Course Listing | 51��

Spring 2024

The Big Picture: Stewarding Artists’ Legacies (FWT Course) — VA4406.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Liz White

Days & Time:

Credits: 1

What forces and individuals contribute to shaping an artist’s legacy? What happens to all of the objects, materials, and correspondence that artists create during their lifetime? What is a catalogue raisonné? This one-credit remote module will introduce students to the nascent field of artist-endowed foundations, and invite the consideration of philosophical and creative

Visual Arts

The Choreography of Poetics : The Poetics of Choreography — DAN2018.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Camille Guthrie

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

This course is intended for dancers, poets, writers, and anyone else interested in interdisciplinary work. Through the exploration of the works of various poets and choreographers/dance-makers, we aim to show the connections and subversions between these two fields, be they thematic, formal, historical, theoretical (and so on). We will examine work across a broad and diverse

Dance Writing

The Curatorial: Your Top Ten — VA2230.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Anne Thompson

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

This class explores curatorial thinking through the process of compiling a Top Ten, a media staple that invites cultural producers to discuss ten things they like or recommend. Creating a Top Ten, like curating, involves making selections within parameters including (but not limited to) history, context, aesthetics, politics, style and preference. A good Top Ten is a cohesive

Visual Arts

The Eclipse! — PHY2279.02) (day/time updated as of 10/13/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: Hugh Crowl

Days & Time:

Credits: 1

On April 8, 2024, the second total solar eclipse in seven years will cross North America, starting in northwest Mexico, crossing west Texas, large parts of the midwest, and the northern reaches of New York, before skimming the most northern reaches of Vermont and exiting the continent through the Canadian maritimes. In this course, we will learn about the orbital mechanics of a

Science and Mathematics

The F-Word: Confronting Fascism in a World on Fire — POL4259.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: John Hultgren

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

In the United States, recent years have witnessed an upsurge in right-wing organizing and violence, culminating in the 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol that sought to overturn the legitimate results of a democratic election. This is not a uniquely American problem. Across much of the globe, political parties organized around hyper-nationalism have gained steam, in

Society Culture and Thought

The Female Grotesque — LIT4391.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Camille Guthrie

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

In this class, we will read prose that engages with the Female Grotesque, a subgenre of the Gothic and Grotesque in literature, art, and performance. Readers of the Female Grotesque may experience repulsion and fascination, as the genre reveals how women have been traditionally represented as both abject and ideal. Our focus will be on fiction: novels and short stories. (I

Literature

The Flower Songs of the Hungry Coyote: Pre-Columbian Indigenous Poetry — LIT2536.01) (day/time updated as of 10/9/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: An Duplan

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

While much of our study of North and Central American poetry begins after the arrival of Christopher Columbus, indigenous poetic traditions begin centuries before. Nezahualcoyotl, or the “Hungry Coyote,” is considered one of the greatest poets of pre-colonial Mexico. His “flower songs” inspired an entire generation of pre-Columbian Native poets, whose work we can read as a

Literature

The Hand as Tool — CER2317.01) (day/time updated as of 10/9/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: Anina Major

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

Clay responds directly to touch, retains memory and is forced through the dynamic process of firing to fix a point in time. This class will introduce students to a variety of hand-building techniques to construct sculptural and/or utilitarian forms. Students will develop their skills by practicing techniques demonstrated in class. Through making, students skills will

Visual Arts

The Immigrant Novel — LIT2540.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

The immigrant novel often bears the burden of “building bridges” between cultures, portraying “the good immigrant” or “the tragic immigrant” as a helpless individual on a journey to assimilation in a new country. But, for over a century, alongside the stereotypical immigrant novels, there have been numerous irreverent immigrant novels that push back against oversimplification,

Literature

The Life of Plaster — SCU2308.02) (cancelled 9/15/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: John Umphlett

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

This seven week intensive class will be focused on understanding some basic methods for working with plaster. We will look at a variety of gypsum products and identify their similarities and differences. Plaster can have an amazing way of mimicking life both in the mixing and setting process as well as the ability to copy through casting. In this class, we will investigate and

Visual Arts

The Literature of Black Insurgency — LIT4390.01) (day/time updated as of 10/9/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: An Duplan

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

Looting, shooting, and gangs. We have many words for Black violence, a violence frowned upon not just by the racist and reactionary, but also by the ‘reasonable’ neoliberal. Stokely Carmichael’s “The Pitfalls of Liberalism” describes liberals’ tendency to “try to convince the oppressed that violence is an incorrect tactic, that violence will not work, that violence never

Black Studies Literature Society Culture and Thought

The Manner of Moving — DAN2242.01) (cancelled 9/26/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: Dana Reitz

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

This is designed for those who are interested in excavating and investigating their own ways of moving. By becoming more grounded, more aware and more observant, students will be able to experience presence in motion. We will be thoroughly exploring, modifying, rearranging, expanding and ultimately reconsidering how we move. While creating small movement scenarios, students

Dance

The Mystery that Keeps Us Humble: St. Augustine, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton — LIT2539.01) (day/time updated as of 10/17/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: Ben Anastas

