Daniel Newsome

Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Primary Academic Program: Mathematics

Biography: Daniel Newsome earned his PhD in history, specializing in medieval and early modern natural philosophy and mathematics. He is also well versed in physics, his major at Bard, and has a background in the fine arts and crafts, which he often incorporates into his academic pursuits. For example, a current research project on premodern and early modern heart anatomy involves dissection of pig hearts using period tools (some he forged himself) while following the instructions of Galen (second century), Mondino de Luizzi (14th century), Vasalius (16th), and Harvey (17th). At CUNY, his PhD dissertation, “Quadrivial Pursuits: Case Studies in the Conceptual Foundation of the Mathematical Arts in the Late Middle Ages,” focused on the Boethian formulation of the quadrivium, the four mathematical disciplines of the Middle Ages (number theory, music theory, geometry, and astronomy/astrology). His scholarly publications include “Directed Self-Inquiry: A Scaffold for Teaching Laboratory Report Writing,” in Journal of Chemical Education (2012) and “The Math, Music, Metaphysics, and Mysticism of the Quadrivium: The Four Paths to a Theory of Structure,” in Science, Technology, and the Humanities: A New Synthesis (2011). Newsome has given talks and participated in panel discussions at venues including Bard College, Woodburne Correctional Facility, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Kleinert/James Art Center in Woodstock, as well as at conferences including Pearl Kibre Medieval Study Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference, International Congress on Medieval Studies, and Renaissance Society of America’s Annual Conference. Outside of academia, his work has been exhibited at Atlantic Gallery, Sullivan Street Gallery, and Instituto de la Guitarra in New York. Newsome previously taught in Bard’s Citizen Science program and Learning Center, with the Bard Prison Initiative, and at Columbia University, New York University’s Gallatin School, and John Jay College, among others.

BA, Bard College; PhD, Graduate Center, City University of New York; additional studies, New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture. At Bard since 2019.
Website: https://www.mifami.org
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