BARD’S FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR FALL SERIES WILL BE HELD IN THE RICHARD B. FISHER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Monday afternoon series, “What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason,” will include concerts, performances, lectures, films, and panel discussions ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—On Monday afternoons from September 5 through December 5, Bard’s fall 2005 First-Year Seminar program, “What Is Enlightenment? The Science, Culture, and Politics of Reason,” will offer a series of concert programs, performances, lectures, films, and panel discussions. All the events are free and open to the public and will begin at 4:45 p.m. in the Sosnoff Theater of The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College. On September 12, the program with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra, titled “Reason and Revolution: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony,” is a highlight of the series. The free event includes a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Following the performance, Botstein and the orchestra will take questions from the audience. Other events that feature Bard faculty include lectures on October 17, “Science and Religion in the Age of Galileo and Descartes,” with Alice Stroup; October 24, “Producing Knowledge in the Early Modern Curiosity Collection,” with Susan Merriam; November 7, “Mozart’s Final Reconciliation: The Magic Flute and the Enlightenment,” with Christopher Gibbs; and November 14, “Captain Cook’s Endeavor: Science & Exploration in the Pacific,” with Michèle Dominy. In addition, there will be a reading by Bard students and faculty of Aristophanes’ The Clouds, directed by Peter Criswell, with Daniel Berthold as Socrates, on September 19. On November 21, there will be a student debate on science and religion. Two films will be screened: the first, Decalogue One: I Am the Lord Thy God; Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me (1988; 55 minutes), directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski, on September 26; and the second, a film that documents a performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, on October 31. There are also lectures by distinguished outside scholars. On September 5, Stephen C. Angle of Wesleyan University will speak about “Confucian Enlightenment”; “From Island to Mainland: Varieties of Rationality” will be the topic of Columbia University scholar Hossein Kamaly’s talk on October 3; “Philosophy, Science, and Cultural Principles of Reason,” by Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze of DePaul University, will take place on November 28; and Eileen Gillooly of Columbia University will speak about “Gender Trouble in the Age of Reason: Mansfield Park and the Enlightenment Project” on December 5. The fall lecture series is a part of the First-Year Seminar at Bard College, a required two-semester program for first-year students that introduces them to worldwide, intellectual, artistic, and cultural traditions and to methods of studying those traditions. The lecture series provides a public forum for the students, the public, and leading scholars and artists to explore both contemporary and relevant issues, as well as the latest scholarship on enduring questions. All events are free and open to the public; no reservations are necessary. For further information or directions to the Fisher Center, call 845-758-7900 or visit inside.bard.edu/firstyear/. # The American Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski with a mission to “perform concerts of great music within the means of everyone.” Today, under music director Leon Botstein (who assumed the post in 1992), that mission has broadened into an effort to revitalize the concertgoing experience in order to maintain it as a vibrant force in contemporary culture. As part of Lincoln Center Presents Great Performers, the American Symphony Orchestra performs thematically organized concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, linking music to the visual arts, literature, politics, and popular culture, often in collaboration with museums and other cultural institutions. The American Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra of The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, where it participates in a winter concert series as well as the summer Bard Music Festival. The American Symphony Orchestra also offers a variety of music education programs at high schools in Manhattan and New Jersey. Leon Botstein is music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra, founder and coartistic director of the Bard Music Festival, and president of Bard College. He is also the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Botstein is editor of The Musical Quarterly and has published several books, including The Compleat Brahms and Jefferson’s Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture. # Schedule of Events: All events will take place in the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Mondays at 4:45 p.m. (unless otherwise noted). September 5: “Confucian Enlightenment” Lecture by Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University September 12: “Reason and Revolution: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony” Lecture and concert by Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra September 19: Aristophanes’ The Clouds A reading by Bard students and faculty, directed by Peter Criswell, with Daniel Berthold as Socrates September 26: Film Screening Decalogue One: I Am the Lord Thy God; Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me (1988; 55 minutes), directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski October 3: “From Island to Mainland: Varieties of Rationality” Lecture by Hossein Kamaly, Columbia University October 17: “Science and Religion in the Age of Galileo and Descartes” Lecture by Alice Stroup, Bard College October 24: “Producing Knowledge in the Early Modern Curiosity Collection” Lecture by Susan Merriam, Bard College October 31: Film Screening: Mozart’s The Magic Flute November 7: “Mozart’s Final Reconciliation: The Magic Flute and the Enlightenment” Lecture by Christopher Gibbs, Bard College November 14: “Captain Cook’s Endeavor: Science and Exploration in the Pacific” Lecture by Michele Dominy, Bard College November 21: Student Debate on Science and Religion November 28: “Philosophy, Science and Cultural Principles of Reason” Lecture by Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze, DePaul University December 5: “Gender Trouble in the Age of Reason: Mansfield Park and the Enlightenment Project” Lecture by Eileen Gillooly, Columbia University # # # (8/24/05)

This event was last updated on 12-12-2005

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