Bard College Receives $50,000 Grant from Teagle Foundation to Revise First-Year Seminar Curriculum around Civic Education

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Bard College has received a $50,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation to reimagine its First-Year Seminar (FYSEM) curriculum with an eye toward civic education and engagement in light of the upcoming 2024 election. The generous Teagle Foundation grant supports curriculum development, faculty training and workshops, and guest speakers for Bard’s 2024–2025 FYSEM program, which will focus on civic education and examine the challenges and possibilities of a democratic political order. College President and Leon Levy Professor in the Arts and Humanities Leon Botstein is director and Assistant Professor of Philosophy Kathryn Tabb, Assistant Professor of Classics Robert Cioffi, and Associate Professor of Political Studies Simon Gilhooley are codirectors of this project.

First-Year Seminar at Bard College is a two-semester course taken by all first-years. Its goal is to create a basis for shared conversation among the first-year class and build foundational skills for success in college—attentive close reading of challenging texts; respectful and inclusive dialogue with others; the ability to ask profound and interesting questions about the reading; and developing an academic voice through writing. During FYSEM, students develop a clearer sense of their own intellectual goals and priorities, which will inform their work during the rest of their time at Bard. A shared reading list addresses a specific theme for the year; recent themes include “The Commons,” “What Is Freedom? Dialogues Ancient and Modern,” and “What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason.”

The revision of the FYSEM program at Bard College, supported by the Teagle Foundation, endeavors to equip students to be publicly as well as intellectually engaged citizens. Central to this revision is the development of a syllabus that centers the texts comprising the historical and ongoing conversation around the possibilities of democratic self-government. The goal is to ensure that students, without regard to their disciplinary focus, are positioned to discuss the structuring of national governments, the principles of democracy that are embedded within—and absent from—those structures, and the history of contention that has driven the development of constitutional government.

A fully faculty-led program, FYSEM is not taught on a lecture model whereby faculty impart knowledge about a particular aspect of the curriculum as experts in their fields; rather, each faculty member leads a single student discussion section for an entire semester. Together with their students, faculty encounter a wide range of texts, often far outside their fields of specialization, and act as role models for the kind of democratic and self-reflective engagement the College aims to promote in the student body. With funding from the Teagle Foundation, the revised FYSEM course will reach all of Bard’s student body during their first year on campus, create a foundational core of context and pedagogy that influences subsequent years, train faculty in best practices, and showcase faculty and student work and experiences. The grant allows Bard College to lay the groundwork for this curricular reform effort with a major outcome being the sustainability of this curricular innovation.  
About Teagle Foundation
The Teagle Foundation works to support and strengthen liberal arts education, which we see as fundamental to meaningful work, effective citizenship, and a fulfilling life. Our aim is to serve as a catalyst for the improvement of teaching and learning in the arts and sciences while addressing issues of financial sustainability and accountability in higher education. To learn more, visit teaglefoundation.org.

About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year, residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in more than 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 13 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 163-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.

This event was last updated on 02-22-2024

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