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

"Late have I loved you," St. Augustine wrote in one of the many direct appeals to God in his Confessions. "O Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you." With these lines, the confessional impulse in the early Christian tradition makes the jump into spiritual autobiography, and a new genre of literature is born. In this class, we'll pair the discussion of faith and

Literature

The Philosophy of Hannah Arendt — PHI4131.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Paul Voice

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a political theorist whose work has become increasingly influential in recent years. A student of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers, her extensive writings cover such topics as the nature of power, the meaning of the political, and the problem of revolution. This course is a detailed exploration of some of her major works, including The Human

Society Culture and Thought

The Process and Ethics of Using Hacked and Leaked Data — CS4139.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Michael Corey

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

The advent of big data has also led to the advent of big data leaks. As the size of data leaks the ability to research, learn from, and report on these leaks has likewise become increasingly complicated. Beyond the technical ability to analyze this data, there are questions of cyber security when dealing with data of unknown provenance. Thirdly, there is the thorny question of

Science and Mathematics

The Prose Poem — LIT4280.01) (day/time updated as of 10/9/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: Michael Dumanis

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

Is a poem still a poem when it replaces line and stanza with sentence and paragraph? If so, what components are essential to a poem? What is the distinction between a prose poem and a flash fiction? In this course, we will read a wide range of paragraphs and book-length collections of paragraphs as we familiarize ourselves with the history and range of the prose poem. We will

Literature

The Scriptorium: The Short Story — WRI2161.01) (new course code as of 10/20/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: Camille Guthrie

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

The Scriptorium, a “place for writing,” is a class for writers interested in improving their critical essay-writing skills. We will read to write and write to read. Much of our time will be occupied with writing and revising—essai means “trial” or “attempt”—as we work to create new habits and productive strategies for analytical writing. As we write in various essay structures

Writing

The Silk Road — HIS4116.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Carol Pal

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

n this course, we examine six moments of intellectual encounter between "east" and "west" along the storied routes of the Silk Road. These encounters spanned a millennium, from the fifth century BCE to the fourteenth century. We will be reading travel narratives written by these adventurers – Herodotus, Xuan Zang, Al-Biruni, Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Sir John

Society Culture and Thought

The Social Life of Trash — ANT4126.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Cecilia Salvi

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

The last decade has seen an explosion of people around the world making everyday products- handbags, books, cups, jewelry, art, bricks, etc.- from residual materials that are destined for the landfill. In addition to demonstrating concern over environmental issues, their endeavors demonstrate how repurposing can be an individual, social, and collective right. Using primarily

Society Culture and Thought

The State of American Democracy and the November 2024 Elections — POP2357.03

Spring 2024

Instructor: Carly Rudzinski

Days & Time:

Credits: 1

This Pop Up Module will be led by students under the facilitation of Susan Sgorbati and Vermont State Senator Brian Campion. Students will create and structure the Fall 2024 Public Policy Forum for Bennington students and students across the United States, focusing on the November elections. The Forum will be viewed in the context of the state of American democracy, viewed

CAPA

The University as a Radical Experiment — SCT4148.01) (cancelled 10/17/2023

Spring 2024

Instructor: Noah Coburn

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

What does innovation look like in higher education? This course explores the history of experimentation in colleges and universities in North America, from the utopian visions of learning communities to the radical rethinking of how learning happens. It will examine the various waves of innovative institutions and how they reshaped higher education more broadly, and

Society Culture and Thought

Theater Games and Improvisation — DRA2123.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Shawtane Bowen

Days & Time:

Credits: 4

Whose class is this anyway? Improvisation is for everyone. Life is made up as it happens and improv is no different. This course will explore the basic elements of improvisation. Through short and long form theater games, pattern and rhythm exercises, we aim to heighten observation, listening skills, and ensemble building. Character, object, and environment work will be

Drama

Traditional Music Ensemble — MPF4221.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: John Kirk

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

We will study and perform from the string band traditions of rural America, Nova Scotia, Quebecois, Irish, New England, Scandinavian, African-American dance and ballad traditions. In addition, these will be experienced with listening, practice (weekly group rehearsals outside of class), and performing components. Emphasis on ensemble intuition, playing by ear, and lifetime

Music

Trends in Adolescent Mental Health — PSY4381.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: Emily Waterman

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

Adolescent mental health has become a topic of public discourse, due to research showing increases in depressed mood and anxiety among teens. This course is for students interested in a rigorous reading of the recent (past five years) literature on adolescent mental health. We will discuss methodologies to research adolescent mental health, as well as statistical techniques.

Society Culture and Thought

Ukulele Comprehensive — MIN2230.01

Spring 2024

Instructor: John Kirk

Days & Time:

Credits: 2

A comprehensive course in learning musical skills on the ukulele. We will learn the history of the uke, from its Portuguese and Indigenous Hawaiian origins, and both traditional and contemporary styles. Music theory and playing techniques will be learned and practiced. Awareness of traditional styles of playing the instrument will be furthered through a listening component and

Music