to faculty who are teaching dance courses. In consultation with their academic advisors and the dance faculty, these MFA candidates will develop an assistantship schedule of approximately ten hours weekly and will work with faculty